BY LUCAS HALL
A LANDLORDOLOGY GUIDE
THE LANDLORD’S GUIDE TO MARKETING WITH CRAIGSLIST
CONTENTS
Quality Rental Ads ........................................................................................................
1
Advertising Methods . . .................................................................................................
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The Ads Purpose ..........................................................................................................
3
The Building Blocks .....................................................................................................
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The Craigslist Ad Format ..........................................................................................
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Sample Ad Templates ................................................................................................
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Supported HTML Tags ..............................................................................................
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Sample Symbols ........................................................................................................
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Build Your Own Template . . ........................................................................................
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Additional Resources .................................................................................................
25
About Landlordology ................................................................................................
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THE LANDLORD’S GUIDE TO MARKETING WITH CRAIGSLIST A step-by-step guide to creating Craigslist rental ads that work!
What You’ll Learn This step-by-step guide will teach you how to create amazing Craigslist rental ads that produce results. Included with this guide are my very own rental ad templates, which I use every time I post a new listing on Craigslist. With these templates, you’ll be able to increase your ad response rate and find more qualified tenants in less time. THIS GUIDE INCLUDES:
1. The building blocks for creating the perfect Craigslist rental ad 2. The exact language I use in my ads 3. A sample ad template for a Condo/Apartment/Single Family Home 4. A sample ad template for a Group House/Roommate House 5. My personal list of valuable online advertising tools 6. Links to Landlordology’s best articles and tips on finding tenants
Quality Rental Ads The first step in finding amazing tenants is to create quality rental ads. It’s true, advertising can be stressful and time consuming, but it’s also absolutely necessary if you hope to find tenants. I think most real estate professionals would agree that a polished rental ad will attract high-quality applicants. Further, your ad should resemble the type of tenant you are trying to attract. A detailed ad with high-quality photos tells applicants that you are a professional landlord who takes pride in your rental property, and cares about the landlord-tenant relationship. It’s also a great way to say “I’m not a slumlord!”
Advertising Methods For decades, the best way to market a rental unit was to publish an ad in the local newspaper. That’s no longer true. Today, newspapers are a dying breed and they rarely produce results anymore. Their audience is now online, browsing free rental listing websites like Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com), to find their new home.
Craigslist is Still #1
LANDLORD TIP:
The first rule of advertising is “go where your customers are.” Today, that’s Craigslist.
It shouldn’t surprise you, but of all the sites available for posting rental ads, Craigslist continues to perform as the best site to find tenants. In fact, over the last nine years, more than 90 percent of my tenants have come from Craigslist. I’ve refined my Craigslist rental ads so that they consistently generate
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dozens of inquiries and multiple showings each week. More often than not, using these templates, I can find qualified applicants within 7-10 days of posting on Craigslist. Because I want to cast the widest net possible, I also use Cozy (https://cozy.co) to create an online listing for my property, and sydicate it to Realtor.com. If you want to go a step further, use Zillow Rental Manager (https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/) to syndicate your ad on Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads. These sites supposedly generate more traffic than Craigslist, and have definitely provided me with some quality leads in the past. The younger, tech-savvy tenant seems to prefer using Zillow / Trulia to find their next rental.
WEBSITE
UNIQUE VISITORS
Zillow.com / Hotpads.com
79 Million
Craigslist.org
60 Million
Trulia.com
45 Million
Realtor.com / Move.com
22 Million
*Source: Corporate reports from respective sites, as of April 2014
In my area, Craigslist continues to send me more inquiries than all of the other sites combined. Paired with a beautiful listing and online rental application via Cozy, it’s easy for applicants to find and apply to property. Depending on your location, Zillow / Trulia might perform better for you, so it’s worth your time to create an ad on Zillow and experiment with what might work better in your area.
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The Ads Purpose In the midst of hundreds of other ads, all screaming for the reader’s attention, your ad needs to accomplish two goals: 1. Get the Click Get the reader to click on your ad to view more details. 2. Get an Inquiry Get the reader to respond by phone, email, or by sending them to a website.
To achieve these goals you need to create a simple, yet compelling ad.
The Building Blocks Each rental ad is a representation of the rental unit. If your ad looks haphazardly thrown together, renters will assume the same about your unit. If your ad doesn’t showcase the unit well, you won’t be able to entice people to see it in person.
