Free posting sites are the Holy Grail for real estate investors!
Why? Because not only are the free, they get results. And they get results FAST!
I’m talking… You can literally post an ad in 5 minutes and start getting emails from prospects in 10! These sites work exceptionally well for ? nding all types of buyers.
In fact, I gave an agent in my real estate of?ce a speci?c process for using just ONE of these sites to ?nd buyers, and within just a few days, he had 3 buyers for $300,000+ deals!
The best part is that they are super simple to use!
You just have to know which ones are the best for your target market and come up with a consistent strategy for posting. Since they ARE FREE, it’s critical that you post frequently because many other people are also posting their ads and, consequently, moving your property down the list. (Most are displayed newest ?rst).
It seems as though there are new websites popping up daily, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to ?gure which ones – and how many of them – you should be posting to on a regular basis.
So, for now, let’s stick with the ones that have proven to work. But always keep your eyes open for new sites that are getting visitors and gaining traction!
Craigslist (www.Craigslist.org)
Craigslist is a great place for posting a variety of free classi? eds, real estate in particular. You can post properties for sale, properties for rent, vacation rentals, etc. And this should be your ? rst stop when it comes to using free posting sites.
Pay careful attention to your headline, pricing and location.
There are a number of strategies that you can use to increase the chances of prospects getting TO your actual advertisement such as including extra characters, changing the last few digits of the price, etc.
Learn how to Crush It with Craigslist Real Estate ads…
Zillow (www.Zillow.com)
Zillow is also a great site to post and advertise your home. Zillow was initially used as a “comp” tool. Zillow also allows people to list their properties for sale as well.
The good news is that Zillow has a substantial amount of traf?c and you can capitalize on that for free. Not to mention, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Zillow because they’re de? nitely adding some new tools that will be valuable resources for investors and homeowners alike.
Postlets (www.Postlets.com)
It doesn’t get much better than Postlets. This site allows you to submit your classi? ed ad, for free, and will distribute it to a number of other free positing sites.
In addition, you can create your own property webpage that they will host for free. So, not only can you submit you ad for free to their site, but they’ll do lots of the other work for you (also for free!).
In addition, you’ll also get the code to post it right on your own blog. This is one of the best tools for selling deals (and most investors and Realtors® haven’t got a clue about it).
If you want to take it further, upgrade to their premium package which gives you a multiple page website for your property, integrates Google mapping, allows for enhanced photos, and video/virtual tours as well as external website links potential buyers can be directed to for even more information.
Here is a partial list of sites to which Postlets will aggregate your ads:
- Backpage
- Craigslist
- Enormo
- FrontDoor
- HotPads
- Oodle
- Trulia
- Vast
- Zillow
These are just a small handful of sites that you can post your properties on absolutely free! When it comes to these types of sites, the old adage: “You get what you pay for” is not true! These sites pack a big punch…
The only caveat is that they require an investment of your time to post. And the best part is that you can always outsource that part for pennies ;-).
Tips for Effective Online Classified Ads
- Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines.
You are ?ghting for your prospect’s attention and you’ve got loads of competition! So, you’ve got to grab their attention in order to get them to click through to your actual ad. The ENTIRE goal of your headline (or title) is to get the person to click through to read the rest of your ad. That’s it!
- Use “odd” Number Prices. For example, if your property is $150,000, by simply changing the last three digits to something other than “000” or “900”, you will increase your click-throughs. To keep it simple, we recommend using the last 3 digits of the property address, so if the address is 1234 Main Street, your price would look like this: $150,234. It just breaks up the pattern as the prospect skims down the page.
- Describe the Features and Bene?ts.
Always include the features and bene? ts in your actual ad. Most people remember the “features” and leave out the “bene? ts”. This is extremely important!
- Include the Maximum Number of Photos.
Always include the most photos that the site will allow. When people are sur? ng the Internet looking for properties, you can never have enough pictures.
- Bonus Tip: include a link to your own website where you have more photos of the property. To see the pictures, ask for a name and email address! Now, you’ve started building your list.