Six Reasons to Abolish Abbreviations in Real Estate Advertising

So now we have stepped away from print media, for the most part, who can actually read what has been said above? It reads:

On 680 square metres with right of way, this delightful 3 bedroom 2 bathroom double fronted weatherboard home features a large lounge (open fireplace), sunny dining room, modern kitchen (stainless steel appliances, dishwasher), separate family room, big garden, wall to wall carpets, polished boards, ducted heating, air conditioning, built in robes and 2 off street parking spaces in the double lock up garage.

The abbreviated copy it’s 209 characters, the unabbreviated copy is 411 characters, meaning that it would have cost the owner an extra 5 lines of copy, which, when I was working at The Age back in the mid 1990s, it would have cost them an extra $33 an advertisement, and most did a 4 week campaign, so it would have been an extra $132 to their campaign. The question would be, did they miss a whole potential buyer pool or someone who was prepared to pay more, because they couldn’t read the abbreviated ad… all for the sake of $132?

With the onset of internet advertising, abbreviations started to become obsolete, however some still sneak in… BIRs (built in robes), WIR (walk in robe), OFP (open fireplace), sqm (square metres) and even STCA (Subject to Council Approval).  What you will find, old school agents who write their own ads, will continue to put abbreviations into their copy. Young property managers who may have been taught by older agents and like to SMS or tweet on Twitter in abbreviated form, will often put abbreviations into their copy. But, the reality is, abbreviations do not help prospective buyers or prospective tenants who don’t do real estate every day.

At Real Copy Right, we help those who have a basic understanding of real estate advertising. Some will think there is a special ‘code’…. Like ‘renovator’s delight’ means it needs to be pulled down. Or ‘cosy’ means small, words that we refuse to write. And there are some words that are no longer or are rarely used in Australian English that pertain to real estate – right of way, water closet, larder, easement, even wall to wall carpets (when is carpet ever not ‘wall to wall?’)

Here are some 6 reasons why you should choose a copywriter who understands the importance to spell out your copy:

1. English as a Second Language. If you come to Australia with a foreign language and minimal English skills and you’re looking for a home, if you are using Google Translate or other translating software, it won’t detect abbreviations, adding to the confusion of the copy. And remember, some of those new immigrants have a huge amount of money to spend.
2. Lost in translation. Abbreviations get lost in translation, and stagger the reader’s eye, making them lose interest quickly, ready to move onto the next property that they DO understand.
3. New to real estate. We need to write copy in easy-to-understand heart-pulling language that create an attraction for those who have never bought or rented property before.
4. It’s a generational thing. Some 20 somethings wouldn’t know what a rumpus room is let alone know a vestibule or what weatherboard means. Some 70 year olds wouldn’t know what a mudroom is let alone hybrid floors (they would love both, but wouldn’t know what they are). You need to put the copy in context, abbreviating words removes any context.
5. Concise and effective. A clever copywriter will have creative ways to reduced copy without losing context and meaning, targeting the right elements of a property to attract busy buyers and tenants.
6. Time poor. Most buyers and tenants are time poor. They are not going to be reading all the ad in the first instance (they will after they inspect the property). They will move onto the next ad if it doesn’t make sense to them. Don’t create a negative emotion in your buyer, create a positive reaction which enables them to want to inspect your property.