Use Amazing Pictures Since a picture is worth a thousand words, you should be elated to know that Craigslist allows you to post up to 24 pictures! My formula for the perfect Craigslist ad is quite simple: use bulleted lists, descriptive language, and fantastic photos. Most readers look at the pictures first and then decide if they want to read the text. Therefore, it is vital that you include pictures of the entire property and that each one looks amazing. At a minimum, you should include photos of the following areas:
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• Kitchen (specifically appliances) • Living room (from multiple angles) • Bathroom (including any storage areas) • Bedroom (Don’t forget the closets!) • Any Outdoor Space • Pool (if applicable) • Floor Plans and Dimensions (a simple sketch will suffice)
Since Craigslist continues to change their ad configurations and allowable HTML tags, I think it is always best to work within the Craigslist content editor rather than relying on HTML export from a third-party vendor. This will allow you to post consistent ads for years to come.
Pictures Attract Clicks Ads that use the default image uploader also get the added perk of having a “pic” or “img” notation next to the title, which will entice readers to click on your ad.
Professional Photos Make a Difference
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Nothing ruins an ad like horrible photos. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra time and money to get high-quality photos of your property. If you don’t have a decent camera, try to borrow one from a friend, or hire a freelance photographer on Craigslist. TERRIBLE PHOTOS
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AMAZING PHOTOS
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In the past, I’ve used CirclePix, a nationwide photography company (http://circlepix.com). All of their photographers use professional cameras and can create a 360-degree photo of each room. At no extra cost, they’ll host the images for you and provide you with a website to showcase them.
Be Specific, but Don’t Exaggerate When creating a rental ad, you should try to describe the property as accurately as possible without giving false impressions. • Include the Price Surprisingly, even ads that list high rent prices get more views than those without prices at all. Asking the renter to “call for a price” only creates an additional barrier for them, and they won’t follow through. • Itemize Rooms List the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and bonus rooms. Most people assume there is a kitchen, living room, and some sort of eating area. • Use Rich Adjectives and Keywords Spacious garage. Amazing views. Private, fenced-in yard. Walking distance to Metro. Stainless steel appliances. These are all wonderfully descriptive and search-friendly terms that will help your ad appeal to readers. • Specify Brands Be specific and include high-end or unique features, such as “Viking Oven and Range.” Viking is a luxury brand that will help you attract higher-end tenants. • Use the Default Map and Give Directions Give specific directions that reference notable landmarks or local amenities, and be sure to use the default embedded map feature. After all, location is everything. • Use Exact Numbers Utility costs fluctuate every month, but you should still be able to offer an average. When mentioning distances, saying “approx. 1 mile from the Metro” is not accurate if your unit is 1.45 miles away. Always give an exact distance from an exact location. Google Maps makes it easy to calculate distances. The Landlord’s Guide to Marketing with Craigslist
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Use Bulleted Lists Let’s be honest, no one likes reading huge blocks of text. Especially on the web, readers prefer to skim headlines and bulleted lists. A study that tracked readers’ eye movements found that web readers followed the same F-shaped scanning pattern regardless of content. In other words, they were scanning for headlines and bulleted items, even when the content was in block format.
LANDLORD TIP:
Ads that are easy to read will attract more inquiries.
Source: Nielsen Norman Group
Which of the following is easier to read?
ABOUT THE HOUSE: 4 Full bedrooms, 2 Full baths, Other rooms include a common Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, two storage rooms, and a laundry room, Walking distance (4 blocks) to the Metro Station (Orange and Blue Lines), 3 blocks to City Market, Walking distance to 10th St. restaurants and, Cable/DIRECTV ready.
