Posted by Champinino on January 15, 2003 at 16:43:42:
Great advice indeed and certainly what I’m trying to accomplish. Thanks all.
BTW, got my first call today 
may not be worth persuing (for another post) and hey… it’s a call!
My ads are not working - Posted by Champinino
Posted by Champinino on January 14, 2003 at 12:52:10:
Jeeze… two ads in three weeks have generated no calls whatsoever, not one 
Both were simple and to the point. With any luck you folks can tell me what I’m doing wrong. The first read:
MUST SELL? WE BUY!
Any condition/price/area OK
xxx-xxxx
The second:
WE BUY PROPERTY
Fast cash/close/piece of mind
xxx-xxxx
Each ran with bold headlines in my local Sunday Real Estate wanted section along side a regular number of 10 or so in a top 25 market. (in television broadcast terms)
Ultimatly what I want to do is find properties to flip in order to build a base of cash but also want to find situations of all kinds to perhaps long term those that make sense.
What am I doing wrong? I still can’t believe no calls! Many of the ads that surrounded mine are there week after week so someone is getting a return on their ad investment.
Can anyone help?
Try mine! - Posted by ronald rye
Posted by ronald rye on January 15, 2003 at 20:56:54:
Sometimes newspaper ads are not the best answer. They’re expensive and it’s not a very good target market. I have a course from Kathy Kennebrook who’s a personal friend of Ron LeGrand. Her course is all about finding motivated sellers by other, more targeted means than newspaper ads. She does a mailing campaign to a target lists. It’s worked great so far and it’s been alot cheaper than my old newspaper ads were.
I’ve only found one place to buy it. It’s a website. I THINK it’s www.reiwealth.com but I’m not 100% on that. I had it saved in my favorites under rei stuff. I saw it in the bookstore one day while I was crusin’ the net. Let me know if that’s not the right place and I’ll try to find it again.
Good luck!
Re: My ads are not working - Posted by Tom (WA)
Posted by Tom (WA) on January 15, 2003 at 06:53:26:
I would run it every day, not just Sunday. It just may take more time that you have given it. I don’t get a lot of responses, but one deal pays for a lot of ads.
Trial and Error - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on January 14, 2003 at 22:40:05:
As has been said, marketing is a long-term project. Especially when buying homes, many people need to see you a number of times before they’ll feel comfortable enough to call.
Another issue is that some people never read the “Homes Wanted” section of the paper … did you, before you started running your ads there?
It may be best to experiment and put them in the “for sale” and “for rent” sections, where people go to read the ads THEY placed to sell their problem house; or the ad for the house they’re renting because they couldn’t sell it, but would love to! Or, to check on renting a place because they know they will need to move once they’re foreclosed on!
In addition, you will find that “multiple” advertising venues work better than one-shot deals … if you run these ads in the Sunday paper, similar ads in the Pennysaver, maybe some neighborhood papers (cheaper), bandit signs, leave your cards at post offices, laundromats, neighborhood businesses, etc and find any other way of promoting yourself … people will “see” you so often they will feel like they know you.
It is also a good idea to saturate the neighborhood(s) you are particularly interested in (in real estate agent talk they call it “farming”). Do all of the above in one or two neighborhoods, including even handing out or mailing flyers to the entire neighborhood on a monthly basis, instead of putting a much more expensive ad in the biggest newspaper (more competition, more dilution). Then you’ll be the “neighborhood” expert.
Good luck!
Re: My ads are not working - Posted by Heather -Tx
Posted by Heather -Tx on January 14, 2003 at 17:21:42:
I’ve had several lapses in calls on ads, but it really seems like I’ll go two weeks with no calls… and then 5 calls in 3 or 4 days.
At Christmastime I had I think it was 3 weeks with no calls at all off ads, and only one off of my signs. I was too wondering WHAT am I doing wrong ??? But same ads, same signs… and 6 calls in the last three days. You have to take a longer time period to really see if your ads are, or or not working… maybe a few months. (by the way… CHECK Every week on your ads! 3 different weeks mine did not get ran due to “computer error” when I paid 2 months in advance. I got free nice borders and eye catchers for that you can be sure!)
Hope this helps
Heather-Tx
Re: My ads are not working - Posted by eric-fl
Posted by eric-fl on January 14, 2003 at 15:10:25:
If I understand you correctly, are you saying you switched your ad twice in three weeks? If so, that coudl be part of your problem. Look at the “we buy houses” ads in this Sunday’s paper. Then, go to the library, your garage, or wherever, and look at the “we buy houses” ads from a year ago. The ones who are still in there with the same copy & phone number - those are the players. Those are the ones you should be imitating. Newspapers are mass-media advertising. Ads in newspapers have to be looked at as an amortized investment, not a one-time expense. It may take 3, 6 or more months of newpaper ads to get a deal out of them. What you have to look at is the total cost of the ads, in comparison to the total profit on the deal(s), and determine the ROI just as you would any other investment. It doesn’t matter nearly so much what you say, as how consistently you say it. You could probably place an ad that says “YOU SELL. ME BUY.” and be successful with it, as long as you say it every week, or every day.
