As with many things in life, it’s often easiest to start at home.  As you’re driving around your own subdivision, think about what might appeal to prospective buyers. Is there a summer pool party at your clubhouse? How about a wine-tasting event? Maybe an adult-only swim or a fall block party? As you’re leaving your neighborhood, what are some of the immediate local attractions? Golf courses, walking trails, local sporting events? Where do YOU spend your free time on your days off? Once you start looking around, you might be surprised at what’s happening right in your own back yard.

Featured above is a good neighborhood photo. It’s composed nicely and offers a pleasant look into life here. Below is a well written insight that gives a great first person opinion of this agent’s home town.

Springboard off of these two examples as you start thinking about your first submissions to Agent Insight. We can’t wait to see what you will send!

A written insight should be short and conversational. In this fast paced world, you know everyone wants their information quickly, so make these crisp and snappy. They won’t take long to write. You just need to have a few minutes of quiet time with your laptop or tablet.  When an idea comes to you, make note of it and take advantage of those little slices of time during the day when you have a few minutes alone. Maybe with that first cup of coffee in the morning or between appointments or during the down time at the next open house. Insights are easy and, most importantly, consumers (and Google) love to read! Remember to make your writing personal whenever you can. Using first person gives you lots of credibility and makes your paragraphs more interesting. Here’s a good example:

As for photos, just remember to pull out your smartphone and snap a picture when you stop to show a property or when you are out in the community with your family or when you pull up to your favorite restaurant for lunch. Any time works because taking a picture only requires a few seconds. Set a goal to submit a couple of pictures and insights to Agent Insight every week and not only will it become habit, you will likely discover it’s fun to do.

The Agent Insight team is frequently asked, “What should be in an insight?” The answer is simple really. First of all, an insight is nothing more than an opinion, YOUR opinion. Because you’re presenting yourself as the local expert, writing an insight in first-person style will convey familiarity, knowledge, and confidence to potential consumers. That said, we can’t forget that the primary goal of this site is to capture leads by improving our SEO rankings with the major search engines. It is imperative that agents write insights that are relevant and fresh; specifically, in your own words. An effective insight should be a minimum of three sentences and a maximum of three paragraphs.

Here are three examples of well written, first person insights that meet these standards. Read them over and let your creative juices flow!

The first submitted by Don Keeton, RE/MAX The Producers in Omaha, NE, is about his own neighborhood.  Don tells what he likes best about his subdivision while he explains some of the amenities.

Our Personal Home for 21 Years                                                                          Valerie and I built our home in 1992 and we love the Barrington Park neighborhood. It’s one of the few upscale neighborhoods that is in the Millard North School District. The lots are typically 1/2 acre or more, and the streets in the neighborhood enhance a quiet safe atmosphere. Because of the lot sizes, a large number of the homes have in-ground pools. We thought of moving, but just can give up the convenience of the area. Located near 156th Dodge Street makes this a great place to be. We have a wonderful biking/walking trail, two tennis courts and park area for the kids to play their football and soccer games.

Meleesa Pruett, RE/MAX State Line in Leawood, KS, wrote an excellent first person account of her daughter’s elementary school. This kind of insight will surely appeal to any client interested in a home near good schools.

Sunrise Point Elementary and a New Kindergartener                                        I can’t say enough good things about Sunrise Point Elementary School in the Hampton Place Subdivision.  My five year old started Kindergarten last Thursday and she has now decided she’d like to attend school “every single day for the rest of my life”.  Principal David Sanders runs a tight ship and he already knows most students by their first names after one short week. The school runs like clockwork.  The staff is helpful, friendly and happy.  My daughter feels secure, reassured, and self-confident, which certainly correlates into excitement for learning.  I was apprehensive sending my baby (first and only) to school.  Now when I drop her off in the morning, she gives kisses and hugs and marches right in the front door.  We meet her in the evening to walk home together and she’s excited to share what she’s learned.  Thank you Blue Valley School District for providing a great place to raise kids, one of the best in the nation!

The third  about a local restaurant is written by Soha Fontaine, RE/MAX Gold Coast Realty in Hoboken, NJ. Restaurants, shops and businesses are all excellent topics for giving clients a well-rounded picture of the community.

A Century of Great Food!                                                                                           Don’t miss the specials at this 100 year old Italian Deli in Hoboken. They get their fresh bread from Dome Bakery every day. You pick your choice of bread and then proceed to order your mix of homemade mozzarella and any meat you like with their signature hot peppers topping. I have traveled to many cities in the US and, hands down, the best mozzarella cheese is found in our little town. My brother is a big food lover and each time he visits us, he must make a visit to Fiore’s for their corned beef mozzarella sandwich.

How do you take photos for Agent Insight? Which of the following options is more like you?

1)  As your car rolls to a stop, shoot through the windshield and zip on to the next location.

2)  Stop your car, step out and take a quick minute to line up the shot before you take the picture.

Which of these best describes your photography style? Come on, we already know! Seriously, shooting through the car window usually catches some glare which partially obscures your subject or casts a white film over the entire picture.  The chance of your picture featuring overhead wires instead of your subject is greatly increased.

When you take just a little bit of time to consider your subject, frame it nicely and shoot outside your car, the quality increases so much, with much brighter color and composition.  We appreciate every picture you send in and especially value the ones that make your community look its best to potential customers. Look at these beautiful examples.

This photo by Laura Argir, RE/MAX Platinum, Ann Arbor, MI, is greatly enhanced because Laura bent over to include the tulips instead of just shooting the buildings across the street.

Jeff Krantz, RE/MAX Lake of The Ozarks, Osage Beach, MO, framed this photo beautifully. Shot at dusk, the lights in the home glow while the lights on the wall create a soft reflection in the water.

The viewer’s eye is led straight down the beach path, through the fence opening and into the neighborhood. This photo by Kenneth Nilson, RE/MAX at Barnegat Bay Manahawkin, NJ, gives you the feeling of leaving the beach as the sky darkens to evening…another excellent picture provided by the agents participating in Agent Insight.

As the number of agents contributing to Agent Insight continues to grow, our collection of words and photos is becoming richer every day. Your descriptions of the communities, their special features and the reasons to live there are so appealing.

Prospective buyers can’t help but want to take a look at specific neighborhoods after hearing what you have to say about schools, libraries, stores, parks, sports, churches and all the other things that make a place home.

The two photos featured here  show a lot of character, one of beauty and one of whimsy. Both will have appeal to people looking for home in these areas. These  photos are fabulous as are so many that you have all sent in; each picture is worth a thousand words, right? Keep putting yourselves in the buyers’ shoes, asking yourself, “What would make someone want to live here?”

Make your stories as personal as possible – that’s what speaks to people. Introduce them to your community through your eyes. Here’s a fine example of an insight that is chatty, personal and full of information important to your clients.