Advertising and Marketing

Regardless of if you are using an agent you should try to figure out all of the ways buyers in your market search for homes. Across most of the midwest the realtor-created MLS is responsible for the majority of house sales. Using the MLS is also the most expensive. The rest of the country has seen dramatic movements away from the MLS towards free web pages such as HouseJockey.com. Some analysts are predicting that the MLS will host less than 50% of all US home sales as soon as 2010. Other common methods include:

Newspaper ads and home selling magainzes

If you are going to pay for a newspaper ad you should try to pay slightly more than what the average person does. Buying a cheap ad using as few characters as possible will result in very few buyers, and the buyers you do get will most likely be more difficult to work with. Your newspaper or magainze ad should include lots of details about the house along with an over the top catchy one-liner such as "The Search Stops Here!". Your catchy one-liner is probably the most important part of the ad as it will decide if potential buyers continue reading it. Think about if you are a buyer wading through dozens of listings - would you be more likely to read the details of "Perfect 4 Room Dream House!" or "4br house" ?

Professional Flyer and Fact Sheet

While it can take several hours to complete, flyers or fact sheets are the single most effective method to advertise your house. Flyers do not just affect buyers on the internet, or buyers reading newspapers, or buyers with real estate agents, or buyers who drive around to see houses. Flyers can affect everyone if you are willing to create a flyer, make a plan of places to hang it up, and follow through.

One of the best places to hang up a flyer is local employers. If you live within a couple miles of a large employer you should contact the human resources department and ask if they can put up the house you are selling on the company bulliten boards. This is the most effective place you can put a flyer. It takes effort to call local businesses and bring them flyers, but the effort will pay off.

After local employers you should try to hang up your flyers at department stores, gas stations, malls, and grocery stores. High volumes of people will walk by these and it is important that your flyer stand out due to good graphic design. HouseJockey.com offers professional flyers which stand out. These flyers were designed by a professional design firm, are completly free (as is everything on HouseJockey.com), and take about 60 seconds to create. It looks something like this: