How do you market a property if you have no experience in marketing? Read on as I share with you a crash course in real estate marketing.

Once you have acquired a property, it’s time to market it.

If you have never done any marketing in your life then I highly recommend that before you do anything, before you announce the property to your friends, take the time to make a marketing plan. All professional marketers have a marketing plan and all successful marketers use a marketing plan.

To best guide to preparing a marketing plan is to use the Marketing Triangle. The Marketing Triangle is composed of 3 legs – Market, Message and Medium. Let’s discuss each one.

Target Market – Focal Point

Determine the focus of your marketing – your target market. It is not a good idea to market to “everyone”. There is an old adage in marketing that says if you target everyone, you end up targeting no one. It’s better to have a small segment of the whole market to target. How do you determine your target market?

First, determine the demographics of your target market. What are their age, sex, civil status, household income level, profession and address? This gives you a picture of what your target market looks like?

Second, determine the psychographics of your target market. What is their motivation for buying? Buy their dream home? Investment? Gift for parents? What are they looking for? Security? Convenience? Upscale neighbourhood? You will use the answers to these questions in the next leg.

Marketing Message – What You Say Matters

Use the psychographics of your target market to determine the emotional anchors that will let resonate with your buyers. What dreams/aspirations will be fulfilled if they buy a house?

What fears and frustrations do they have? What keeps them up at night?

Craft your message with those aspirations and frustrations in mind. Then enumerate the features and benefits that your property offers.

Finally, what is your unique selling proposition? What sets you apart from the competition?

Medium – Where To Put Out Your Marketing

These are the channels that you will use to deliver your message to your target market. You must use the correct medium otherwise your message will reach the wrong market!

Ask yourself, where is your target market looking? Where do they hang out? Where are they likely to be looking for marketing messages?

Below are some ideas where you can put out your marketing message.

Online Channels

• Post in your blog.
• Post Ads in Free Ad Directories like Craigslist and Sulit.
• Post your blog post in Facebook and Twitter.
• Email everyone you personally know. Edit your signature so that every time you email someone they see the link back to your blog.
• Post in online forums but before you do, read the posting rules. Normally, forums allow you to put a link back to your blog in the signature.
• Post in your Yahoo Messenger, Skype or other IM status.

Offline Channels

• Have a For Sale sign in front of the property with your contact numbers
• Put signs in community bulletin boards. For condominiums, check with the building administration if you can post a sign. For subdivisions, check with the homeowners association.
• Put bandit signs on busy roads and intersections. Should be readable by someone driving or riding in a car or public transport. Be careful though because in many cities, bandit signs are prohibited.
• Put out newspaper ads. Buy and Sell accepts free ads.
• Text everyone you personally know and ask for referrals. Give out a referral fee to encourage them.
• Go to networking events and hand out business cards. If you have the budget, be an event sponsor so you can have a booth and give out flyers.

Marketing To-Do List

Once you have all 3 legs determined, get your calendar and put all your marketing activities in your calendar so you’ll have consistent marketing every day. Once you have exhausted all your activities, review the plan and see what other activities you can do again and put them right back in the schedule.

Marketing is a numbers game. As long as you do consistent marketing, your property is guaranteed to generate prospects for you and this will eventually lead to that much desired sale.