As an agent or house seller, promoting your listings online is the number one skill you need to win this year. See these 6 steps to effectively listing a house online to become the industry expert.
There are thousands of property listings in the United States every month.
Just last year around 5.6 MILLION homes were sold.
And, once Covid19 restrictions ebb out, the market is surely going to see a boom with lots of activity in the months and years ahead.
It’s going to be super-competitive!
Meaning, real estate agents will need to check back on their ‘time-tested’ listing skills.
And when they do, they might find that the old ways of listing are pretty much out-of-fashion now…
Because a recent report showed that a whopping 93% of homebuyers search for properties ‘online’ – and not in local yard signs and papers!
This tech takeover means you need to hone up your digital advertising skills to go with the tide.
So, read below the SIX steps you can take to ensure your listings remain relevant, persuasive, and effective in the digital market!
Become the best at listing a house online this year.
1) Become an Expert in Your Market
Gone are the old days when potential buyers would be totally clueless about a market.
Today’s buyers know it all. They have access to the internet, and they are loaded with information. You can no longer coax them into buying a property with a rosy description.
Yes, a rosy description still works… (that’s a bonus listing tip right there!)
But the description must give full and correct info if you want to impress the buyer.
And, your property description can only sound informational if you’re informed yourself. So, research and read up on every property you list and every market you sell in.
Basically, sound like an expert in your listings interactions with clients if you want to stand out!
Which brings us to the next step…
2) Write a Powerful Property Description
Now, once you’re done with the market research, the next step is to use your expertise to write a powerful property description.
When you’re writing, the most important thing to remember is your aim: which is to sell!
While writing property descriptions, many listing agents forget this main purpose… and start to wander off into unwanted creativity.
For a listing to catch a reader’s eye, it must be straight to the point and end with a call to action.
So, leave the artsy tone for your creative writing class. Instead, target your buyers and sell them the benefits of buying your property.
- Begin with a headline that’s specific, bold, and eye-catching. Use this as a first impression.
- Then, cash in on the best house features in the body text.
- Make the best use of space available to you and mention FACTS that can impress the readers.
Because the modern, tech-savvy buyer is interested in numbers and benefits, and not naïve enough to be lured with poetry and fluff!
3) Take Professional-Looking Property Photos
The way you visually present your house online will make all the difference.
It’s the main factor that determines the number of people who are going to CLICK on your listing… Because if the house looks like a treat to the eye, buyers will definitely want to learn more about the listing.
Here, there are two important things to consider:
1. The quality of your property photos
A listing that has bad-quality photos will not interest most people.
And, considering that optics matter so much, it wouldn’t hurt if you bring in a professional photographer to take pictures of your property.
Or you can take a course yourself, or watch some YouTube tutorials before snapping your house.
2. Quantity of photos
You want to show the buyer all the important parts of your home, especially the top features and benefits…
But you also don’t want to over-do it.
If photos of the current occupant’s personal effects, close-ups of the cracked bathroom tiles, or photos of the left corner of the attic… You should probably skip those.
Turn on your laser focus, and show buyers photos of what matters to them.
4) Make Use of SEO
Search Engine Optimization is something unheard of by most traditional listing agents and home sellers.
SEO is a mechanism used by sites like Google to filter the billions of pages across the internet, ranking them by quality and relevance to its users.
So, if a homebuyer wants to Google a listing in a particular location, the search engine will show the most high-quality and relevant results according to that search.
To rank your listing in the first pages of a search engine, you’ll have to become specific, and use the right keywords.
For example, a specific description like “3-bedroom, 1500 Sq ft single-family home in Kingsbridge” has a much higher chance of ranking in the top than something like “House in New York”.
Got it?
So learn some basic SEO, because this is what internet marketing is based on.
5) Tap Into Social Media Marketing
Marketing on social media can blow up your listing’s potential by many times.
Social media connects the world, and using this connection to sell your listing(s) DEFINITELY pays.
So, to compete in the future real estate industry, you’ll want to learn basic social media marketing for listing a house online.
Although most property dealers have their personal accounts on these platforms, they don’t often use them for marketing individual properties… but this is an oversight!
All exposure helps you sell.
And with all the advanced techniques that exist for social media marketers, you can rise above the crowd and get buyers’ attention before anyone else does.
6) Share Your Listing Far and Wide
When it comes to selling a house or a property, it makes sense to list it on as many online platforms as possible for advertising purposes. And that includes more than just Facebook and other social media sites.
To make sure your home gets in front of as many buyers as possible, consider these free real estate websites where you can share your listings to attract more and more customers:
- Craigslist
- Kijiji
- Oodle
- Facebook Marketplace
- Zillow
- AQRE Home
- For Sale By Owner
- … and more!
There are literally hundreds of free listing sites out there. Our recommendation:
Use a site like statshow.com to find the best ones (with the most monthly traffic), and then share your listing on as many as you can!
Bottom line
The bottom line for you is to read the above six points over… Until you’re sure of the areas where you already have success, and where you can improve.
The market is becoming red-hot in the near future and getting ready to take on your competition is extremely necessary.
Whether you’re a first-time seller or a longtime realtor, the above tips WILL help with listing a house online better.
So, the expert advice is there.
And, now it’s up to you how diligently you follow and work at it!
Good luck!
If you want to read more expert advice for agents as home sellers, visit our blog at aqrehome.com/lets-blog.
– listing a house online
– listing house online