Stories trump recipes any day

Key Takeaways

• Humans are wired to love stories — we respond to authentic tales of personal experience.
• Content manufactured by a subscription service looks inauthentic compared to an agent’s real-life stories and experiences.
• Write from the heart about things you’re passionate about — and include compelling stories to draw readers in.

I get five emails a day from mortgage lenders who send me their market updates. These are mass-produced emails that look alike and say the same thing. They contain nothing authentic or personally revealing about the lender.

I’m waiting for one of them to seize the opportunity and send me something that I’ll actually care about.

It reminds me of some of the worthless stuff that real estate agents send out to their contacts. An agent might pay for a subscription service that sends out postcards with recipes printed on them. Or a premade newsletter with content that is actually manufactured by a national subscription service.

What if another agent was sending those same contacts a monthly newsletter that shared stories about how she saved her clients money by going the extra mile? Or about how she used her deep knowledge and industry contacts to help avoid a disastrous situation for a client?

Maybe she shares funny stories about things her kids do and how that reminds her of something that happens in real estate. Or she shares the amazing stories of people who are helped out by a local charity where she volunteers.

Can you see how weak and inauthentic those manufactured recipe cards would seem compared to a newsletter full of authentic content being produced by the other agent?

Your goal should be to rise above the white noise that people have learned to ignore. Think about the mail you receive at home. Most of it goes straight into the trash.

If somebody sends you a personal note card, that gets your attention. A newsletter that is authentic and unique earns respect.

Send what you’re passionate about

If you’re passionate about cooking and love to talk about food, it’s okay to send recipes. But also send the story behind the recipes — who they were passed down from, what memories they evoke for you, etc. What happened the first time you made the recipe? Did you mess it up? Impress or bewilder your guests? Make them gag?

Talk about shopping if that’s what you love. Or fitness. Anything you’re passionate about. It doesn’t have to be about real estate.

Humans are wired to love stories. Storytelling is something we do all the time without thinking about it: “You won’t believe what just happened!” or “I was showing homes, and this funny thing happened.” It’s part of our DNA to convey our experiences as stories.

Make the focus of your newsletter about sharing stories — not about real estate facts, and not about your listings. It would be better to tell an interesting story about how you got a new listing, or about something crazy that happened to one of your listings and how you fixed it.

Tell the story of a house, or the clients who are selling it. That would show that you care about people, and that elicits trust from the people who are reading your stories.

If you get stuck or don’t know what to write about, then write about something you care about — your hobbies, your family, whatever comes to you. Make it authentic and not a business tool.

Show your personality. Don’t worry about pleasing everybody — write from the heart about things you’re passionate about. Use humor and be vulnerable.