For Sale By Owner Classified Ads

[edit] Description of Media

For Sale By Owner Classified Ads are a type of Media (one of the Three Ms of Marketing) that that are typically used by individuals looking to sell their homes without using a real estate agent. We often call these folks For Sale By Owners or FSBOs. When we sell our properties as investors we often use similar ads to sell our properties.

[edit] One Step Or Two Steps

Classified Ads and specifically For Sale By Owner Classified Ads are typically used as a two step marketing piece because we can not usually get our full marketing message out on the Classified Ads in a cost effective manner. There are exceptions like CraigsList that will often allow us to get our full message out in what may otherwise be considered a classified ad like media.

In our Classified Ads we usually include a telephone number to our 24 Hour Recorded Information Line and a link to our Buying Website. Since FSBOs do not typically have a 24 Hour Recorded Information Line they instead usually include their direct phone numbers in the ads. Often they do not have websites either.

[edit] How To Get It Done

To get our Classified Ads up we usually call the newspaper directly. In the case of putting up ads on CraigsList, we would use the systems we have for Posting Ads On Craigslist.

See also the Classified Ad Checklist and Posting Ads On Craigslist.

[edit] What Should It Say

The ads for what FSBOs use to sell their houses various considerably depending on who is writing the ad.

[edit] Cost

Pricing on Classified Ads depends largely on the newspaper, magazine or publication and often relates to its circulation (the number of people it reaches). See the concerns below for information about dealing with circulation waste.

[edit] Effectiveness

Each newspaper is different as far as response. The house and its price is also an extremely important variable that will affect response rates. For a well priced house, you can expect dozens of calls for a decent classified ad. For a poorly priced house or a poorly written ad, you may get no inquiries.

[edit] Who To Target

These types of ads typically are meant to target traditional home buyers although they often catch the attention of Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Brokers and Real Estate Investors. When we place similar ads our target is traditional home buyers and I personally tend to try to get a marketing advantage by offering flexible owner financing and a competitive price.

[edit] Concerns and Things to Beware Of

As with all Newspaper media you need to be especially aware of waste. Since most newspaper try to cover a large geographical area, we often end up paying for this extra circulation even though it is not our target audience. It is usually far better to use a smaller, more targeted newspaper than to go with the larger newspaper with a larger circulation that cover many areas we are not interested in marketing to.

[edit] Samples

For sample, I strongly recommend you check out ads in your local Newspaper and on CraigsList.

[edit] Classified Ads Resources

[edit] For Sale By Owner Resources

[edit] Marketing Media

Categories: Media | For Sale By Owner | Classified Ads | Marketing To Buy