With the ever-evolving digital age only growing in presence, it can be easy to think that all you need to do is get your home listed online when you’re ready to sell and wait for the views and offers to roll in.
As a first step, it’s definitely worth doing but there is so much to it. While your estate agent can help, the more information you can provide, and input you offer, can really help you find the attention of more buyers. We’ve put together a list of resources, both digital and print, that you should consider using. Discuss these with your agent and decide which are the most relevant and useful to you to make sure you get the most out of the process.
Eye-catching photography
The most important part of selling your home is making sure any potential viewers know what to expect before they come to visit your home. This helps to avoid wasting anyone’s time – yours and theirs. If they see photos that don’t accurately show your home, they won’t be interested when they view it.
The key here is to make sure the pictures are taken at the right time of day, with the best light showing off everything your house has to offer, and at various angles to give potential buyers a feel for if this is the right property for them.
These are used in both printed material and online so their importance cannot be emphasised enough. Your estate agent will help with this.
Engaging descriptions
Like the photos, these are going to be used both online and on printed materials so it’s important to get this right. You are effectively selling your home. Different mediums require altered writing, so while a longer piece is a good starting point, it will need to but to size or altered for the various ways you want to use it.
This is where your knowledge comes into play. The more we know about your home, it’s features and selling points, the better we can market it compared to the competition. Local area knowledge is also useful as it can help potential buyers learn more about where your property is and what they can expect.
Online listings
It’s true that an online presence is important, with more people than ever using smartphones and tablets to browse the web on the go. This is a valuable market to tap into, but you’ll need both photos and descriptions to really sell your property to potential buyers.
There’s much less human interaction through this method so clear, accurate information is needed, while adding a human voice to create that personal link. Combine these with pictures and you have a great way of attracting interest with much less effort.
Brochures, flyers and signs
We’ve all seen the ‘For Sale’ signs that are used outside of house, as well as the signs in an estate agent’s window. Brochures are more detailed items that can be picked up and studied at length when you have time. The signs are great but unless you live on a busy road with a lot of passing traffic, your audience is going to be limited.
The latter two make use of effective descriptions and photography in a similar way to online listings but there is the opportunity of human interaction in some cases that can add that personal touch, which goes a long way.
Video guides
Something reasonably new to the offering but with the availability of cameras as devices and attached to phones and tablets, it’s possible to create video tours of a property that can show more than pictures – and they’re easier to watch without having to click through photos.
Add to that the commentary that can come with them, and it’s another way for descriptions to accompany imagery in a seamless manner. This isn’t right for everyone but can be incredibly beneficial to some sellers.
Finding the right balance
As with anything, the right balance is important. Overload on a digital presence and you may miss out on those who look at leaflets and store windows. The same is true for the reverse. It’s easy to think that getting your home out there as much as possible everywhere is the way to go but it can actually hurt you.
Be careful not to spam your audience with the same resources over and over as this could put them off as it makes you seem desperate. Seek advice with this to make sure you get the right amount of exposure in the best places and at the most opportune times.
If you want to find out more about any of the resources we’ve listed here, as well as discuss any other ideas you have, contact us today and see how we can help.
