Internet Marketing Not Optional For Home Sellers In 2006
By Mark Nash
It wasn't too long ago that all a real estate agent or for-sale-by-owner
had to do to let the world know that they were interested in selling
their home was to place a sign in the front yard and run a classified
ad in the local paper. In 2006 it is a totally different world in residential
real estate marketing. If you're trolling for buyers you better be in
their path, which is the Internet. According to The National Association
of Realtors(R) over seventy-percent of homebuyers start their search
on the Internet before contacting a real estate agent.
Getting up to speed with Internet marketing is not difficult. Many companies
today specialize in property web sites, home virtual (360 degree digital
image) tours and blast new-on-market emails. To find these companies
look in your local phone books or in Internet search engines. Mark Nash
author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home provides the nuts and
bolts you need to know about marketing a home on the Internet.
-Eight still photos required for a home on Internet. Search engines
and Multiple Listing Searchs look for at least eight still photos for
a property. These should include an exterior shot under current seasonal
conditions. If you put up a summer photo in the winter, buyers will think
that the property has languished on market for many months. The other
shots should be of the living, dining, and family room, master bedroom,
master bath, kitchen and a backyard or other optional shot.
-Place a classified ad on your local Craigs List. Many first-time buyers
search this popular directory of rental and purchase homes. You'll be
amazed at how many inquiries you receive from devotees to this list.
-When booking a classified ad for your home in the local newspaper ask
if they have an online edition. Make sure that your in every newspapers
online edition that you advertise in.
-For as little as a hundred dollars you can have a web sites for your
home. Marketing information, floor plans and mortgage rates and scenarios
can be posted to it. The web sites address should be the property address,
www.123mainstreet.com
-Virtual tours are a great way for Internet surfers to take a miniature
tour of your home, and many buyers won't visit a home until they've taken
a virtual tour. Here are some tips on virtual tours. Virtual tour camera
lens can make small rooms smaller, so don't bother with walk-in closets,
powder rooms and other small spaces. Take a look through the lens to
get an idea what the camera will record. Move and stage shots to edit
out too much furniture, close window blind or shades and streamline tabletops
and bookcases. Place a blooming or green plant in shots to perk up and
add life.
-Have your virtual tour burned onto CD's to give to buyers who have
visited your home. Mail CD's to real estate agents in the area to give
them a sneak-peek before they show your home. Put the web site address
of your home on the outer sleeve of the CD.
-Gather email addresses of interested buyers and real estate agents
for email notification of Open Houses, price reductions and interior
photos to refresh their memories. Avoid spam, no one appreciates it.
Mark Nash's fourth real estate book, "1001 Tips for Buying and
Selling a Home" (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago
are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which
has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV,
Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow
Jones Market Watch, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal
Press Syndicate and USA Today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Nash