In the new age of the property market, its no secret that online estate agents have become a large part of the industry. Companies like Purplebricks, Strike and Yopa have taken the market by storm, helping vendors to list their property on the market for a much lower cost than traditional estate agents. In this article, we are going to take a look at how you can make your listing with an online estate agent stand out.
Copywriting
When listing any property advert, copywriting is a key component in enticing any potential buyer. A great copywriter will give you-
- Professional quality
- Target audience engagement
- Emotional connection
- Clear and concise communication
- SEO benefits
- Time saving
- Error reduction
Online estate agents, usually offer these services as part of their packages. You can outsource this work too, I would check with your service provider before doing so, however I don’t see why they wouldn’t let you.
Places you can find freelance copywriters include- Bark, Upwork and Fiverr.
Photography
Photography is the most important part of any property advert in my opinion. As the saying goes- “A photo says 1000 words.” A poorly taken photo of low quality, says a lot to potential buyers, and down-sells your property.
We have articles that dive into the importance of photography in property marketing that you can take a look at here.
With an online estate agent, you usually get 2 options, we would like to present the 3rd; more on that later! The first option is to take the photos yourself. If you have photography experience, or for whatever reason want to choose this option, we have some articles that can help. Our staging guide can be found here, and our guide on composition tips can be found here.
I would generally advise against this option, as even though you may save money in the short term, you could potentially lose interested buyers. This reduces your leverage and position of power when selling your property. As I’m sure you are aware, missing out on a bidding war and losing potential buyers could cost you a small fortune.
The second option is to use the professional photography services listed by the online estate agent. This may be an easy and convenient option, although its very expensive in my opinion. Take a look at their pricing and see for yourself! This is one of the methods they use to make money, especially considering that some of them don’t charge a % fee on completion.
The third option is to hire a professional property photography company, then upload the photos yourself. This will likely save you a lot of money, and potentially give you higher quality photos. Take a look at our prices and portfolio and see for yourself.
Videography
A professional video can add a whole new dimension to a property listing. Take a look at this article that goes into the psychology of video and advertising. The stronger your advert, the more likely you are to make a quick sale, and get over asking price.
A video gives a great opportunity to tell a story, create an emotional connection and highlight prominent features in any property. It will also help you to stand out over competition as not every listing comes with a video.
With an online estate agent, a video usually isn’t an optional extra. They typically offer a 360 Matterport tour. Whilst these tours offer an immersive experience, convenience, enhanced transparency and a reduced need for viewings. They tend to be high cost, overwhelming, raise privacy concerns, and I would argue that a reduced need for viewings could also be a disadvantage. A viewing can increase a persons emotional attachment to a property, which is definitely something you want as a buyer.
You could commission a separate property video company to create a professional video for you, which could save you costs, and improve your property listing. Take a look at one of our examples below-
Drone
Last but definitely not least, drone photos and footage will work magic on property listings. For a more detailed explanation on this you can have a look at our article here. To give a brief overview, you’d be selling your property short not using a drone. With access to a much more impactful viewpoint, you can show prospective buyers your property in a much better context.
We highly recommend using a drone, if you live near a town centre, natural scenery or a landmark. Nothing is better to show this off in your advert. Additionally, not every listing has drone photos/ footage, hence helping you to stand out more.
Online estate agents usually offer this service, it is sold currently for around £200. If you hire a professional property photography company independently, you could potentially save a lot of money. Take a look at our portfolio of drone work here.
Conclusion
To conclude, there are many ways you can make your property listing stand out using an online estate agent, with multiple options on how to achieve this. Making your listing stand out is definitely a worthwhile pursuit, as it could increase your takings from the property significantly. If you would like anymore help with making your property stand out using an online estate agent, feel free to get in contact with us here.