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OR:
ABOUT THE HOUSE: • 4 Full bedrooms • 2 Full baths • Other rooms include a common Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, two storage rooms, and a laundry room • Walking distance (4 blocks) to the Metro Station (Orange and Blue Lines) • 3 blocks to City Market • Walking distance to 10th St. restaurants and • Cable TV/DIRECTV ready
Be Accurate, Honest & Transparent No one likes being deceived, especially when money is involved. The best rental ads do not lie or give a false impression of the unit. As a landlord, you have to be 100 percent honest when you are listing your unit for rent. If you don’t, it could land you in serious legal trouble. The old saying “The camera never lies” is not quite true, especially with today’s technology. I believe most of the property photos posted online have been touched up using photo-editing software. Many agents also use a fisheye lens attached to a camera to make a room appear 30 percent larger. You definitely want to make your unit look its best, but if you stretch the truth you
LANDLORD TIP:
Though tempting, a fisheye lens creates a false sense of space, and leaves prospective tenants disappointed.
risk irritating and disappointing everyone who comes to see it. The bottom line is that false advertising can cost you time, money and a lot of grief. It’s best to be specific and accurate when listing the details.
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True Stories of Unintentional Deception “The Frank Lloyd House” I knew a landlord who thought his property resembled the style of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. In his ads, he would call it “the Frank Lloyd Wright house” because that’s what he called it in his head. He was amazed at how much attention his ads would receive. Of course, you can imagine how angry the potential tenants were when they discovered the house was not actually designed by a famous architect. “Square Footage Fiasco” A friend of mine, a professional property manager and licensed real estate agent, listed a unit as having 678 sq ft, which is the size that the owner had disclosed. When the new tenant took possession of the property and measured it himself, he found it was only 628 sq ft, a difference of 50 sq ft. Instead of asking for a reduction in rent, he sued the property manager, the real estate brokerage and the property owner for false advertising. Despite the fact that the tenant had toured the property before signing the lease, the judge awarded the tenant thousands of dollars as compensation.
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The Craigslist Ad Format To effectively create a quality ad, you’ll need to understand the basic Craigslist ad format. The image shown below is the exact form used to create a new rental ad on Craigslist.
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When completing this form, the resulting ad will appear as such:
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Sample Ad Templates The following templates showcase the same content and structure that I use to attract tenants and get responses from my Craigslist ads. I want to encourage you to make these templates your own. Simply replace my content with your property’s information and then paste it into Craigslist. I’ve provided some additional instructions in blue. Because Craigslist does not provide its users with an archive of all their expired posts, I recommend saving a copy of your ad in a Word or text document. Year after year, you’ll be able to edit this file as needed and then be able to create new ads in as little as five minutes. Remember to upload professional-looking photos that highlight the best features of your property. The quality of your photos will make or break your rental ad.
Sample Ad: Condo/Apartment/Single Family Home The following text is exactly what I use to attract an individual tenant, couple, or small family to a condo, apartment or single family home. CONTACT INFO:
Enter your email address and select “CL Mail Relay” – this will keep your email address hidden and assign you an anonymous email address which will forward all responses to you.
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TITLE:
Short but catchy, highlight the strongest selling points, use some capitalization.
SPACIOUS Apartment, Amazing View, Close to Stadium – Available 8/1!
LOCATION:
List your neighborhood or popular area (i.e. Downtown). Only use the city’s name if it’s not already specified elsewhere by Craigslist.
City Market / Stadium
BODY:
Summarize the place in no more than 3-4 sentences. Explain any special requirements.
SUMMARY: Beautiful condo for rent in Downtown Denver for $2,249/month + $350/month for all utilities. It’s perfect for a small family, a single individual, or 2 close friends. It has 2 bedrooms PLUS an extra room that could be used as a 3rd Bedroom. The apt is available AUGUST 1st, 2014. We are looking for a 12 or 24 month lease.
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Add the URL where you have posted additional pictures.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS: http://www.YourDomain.com
Add your own features; include proximity to transportation, bullet everything! ABOUT THE APARTMENT: - Walking distance (3 blocks) to the City Market - Two Bedrooms with large closets - One Extra room which can be used as a 3rd Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, or Office - One Full Renovated Bath - Recently Renovated kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, cabinets, granite countertops, and eat-in bar - Central AC - Radiant Heat (warm surrounding heat) - Views of the city (and July 4th Fireworks!) - Across the street from a large park - Electric, Heat, Water, Sewer, and Trash Pickup are included in the utility fee - On-site laundry facilities - VERY easy access to/from the expressway - Condo comes with two parking spaces in a private parking lot. There is also plenty of street parking for guests. - The apartment is not furnished. - Small, non-shedding, hypoallergenic dogs allowed. Send me an email if you want to come by and see it, or if you have questions.
