Summary:
Promoting your own rental property can be challenging when first starting out. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most effective marketing methods to promote your rental property including local marketing, online marketing, social media marketing, and more.
We’ll also cover how to prepare your property to ensure it’s in pristine condition when your first potential renter arrives!
How Do I Market/Promote My Rental Property?
All your hard work has paid off, and you’re finally ready to put your property up for rent. So you decide you will put an ad in the local newspaper, and wait for the renters to come knocking down your doors. Well, not exactly.
While the local newspaper is not the worst place to advertise, there are other marketing methods that will help you reach more people, and most importantly, the right people.
Prepare the Property
Before you start marketing the property, it needs to be prepared. Potential renters will be viewing the property through photos, videos, and even in person, so you want the property to be in immaculate condition. A few preparation tips:
- Mow the grass
- Cut any unsightly weeds and branches
- Trim bushes
- Touchup interior/exterior paint as needed
- Sweep/mop floors
- Neatly position furniture and appliances
- Cover floor blemishes with rugs or furniture
- Keep it smelling fresh with candles or air freshener
- Set the thermostat to a comfortable level
- Make sure all lights, electrical outlets, and appliances are in working order
Don’t Underestimate Signs
Your local market should never be ignored. A “For Rent” sign in the front yard is helpful, but signs at all nearby intersections may help even more.
Potential renters often cruise through the neighborhoods they are interested in, and a colorful, well-positioned sign should catch their eye.
You can place signs in other neighborhoods as well, just be sure to add your phone number to the sign so you can describe the property, and give directions to anyone who calls.
Online Marketing
In recent decades, online marketing has immensely overtaken local marketing. This is due to technological advances that have made it simple to reach large numbers of potential renters, and it’s also easy to target specific types of renters.
If you want a large number of people to see your ads, you can create listings on numerous sites including Zillow, Realtor, Trulia, Hotpads, Rent.com, your own personal website, AirBNB, YouTube, your local real estate association, PadMapper, and apartmentguide.com.
Craigslist is one of the largest online sites for property rentals. You may be able to find renters by simply searching the “Wanted” posts, or you can create your own ad. Be sure to include as much information as possible, add plenty of photos, and if possible, you should always add a walkthrough video of the entire property.
Pro tip: People on Craigslist tend to be skimmers, so make sure the main photo and headline are both flashy.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is one of the best methods to market your property to a huge number of people. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram – they all have their own marketing benefits.
The two largest social media networks are Facebook and Twitter, which provide you with the possibility of reaching unlimited amounts of people through groups, direct messages, retweets, and shares.
There are numerous local and national renter groups on Facebook and Twitter. Once you join a group, you can share your property to thousands of potential renters.
Pro tip: Social media users love photos and videos, so include both if possible!
Closing Time
If you follow the tips I’ve outlined above, you should get quite a few interested rental prospects. Now you can start the lease-signing process, and start making money! Don’t forget to ask each person that contacts you how they found out about your property so you can track the marketing methods that are most effective for you.
Hopefully you’ve found this information useful today, and you’re now prepared to go successfully market your own rental property! If you need more info, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below. Happy marketing!
