Despite my (obvious) love for design, I am also a former journalist and writer by training. The power of storytelling is extremely important to me, a focal point of everything I create. My love for excellent content often leads to chats with my clients about—you guessed it—how to communicate the strategy + story behind their businesses not just visually, but also through writing. 

(I know, I know. So how exactly did I start out as a writer, then become a real estate agent-turned-brand-designer, again? Eh, story for another day. My own About page might be worth a skim once you’re done here.)

The bottom line is, a great real estate website is only as effective as its copywriting. I know homepages get a lot of love and the “Buying” and “Selling” pages of your site tend to steal the spotlight, but if I have a writer quirk? It’s that I obsess over the oft-neglected, underdeveloped team player of the website world: the About page. 

I’ve worked with some incredible “personality-based” brands as a designer for the real estate industry, and one thing my experience has taught me is the power of personality in compelling your ideal client to choose you. Selling yourself in person is not enough. In the world of social media, there are numerous platforms for you to showcase your unique agent characteristics, and the About page is frequently the “personality showcase” tool most agents struggle to master. 

Maybe you make excuses to gloss over it:

It’s too hard to write about myself.

Is there actually ANYTHING interesting about my business, compared to the next Realtor on the block?

 Fiiinnnee, here’s a picture of me with my spouse + kids + Golden Retriever. That’ll do.

Look, I’m not judging. But those excuses are exactly that—excuses—because they encourage you to miss a great opportunity to distinguish yourself from the agent pack and connect with buyers and seller who are desperately trying to forge a connection with you. 

How the heck do you write a great Realtor About page?

Deep breaths. Here are a few tips to give you a leg up.

1. Know who you’re writing for

“Define your ideal client” is a bit of a cliche, and yet this definition is a crucial step that many real estate pros miss. How can you target your words powerfully if you don’t know who you are aiming at? There’s a reason why we are wired to enjoy natural conversation as opposed to public speaking, or talking to an empty room. Who is your audience? How do they think? What do they want? Why do they hold the values they do? What excites and drives them? 

Create a caricature of your ideal client. Then begin to tailor your content around the values, history, motivations, and pain points that define that person. This clarity is your starting point and sounding board moving forward.

2. Build connection points

You know who you are speaking to; now, reach out and link arms with them. I’m a die-hard fan of marketing genius Seth Godin, who famously said:

This is what I tell my clients all the time: your customers are already looking for reasons to choose you over The Other Agent. They are searching for The Something In Common, the shared value, the story that resonates, the “Oh, you too??” Everyone craves connection. Your copy should capitalize on those areas first and always.

So how do you create points of connection? Ask questions about yourself and your brand, especially as it relates to your potential clients. 

> What am I known for? 

> What traits or phrases or actions do people consistently associate with me?

> What exactly do people talk about when they talk about my brand/business?

If your ideal clients are down-to-earth, energetic, naturally friendly millennials who want to feel like their agents are their friends? You need to present yourself as friendly, as open-minded and approachable, as active in lifestyle and community. If you enjoy gardening on the weekends, if you and the guys go camping every season, if your everyday relatability is something others love about you, then share that. 

One New Hampshire-based Realtor, Molly, demonstrates this connection-focused approach beautifully in the last half of her About page. After expounding on her services + professional accomplishments, she gets personal. She creates common ground with her ideal clients, who share her love for the outdoors of NH and the kind of light-hearted, nature-loving lifestyle that her local community embodies.

Molly writes:

“After living in Massachusetts all of my life, I wanted to live where the atmosphere is peaceful and the energy uplifting. My love for the lakes and mountains of New Hampshire led me to relocate my family and business to this beautiful state.

During my spare time, I can be found walking my 5 dogs or tending to our chickens and ducks on our slice of New Hampshire paradise. I also enjoy boating in the lakes region of New Hampshire with my family.

I strive to be the best version of ME so I can better serve you and my community. So I love to start my day with a meditation or reflection before I get a workout at my local cross fit gym, or join a yoga class.

At the end of the day, I don’t take life too seriously and I love to laugh and keep things light. Self-improvement is a hobby of mine… If I can better understand myself, I can better understand you, and truly be helpful.”

Slam dunk.

3. Showcase your “why”

Along with building connection points with your audience, the About page of your real estate website is where you humanize your business, helping your audience care about why it matters, too. Again, be personal. Speak from the heart. Share about your purpose in creating your business and your life as it relates to your experience.

Do share: 

> What drives you

> What inspires you

> A few outstanding accomplishments or projects

Don’t share:

> Personal family information

> Unnecessary professional experience

I helped another agent I know, Tiffany, craft a stand-out About page that makes her “why” a clear focal point, without sacrificing points of connection or a human tone. The final product paints a picture of Tiffany’s personality and ethics in a way that compels her ideal client to choose her. Because even if they didn’t care about her tech-savvy brokerage or 13 years of business experience before? They absolutely have reason to now.

Tiffany writes:

“Read my recommendations and you’ll find a vibrant, hard-working and creative professional who is just as committed to the details as she is savvy about strategy. What gets me out of bed in the morning (besides really great coffee)? Knowing I’m part of one of the most talented, technologically advanced brokerages out there, eXp Realty, and feeling the satisfaction of a job well done for every buyer and seller I serve. From weekday morning “strategy sessions” with my team to late-night texts with clients who need my help, it’s all about the relationships for me.

Growth and excellence are the underlying passions that drive my real estate acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. With a 13-year foundation in business management and marketing, I bring an “out of the box” expertise to clients looking for real results and trusted answers—looking for an experience that brings them home, while actually being enjoyable along the way. 

My philosophies are: Be data-driven. Stay consistent. Act efficiently to hit multiple birds with one stone. Know when to listen. Care about the people who trust you with their business. And have innovative techniques and go-to-market methods to stand out from the crowd.”

Be specific. Go deeper. Show why this real estate business you’ve built actually means something to you in the service of others. It’s not enough to just say, “Relationships are very important to me.” You don’t want to be the 18th, totally un-memorable agent in the sea of other agents holding signs that advertise how much they love relationships. And win-win scenarios. And “going the extra mile.” Don’t just tell us; show us how.

4. Create calls to action

Defining your audience, creating connection, and showcasing your “why” are the building blocks here, but the ultimate litmus test for a great About page is where the viewer goes next. The best About pages translate into stepping stones to further exploration of your site. 

This is where the follow-up conversation comes in and you carry the connection elsewhere, making it easy for folks to continue engagement. Invite them to converse with you further. 

If you have a newsletter sign-up or social media pages, link them at the bottom. Nudge them to the Contact page to get in touch with you. Prompt a lead capture pop-up once viewers scroll to the bottom of the About page. Most importantly, make sure your Services or Buy With Me/Sell With Me pages are easy to navigate to from your About page, as many potential clients will land there first.

(BONUS points if you can backlink to your other site pages throughout your About copy. Every time you effectively link back to another page on your site, Google rewards you in search result rankings.)

5. Make it SEO friendly

After writing your copy, go back and check for keywords that might be valuable for search engine traction. Weave in organic SEO here. Be sure to include your location, specific descriptions of what you do in real estate, who your business is for. Perhaps this sounds redundant, but if you are a luxury real estate professional based in Los Angeles, these words need to be in your copy. Imagine the terms your ideal client might use to search for you, and incorporate those words as much as you can, naturally, into your copy.

These tips should help you write a real estate About page that is authentic and on-brand, but if DIY isn’t for you, BLUEPRINT is backed by a team of specialists offering professional copywriting for real estate brands. If you have more copy questions you’d like to see me discuss on the blog, leave them in the comments below!

Cheers,