The Landlord's Guide to Craigslist Marketing

A LANDLORDOLOGY GUIDE

THELANDLORDS GUIDE TO MARKETING WITH CRAIGSLISTBY LUCAS HALL

Quality Rental Ads ....................................................................................................... 1

Advertising Methods .................................................................................................. 1

The Ads Purpose ......................................................................................................... 2

The Building Blocks .................................................................................................... 3

The Craigslist Ad Format .......................................................................................... 11

Sample Ad Templates ............................................................................................... 13

Supported HTML Tags ............................................................................................. 21

Sample Symbols ....................................................................................................... 23

Build Your Own Template ......................................................................................... 24

Additional Resources ................................................................................................ 25

About Landlordology ............................................................................................... 27

CONTENTS

THE LANDLORDS GUIDE TO MARKETING WITH CRAIGSLISTA step-by-step guide to creating Craigslist rental ads that work!

What Youll 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, youll 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 Landlordologys best articles and tips on finding tenants

1landlordology.com cozy.coThe Landlords Guide to Marketing with Craigslist

Quality Rental AdsThe first step in finding amazing tenants is to create quality rental ads.

Its true, advertising can be stressful and time consuming, but its 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. Its also a great way to say Im not a slumlord!

Advertising Methods For decades, the best way to market a rental unit was to publish an ad in the local newspaper. Thats 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

It shouldnt 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.

Ive refined my Craigslist rental ads so that they consistently generate

LANDLORD TIP:

The first rule of advertising is go where your customers are. Today, thats Craigslist.


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 Postlets (http://www.postlets.com) to syndicate my ads on Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads. These sites generate more traffic than Craigslist, and have definitely provided me with quality leads in the past. The younger, tech-savvy tenant seems to prefer using Zillow / Trulia to find their next rental.

In my area, Craigslist continues to send me more inquiries than all of the other sites combined. Depending on your location, Zillow / Trulia might perform better for you, so its worth your time to create an ad on Postlets.

WEBSITE UNIQUE VISITORS

Zillow.com / Hotpads.com 79 Million

Craigslist.org 60 Million

Trulia.com 45 Million

Realtor.com / Move.com 22 Million

*Source: Corportate reports from respective sites, as of April 2014

The Ads PurposeIn the midst of hundreds of other ads, all screaming for the readers 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 BlocksEach 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 doesnt showcase the unit well, you wont 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:

Kitchen (specifically appliances)

Living room (from multiple angles)

Bathroom (including any storage areas)

Bedroom (Dont 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

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 dont have a decent camera, try to borrow one from a friend, or hire a freelance photographer on Craigslist.

In the past, Ive used CirclePix, a nationwide photography company (http://circlepix.com). All of their photographers use professional


TERRIBLE PHOTOS

cameras and can create a 360-degree photo of each room. At no extra cost, theyll host the images for you and provide you with a website to showcase them.


AMAZING PHOTOS


Be Specific, but Dont 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 wont 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.


Use Bulleted Lists

Lets 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.


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 dont, it could land you in serious legal trouble.

The old saying The camera never lies is not quite true, especially with todays

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

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.

Its best to be specific and accurate when listing the details.

LANDLORD TIP:

Though tempting, a fisheye lens creates a false sense of space, and leaves prospective tenants disappointed.


True Stories of Unintentional Deception

The Frank Lloyd House

I knew a landlord who thought his property resembled the style of Frank Lloyd Wrights architecture.

In his ads, he would call it the Frank Lloyd Wright house because thats 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.


The Craigslist Ad FormatTo effectively create a quality ad, youll 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.


When completing this form, the resulting ad will appear as such:


Sample Ad TemplatesThe 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 propertys information and then paste it into Craigslist. Ive 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, youll 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.


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 citys name if its 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. Its 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.


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.


List the property address in the body, even though its 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.


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 citys name if its not already specified elsewhere by Craigslist.]

Capitol Hill / City Market


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

BODY:

Summarize the house in no more than 3-4 sentences. Explain any special requirements.


- Washer and Dryer in unit - Walking distance to Golds 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.

ADDRESS: 123 Main St. Washington, DC 20002

Thanks for looking!

List the property address in the body, even though its already tied to a map

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.


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.


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

Supported HTML Tags Currently, only the following HTML tags are supported in the Housing section of Craigslist.

LANDLORD TIP:

For every opening tag; , there must be a similar closing tag; .


SAMPLE CODE

SPACIOUS Apartment with Amazing Views

Available August 1st. One-year lease only.



Walking distance (3 blocks) to the City Market Two Bedrooms with large closets Washer and dryer in unit

RESULTING TEXT


Available August 1st. One-year lease only.



Walking distance (3 blocks) to the City Market

Two Bedrooms with large closets

Washer and dryer in unit


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.


SAMPLE CODE


Fall in Love with the 20 ft ceilings

RESULTING TEXT

Build Your Own TemplateWith these instructions and templates, youll be able to create an effective and reusable ad template for each of your units.

Year after year, youll 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, Im confident that your new and improved rental ads will help you secure high-quality tenants for years to come.

Good Luck and Happy Landlording!


Additional Resources

Related Articles:

How to Host a Landlords 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 (the most visited rental listing site in the world) http://www.craigslist.com

Postlets (great for ad syndication to sites like Trulia, Zillow, and Hotpads) http://www.postlets.com

Google Local/Google Places https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness


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

VRBO - Vacation Rentals By Owner (great for short-term rentals) 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

LightCMS (starting at $19/mo) http://www.lightcms.com

HTML and Symbols:

Character Code http://character-code.com

W3Schools http://www.w3schools.com

Im 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, Ive 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 wasnt always easy.

Over the years, Ive 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

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