On the third page of our main report, you will see some excellent home selling advice on why hiring a mortgage specialist is a very important and affordable thing you should do when you are selling a home by owner.

Home Marketing Plan - A Marketing Plan For Your Home

In previous articles we’ve discussed getting your home ready for sale and pricing it correctly. Now that you have it looking great and priced right, the next step is making sure people know it’s available. That’s where your home marketing plan comes in.

Marketing is one of the key benefits a real estate agent provides. Realistically, however, most real estate agents do the bare minimum. There is no doubt you can do what they do and probably do it better. After all, you have the advantage of knowing your home intimately – far better than any agent ever could. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Developing your home marketing plan has as much to do with timing as with creativity. For that reason, the first step in any marketing program is to identify all the opportunities for marketing in your community, and to start with the basics first.

1. Classified Advertising – This may sound like a no-brainer, but depending on the size of your community, local newspapers can be expensive to advertise in, so review all your options, including the free weekly publications and community newsletters. If you’re in a small town with a weekly paper, a classified ad may cost you just $15 for three or four placements, but in a big city, the price tag could reach $250 for just one week of daily placements. If a classified is affordable, start running one as soon as you are ready to show the home. If the option exists, consider running it only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which are the days when most potential buyers are looking. Be sure to list the price. Otherwise you’ll be fielding lots of calls by unqualified buyers who just want to know “how much?”

2. Signage – Your local hardware store or home improvement store will stock a variety of For Sale signs. Since the sign is your best source of exposure to those driving through your neighborhood, it is worth investing in a good one. If you can’t find a sturdy sign with a metal frame at the store, contact a sign company and have one made. Be sure to include your phone number on the sign, and consider buying a brochure box to attach to the sign. Many signs come with that option. If your home is located in a low-traffic area, consider putting a directional sign at the main entrance to your neighborhood or at a major intersection, as well. Be sure to check local regulations to make sure any signs away from your property are legally placed.

3. Flyer or Brochure – Desktop publishing packages make it possible for novices to create attractive flyers almost as good as the pros. If you’re comfortable making your own flyer, by all means take advantage of this inexpensive form of marketing. If you aren’t interested in doing it yourself, contact a local graphic designer and invest a couple hundred dollars in a professional flyer or brochure. The most important aspects of your real estate flyer are price and photos. Include at least a few photos of the inside of the house, and one of the backyard if it has a nice porch, deck, or landscaping. Also include the basic information, such as number of bedrooms and baths. Don’t forget to put the address of the home and your phone number on the flyer. Many prospective buyers drive all over picking up flyers, and if the address or phone number isn’t on your brochure, they may never find it again. Keep the box on your sign full of brochures. There’s nothing more frustrating to people driving by then no information in the box.

4. Answering Machine – Home answering machines are a great invention, and when you’re selling your home yourself, yours can work as a marketing tool. Since prospective buyers will call you either to schedule an appointment to see your home or to ask questions, make sure your answering machine has a professional sounding message recorded for callers to hear. Now is the time to get that cute message your five year old recorded off the machine and replace it with a standard greeting and professional sounding message. There’s no need to record information specifically about the house, but a professional message that lets callers know you will return the call will go a long way toward getting them to leave a message.

5. Your Network – When selling your home, be sure to tell your neighbors and friends, as well as people you go to church with or see at community events. Your neighbors, in particular, have a vested interest in ensuring a quality “new neighbor,” so they can become your best source of sales leads. Your friends also can assist in passing information along as they hear about people who are looking for a new home.

6. Cable Television and Other Sources – Many local access channels have inexpensive advertising and announcements that run in between local news programming. If your cable station has a real estate “channel,” find out the cost and determine if it’s in your budget. Typically all you have to supply is the same information that you have on your flyer, as well as a photo in an electronic format that can be converted to run on air.

Next: Selling Your Own Home Step 4 = Closing The Sale

Thank you to Connie Holubar for this "Selling your own home - Part 3 - Home Marketing Plan" article.

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