Most sellers stick to the standard marketing tactics: predictable listing descriptions, palatable social media posts, dull double-sided flyers… But you’re not most sellers. You’ve always had a penchant for flair, an appetite for risk, a desire to stand out from the crowd. Why not channel that panache into your house sale? We’ve rounded up 9 truly creative ways to market your house for sale so it can get the attention it deserves. All our strategies are backed by real-life examples of creative genius and fresh spins on old tactics to sell your home at any price point. For added expertise, we co-created this list with real estate marketing aficionados Valerie Garcia, business consultant and speaker, and Annette Wilcox, a top selling real estate agent and social media marketing specialist in Norwalk, OH. Without further ado, let’s get the creative juices flowing. Nothing stands out more in a listing than a unicorn in the bathroom. That’s exactly how homeowner and Realtor Lynn Keyland marketed her home in Lexington, KY. Each photo included an inflatable unicorn and dinosaur in the scene, highlighting the home’s spacious rooms. A gimmick is a trick or device intended to draw attention. They’re strangely attractive, highly memorable, and sometimes a little bit repulsive. Nonetheless, if you know your audience, a gimmick is a fun way to create buzz for your house for sale. In Lynn’s case, her inflatable friends drew the biggest open house she’d ever held. Her home sold for only $2,000 less than the asking price. Garcia recommends marketing your home around oddball holidays: Create a short video highlighting your home’s best feature. A study on user attention span by Hubspot reveals these are the best video lengths for each platform: Choose a theme for the video considering your overall marketing budget and audience: Spread some local love and cross market your house listing with a local legend on social media. Connect with a business or person of interest with at least 1,000 to 100,000 followers (the micro-influencer range) for an “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ arrangement. You share a post tagging their business to your/your agent’s followers and in return they repost or create a corresponding post directing their followers to your listing. Consider teams ups like these to expand your listing’s reach: “People tend to interact more if there’s somebody in the picture they know,” shares Wilcox, who sells 77% more properties than the average agent in her market. “So if you have a well-known agent in the picture, it tends to get more traction on social media than just copying and pasting a URL from the MLS.” The more interaction and shares your post gets, the farther it journeys through social media networks, appearing to friends of friends who could be prospective buyers. Wilcox attributes 8 of her home sales last year to a buyer finding the listing through social media. Your house comes with a lifestyle — yes, even yours! Don’t try to sell the six hour drive to the nearest ski resort. Instead focus on what’s special about living in your house day to day. Like the cozy living room with a wood burning fireplace, perfect for board games. Or the spacious kitchen you douse in flour each time you make one of Gram’s recipes. “Really tie in those stories of what it’s like to actually live there…I’m all for staging and making the house look beautiful, but sometimes those little imperfections can be some of the most charming,” says Garcia. Make buyers feel warm and fuzzy inside with creative details like these in your listing and social media posts: Remember, your goal is to appeal to the most buyers. Zoom in on a lifestyle that’s too specific, or too…peculiar and your marketing backfires. Take for instance this lovely 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania which featured not only a home gym in the basement but also a full-fledged sex dungeon à la 50 Shades of Grey. Naturally, the house received mega press, with local to national coverage from publications like BuzzFeed, iHeartRadio, and VICE. However, marketing this X-rated lifestyle ultimately backfired: The MLS removed photos of the den, neighbors were outraged, Realtors shamed the listing agent, and the house never sold. After 4 months on the market with no desirable offers, the owner delisted the house, returning it to its previous status as a full-time BDSM rental. “Make a quick GIF with a bunch of kids jumping in the pool. It doesn’t have to be this long video. People are losing interest in those four minute videos that are staged like Hollywood movies. I think people are more like, ‘show me something quick and funny that I can share,’” Garcia advises. Record an action shot on your phone and upload it to GIPHY for an instant GIF or use the Boomerang feature on Instagram. If you’re a master of internet culture, create a meme relevant to your house with a free meme generator like Imgflip. Confused on how this works? Ask your agent. Realtors love a good meme more than anyone. Design a double sided flyer, one side showcasing your house and the other telling a story that ties back to the history of the local area. Research your region’s history at a local library or museum and find old photos on websites like What Was There to get started. Your home doesn’t need to be a century old to use this marketing strategy. Tell a story from the nifty 50s, groovy 60s, or any decade you find a spin for. Here’s some angles for inspiration: When it comes to postcards, put yourself in a stranger’s shoes and ask, “would I keep this or throw it out with the rest of the junk mail?” Split your postcard space between your listing details and a valuable extra: Survive the mail sorting and your postcard will make the rounds. “I do a postcard mailing for every listing,” says Wilcox. “If you get a postcard at your house and you love your neighborhood and you know a neighbor’s house is up for sale, how easy is it to take that postcard to work, share it with your friends, or have it on your refrigerator.” Today, your house has the potential to reach more buyers than ever. 72% of Americans are on social media, the majority visiting these sites at least once a day. So go ahead, add some spice with one of these creative ways to market your house. Make your listing materials irresistibly shareable. Your buyer might just be a few likes and a repost away.1. Stand out with a gimmick like an inflatable dinosaur.
2. Market around non-traditional holidays like National Cheeseburger Day.
3. Make a video that’s short and sweet.
4. Partner with micro influencers in your community like your dog groomer.
5. Photobomb your listing posts on social media for mega shares.
6. Sell the real lifestyle, not the whitewashed version.
…just don’t get too personal
7. Create shareable GIFs and memes for free.
8. Tell stories about the local history on your house flyers.
9. Send postcards with something of value
With endless ways to market your house, why not think outside the box
