How To Write A Killer Classified Ad To Make Your Phone Ring Off The Hook?

Writing an effective classified ad is one of the keys for your successfully marketing campaigns to sell your home. 

What is the objective of an ad or any ads?

The  single only objective of your classified ad  is to get the homebuyers to respond to your ad through phone calls, emails, or whatever communication channels. In most cases, you want your prospective homebuyers to call.

What is the secrete to write a killer ad?

How to achieve the goal of getting homebuyers to call? The secrete is to tell the homebuyers what they want to hear. In addition, you need to create curiosity about your property and make homebuyers to call you. You give just enough information to create curiosity, but NOT enough to let them eliminate your home from considerations.

How to write your killer classified ad?

You should think like a homebuyer. What would you want to know if you are buying a home? The price range, location, and number of bedrooms in the house. Yes. You're absolutely right.  You want to put those info at first line in bold face and upper case.

Then, you should tell homebuyers other good features, such as nice or new kitchen, garages, a backyard, a fence, or a quiet street, newly painted, renovated, patio or a fireplace, etc, if your home have some of them.

Any other things? Yes, there are a lot of good stuffs about your house. But you don’t want to pay advertiser too much to drive your potential homebuyers away. Remember, buyers are also screening the ad on your home. Something good to you might not be good to them. For example, some like a swimming pool. But, others may think it is hard to maintain. So don’t put all the good things about your home.

But, how about "price is negotiable"? Sure, you definitely want this in your ad. Everyone wants to negotiate while buying.

How about "financing"? If you are willing and able to do partial or full owner financing, that will create huge interest, especially in a buyer's market. But, if you aren't going to do any owner financing, you may ask me “what should I do?” I know what you are thinking. My question to you is “can you write some words like these “Affordable Financing”,  or  “Financing Available”. "But. I don’t do owner finance". I knew. Can you call a mortgage broker friend to help the homebuyers? If you don’t have any mortgage broker friend, can you pick up your phone to call some mortgage brokers? Any of them will be very happy to help you and may want to make friend with you after your phone calls. But, make sure the broker is good and the rate and term the broker gives are favorable to homebuyers. Only pick the good ones to help.

You can also use those mortgage brokers to help you to pre-qualify prospective homebuyers later to save you time. Brokers are happy to do this for you even for free because you can also bring them business.

Now you have given enough on what your homebuyers want to hear. But, don’t forget another very important aspect of a classified ad. That is how to catch homebuyers’ attentions among the full page of classified ads. How would you make your ad stand out of any other ads is as critical as the contents you wrote.

Before you place your classified ad in any newspaper, pick up a copy of it. Then scan the ads in that specific section you want to your ad to be. Carefully study those ads that can catch your attention. You may want to follow those examples and make a little twist to make your ad stands out.
One example for your ad to stand out is to use black background with words in white to contrast to all others with words in black and white background.

After you complete your first draft, leave it for an hour or so and come back to review it to see if it is short, simple, non-threatening, and eye-catching.  An effective ad has all those characteristics.

Here are examples of good classified ads:
$240,000, Duluth, negotiable, excellent financing available, beautiful 4 bedroom
home, fireplace, garage, by owner. Call Call 333-1234 or view listing #XXXXXXXX at
http://www.yourwebsite.com/.

$200,000, Snellville, lovely 3 bedroom house, new kitchen, garage, quiet street, by
owner. Call Call 333-1234 or view listing #XXXXXXXX at http://www.yourwebsite.com/.

$135,000, Norcross, owner financing, no bank qualiy, GORGEOUS 3 bedroom
home, private backyard, garage, great area, by owner. Call 333-1234 or view listing
#XXXXXXXX at http://www.yourwebsite.com/.

The example ads tell homebuyers the necessary info they want to know, without giving any reasons to eliminate the house from considerations. They start with price followed by the location either in bold or in all caps. The idea is to appeal to serious homebuyers who will be interested in finding out more about your house. Classified ads will be effective if you catch the homebuyer's attention and create their curiosity on your home, your phone will be ringing off the hook.

Note: Principals described in this blog can also be used in online marketing or any marketing media for writing ads.

Related articles:
1. How to market your home effectively:
http://besthomesellingtips.com/2007/08/06/how-to-marketing-your-home-effectively/
2. Showing your home:
http://besthomesellingtips.com/2007/07/12/what-are-the-worse-things-that-turn-your-potential-buyers-off-when-you-show-your-home/ 

 

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