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List the property address in the body, even though it’s already tied to a map. ADDRESS: 123 Main St. Denver, CO 12345 Thanks for looking!
POSTING DETAILS
Fill this out completely. These numbers will be displayed near the title and will help people find your ad. Be honest, especially about the square footage. I suggest thinking twice before allowing animals that shed. Statistically, more people have allergies to cats than dogs, but both will cause additional wear and tear on your property. MAPS
I highly recommend including the property address and cross streets. If you provide this optional information, Craigslist will display an interactive map in your ad. PROMOTIONS
NEVER select this unless you want to be stalked by marketers.
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Sample Ad: Group House/Roommates The following text is exactly what I use to attract unrelated tenants to a group house, where all are considered roommates under one lease with joint and several liability. CONTACT INFO:
Enter your email address and select “CL Mail Relay” – this will keep your email address hidden and assign you an anonymous email address which will forward all responses to you. TITLE:
Short but catchy, highlight the strongest selling points, use some capitalization.
WALK TO METRO / City Market – Large Row House – Available 8/1!
LOCATION:
[List your neighborhood or popular area (i.e. Downtown). Only use the city’s name if it’s not already specified elsewhere by Craigslist.]
Capitol Hill / City Market
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BODY:
Summarize the house in no more than 3-4 sentences. Explain any special requirements. SUMMARY: This 4 bedroom Capitol Hill row house is only 3 blocks from the historic City Market, and 4 blocks from the Metro Station (Orange Line). The house will be available as early as AUGUST 1, 2014. The monthly rent is $3,400, which is only around $850 per person (assuming 4 person occupancy). This house is perfect for a group of 4 or 5 friends who want to live on Capitol Hill, and near lots of shops, restaurants, and the Metro. A minimum 1 year lease is required.
Add the URL where you have posted additional pictures VIEW MORE PHOTOS: Go to http://www.YourDomain.com to view more pictures.
Add your own features, include proximity to transportation, bullet everything! ABOUT THE HOUSE: - 4 Full Bedrooms - 2 Full Baths - Other rooms include a common Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, two storage rooms, and a laundry room. - Walking distance (4 blocks) to the Metro Station (Orange and Blue Lines) - 3 blocks to City Market - Walking distance to 10th St. restaurants - Cable TV/DIRECTV ready
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- Washer and Dryer in unit - Walking distance to Gold’s Gym and Results Gym - 15 minute walk to Union Station (Trains, Metro and Shopping Mall) - 15-minute walk to the Capitol Building - 4 blocks to Safeway and CVS - VERY easy driving access to/from I-395 - 20 minute walk RFK Stadium – Home of DC United (Pro Soccer) - 30 minute walk to Nationals Stadium (Pro Baseball) - Plenty of street parking available with city parking permit - There have not been any cats living in the house in case you have allergies Send me an email if you want to come by and see it, or if you have further questions.
List the property address in the body, even though it’s already tied to a map ADDRESS: 123 Main St.
Washington, DC 20002 Thanks for looking!
POSTING DETAILS
Fill this out completely. These numbers will get displayed near the title, and will help people find your ad. Be honest, especially about the square footage. I suggest thinking twice before allowing animals that shed. Statistically, more people have allergies to cats than dogs, but both will cause additional wear and tear on your property.
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MAPS
I highly recommend including the property address and cross streets. If you provide this optional information, Craigslist will display an interactive map in your ad. PROMOTIONS
NEVER select this unless you want to be stalked by marketers.
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Supported HTML Tags Currently, only the following HTML tags are supported in the Housing section of Craigslist.
EFFECT
TAG/ELEMENT
ATTRIBUTE/VALUES
Bold Underline Italics Size
none
Paragraph
alig=[left, right, justify
Line Break
clear=[left, all, right, none]
Block Quote
none
Horizontal Rule (line)
align=[left, center, right size=[ width=[]
Paragraph Headers
align=[left, center, right]
Unordered List Ordered List List Item
none
Description List Description Description Term
-
none
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LANDLORD TIP:
For every opening tag; , there must be a similar closing tag; .
