Real Estate Advertising

Sell My House

Should you just place a real estate ad in the local paper, pound a sign in the front lawn and they will come? Perhaps, but there is a lot more to it and.....don't forget the whys!

This ad, is missing some absolute essential information and has information that should NOT be there.

When you write your real estate advertising in any form whether it is in the newspaper, on the internet, a brochure or any other form of real estate advertising, always include the following:

• The Price
• The Address (using "Green Acres Sub-Division" or "close to Cottonwood Lake" is acceptable under certain circumstances)

• You are NOT a real estate agent.
• You have one goal - Sell MY House
• A real estate agent has one goal - Sell A House

See the difference? When a real estate agent doesn't include the address and price in their real estate advertising, it is for one reason. If the house isn't in an area or the price range that the buyer wants, they can try to switch them to another property. This is the ONLY reason to do this.

When you are selling your house for sale by owner, you want to always include the price and address in your real estate advertising so that the only inquiries you get are from buyers that are looking in your area and are looking in your price range

Here is the problem of not including the Address and Price in for sale by owner Real Estate Advertising.

• Many people won't call if the price isn't included and some won't call if the address isn't included. Results? - Loss of potential buyers that may have purchased your house.
• Those that do call to find out the price and address may not want to live in your area or the price may be out of their range to purchase. Results? - Phone calls that are a waste of your time and "beat you down" over a period of time.

Here is what happens in real life. The person calls. They ask you the price. You tell them the price. They ask more questions. They seem interested. They say they have to talk to their "husband" or "wife" and they will call you back. They almost NEVER do!

When you here this: "I want to talk to my husband or wife first and we'll call you back" The chances of this person calling you back or viewing your house is probably in the 1% range. Don't take it personally. It's just their way of "escaping".

In the sample ad above it mentions "Close to Elementary School". I would suggest you don't put that in any of your real estate advertising. Why you ask? Not everyone would be thrilled having a school close by.

The problem with writing ads is we sometimes write what we find important to us.

That might be very important to you. For someone else, they might just picture noisy buses constantly stopping, brakes hissing and screeching, people talking and laughing at the bus shelter.

That might have been convenient to you, but someone else might consider that a huge problem. They start picturing traffic jams and a teenager hangout.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture. Think before you send in those ads.

Here is an article concerning Real Estate Advertising Words

Try to Target the Emotions of the buyers instead of a particular group of people. ie: Young families with children.

To Reiterate: When writing your real estate advertising, stick to the basics. Yes, use powerful words that draw pictures like "Stunning, Breathtaking View of the Mountains" or "Relax in Front of the Warm Inviting Fireplace" or "One of a Kind Designer Kitchen"

Some of the more important features to include are: Price, Location, Square Footage, # of Bedrooms, # of Baths (if more than 1), Air-Conditioning, Fireplaces, Kitchen Features, Decks, Views and Garages.

If you are in the middle of a heatwave, accenting the "keep your COOL with your high efficiency air-conditioning unit" makes more sense than, "relax in the warm glow of the majestic floor to ceiling fireplace with that special someone!"

If it's -40C outside, you might want to downplay the air-conditioner and zero in on the fireplace!

Try to paint a picture. Use benefits rather than cold hard data. "You'll be the envy of your friends when they see your stunning gourmet kitchen!" instead of "large oak kitchen"

If you are writing a classified ad for the newspaper, you of course have to watch the number of words you use if paying by the character. Most other forms of advertising you can let your artistic side out to play.

• DO include price and location.
• DO Use adjectives that create pictures and good feelings.
• DON'T Advertise lifestyle features that may not suit many people.
• DON'T Say "Quack, Quack, Quack" when "Quack" will bring the buyers looking. :-)

There are so many different views on what makes a good ad. The ideas above are what I personally believe makes good ad copy. Others may disagree.

Some "experts" may suggest targeting a certain demographic buyer. I personally disagree due to experience in the field. As an example, I've seen elderly couples in their late 70's with no children at home (except for perhaps a small fur ball) :-) purchase a 3000 sq. ft. home with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths with an acre of manicured lawns and gardens to take care of.

Is that wrong? Of course not. All I'm saying is: Be careful who you target market!

At a later date when I have had the time to do some extensive research, I hope to include some links to sites that I believe may be helpful to you.

You probably won't use all of these, but we will of course cover them all. We'll start with the ones that will give you more extensive coverage.

Below is a list of some different methods you might use to gain maximum exposure of your house.

Internet Exposure

Newspaper Classifieds

Flyers and Brochures

Bulletin Boards

Word of Mouth

Local Real Estate Guides

National and International Newspapers/Real Estate Magazines

Front Yard Signs

Open House and Directional Signs

Use your imagination. You never know where your buyer will come from and where he or she might run across your house for sale.

The more people that know you have your house for sale, the better your odds.

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