When it comes to writing Real Estate Ads, one of the most well known methods of advertising, 'Newspaper Display Ads', are usually the real estate ads that come to mind. You know, ones with classic headlines such as...
"Renovators Delight" - this really means a demolition job and start again.
"Position, Position, Position" - can't think of anything else to say.
"Owner bought elsewhere" - the owner was silly enough to buy somewhere first and now needs to sell quickly...
"Owners Instruct to Sell it" - this would have to be one of the most ridiculous headlines. I mean, of course he's instructed you to sell it? Derrr...
"Views, Views, Views" - you can see what looks like a mountain range if you stand on the roof
But seriously, another well known method of advertising homes for sale is the internet. It is now the most widely used form of real estate advertising available to home sellers, both FSBO home sellers and those using agents. However, for this article, I will concentrate on newspaper advertising, as most of the information provided will also apply to the internet.
So in this article I will cover the following...
1. What Components Make up a Good Advertisement
2. What type of Buyer do you want to Attract?
1. What Components Make Up a Good Advertisement?
A good ad will have all of these:
a) Good Quality Photographs
b) Suburb
c) Price Details
d) Attention-grabbing headline
e) Descriptive body including housing attributes
f) Contact & Viewing Details
The first thing a buyer will do when scouring the newspaper, is quickly scan the pages. Firstly, they will look for either a) a Photograph, and/or b) Suburb, and secondly the Price.
These three things will determine next whether the buyer will continue to read your advertisement or not. And if your home is advertised on a website, whether they will get on the internet to find out more.
Your home obviously has to be in the right suburb, and the photo has to have the right impact and convey to the buyer that it is the style of home they are looking for.
Then next comes the price. Regardless of how great the photos look and the suburb, if your price is not within the range they are looking, your advertisement will be passed over.
What makes a great ad though, is how these components are put together and presented.
a) Good Quality Photographs
As the saying goes...'A picture paints a thousand words'. This is especially true when it comes to photographs. In this day and age of camera and computer technology, there is no excuse for a bad photograph!
If using only one photo, make sure it's the one that is the most flattering and conveys the 'true essence' of your home. If more than one, then obviously the ones that are of best quality and will convey the most important aspects, and quickly.
Quality of photographs not only has to do with what you are
photographing, but also the quality of the photo itself. If your photo is blurry, too dark, or too close to capture any detail, then it's only going to turn buyers off, or give a less-than-appealing impression of your home.
***Important Tips for Better Photos***
i) When taking a photo of rooms inside your home, try taking photos from the corner of the room and take the shot from around chest
height. By taking photos this way, you will take in more of the room and give a more flattering look to its' features.
ii) Take photos of the outside of your home on a sunny day, taking care that any shadow is falling behind your home, not in front, i.e. the sun should be behind you. The colours are more vivid and details are sharper.
iii) Try to take inside photos on dull days, or if not possible, then close the curtains and turn on the lights. Otherwise the light outside will make the inside of your home too dark to see any detail.
You can use the flash on your camera to provide more light. However, if the room is large you may get only a part of the room lit up and the rest appearing dark.
iv) To avoid blurred photos, try using a tripod or something you can rest your camera on, so it doesn't shake.
v) Now when it comes to the size of the photograph, i.e. the pixel size, depending on what you intend to use the photos for, it's best take the photo in a medium-to-large pixel size.
This way you can take copies and have them converted into a smaller size for the internet and newspaper, and the larger size can be used for signage.
b) Suburb
This one is pretty obvious, and needs to be displayed prominently in your ad. The suburb is usually done in a larger font size, and situated at the top of the ad or towards the top, since people read from top to bottom.
c) Price Details
The most important tip I can give you about price details is...Include it in your ad!
Unless you are auctioning your home, a price or price range
should be displayed if you want people to look further. You see, most people have an amount in mind that they can spend. Unless you display a price, buyers don't know if your home sits in their price range.
The only other time that you can really get away with advertising without a price is if you are selling a prestige home, since the buyers in this category have a large disposable income or asset base, so price is of no concern.
If your ad doesn't display a price, more often than not, buyers will glance over your ad and look for another property that shows a buying price range.
d) Attention-grabbing headline
The buyer has seen your ad. It's in the right suburb; they like the photograph of your home; it's in their buying range; now you need them to read the print.
You do this with an 'attention-grabbing' headline, and I don't mean one of those headlines at the start of the article. Entice your buyer with a headline which summarises what your home is all about.
Instead of "Great views", why not try a headline that tells buyers what the view is.
Something along these lines...'Relax...Put your feet up... Enjoy exclusive 180deg Views of Mortein Bay'. Buyers want to be able to picture themselves in your home.
They probably have a picture in their mind of what they want to be doing and how they want to be feeling when they buy a home. Maybe, all they dream about is kicking back after a hard days work and just looking out over the ocean and sipping on a glass of wine. Do you think then that this headline may get them to read more?