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SAMPLE CODE
SPACIOUS Apartment with Amazing Views Available August 1st. One-year lease only. VIEW MORE PHOTOS: http://www.YourDomain. com ABOUT THE APARTMENT: - Walking distance (3 blocks) to the City Market
- Two Bedrooms with large closets
- Washer and dryer in unit
RESULTING TEXT
SPACIOUS Apartment with Amazing Views Available August 1st. One-year lease only. VIEW MORE PHOTOS: http://www.YourDomain.com ABOUT THE APARTMENT: • Walking distance (3 blocks) to the City Market • Two Bedrooms with large closets • Washer and dryer in unit
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Sample Symbols When added to a Craigslist posting title, symbols can help to make your listing stand out from the others. In a sea of rental listings, you need all the help you can get. Notice how your eye is drawn to the listing with the five arrows.
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SAMPLE CODE
▶ ▶ ▶SPACIOUS Apartment with Amazing Views ♥ Fall in Love ♥ with the 20 ft ceilings
RESULTING TEXT
Build Your Own Template With these instructions and templates, you’ll be able to create an effective and reusable ad template for each of your units. Year after year, you’ll be able to edit this file as needed and then be able to creatVTe new ads in as little as five minutes. Paired with a thorough screening process, I’m confident that your new and improved rental ads will help you secure high-quality tenants for years to come. Good Luck and Happy Landlording!
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Additional Resources Related Articles: How to Host a Landlord’s Open House http://www.landlordology.com/landlords-open-house Always Include Pictures When Posting on Craigslist http://www.landlordology.com/tip/include-pictures-on-craigslist Creating the Perfect Rental Ad http://www.landlordology.com/create-the-perfect-rental-ad How to Attract Tenants on Craigslist with Irresistible Pictures http://www.landlordology.com/get-results-on-craigslist-with-pictures Accurately Describe the Property http://www.landlordology.com/tip/accurately-describe-the-property What is “Joint and Several Liability” and Why You Need It http://www.landlordology.com/what-is-joint-and-several-liability
Online Advertising Tools: Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com Cozy https://cozy.co Zillow Rental Manager (ad syndication) https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/
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Google My Maps https://www.google.com/mymaps CirclePix (nationwide network of professional photographers offering standard and 360-degree images of each room, and marketing sites for the photos) http://www.circlepix.com HomeAway / VRBO / Airbnb (great for short-term rentals) http://homeaway.com / http://vrbo.com / / / / Military by Owner (for rentals near military/government establishments) http://www.militarybyowner.com
Photo Hosting: Google+ Photos (free with a Google account) http://photos.google.com Flickr (free) http://www.flickr.com Wix (free) http://www.wix.com Squarespace (starting at $8/mo) http://www.squarespace.com
HTML and Symbols: Character Code http://character-code.com W3Schools http://www.w3schools.com
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About Landlordology Landlordology.com is a website dedicated to bringing small landlords, property managers, and tenants the best educational tools and resources on Earth. It is the brainchild of Lucas Hall, a successful landlord with dozens of happy tenants and a profitable income property portfolio , and is brought to you by the people at Cozy – the best online tool to automate your rental properties.
I’m Lucas Hall, Chief Landlordologist at Cozy, the company that makes renting easy for everyone. I am a successful landlord with dozens of happy tenants and a profitable income property portfolio. A landlord for over eight years, I founded Landlordology in 2013, and became part of Cozy in January 2014. Being a landlord to dozens of tenants, I’ve learned how to manage rental properties while thriving at my full-time job, and maintaining a high quality of life with my lovely wife and 90 lb goldendoodle. Most of my business is now on autopilot – but it wasn’t always easy. Over the years, I’ve met lots of other amazing landlords and property managers. Some are positioned by choice (like myself), while others have fallen into the rental business because they were underwater on a mortgage, or simply could not sell their property. Whatever your situation, I want to share with you the techniques needed to manage your rental in any economy – helping you to build financial security and keep your properties rented.
Lucas Hall Chief Landlordologist at Cozy
Articles, Tips and More: Landlordology.com Twitter twitter.com/Landlordology Facebook facebook.com/landlordology Newsletter landlordology.com/newsletter
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