Some real estate agents make a big mistake by underestimating what a well-written biography can do for their brand. Biographies are an excellent opportunity to forge connections with potential clients and tell people who you are and what you bring to the table. Impersonal lists of your achievements and experience aren’t as captivating as a genuine bio.
Spend time putting effort into your site or profile. It will prove you have pride in your work, and clients want to get to know you and your story! The real estate landscape is a busy one. If you hope to make your bio stand out, check out some of our helpful hints below.
Highlight Your Skills & Achievements
An excellent real estate biography will combine two key elements: personality and skill. Yes, clients are impressed by notable achievements or awards, but don’t let being new to the industry dissuade you from discussing your personal history and experience. Suppose you had a career before real estate. In that case, there are many ways you can connect your time in a different industry to your current job as an agent.
If you spent time working as a teacher, you could discuss your propensity for education. Real estate transactions can be stressful and daunting, and clients like agents who excel at teaching and can walk them through the intricate steps of a deal. Someone with a background in finance will have a higher degree of financial literacy. Careers in law, economics, English, and business are also easy to tie into your new real estate career.
The important thing is to be authentic. Don’t sell yourself short. If you’ve been in the industry for decades, highlight that, but even if you’ve only been an agent for a short time, don’t undervalue yourself and your personal life experience.
Keep It Short & Sweet
One mistake people make when writing biographies is to believe they need to cover every significant life event or class they’ve taken. In reality, biographies should be short and sweet, generally around 300 to 500 words.
Stay on topic. Don’t get too sidetracked by one thing to the point where you forget other vital details. Clients want to read a compelling story that tells them a little about you and what makes you a great realtor, why you chose real estate as a career, and what you love most about the job.
You’ll want to include details about your life, your background, your experience, and what connects you to the community. However, if you’re someone with dozens of accolades, certifications, and degrees under your belt, it’s unnecessary to include each one. Instead, pare down your list to the achievements you’re most proud of and talk about those so readers understand why they’re of value.
Remember, the average person might not understand why you’re so proud of a specific real estate award; this is your chance to let them know the significance. For example, suppose you won a Rookie of the Year Award during your first year as an agent. That’s a great segue to discussing why you realized real estate was your calling and how you hit the ground running!
As a final note, always spell out any award or certification acronyms in full, as the average reader won’t know what they mean without context.
Add Personal Details & Your Individual Voice
Some of the best real estate agents out there pride themselves on forging long-lasting friendships with their clients. You’re going to spend a significant amount of time together, so clients like to know who you are as a person outside of the office. Are you married? Do you have kids? What do you do in your free time? Why do you love working in this particular community or area? Answering questions like these will set you apart from other realtors.
Readers like to know that the realtor who will help them find their dream home is a real person with hobbies and passions of their own! Personal details make you seem more relatable, friendly, and approachable. Match the tone of your piece to your personality. That said, make sure you don’t spend too much time talking about life outside of work. It’s best to keep it short and highlight what’s most important to you.
Even better is if you can somehow tie your passion into real estate. Are you an artist? Maybe that means you have a unique creative vision that comes in handy when staging homes. Do you regularly partake in outdoor recreation or sports? That tells clients you’re a team player who enjoys a challenge!
If you get married, have kids, received another degree or certification, et cetera, make sure you add these things to your bio! Keep it up-to-date to ensure you’re not discussing something that no longer applies. It shows a degree of care and consistency when your biography is recent and not touting old, outdated information.
Don’t Sell Your Services
A biography is just that—a story about your life and your journey to where you are today. It should be personal and thoughtful. It’s not an advertisement and therefore shouldn’t read like one. No one wants to read a dry, clinical paragraph about your experience and degrees without any personable flair. A strong real estate biography should let clients get to know who you are as a person.
Maybe you could talk about your place amid your friend group or your family. Are you a negotiator? Do you stay calm under pressure? Are you the person people turn to when they need advice? All of those skills are things people like to know.
Mention your team, company, or support staff if you work with others. When you write about yourself, it shouldn’t read like a list of things you can do but rather give readers an authentic peek at your life behind the scenes. Clients like to know the realtor they’re working with is a well-rounded individual.
Demonstrate Your Knowledge of the Area
Has your family lived in the area for decades? Do you regularly volunteer at churches or nonprofit organizations? Are you part of the local government? These things are essential elements to include in your biography. It lets clients know what kind of connection you have to the community to which they want to move. People want to know why you love living there.
Write why you’re so fond of living there and what keeps you there year after year. If you only recently started living in the region, tell people why you chose that specific neighborhood over somewhere else. Is it the weather? The activities and neighborhood events? History? Nightlife? Tell people something that proves how well you know the area and why it’s special to you. Your authentic connection will resonate with readers.
Proofread & Edit
Perhaps one of the most critical steps in crafting a real estate bio is not something you do until the end. Proofreading and editing are your best friends. Editing your work is possibly the most important step of the entire process.
You might have an extremely well-written biography, but if it’s riddled with typos and misspellings, then clients will assume the worst about you. It doesn’t look good if you’re not diligent enough to do something as simple as proofreading your work. While you might think a few misspellings are inconsequential, it could be what pushes a client to choose one agent over another.
When proofreading and editing, try reading your work aloud, slowly, as it can help you catch errors. Another helpful technique when you’ve progressed to the editing phase is to put some space between yourself and your work. If you can, sleep on it, then return to your piece with fresh eyes. If you’re pressed for time, just taking a few hours away can still be beneficial. Many professional writers and authors swear by this method.
Use a Clean Layout
Sometimes less is more. When creating your website—and ultimately, your biography page—think about using a neat, tidy, and minimalistic template. For most agents, this is already a priority, especially as web pages typically match the overall web design. It’s easy to fall prey to fancy widgets and flashy colors. Adding too many moving pieces and media assets to your page detracts from what you’re trying to say. Use media sparingly.
Add a professional headshot or two, maybe a short video if you’ve had one made for you, and potentially a section for testimonials if you have them available. Beyond that, your page should mostly be about your biography and little else. If you want to highlight your accolades and achievements, consider adding a tidy, bulleted list beneath your bio so that intrigued readers can continue reading more about you without you having to overstuff your biography with each item.
Your biography should exemplify your best traits. It’s a simple truth that people are more drawn to websites and pages that are professional and clean-looking. The best part is, you don’t have to be a coding whiz to make a nice website. There are numerous services available now to easily put together an attractive site, such as Luxury Presence.
