The internet is an amazing place. Do you realize that it’s possible to market nearly every aspect of your business online without paying a single cent?? With over 100 free online classified advertising sites (Craiglist.org and backpage.com, etc ) you have access to over 32 million people monthly. These types of advertising sites should be part of your marketing plan to generate leads to both acquire and sell your properties.

Here are some ways you should be using free online classifieds right now to keep your business at the forefront of the latest investing strategies.

1. Build your buyers list. Don’t wait until you have a property under contract to start looking for buyers. Post a “Looking for Home Buyers NOW” ad in the Real Estate For Sale section & direct them to your website where they can join an exclusive list of people who are notified FIRST of special investment opportunities. Your ad may get flagged by certain Realtors who think they own this section of the classifieds but keep posting. Your list will grow every day, and when you ARE ready to wholesale or sell a property you’ll have a list of buyers who are ready to jump on it.
2. Build Your BirdDogs List! Have your bird dogs scan the “Real Estate for Sale” section in each of your target markets all day every day for deals. Keep in mind that other investors are refreshing this page all day too, looking for the same deals you are. You have to be ready to act as soon as a deal presents itself. Time isn’t so much of the essence that you should be doing this work yourself, though. If you’ve trained your bird dogs well, they’ll bring you these leads right away to make sure they get the credit for them.
3. Have your bird dogs pay careful attention to the real estate listings in lowercase letters with no pictures. These often turn out to be motivated sellers who just heard about free online classifieds and took a shot at selling their house this way.
4. Avoid the obvious Realtor-listed properties. These will stand out like that girl who was a head taller than everyone else in 6th grade. There’s a language called realtor-speak and it’s easy to pick out. Getting involved with these deals will almost always ensure that you won’t get the price or terms you want on the contract.
5. When selling a property, always list it as a FSBO. In most states, there’s someone on the Board of Realtors who monitors online classifieds. If a listing appears to be from an agent but doesn’t show the agent’s credentials, brokerage, and contact information, they’ll pounce on it and try to fine you. Even though you can successfully argue that you’re just an investor, don’t get in the argument. Just list it as FSBO.
6. The best method in existence of recruiting bird dogs is placing an ad in the et cetera or miscellaneous jobs section. This is where people look for flexible jobs, part-time jobs, and extra income opportunities. Take advantage of it. Some cities charge a small fee for posting a job listing on craigslist, but it’s worth it. We apologize if you live in San Francisco, however.
7. Keep your bird dog recruiting ads simple. Just give the world a little teaser on how they can make some great $$ by helping their community in finding houses.
8. Be an outrageous marketer! People check these sites every day and skip over listings that don’t catch their eye. Whether recruiting buyers or bird dogs, or selling a house, write something different and use special characters that will grab attention and make them want more. You can be simple and tastefully outrageous at the same time.
9. Create the first or last posting of the day. An instant attention grabber is to be the first or last listing under the date heading. All of these online classified sites create their new date section right at midnight. So turn on Conan O’Brien and stay awake to be the 11:59 or 12:01 poster. It’s worth it.