Reading Time: 5 minutes

When I was first starting out, my idea of a comprehensive real estate listing marketing plan consisted of little more than bugging my buyer agent friends on the phone, sending out emails (mostly spam) to people who didn’t know or care about me and placing more newspaper ads than the competition.

It’s a wonder I survived a month.

These days most listing agents know that having a rock-solid real estate marketing plan for sellers isn’t just a good way to focus your energies when trying to move a listing, but it also helps you get more listings.

So, here are 10 secrets to a real estate listing marketing plan that can help you generate more clients and close more sales.

How to Create a Real Estate Marketing Plan That Actually Works

Secret #1: Make it Pretty (and Something You Can Hold in Your Hand)

I know what the blogs and the newspaper reports say. That we are in a technological age where everybody is addicted to their phones and tablets and will only consume stuff on a screen.

And yet I find I’m able to get more listings by having a colorful marketing plan brochure that people can touch and feel. Something about having something in your hand makes something more real. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that young people — who get a bad rap for being so tech-crazed — actually prefer to read books in that quaint medium of paperback.

Now, this isn’t something you can just dash off in an afternoon on Canva. (No offense, Canva. You know I love you too.) This will likely require:

  • A professional template
  • A designer to make sure fonts and designs are consistent
  • Professional binding
  • Super, high-quality paper (not just the crap you get at Costco)
  • High-end stock photos (not those cheesy ones where the models look like they’re on Lithium

This puppy should run about 30-40 pages. It should be bulky. It should be impressive. It should have real weight when people hold it.

This doesn’t mean you don’t have a digital version on your iPad. Of course you do. But having something real and tangible is a great way to differentiate yourself in a crowded agent market.

Secret #2: Be Super-Precise About Your Marketing Channels

I read a luxury real estate marketing plan the other end. And while the pictures were quite good (more on that next) the actual marketing plan was more sizzle than steak.

That’s because they used super-vague descriptors for their marketing channel section. They used words like “social media” and “online advertising” and “local outreach.”

“Social media” could mean Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or Pinterest or any number of platforms.

Is “online advertising” Google? Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? Craigslist?

And does “local outreach” mean knocking on doors? Or meeting up with fellow agents at networking events?

I appreciated this agent showing me his book, but all I kept thinking was: they haven’t really thought this whole thing.

This marketing plan is a marketing piece to attract listings. They don’t actually know what they intend to do. (At least that’s the impression I get.)

Being super specific about WHERE you’ll be marketing these properties to helps you question your assumptions, long before you start spending money on actual marketing.

It helps you conduct thought experiments to see if halfway know what the hell you’re talking about.

Do I really think that the luxury buyer is gonna click on my Facebook ad and be a serious lead?

Or is a Google ad a much better way to go? And if so, do I know what set of keywords I’m going to aim for?

If I’m selling commercial, how much do I need to spend on LinkedIn ads? Or do I have a better approach? (Like a paid email insert.)

You don’t have to include all this intel in your forward-facing marketing plan. But you should definitely have thought this stuff through to the end?

I know. Sounds like a lot of work. It is. And it’s totally worth it.

Secret #3: Know Thy Homebuyer Better Than They Know Themselves

Want to know the best sneaky demographic tool in the world? Good, old Facebook.

That’s right. The company which has turned data collection and the invasion of privacy into an industry has more data about more people (nearly two-and-half billion) than anybody else.

And while you and I can certainly rant and rave about how awful that is — and it is — there is a way for us to use that costly data for the powers of good.

And that is with Facebook IQ Audience Insights.

See, everybody knows about ads. But what they don’t realize is that there’s this treasure trove of data that will you that first-time homebuyers in your slice of the world are:

  • Between the ages of 24-36
  • Make a combined average salary of 110,000
  • Tend to be looking at baby clothes ads within 18 months of buying said home
  • Their favorite TV show is The Office on Netflix
  • They don’t have a cable subscription, but use the one they got from their parents
  • Their favorite movie is whatever the latest Marvel movie is
  • They like Facebook pages that are about pop culture and philanthropy

…and so on.

So, what the heck do you do this with info? Well, I know that a smart home with lots of different areas to stream content is important.

I also know that having an area outside for superhero themed swings sets and forst for the kids might be important. (As well as plenty of room for that container garden which can help give back.)

These are called pscyho-active data points. And they are super powerful. Because instead of just marketing to people between a certain age in a certain zip code…you can be super laser-targeted with ads like “Looking for a new home to binge-watch The Office? Again?”

Secret #4: Hire a Really Pro Photographer

You know this one already. So, I”m not going to belabor the point.

But you need a photographer who really knows their way around:

  • Wide-angle lenses (to show multiple rooms)
  • Avoiding reflections
  • Using natural light (as opposed to LED overheads)
  • Saturation and tints (something I know nothing about, until I see it done badly)
  • A high-end DSLR camera that can actually do cool stuff (not your iPhone)

Most of us have learned how to take pretty good pictures with our phones these days. But “prett good” is not good enough anymore.

There’s just too much visual content out there. You need photos and creative that absolutely pop. That convey the exact mood and tenor of the property. If this means shooting at 7pm when the lighting is right or getting up at 630am to get that perfect glint on the grass…then that’s what it takes.

There’s an old expression in audio recording: “Record two more takes than you think actually need.” Meaning once you’ve recorded that awesome, amazing take and think you’re done. Do two more. Often you’ll be glad you did.

Do the same with your photos. If you’ve got the photographer out at the property. Let them go to town. Don’t rush them. Get lots and lots of options. Little accidents will happen. Cool imagery will pop off the page.

Because if it does for you — even after you’ve combed through 92 versions of the same door — then it will for somebody else

and that somebody else just might want to buy your listing.

What’s Your Take on Creating a Real Estate Listing Marketing Plan?

Do you have an organized real estate listing marketing plan? Or do you just kind of wing it? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Facebook Comments

About the Author

About the Author |
Michael Smythe is a realtor, author and founder of Well Fed Realtor, an inbox magazine dedicated to helping fellow real estate professional make more money - and avoid the many crappy marketing mistakes he made.