Greetings Admin,

I did not know that posting a link which directly answers the OP's question is considered advertising. Many new agents have asked the exact same question in the past, and, instead of giving incomplete responses, my thought was to provide a list of activities that we have compiled over the years deemed ineffective marketing at generating real estate offers.

Quite frequently, there appears to be confusion between marketing for offers and marketing for leads. Which was the original intent of the post.

I hope this helps to clarify any misunderstanding.

Add does not attract buyer. Price attract the buyer. Position the home effectively and you will sell fast for top money. Advertising does not have direct relationship with selling. Most of the buyers even do not see the add, their agent send them all the properties and doing the research. So if you want to sell price effectively, other ways the house will sty on the market.

Add does not attract buyer. Price attract the buyer. Position the home effectively and you will sell fast for top money. Advertising does not have direct relationship with selling. Most of the buyers even do not see the add, their agent send them all the properties and doing the research. So if you want to sell price effectively, other ways the house will sty on the market.

in Charlotte, the newspaper is getting thinner and thinner. no one is reading the paper to find ads. they are getting to lazy to purchase a paper. most people go to the library and find what they are looking for online. everyone is too busy to look through an old scruffy paper with little font.

they either want something to fall into their laps aka flyers or doors hangers or they will go online. people are getting out of responding to direct mail now so you have to be super creative.

Print avertising works very well as long as you leave the consumer wanting more information, you provide an offer or offers in your ad, and you give clear instructions on how to respond to the offer.

One of the very best and most inexpensive forms of advertising is SIGNS.

A directional HOME FOR SALE on a strategic corner can generate more interest than most print or Internet advertising. People interested in buying usually drive around the neighborhoods they like. Neighbors notice the signs and talk about what's happening on their block. Real estate agents in the area often follow signs to check out the 'competition' or to see if that new listing that they overlooked among dozens in the MLS printout. A SIGN can be a wonderful thing. There's a reason new home builders plant all those signs along the roadside. A good reason!

Just make sure you're familiar with the local ordinances regarding what type of signs you can display and where they can be placed. Also, make sure your name is on them. Stealing signs seems to be a fun past-time for some agents.

Good luck!

Sometimes companies get so busy with the design process of the next big sale ad in the newspaper that we often forget any legal issues regarding advertising. Here are ten tips on legal advertising regarding your business.

1. Don't false advertise. Don't offer a special price deal and then charge extra money despite the price deal. If you need to put a terms of conditions on the bottom of the ad with a little star by it so people notice it.

2. Don't say that certain items or service are half price when they really aren't. It is false advertising to claim that certain item is half price when you know for a fact that isn't. Customers usually notice it when items don't ring up as the correct price that it should be.

3. Don't advertise a certain product with different colors and styles all on sale if really only a specific style is on sale. It is misleading and customers may be able to insist on getting the same price if an ad states that everything of that type of product is on sale.

4. Make sure to get the sale dates on the ads correct otherwise your business will most likely have to sell the product at that price on those specific days. Keep track of the dates closely.

5. Make sure to always have the correct price on items otherwise the customer will usually get the cheaper price on a item due to the company being in error. Customers often get cheaper prices on items that end up costing the company less profits.

6. On coupons make sure to put a terms of condition if you want to limit the use of the coupon to only certain days or certain stores in the area. This is another method where customers get items less than the original price.

7. If something is advertised as free, but really isn't free then put a star by it with terms and conditions. If you don't have any stars by the word FREE then the customer will have a case to get a product or service for free due to being misleading.

8. Have an attorney or someone who works in the legal field always look at the wording that you put on the terms and conditions. It is important for them to look at since some people view a word as meaning something different or sometimes it reads different.

9. Always double check your ads for any errors before printing the ads. It is important to check since it will save your company money.

10. Always have a copy of the printed ad at every cash register in the business. It is a good idea since the customer can't tell you something different than what the ad states.

Print ads don't work for me. Occassionally I will get a good call from someone who doesn't have internet access, but all in all its expensive and a waste of money if you want the truth. The best avertising I have found these days is the following:

1. Your own website with your own url. Plastered everywhere
2. All the internet real estate for sale websites
3. Postlets where yu can buy your listing's website and send it to anyone you want to for $5 total.
4. Signs, as many as you can put up that are legal
5. Networking with your fellow Realtors in different offices thruout your town or county


Didn't the LA Times just close down their real estate section because of no business?

wow perky you are so sensitive about this things:-) I don't care what somebody is going to stik on my car, but I don't pay attention what really that it is. However if that works for somebody, good.

Print ads in a local RE book accounted for 75% of my sales last year. Stopped using local newspaper because price didn't justify the mediocre results, now will only use for open house ads. But am looking at doing more pay per click because online is so much more effective.

And I agree with Perky-DO NOT TOUCH MY CAR.