If you have been reading my blog this week, you know that I am a fan of preparing the best listing possible for your real estate. But once you have crafted a beautiful ad with pictures, with all the relevant features highlighted, and with all the legal statements and terms clearly laid out, how can you spread the word about your listing? In other words, how can you get it in front of as many eyes as possible?
Let’s consider some options.
Set up your own website. This is especially a good option once you have several properties for sale. List them on your website, and update it often so that folks will keep checking back often and browse your selection.
Mailing list: Keep track of everyone who shows interest in your real estate and add them to a mailing list. Also, use an opt-in box on your website to collect email addresses, and with each new listing your craft you can present it to a group of potential buyers.
Craigslist: Post ads on a regular basis (spaced at least 48 hours apart) on Craigslist sites near your property and in the area where you live. Craigslist is free and is viewed by any people each day.
eBay: This is a paid option that will cost about $35 per listing and a $35 final fee per sale. You can keep track of how many people view your ad, and you can structure your ad different ways to maximize exposure. You can even take out a eBay classified listing to funnel traffic to your personal website.
Google AdWords: This is a paid option that will put targeted ads on the screens of folks using Google. Whenever the keywords you have selected are searched for, your ad will appear at the tops of the Google search results, and you only have to pay for impressions and for people that actually click on the ad.
Pinging: This is a free option that alerts search engines that your website has been updated. Visit a pinging website (like Pingler.com) and fill in the relevant information in the boxes and then let the application spread the word about your ad for you.
Crafting the perfect listing is just the first step – getting the word out is the second and just-as-important part.