Whether homeowners are selling their homes for sale by owner, or they are going the more traditional route of working with listing agents, they both share a common goal. Each wants to sell their home in the shortest period of time for the highest price possible. To accomplish that objective, home sellers need to know how to most effectively advertise their home for sale to appeal to and attract the largest targeted pool of home buyers.
Effective Promotion
Promotion and writing ad copy is, in itself an art form, but there are specific guidelines you can follow to make sure that your home advertising efforts are productive in reaching your targeted audience and increasing �the traffic you get from buyers. There’s a saying that goes: �To find out where ants are coming from, you’ve got to watch where they go.� With that in mind, answer these two questions:
- Where do home buyers look to find homes advertised for sale?
- Where could you find home buyers who are likely to buy your home?
Magazine Advertising
Unless you’re trying to sell a home that appeals to a small audience and you have time to spare in waiting months for results, magazine ads are not likely going to produce an immediate buyer. Lead time is the major drawback. The home ad you submit today might not make it to a doorstep for 30 to 60 days, sometimes longer. Magazine ad reps will tell you that your home ad will be in front of buyers for 30 days, but In reality, the ad will be stuck in the back and ignored as the recipient flips through a couple articles before tossing the magazine into a recycling bin. Few reread these type of magazines.
Newspaper Advertising
Local daily and weekly newspaper readership of actual news articles may be declining, but the classified ads are going stronger than ever before, and they are still a highly desired location to advertise a home for sale. And while subscriptions may not be increasing at a previous rate, many newspapers are now sold at newsstands, and frequently, many non-subscribers at least buy the Sunday newspaper to look at the ads of homes for sale. Before placing a newspaper ad, get a copy of the paper. You�ll be surprised at the large number of listings for both homes and land for sale. �These days, newspaper classifieds are usually run both in print and online, giving sellers twice the exposure. But one thing�s for sure, when someone is in the market to buy a home, the first place they usually look is in the classified ads.
Be Smart
The classified ads of local weekly papers can be another good place to advertise your home for sale. But regardless of where you place your ads, it�s imperative that your ad copy sparkles and be designed to attract attention. Don’t make a home selling mistake by abbreviating too many words or trying to cram everything into three lines to save money.
