Your listing description is your first chance to attract and engage with customers. Typically, it includes the address of the property, the list price, and a short summary of features. This is pretty standard stuff but sticking to the basics is nowhere near enough to stand out from a crowded marketplace full of other listings.

The good news is, you don’t have to be a copywriter to come up with descriptions that get noticed. By adding a few simple features, you can improve the effectiveness of your listings — more people view them, which increases your chances of gaining new customers.

We’ve found five real estate listing description examples from around the web. They’ll help you get more people to pay attention to your listings and maximize your sales.

1. The Problem Solver

If your potential customers are on the market for a new home, chances are, they’re reading multiple listings a day. To save time, they probably read the first few lines and skim through the rest of the content. They want to get the facts quickly so that they can move on if the listing doesn’t have what they’re looking for.

That’s why you expect customers to read your listing from top to bottom. Instead, tell them what they want to know from the beginning.

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This listing leads with a statement outlining a solution to the problem the homebuyer faces — for example, a specific design sense. So instead of scanning the listing for relevant information, the buyer sees what they need to know at the top of the listing.

When to use this: This approach works well for niche buyers looking for specific features. Even if you target a wide range of customers with your services, it’s a good idea to also cater to specific niches that stand out in the areas you service. By understanding their needs, you stand a better chance of winning them over as customers by speaking to their unique needs.

2. The Inquiry

It’s tempting to want to start your real estate listing description by saying you are the best agent with the best properties. While this may be true, this approach doesn’t resonate with all customers. They want to know why you’re the best, and your description is where you can back this up.

One way is to lead with a question and use your copy to guide customers to the conclusion that your property is the best.

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This is an Airbnb listing, but it’s a great example of how to draw audiences in with a question. It’s targeted and speaks to people who are looking for properties in a specific location.

Based on what your audience is looking for, get their attention with a question that gets to the heart of their needs. It shows you understand them and piques their interest. Your audience wants to know the answer. Examples of questions to ask that get noticed include:

• Geared towards cost savings: Want to learn how to buy your dream home for less?
• Geared towards a quick sale: Do you want to close in 60 days or less?
• Geared towards specific neighborhoods: Have you heard? This neighborhood has exclusive new listings.

The rest of the description should answer the question. For example, if you ask the location question, the rest of the listing can talk about your experience in the area, applicable details about the property and your success rate getting buyers the homes they want.

When to use this: This approach works when you understand your audience and what their biggest home search struggle is. Poll your current customers to get an idea of what they’re looking for and their expectations. You can group the responses into categories and then use the findings to design different listings. You can even use social media to track the kinds of comments your audience make or the questions they ask.

3. The Market Analyst

This approach requires that you lead with an important market statistic or fact. Some homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, are interested in information like interest rates and down payment requirements. If you’re targeting this group, start your description off with some insight into what matters to customers.

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Part of the description in this listing includes the estimated mortgage of the property and a link to current lending rates. This offers value to customers and helps them during their decision-making process.

This approach also positions you as knowledgeable of the industry and trends. Chances are prospective buyers will want to know more. Use the rest of your description for the details behind the statistic or fact and tie it back to the house you’re listing.

For example, if you say something like, “interest rates have dropped by 1.5%,” follow this up with how much easier it is to get into the home you’re advertising.

When to use this: Use statistics and facts to support your message and show customers how you can help them achieve some goal — like buy a house for less or sell their house for top dollar.

4. The Standout Text

One surefire way to get people to stop and read your listings is to choose words to show in bold type throughout your copy. Bold fonts convey power and offer a contrast to the rest of the text.

Do some SEO research to figure out what phrases or words customers search for the most. When they see these words stand out against the rest of the text, they’ll want to keep reading to learn more.

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When to use this: Use this approach to emphasize information that you don’t want your audience to miss while skimming your listing. Bold things like the price if it’s competitive, the location, or some of the neighborhood amenities. Avoid the temptation to use all CAPS. This doesn’t do a better job of helping text stand out; it actually makes it harder to read.

But don’t go overboard with bold. The emphasis you place on certain words and phrases comes through stronger when they’re spread out. It’s like the Art Webb quote, “if you make everything bold, nothing is bold.”

5. The Charismatic Companion

There’s something about writing that makes us all want to sound a little more formal than we speak. We use bigger words and formal phrases hoping to sound more informed about what we’re talking about. But the truth is, this approach has the opposite effect on readers. They tune out because the text doesn’t sound like a person talking to another person.

A better approach is to adopt a more conversational tone that makes you sound relatable. Remember, you’re not only trying to sell houses, you’re also trying to sell yourself. Your listing is an opportunity to show the person behind it and sell people on your personality and how easy it is to work with you.

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This listing is written from the house’s perspective. It’s a fun approach to standard listings and keeps readers engaged to find out more about the listing.

When to use this: How you implement this largely depends on your audience. You can use slang but only if your audience gets it. You can even use emojis and hashtags — which are helpful if you also post listings on social media.

Preparing Your Toolkit

There you have it, five creative ways to make your real estate listing descriptions pop. In most cases, they’re the first interaction prospective customers have with you, so it’s important that they showcase who you are and the value you offer.

You still need to include basic listing information but have a little fun with it and incorporate some of these options. You put a lot of effort into providing customers with stellar service as they make one of the biggest purchases in their lives. Before you even speak to them in person, show them that you understand them and that you are different from other agents out there.