Re: My ads are not working - Posted by svg01(ny)
Posted by svg01(ny) on January 14, 2003 at 14:20:55:
What do the competing ads have CASH in the bold headlines?
Re: Try mine! - Posted by Wes (DFW-TX)
Posted by Wes (DFW-TX) on January 16, 2003 at 11:10:30:
I would also suggest the following “How to” article on this web site for more marketing ideas, “25 Creative Real Estate Marketing Strategies”, by John Burley:
http://www.creonline.com/articles/art-158.html
Happy Investing!
Wes (DFW-TX)
Re: My ads are not working - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on January 15, 2003 at 08:55:21:
Tom,
FYI i only run my ad on the weekend and i get most of my calls during the week, because people keep the sunday paper and call those ads. Now i haven’t experimented with also running it during the week, because it gets really pricey (my ad is $ 200 for 1 day and on the weekend there’s a special where i get 2 days for the price of 1) but it seems, that a lot of people look at the sunday paper days later.
michaela
Re: Trial and Error - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on January 15, 2003 at 08:51:25:
Carmen,
Maybe i’m off, but i can’t imagine repeat exposure to be necessary. As you wrote, people don’t even look at the ‘real estate wanted’ section until they’re ready to sell. At that point they have to do something NOW and won’t wait for a few sunday papers to make sure they’re calling the people, that have repeat ads. I think by the time people look at the ads they’re ready to call. So, it won’t matter, if you had an ad the previous wee or not.
I get about a dozen calls a week on my weekend ad, but a lot of them aren’t that motivated or they’re ‘no equity’ deals - and i won’t touch those, the way the market is here in atlanta.
just my thoughts
michaela
Re: Yes but… - Posted by Champinino
Posted by Champinino on January 14, 2003 at 16:41:52:
Thanks and yeah, I know what you mean. I didn’t expect to close on 100’s just simply because of the ad, it’s that there have been no calls at all!
I would think that after three weeks I would have gotten at least one call, good deal or bad, but nada. Depressing to be sure.
Do you think my ad is appropriate? Better yet, does it fit what I described my short term goals to be?
Any help is appreciated
Re: Competing ads? - Posted by Champinino
Posted by Champinino on January 14, 2003 at 16:32:29:
Don’t understand your question, can you clarify pls?
I understand your point, but… - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on January 15, 2003 at 10:03:44:
My thought is, people don’t just “suddenly” find themselves in a bad situation with a home. Foreclosures, bankruptcy, tenant situations, disrepair, etc. happen over extended periods of time. People may at times “think” about “I’ve got to sell this house” before they get desperate, look in the paper, check out the ads and run their own … and then get a call from a potential renter … and then that falls through … they look at the ads again … and then they get a lead from their cousin’s wife’s boss’ daughter who is DEFINITELY interested in the house … and then that falls through … and they look at the ads again … but YOU will never know which “day” they finally get fed up and go to the newspaper to find someone to solve their problems once and for all. If they’ve checked the ads a couple of times, and yours is the one that always catches their eye, they will think they know you, and call you first. So, putting ads in weekly will definitely be on your side.
However, if you position yourself as the “neighborhood expert” BEFORE these people even know they will need you … they won’t even GO to the newspaper (and look at your competitors to boot) … they’ll just think “hey, what about that guy who says ‘he buys houses’ … i remember i saw his ad on that sign on the phone pole … (or the laundromat … or the neighborhood newspaper … or that flyer we got … or that postcard we got … or all of them) … let’s see if it’s still there. He must be pretty good, 'cause he’s EVERYWHERE!” This is more effective if you have an easy-to-remember name, phone, web address, color scheme or logo … “remember, honey, the red and yellow signs we saw?”.
Just some basic marketing/psychology.
Re: Competing ads? - Posted by svg01(ny)
Posted by svg01(ny) on January 16, 2003 at 15:32:21:
Are the competing ads using CASH in their bold headlines. CASH an attention getter(Grabber). Your ad had cash in the second line. That may be why you have not gotten any calls.
everyone please read the above post… - Posted by eric-fl
Posted by eric-fl on January 15, 2003 at 10:36:07:
I wholeheartedly agree with this post, and you point out EXACTLY why it is so important to advertise consistently, and over time, in this business. I agree completely that, when average Joe or Jane even starts to think about selling there house, either because they want to, or because they have to, what’s the first thing they do? Look at the other houses for sale in the Sunday paper to “see what the houses are going for.” They may also take the extra step of picking up a Homes & Land magazine from a stand next to the newspaper stand, for the same reason. They do this months before they actually make a selling decision, and do it consistently throughout those months leading up to that decision.