Is newspaper advertising cost effective?

Question

I have not had very good results from placing classified ads in newspapers and wanted to see if others have found it to be cost effective?

I'm mostly interested in results from "for sale" classifieds.

Is it worth the money? Any advice on what wording to use if I'm targeting the first time home buyer market?

I have 4 completed rehabs and wanted to try a few things before placing them on the MLS.

Account Closed · Answer

craigslist is free..why not try that? i think the mls is imperative as you'll get your homes in front of serious buyers who are working with agents...you can get on the mls for 200 bucks here, called the flatfee service..check that out if you don't want to pay a large commission to a listing agent...you should still pay the commission to the buyer's agent though...i do make flyers in smaller communities and put them in restaurants and offer all sorts of finders fees so people have an incentive to tell their friends

Loc R. · Answer

In Southern California I have found that Craigslist is more than sufficient for my rentals. My tenants all tend to be in their 20-30s, so CL is perfect for that. OTOH, CL was awful for my mobile home deals. Newspaper ads were 100 times more effective. Now, the cost of 2-3 newspaper ads x 2-4 weeks is built into the analysis of a mobile home deal.

Bryan Hancock · Answer

Advertising in Greensheet or Thrifty Nickel pulls very well relative to the cost. You won't get a ton of leads, but they are quality and don't cost very much relative to other more expensive sources.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Trying to sell a house is a lot different from trying to rent a house. So the type of ad and where to advertise should be different if you want results. A very visible sign on the property will draw any buyers that are looking in that area already. Use a sign that supports a box in which you keep flyers that show off the house; make sure that the box always has flyers in it (competing sellers or their realtors can be unscrupulous and clear out your flyers if they feel threatened that you have better product). Targeted marketing in the immediate area can get you results. This can be postcards or flyers that get distributed. The message in the printed matter should highlight your property, and should also encourage the recipient to refer friends or family (after all, those people could already be familiar with the area and find it desirable to be close to the friend or family member). Any FSBO ads will always get a lot or responses from realtors who will do just about anything to get you to list the house for sale with them. As mentioned by an earlier post, getting listed with a flat fee broker can get you on the MLS. Be sure that you advertise that there is a commission to be paid so that agents with buyers don't pass over your listing.

Sharad M. · Answer

I think the answer to your question depends on the target audience. If you are targeting people who are in their 20s and 30s, newspapers probably won't work. CL and backpage.com will be good options for that demographic. But if you are targeting people in 20s and 30s from low income background, then internet prolly won't be as effective due to lack of internet access. If for instance your target audience is senior citizens, then you won't find many on CL, then newspaper advertising will probably be a good option. You gotta start with the end in the mind. If Walmart or Target by you has a bulletin board, then put up your ad there. No matter what age group someone is from, they have gotta visit Walmart or Target. Good luck.

Mitch Kronowit · Answer

Yep, every market is different and so is reaching your target demographic. In California, we can get a lot of traffic by saying our rental is "Carbon Neutral"! In Texas, try advertising "First month's ammo FREE!". :mrgreen:

Stephen McKee · Answer

Bryan's right. Pennysaver in California is delivered to every home in the mail weekly. It's only like $350 for a whole page add. Quality leads.

Rob K. · Answer

There's a weekly newspaper in a city that I have rentals in that charges $21 for a five line classified ad and it is delivered to every mailbox in the city (Population 134,000) every Wednesday. It's good for attracting low income tenants that are too old/stupid/lazy/illiterate to have computer access. Many of these people are lifers who are only moving because their current landlord is getting foreclosed. Many of the people are on SSD or Section 8 and have a steady (small) income and do not move often. Many times it is worth the cost. You get a lot of calls, but it's a huge numbers game as many of the leads are unqualified.

Account Closed · Answer

not sure about ohio...are you licensed? if you are licensed, then there may be restrictions...i'm not licensed however, so im' free to offer finder's fee to tenant's, friends, colleagues, etc. it's a powerful strategy that speaks to people's pockets.

Bob Burress · Answer

I think that print media is outdated and not very cost effective. I still use newspapers when I have an open house for a unique property. I think that the most cost effective ads are online classifieds. Try using http://www.bigdaddyguru.com , if you use a unique title for your ad, it will usually show up on a google search, plus there are social media links for you to share the listings