Simple Trick to Becoming a Great Writer

Why do so many real estate agents find it difficult to write? Do you find it difficult to write?

Your career–that is, as a real estate agent–demands you write. It demands you write emails. Ads. Descriptions. Letters. Voice mail messages.

You name it and you have to write it.

Unfortunately most of us are a product of an educational system that focuses on facts. And in most cases, the education stuck.

And that’s a problem.

Why is this a problem? If you’re a product of our educational system, then most of what you write is saturated by facts. Let me show you an example:

This house is less than 3 yrs old and has a 2009 appraised value of over $230,000. Nearly $30,000 in up-grades featuring the Waterford floor plan and the Colonial III elevation, hardwood floors, luxury kitchen and luxury master suite options, this house is priced for a quick sale.

Not too bad, right? Sorry, but the ad is limp and inert at best.

The Problem with Facts

Now, there’s nothing wrong with facts. Except that educators refused to let it go at mere memorization of facts. As a society, we plunged into wholesale fact-worship.

What’s at stake? When you glorify one thing, it’s generally at the expense of something else. In this case, the something else is “feeling.”

A feeling is as opposite a fact as you get. You can’t see it or hear it. Measure or weigh it.

Furthermore, feelings differ from person to person. Feelings are unpredictable. And faced with this unpredictability, educators cast a suspicious eye on feelings.

Again, this education–hold all feelings at arms length–stuck. We are, generation after generation, a population trained to reject decisions based on emotions.

In fact, we feel guilty if we make a decision based on an emotion.

Therefore, if you want to become a great writer–or if you merely want to inject more personality and life into your written communication–then you need a new approach to writing. An emotional approach.

The Emotional Approach to Writing

Instead of analyzing ads, deducing rules and then writing to fit these regulations, accept your own ever-so-finite limitations, take facts for granted and place your certainty in feelings.

Feeling is what drives you forward. And it’s what drives your prospects and clients forward. “What if” is your watchwords.

And the rules? They’re incidental.

I re-wrote the above ad based on feelings. See if it sings:

This 3-year old house is like a new build–except without the headaches of unpredictable contractors. Wide open floor plan and tall ceilings make this a big house. Add hardwood floors, professional kitchen and master bath–you’ve got luxury living on a small budget.

Do you see how you can still incorporate facts into your written communication? What did I do differently? I just spelled out the benefits for each feature. All I did was think about why the buyer would care about the facts. That’s really all it boils down to.

Now, let me talk to those of you who are afraid to write.

Communication of your feeling demands skill. But also heart. Yes, you will make mistakes. But to win at the skill of writing–or real estate for that matter–then you have no choice but to begin right where you are.

This very moment.

Remember: Whatever you do in life–writing or real estate or raising kids–you have to start on the bottom rung like the rest of us. That means you have to be willing to be bad–very bad–in this business if you ever want to get good.

In other words, only if you’re willing to make mistakes today can you hope to move ahead tomorrow. So, give it a shot right now: Write a comment below explaining why you thought this post was good or bad. And don’t forget emotion. Feeling.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I won’t grade you. I promise.