To run a successful rental investment, certain skills are necessary for all landlords. Among the list of these skills is, surprisingly, marketing.
An effective rental marketing campaign can help you in a variety of ways. Including, shortening the period your Spokane property is vacant, attracting the right tenants, and helping you maximize your income.
In today’s blog, we at Windemere Property Management will walk you through the most proven ways on how to advertise your rental property successfully avoiding the [common mistakes](https://wrents.com/property-marketing-mistakes).
Get the Photography Right
Study after study has shown that listings with great photos tend to have over 90% more views than those without. Also, research has shown that prospects tend to spend over 60% of their time scrolling through photos in a rental ad.
All that can be summarized into two crucial items: One, that photos are key in any rental advertising campaign; and two, that great photos are key to attracting great prospects.
With that in mind, do you need to spend thousands on a quality camera? Not at all!
A good smartphone is very much up to the task. The following are some tips to help you get the best photos of your Spokane rental property.
- Make your property photogenic: In other words, stage it. That may include doing things like depersonalizing it, getting rid of trash, cleaning it, and even repainting it. You want to create a space that a prospect will want to envision themselves living in.
- Pay attention to the lighting. If possible, you’ll want to take the photos during the day. If that isn’t possible, then use the lighting in the property. Great lighting is necessary for clear photos.
- Take the photos in the right angles. When snapping the photos, try capturing two walls and not three as that can close up a room in a photo. Also, give viewers the best possible look of the property by capturing a natural, appealing photo.
- Have a shot list. It’s always important to stay organized and prepared. Your shot list should include important areas such as the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and appliances, outdoor spaces, living room, and dining areas.
Additionally, you could also consider doing a video tour. This is a great way to give prospects an idea of size and layout of your property.
Write a Great Rental Ad
Photos alone won’t be sufficient enough to persuade a prospect to rent your property. You’ll need to convince them by tying the photos to an engaging property description.
In addition to tying the whole story together, an engaging and interesting description can also help with ranking in search engines.
A rental ad breaks into two sections: the headline and the description. The headline is what will make your ad stand out from the rest, as it’ll be the first thing that a prospect will see when scrolling through.
Craft a Striking Headline
You should make sure to include certain information in the headline. That is, the rental price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, property type, location, and a unique selling point.
This will immediately tell a prospect whether the home is in their desired location, price range, and the target size.
An example of a great headline would be something like $2,000 1BR/1BTH Apartment near Riverfront Park with stunning views.
Describe Your Property
The other important section of a rental ad is the property description area. This section allows the landlord to finish telling their story in order to help tie down the headline with the photos.
To make it interesting to prospects, make sure to do the following.
- Highlight important amenities. Examples include water views, tall ceilings, large windows, prime location, excellent schools, backyard haven, and city skyline views.
- Use the right descriptors, such as cozy, beautiful, charming, private, spacious, and intimate.
- Mention the neighborhood. Is it a vibrant community, quiet neighborhood, professional community, or a hip neighborhood?
- Tell prospects what’s nearby. Such as, highways, universities, bars, parks, train lines, shopping markets, or coffee shops.
- Give the tenant any exciting tidbit, like walk-in closets, new renovations, pool, gardens, private backyard, or granite countertops.
- Give prospects more information regarding the property. For example, let them know about the rental price, security deposit amount, your contact info, and whether the unit is pet-friendly or not.
Distribute the Ad
Sadly, just creating the ad isn’t enough, you need make sure it gets in front of the right prospects. To maximize your chances of landing a great prospect, distribute the ad far and wide. So, start thinking of the platforms that local tenants visit when they are looking for their next apartment.
Popular rental listing sites include Zillow, Craigslist, Zumper, Redfin, and HotPads. Also remember to cater for prospects who may not go online. For this group, put up yard signs, use local bulletins, print out flyers, and even post the ad on the community bulletin boards.
Once your ads are up and running, make sure to keep a keen eye on their performance and make adjustments whenever necessary. You may also want to run paid, targeted ads to bump things up, especially if you’re in a particularly competitive market.
Hire a Property Management Company
A good property management company will have tried and tested marketing systems in place. They will help you create an enticing rental ad that captures the interests of a large prospective tenant pool.
In addition, they will also be knowledgeable with the Washington Fair Housing Act. The act prohibits landlords from including any discriminatory phrases in their rental ads on the basis of certain classes. The classes include race, color, nationality, familial status, sex, and religion.
Bottom Line
The goal of every landlord is to rent to the right tenant in order to help maximize their rental income. But that all starts with having an effective rental marketing strategy.
If you need further help in advertising your Spokane property or any other aspect of property management, Windermere Property Management can help. Get in touch to get started!