Creative Real Estate Marketing Ideas for Home Sellers

Selling a home entails so much more than simply listing a home on the MLS with a hope and prayer that buyers will find it. The art of real estate marketing for the Philadelphia market is something great realtors develop a sense for over time. Realtors who succeed do so because they have mastered out-of-the-box, creative ways to market homes so that each real estate listing not only stands up against competing lists, but also stands out as unique in the crowded Philly real estate market.

We live in a very different home buying culture than we did twenty or even ten years ago. When selling your home, eschew outdated marketing strategies and embrace a new era of creative real estate marketing—discover fresh ideas that can work for any listing, be it a home, townhome, or condo.

1. Finesse the listing.

Today’s home buyer starts their search online. This is true 99.9% of the time. Consequently, it’s the job of every home seller and realtor to make sure that your home has a strong, standout online presence. Of course, for starters you want a “wow” MLS listing. This involves:

• An original, well-written summary that puts the punch on the home’s best selling points.
• Beautiful, crisp, high-resolution pictures taken with the best camera you can afford.
• A video tour that appeals to non-local buyers and replaces an open house (more on that later). Video can be pricey to produce, but it is worth it!

Like gorgeously-plated food, real estate listings are consumed by the eyes first. Make your listing pop in both words and images.

Quick tip: Help your realtor make your listing shine. Use effective real estate marketing language in your MLS listing. Top performing words include: captivating, curb appeal, custom, granite, landscaping, stainless, tile, and upgraded.

2. Get the listing out there.

Okay. You’ve created a searchable, punchy, aesthetically-pleasing listing. Now what? If your realtor has a blog, then it’s likely that they’ll dedicate a blog post to your house. For home sellers, your job is to help your realtor dig up any even more material about the house—perhaps even information that was perhaps excluded from the MLS listing to save on space. Potential buyers just eat this stuff up—the more information you give them about your home, the better chance they can imagine themselves living it!

Additionally, as a creative home seller, help your realtor create a stand-out listing. Real estate listings can also list service providers like local lawn and pool maintenance companies you trust, what cable company the sellers use, the insurance agent they work with, and the most recent test scores from the zoned schools. Putting all this information in one spot gives prospective buyers that personal touch they crave.

Don’t have a blog? That’s unfortunate, but workable. Homeowners should consider creating a single-property website. You can direct traffic here with searchable keywords, link from your listings and at any open houses, and really showcase a home for sale. This will be a one-stop shop for all your promotional materials: PDFs of postcards and listing brochures (we’ll get to that, too), and your best photos, video tour, and slideshows.

3. The (literal) personal touch.

While most home buyers start their search online, the homes that they remember out of several they visited will be the ones that leave them with something tangible to bring home. To this end, create brochures for your homes. It should go without saying that the photography will be gorgeous and that all the information from the listing will be contained within. The brochure serves a dual purpose: it appeals to low-tech buyers—yes, a few are still out there—and, at the end of a long day looking at homes, when they all start to blend in buyers’ heads, the brochure will remind them what your home has to offer.

As an alternative, use “just listed” postcards mailed to everyone in your targeted buyer area as another way to drum up interest. These are not quite as effective as online tactics, and will also be expensive to make look professional, but you’d be surprised how many buyers pop out of the woodwork when an unsolicited “just listed” postcard catches their eye.

Need an extra punch of creativity? If you’re not a graphic designer, don’t fear this step! You can either higher a designer through a site like 99Designs, or use a free website like Canva, which provides tools that allow you to beautifully lay out a brochure and even select coordinating fonts and colors.

4. Skip the open house.

“What?!” you are saying right now. “Of course sellers need an open house!” I hear you. But that’s old-school thinking, my friend. Open houses, in actuality, seldom generate useful leads—this is particularly true for smaller realtors without strong connections in the community. If this is you, then there are alternatives.

With a video tour like mentioned above, Prospective buyers don’t need an open house to get a thorough look at a house that they only might be interested in, that’s why the video tour, mentioned above, is such a creative idea for the current way buyers and sellers interact during a home sale. Once they’ve seen your video, serious buyers will always schedule a showing.

Your Key Creative Marketing Takeaway:

Creative real estate marketing equals more houses sold. This is a fact. The energy that you, the home seller, put into marketing a home for sale in savvy, contemporary ways is going to reap you rewards of a house that sells faster and for a better price. Even with a great real estate agent, you can help sell your condo. Use your creativity as an asset, and your home will rise to the top of the Philly real estate market.