The key is to summarise what makes your home unique. Something that other homes don't offer. And then offer it to them in a way that 'paints a picture'in their minds of what they're going to get if they buy 'your' home. How good is it going to make them feel when they live in it?
e) Descriptive Body including Home Attributes
When I say descriptive, I don't mean bending the truth. You still need to be honest about what your home offers. And you need to mix some facts with detail.
Example: Instead of...
"3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 garage home with large kitchen and yard. Close to shops, schools, transport"
B-o-r-i-n-g...What does this tell the buyer, apart from the basics? Does this inspire you to want to know more? Probably not!
Now try something with a little more detail. Tell the buyer about the great things you love about your home, and why
you chose that home to live in. Something along these lines...
"Sadly, it is now time to part with our beautiful character, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, chalet-style home. Set amongst the lush, tropical rainforest of Springbrook National Park, our hardwood timber home has been carefully built with the environment in mind.
Using all natural materials, our elevated home enjoys cool mountain breezes all year round, so doesn't require air-conditioning. Heating is provided during cooler months with a central fireplace keeping
you and your family warm and cosy, where ever they are in the house.
Enjoy cooking in your large, country-style kitchen opening out to a spacious verandah. The kitchen has everything you could want... modern gas appliances, lots of bench and cupboard space; a huge walk-in pantry; dishwasher with 5 star water rating...."
Well...Do you get the picture? How different is the second description? Wouldn't it entice you if you love rainforests and mountains? Can you actually see yourself right there?
And just in finishing...make sure it's not too long winded by separating longer paragraphs with a space, to make it easier to read.
Also, make sure you include the most important details which differentiate your home from other homes in your area. Especially things that nobody else has that they want.
f) Contact and Viewing Details
Pretty straightforward. Make sure buyers know how to get in touch with you. You only need to supply your first name and a contact phone number.
If you are selling privately, it's a good idea to give a phone number that you can be contacted on more readily, like a mobile phone number. Not only is this convenient, but you can also screen calls (with a message bank) if you need some privacy. This is also good if you get unwanted calls from agents pestering you.
Viewing details tell buyers when they can look at your home in person. Depending on your situation, you can either have 'Inspection by Appointment' or 'Open for Inspection' (with days, dates & times).
'Inspection by appointment' is better for people who might need time to clean beforehand and are really busy people who may work long or odd hours. Or you may have someone else handling inspections and need to organise them ahead of time.
'Open for Inspections' are good if you just want everyone through at the same time, so you're not continually cleaning up during the week. If you have one or two set of Open House times, you only have to clean and prepare your home a couple of times during the week, rather than continually.
2. What type of Buyer do you want to Attract?
When you bought the home you are now trying to sell, what things attracted you to the home? What made you buy it?
By answering these simple questions, will tell you alot about why the next home buyer will want to buy your home. You'll find that their needs and wants are probably very similar to what yours were when you originally bought. You'll also find they're probably much like you.
When you first bought your home, were you a young family starting out, or were you middle-aged and the kids had flown the coop. Perhaps you were working in the city and you just needed something close to public transport and that was easy to look after.
These are important points to help you determine your 'Target Market'. Who or what type of buyer would be interested in your home?
So make a list of basic attributes your home has to offer. No flowery stuff here, just the facts, e.g. large back yard with small, landscaped garden; pergola; 4 bedrooms with rumpus; pool; bar; gourmet kitchen; 2 bathrooms; media room; etc. Rememember to put in whether you are close to the freeway if that's relevant. Or maybe the
bus stop is only 50 metres from the door.
See... once you've made a list of things and you've thought about what attracted you originally, these details will tell you what type of buyer would be interested in your home.
By knowing this, you can then style your advertising to attract only those type of buyers. Because in all honesty, not everyone
will want to buy your home.
Lastly, but not at all least, choose your colours, font types and sizes carefully for your advertising, especially when it comes to newspaper ads.
Use the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principle.
*Using the colour 'red' in your ad somewhere is good, but use it only sparingly, and use it to draw your potential buyer to something important like the headline or the suburb.
* Try to stick to black print in an 'arial' type font. It's clean and easy to read.
* Never use white on a dark background. It's difficult for the eye to read.
* Yellow can be used successfully as a background, and can make your ad stand out from the others.
* Make sure your photograph is in colour, and not edited in any way, i.e. don't distort the photo or colour or do something 'artistic'.
* Never use more than two different types of font in any
advertisement. It's too confusing for the eye, and people just won't read it.
Now all you need to do is sit back and wait for the calls! Provided of course that you've done all your homework on selling and pricing, then you're onto a winner!
P.S. If it works keep using it until you sell. If it doesn't, change one thing at a time and monitor the response.
