Quick: Who would you rather sound like – Britney Spears or Abraham Lincoln? Actually, it’s a trick question. If you’re writing pro-motional copy for a youth market, you might well want to sound like Britney. (OK, maybe not, but you get the idea.) And if you wrote a presentation that sounded like Abraham Lincoln you’d probably be accused of being pompous and hopelessly out of touch. The beauty of language is that it can express an almost infinite range of attitudes and personalities. There is no “right” answer – it all depends on the situation.

Here are three paragraphs I wrote for a single client (I’ve changed the name to protect the innocent). They all say essentially the same thing, but in very different tones. Don’t think of these as the only items on a menu; they’re here just to get you started thinking about how you’d like to sound when you cast your thought shadows.

VERSION A

You know how much money you expect to make on your real estate investment.  What you need to know is that your profit depends on planning that begins long before ground is broken.  What can market trends tell you about the future? What’s the best way to use your land? What do buyers want? You deserve a partner with the expertise and resources to answer those questions -- and then get things done. You deserve a partner who spends every dollar wisely, for maximum return. You deserve Real Estate Empire. We’ll build your profits from the ground up.

VERSION B

You’ve been assured that you can make a fortune by investing in a jewel mine. Would you commit your money without knowing where the mine is, how the jewels will be mined, or what the jewels are? Of course not. And yet many investors hear “real estate” and blindly throw their money at developments that may never pay off in the way they hope.  Ensure your success in real estate. Team with the experts who know the market trends, who know what buyers want, and who know how to build and market successful projects. Real Estate Empire. From dirt to close, it’s where insiders go.

VERSION C

Real estate profits – the kind of profits you want to brag about at the club and hide from your deadbeat brother -- don’t come from a nice building and a snazzy “For Sale” sign. Real profits come from using the kind of data that research geeks drool over. They come from grasping the most obscure clauses of every zoning law. And they come from knowing how to use form 324(b) in the escrow office. Yes, profits come from the details that make your eyes roll back in your head. And they come from the insider knowledge that only years in the trenches can bring. But don’t worry. There is a way you can keep your eyes focused on your success. Real Estate Empire – your profits, our hassles.