Do newspaper ads work?

“While it's already a known fact that about 80% of home buyers begin their search on the Internet, there's still a large demand for originality among real estate Web sites. Virtual tours, mapping technology, and neighborhood guides seem like a step in the right direction, but agents are in need of a new differentiator. That said, agents who want to lead the pack have begun creating engaging videos to generate leads and ultimately close sales. Featuring qualities that can't be captured by still photos, these videos are the latest cost-efficient marketing tool.”

- RISMEDIA, June 20, 2007

“Video is a key component to raise the bar, and a few years from now it will be expected. Many agents are receiving the majority of leads from the Internet, which is less work for them. The more tools that are provided for the buyer, the more properties will be moved in a shorter period of time.” – Thomas Pointer, AIS Media Inc.

Are Your Newspaper Listings Really Worthwhile?

It is estimated that over 90% of a real estate agent’s advertising budget goes to traditional print advertising in newspapers and homebook ads. This must mean that these ads are successful, right? Let’s have a look.

When it comes to marketing it’s all about ROI = Return On Investment. If I invest $1 in an ad I expect it to at least make me $1 in revenue, or else it is a waste of time (unless it provides some other benefit). That’s Marketing 101.

The problem is that most agents chalk their advertising costs up as a necessary cost of doing business. But without knowing for certain that their marketing efforts are producing the sales they seek they don’t really know, so they simply assume it must be working since their properties do sell.

But wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly whether or not that $300 ad you just placed for a new property is actually going to sell it? Let’s look at some statistics from the National Association of Realtor's ® 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report:

Over 80% of buyers start their search online
Only 5% of buyers found their home from a print newspaper ad
Only 2% of buyers found their agent from a newspaper, yellow pages, or homebook ad

Hmm. Read that again. Only 5% of buyers found their home from a newspaper ad, and only 2% of buyers found their agent from a newspaper ad, yet an estimated 90% of their advertising budget is on newspaper and print ads. Does that seem logical to you?

Now, some agents accept that these ads may not be directly responsible for their sales, but they place them anyway to appease their clients. The logic there is that if a client doesn’t see their ad in the paper they don’t think you are doing your job. This is simply a lack of knowledge on their part, and possibly yours.

Do you think your clients would have a hard time with you not placing a newspaper ad and instead focusing more on investing in your online listings, if you showed them these statistics?

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© 2007 & Beyond - PlaceTour Video Tours. All rights reserved. The Place Tour video property tour service provides real estate agents with a comprehensive video real estate listing service which allows home buyers the ability to perform a virtual tour walkthrough at their leisure, saving you time by weeding out the tire-kickers, and securing you more listings from home sellers. Film properties with a camcorder and bring them to life with PlaceTour - we'll show you how. This service is NOT offered to private home sellers. This service is for accredited real estate professionals only.