Advertising your property ... property auctions, newspapers or the internet.

67. Umm, how will I word this ad?

If you aren't good with words, that is, its taking you painstakingly long to draft an ad, go with ads placed in the local and regional papers that you FEEL works for you. This means putting yourself in the buyers shoes: you read the ad, it makes you curious, and you take down the number. If an ad pleases you or strikes you as effective and persuasive, copy the style and content of the ad. Another alternative would be to refer back to some of the books you read on successful real estate sales and mull over the model ads.

68. Can you just state the bottom line please?

When you're ready to write out an ad, clarity and brevity must be your parameters. If your price is reasonable and realistic and you put the ad in the right strategic places, you'll get at least 20 calls.

69. Do your thinking before picking up that phone

Don't do what many people do. They call the classified ads department of their local and regional papers and craft the ad with the person in the other line. Don't waste time by providing information only while you're on the phone. Instead, figure everything out in advance. And when we say everything, we mean that by the time you call the classified ads person, you know ahead of time what your ad will look like, what it will say, where to put it, what abbreviations to use and whether or not it should have a border (experts say you don't need a fancy border for your ad to catch the readers attention).

Bill Effros who sold his house in five days said that you don't need a double column or a fancy border for your ad.

70. Wait and see.

Be careful about how long you want your ad to run. An ad that's been around too long will give readers the impression that your house is not selling because of major problems. It will also tell them that maybe buyers are coming to see the house only to walk away disappointed. Some experts say a five-day ad is sufficient. If you don't get a sufficient number of serious callers, pull out the ad, wait a few weeks, and start all over again. Review the ads wording. Perhaps there's something in the ad that doesn't sound right that you didn't notice the first time.

71. Where should I publish?

Put it in two sure places where it will get read. Again, pretend you're the buyer looking for a house. Where would you most likely look? That's the section where you should place your ad. Your local paper with a small circulation and your regional paper with a much larger circulation should be your target destinations for your ad.

72. One is enough.

Buyers often don't really want to buy 4-5 newspapers to look for houses for sale. They'd much rather concentrate on one paper and encircle the ads that could lead to potential visits. They usually go for the paper which is the most popular with the highest number of readers. That's the paper where your ad must also go.

73. Cyberspace? Do I really want Martians buying my house?

What about placing my ad on the Internet, you ask?

If our guess of the human tendency is right, people may look at the Internet for houses for sale, but may not necessarily be serious buyers. So the Internet for now would be an alternative to traditional newspaper advertising. Just watch people in cafes who are reading the classified ads. They usually mark the paper, circling those ads that they're interested in.

On the Internet, the buyer would either copy contact details by hand or print the ad this can be cumbersome. At least with the newspaper at hand, people can just toss it in the seat of their cars as they drive off to visit the property, and can look at the ad again, if needed.

74. Do you want to write a house story?

Try the home section, not the classified ads

Think twice, even three times before you get that pencil or word processor moving. Avoid flowery words. Avoid expressions like it will capture your heart, or a house of your dreams, or here's a house where you can have many memorable days.

People are not really looking for something to captivate their hearts or memories. They're looking for a real house to live in, for a roof over their heads. The dreams and memories can come later, but at this point, buyers are only interested in a physical structure that they claim ownership of.