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3 “Must-Have” Tips for Real Estate Investment Ads Online

Incorporate the wow factor to grab the attention of your target audience

When you first start out in the real estate investing business, you might not know everything there is to know about creating effective online advertisements for your rental or resale properties. It takes time and research to understand when the best time is to post your ad, what key words you should use, and sometimes it even takes a few dud ads (which can cost valuable time and money) to help you get your ads crafted properly.

With online marketing, your property ads—posted on sites like Craigslist, Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace—should utilize the “wow factor” or rather the following 3 must-have elements that veteran real estate investors have identified, which include:

1. Post your ads at peak times: Many new real estate investors think they’ll get a jump on Craigslist by posting their property ad at 6:30am—or even the night before at 11pm. In reality, they are doing their ad a serious injustice. You see, when you post a classified ad, it automatically appears at the very top of the page and pushes older ads down towards the bottom. However, if you place your ad too early in the morning or too late in the evening—when no one is up searching for houses to rent or buy—you risk that your ad will never being seen. Instead, generate maximum exposure by posting around 9am to 10am on Saturday or Sunday when folks are just sitting down to their morning coffee and perusing the want ads. Other ideal times are near lunchtime or shortly after dinner during week days.

2. Get creative with your wording: Property ads always seem to use the same old language, for instance: “Beautiful 2 bedroom house, located on quiet dead end street, with large, fully-fenced backyard. Located within convenient walking distance to downtown. For more info, please contact Bob at 123-456-7899.” What’s wrong with this picture? It’s boring and it doesn’t have the “wow factor” that will cause your audience to take action. Instead, use a unique hook in your headline, for example, “Wow, charming 2 bedroom in the heart of the city!”, and then provide the standard details in the body of your ad.

3. Include a motivating call-to-action: This brings us to number 3—a clear call-to-action—that will spur the reader to respond to your ad first—over dozens of the same old ad. Sure, including Bob’s contact number (like we did above) is a call-to-action, but it’s a lukewarm, run of the mill statement that every ad will make. Instead, try one of these exciting calls-to-action for instant response:

• Affordable family homes are available in your area, contact us at…
• For a free list of foreclosures in your city visit our website at www…
• Email us today for a free listing of luxury homes in your area…
• Call us today to learn more about our first time home buyer’s incentive…
• Contact us today and get your first month at a discount…