A well written classified ads or descriptions for online ads can attract buyers to your home. You are competing with thousands of other ads both printed or online to attract qualified buyers looking for the homes.
Learn how to attract buyers to your ad.
Most buyers want know three things right away. Give them the answers they need up front:
- Asking Price: The biggest factor for most buyers is price. This issue alone qualifies or eliminates buyers. List the price predominately in your ad.
- Property Size/Bedrooms/Bathrooms: The number of bedrooms is second only to price as a major deciding factor for most buyers. List bedrooms and bathrooms predominately in your ad.
- Location: Define the location of your home with details like city, neighborhood, subdivision, colloquial name, and provide mapping features if possible. Include the street address in your ad to encourage drive-by lookers. Driving by is one of the best sources of information for buyers.
Picture of the Home
In today’s digital world, everyone wants to see a picture of your home and the more pictures you include, the better job your online ad will do to attract interested buyers. Show both interior and exterior photos in your ad.
Total Number of Rooms
Knowing the number of rooms helps buyers understand the layout of your home, and helps you by ensuring that buyers who call are interested based on the facts.
Lot Size/Square Feet of the Home
Without seeing the home, knowing the square feet means a buyer can envision the size of each room and the size of the home without setting foot in it.
Details About Community and Neighborhood
Be sure your descriptions are in compliance with Fair Housing regulations. An easy way to provide neighborhood information is to simply link to community web sites.
Amenities and Features
Even though your online ad may feature pictures, the viewer may not realize the value or importance of what they are looking. LET THEM KNOW. What sounds better: letting people know that you have a pool or letting them know you have a custom tiled and heated diving pool great for exercise or having fun with the family, installed last year. You can let the buyer know that you have a pool and leave them with tons of questions or give them more details and let them imagine themselves there.
Contact Information
Make sure to have a valid phone number and make sure you have a valid email address. Find a Home Direct protects you against SPAM by hiding your email address. Interested buyers must log in to use the email contact function.
Your Listing
Always remember, when you write your ad, be specific. It will help to make a list all the attractive aspects of the property before you begin to write. Keep in mind that both real estate agents and individual buyers will be looking at your ad.
Expand your vocabulary. Use words that define, rather than modify. It is easy to make blunders while writing advertising text, particularly using emphatic words that scream at the reader. Don't use hype. "New! Charming! Won't last!" are exclamations which are especially overwrought and amateurish when captioning the photo of a mediocre home.
The same "charming" house could be succinctly described by the following sentence: "Affordable 3 bedroom bungalow near shopping and schools offers original tile baths, wood floors and shabby chic decor."
Learn how to attract buyers with your print FSBO ad.
It’s a great idea to use a print classified ad to lead buyers to the Internet for more information about your property. If you list your home on our site, be sure to include this text, “Visit www.FindAHomeDirect.com for more details” in your ad copy.
There are numerous approaches to crafting a successful print ad. Here are some helpful hints:
- Merchandise to Sell: Listing the item on the first line ensures your ad is placed in the correct category in the Classifieds. “Home for Sale,” is the idea. Bold type draws attention to the ad, making it more visible to prospects looking for homes for sale.
- Description: List plenty of details about your home. Color, age of home, type of construction, landscaping, pool, 12 foot ceilings, arched doorways are important selling features.
- Price: All prospective buyers have a price range. Listing your price attracts qualified buyers.
- Contact Procedure: Include your phone number. Specify the contact procedure you prefer. Make the ad easy to respond to.
- List the Address: If you want drive-bys, it’s important to list the address. There are benefits to attracting drive-by traffic, especially if you install a water proof document holder in the yard and fill it with flyers about your home.
Ad Space is Limited and Valuable
Not only must you attract the attention of potential buyers, but you must do it in a limited amount of space and with few words. It's important to choose your words with care. Your ad text should not exceed 250 characters – that's characters, not words – so every word counts.
Divide your ad into three parts.
- Headline
- Best Features
- Closing
Grab attention with a catchy headline.
Remember the salesman's adage: “You're not selling the steak, you're selling the sizzle.” Write a headline that grabs the buyer's imagination or offers fulfillment of a dream or a wish.
Mention your home's best features.
Consider your probable buyers and focus on your home's features most attractive to that market group rather than to the general public. For example, is your home suited to a family with young children? Are schools nearby? Retirees? Close to golf courses or senior activities? Working couples? Easy commute? Close to shopping?
Do you remember what attracted you to your home? Was it the view, the large kitchen, finished basement, proximity to schools or shopping? Chances are what attracted you will also attract someone else. But remember, your ad space is limited so pick the most unique and best features to list. You can go in to great detail in your online ad listing and actually list dozens of great features.
Close with a good reason for buyers to call.
Close your ad with a reason for buyers to call and schedule an appointment to see your home. Use a phrase to create a sense of urgency, such as “Bound to sell quickly.” Or capitalize on the buyer's desire to own a home such as you've described, “Be the proud owner.” You can always close the ad with an investment related phrase such as “A bargain at this price.”
Pull out all the stops.
Use both printed classified ads and Internet listings for their unique advantages. By listing your home online you have an advantage that classified ads don’t offer, a large venue to display pictures, a virtual tour with all the features and benefits of the home you're offering for sale.
Use your classified ad to attract local buyers and direct them to your online listing for all the details and photos. Your online listing can become a virtual open house, eliminating shoppers who are not really interested in purchasing your type of home.
To sum it up:
Your ad needs to get them interested enough to take a more in depth look at your offer. Don't give so much information that buyers immediately eliminate your home from consideration. For example, if your property needs repairs, leave that information out of the classified as its inclusion will often result in your listing being crossed off the potential buyer's list even though they would be interested if they actually saw the property.
Be direct and to-the-point. Remember the old marketing adage KISS (Keep it simple stupid). What you think is good about your property may not appeal to everyone. For example, a property close to the local mall may be convenient for you but others may associate it with noise and high-traffic surroundings. You certainly don't want to clutter your classified ad with details that will make prospects lose interest! Just focus on getting them to call you.
Effective ads serve one primary purpose: Telling the prospect what they want to hear about your real estate for sale.
EXAMPLES:
Home for Sale. $149,000, Houston, TX. New floors, fresh paint. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, fireplace, attached-garage. FSBO. Call 585-267-5474 or visit www.FindaHomeDirect.com/276
