Starting a tenancy

How to Create an Effective Advertisement for your Rental Property

Part of good property management is knowing how to effectively market your rental property. First you need to identify your ideal tenants. These are the tenants you picture living in your property. This is important because this decision will set the scene for the rest of your marketing campaign. If you’re targeting high end corporate professionals, you need to come up with a corporate-looking advertisement - classy photos and elegant write-up, for example. And as listings for rental properties move online and advertisements have become standardised, you need to make your property stand out.

Once you have decided on the type of tenants you want to attract, you can now focus on the details of your advertisement. The following keys points are crucial to creating an effective property advertisement.

Get the Price Right. Setting the rental price is crucial to positioning your property against competing properties in the market. Along with your main photo, the price is one of the first things prospective tenants will see as they quickly scroll through the pages of available rentals. If your price seems too high for the number of bedrooms and location of your property, then forget it. You’ve lost them at hello. If you want more help with this, check out setting the price for your rental property.

Good photos. A lot of people will look at your photos before reading your advertisement because people are generally visual beings. In fact, they may not even read your advertisement at all if your photos aren’t appealing. This is why your first objective, at an absolute minimum is one fantastic looking photo and make this your main (first photo), ideally the front of your property. People will question why there is no front photo if you don't include it.

You need enough photos to build the hype around the property but be careful not to overdo it, about 6 -10 photos is good. Your must get photos of at least one each of the following; front, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, lounge and the backyard.

Create a catchy headline. Your advertisement must attract the attention of your prefered tenants, this means you need to find a balance between a catchy but also informative headline. Your heading should highlight the features that you think will best attract your target market but in a unique and catchy phrase. For example, if your property is large and manicured, you may include phrases such as “Fit for a Queen” in your headline. This grabs people’s attention while at the same time still providing information as to the best feature of the property.

Choose your words carefully. Avoid clichés and try not to be too wordy. It is best to try and keep the advertisement to contain approximately 100 words. Use words that are likely to attract tenants, like “spacious” or “new” with a focus on your target market, for example “level, no stairs” for retirees. Most people don’t have the time to read entire advertisements so they just skim through them, especially when they are looking for something in particular. Remember, less is more. The more subtle your presentation is the more chance you have of catching your tenants’ interest. Make sure that you use a strong call to action. In a rental situation, you need them to act without appearing forceful or insistent. Something that sounds genuine and honest is good. You can use such phrases as, “This property has always leased quickly, so if you like it, call for an inspection now.” I also believe its important to be specific about certain information, so instead of saying “convenient location,” use specifics like “about 500 meters to the Westfield shopping centre”.

Be honest with yourself. Remember, the key to creating an effective advertisement is understanding the needs and wants of your preferred tenants.

Once you have your ad published, you need to keep tabs on the other properties that are similar to yours, if something needs changing, change it. Present it well and you’ll give yourself every chance of finding a great tenant in no time.

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