How to Find Real Estate Leads
Through Newspaper Classifieds

Part of the Professional Real Estate Agent Handbook Series

Classified ads are marketing strategies mostly ignored by real estate agents. This method is frowned upon most of the time; most use it as just an alternative, while some don’t use it at all. However, hasn’t it occurred to you, that if classified ads we’re such sloppy lead generators, that it would’ve been deemed obsolete and won’t be used anymore? Well the answer to that comes easily, it’s not obsolete, quite the contrary, it can be a good lead generator when put into the right use.

Classified ads can be a very profitable program; all you have to do is have the right approach.

Why would you want to use classified ads?

First of all classifieds are easy to test, they get published easily and are viewed as soon as possible, by the next week after you’ve had your ad published, you’d find measurable results.

Second is, classifieds are very cheap, if you compare a classified to a display ad, you’ll know how much you’ll be saving.

The most important reason why you should use classified ads is the quality of leads that it brings to you. Most people that would read your ad would already be interested and would be readier to buy or sell than others.

Now when you do make classifieds, you should know that people don’t expect to be entertained when they see your ad. When you’re looking for information, where is it that you look first? Chances are you’ll look where you’ll get the information fastest and easiest, and it doesn’t get any easier than a classified ad.

People who are looking are more likely to look at classifieds because it’s direct, no more pop up-ads, no risk of viruses and no pestering realtor.

When you’ve finally decided to use classified ads, there are four things that you need to incorporate into your ad, attention, interest, desire and action. This AIDA method has worked for 100 years, and it is still working.

First, to get appropriate attention you must aim for the attention of the right leads. Then you need to get them interested; focus on benefits, not just features, as these are the “sellers” of the trade. Next you should focus on desire; use emotional terms, lavish, glamorous, these all trigger the imagination and builds desire. The final step is to convince them to take action; to do this you have to ensure them that it would all be easy, so make it easy by giving them easy ways to contact you.