NewspapersIt pains me to say it (more on that in a moment), but newspapers are dying and from a real estate point of view, are already dead.

Realtors know that more than 80% of buyers now look on line for homes. They want to search neighborhoods; they want good mapping; they want great virtual tours and they want lots and lots of pictures.

So I am really amazed to discover that despite this 80% figure, more than 75% of Realtors' marketing budgets go into print advertising. From both the realtors and the sellers point of view, this is a waste of time and money and more importantly, it won't get the home sold.

So why does it keep happening? There are still a lot of old time Brokers out there who stll train newcomers with the old way of doing real estate. "Go make this sub division yours" they tell them and including in this training about farms comes the way to advertise.

For some Brokers it's about money. You see a Broker might take a full page ad in one of those magazines that contains lots of pictures of fronts of homes and in order for this not to cost the broker a fortune, he or she will insist that the agents under him or her use the space to advertise their listings.

But the return is ever diminishing and will soon be zero.

Finally back to why it pains me to say this. For more than 20 years I was a newspaper journalist. I love newspapers! And newspapers can do things that simply cannot be done by TV, radio or even the Internet. BUT - we live ion a world of instant gratification and newspapers cannot compete with that no matter how hard they try.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Copyright © 2007 By Simon L Conway All Rights Reserved.)

Please give me a call if you have questions about the Central Florida real estate market.  You can reach me on 407 876 8200.  Also visit my web site at http://www.simonconway.net/ or http://www.move2orlando.net/

Also remember to check out my weekly radio show - The Home Team - which airs every Sunday at Noon Eastern and if you are not in Central Florida then you can tune in on line at http://www.540wfla.com/

 

 

100 Comments on Why newspaper ads will eat your budget for little return

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

DEC
01
2007
1 Featured Post
I have become a big fan of the internet for advertising, but I would not put all of my eggs in one basket though. I did want to defend newspapers a bit (since I still love to read mine). Zillow has worked out a deal to post newspaper ads on their site. Newspapers might not be dead yet. They are struggling, but they are looking into ways to keep up.
5:44am • #81
2 Featured Posts

It seems to me that buyers look online to scout out houses but may still use the Sunday paper to see quickly what open houses are being held in the town(s) they're interested in.  The usefulness of newspaper advertising has definitely become quite low.

Secondly, why should real estate agencies subsidize newspapers that are daily beating down the housing market, hitting buyers and sellers over the head with gloom and doom, telling readers that this may go on with no end in sight - a self-fulfilling prophecy that affects the livelihood of all realtors?

Amy
12:05pm • #82
161,444 Points Localism Sponsor

I wondered how effective newspaper ads were.  I have never used them, as a new agent, I jumped in with internet, etc. for marketing instead.

Thank you for the insight.

 

Heather in Indy
2:24pm • #83
127,538 Points Localism Sponsor
Classified ads--now they seem to work pretty well. I think it is alos an issue of so many real estate ads--lots of clutter in one place--
4:26pm • #84
136,064 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog
Have you found that they are getting much more expensive too?  As for customer service, that is another matter altogether.
4:52pm • #85
879,247 Points 10 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Simon - The only newspaper that comes through our door with any consistancy is the local ones no Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal or any of the other national papers. We utilize our print adds to promote our web sites as well as the property when we do use print adds.
6:21pm • #86
1 Featured Post Outside Blog
The newspaper's overhead is what is going to kill them.  I can buy a small, four line ad that runs for one day(!) for roughly $40, or I can pay the same to have my website hosted with an IDX system for one month.  I've been so frustrated talking to the salespeople at our local newspaper that I refuse to use their services for anything.
8:01pm • #87
DEC
02
2007
4 Featured Posts

Although I do read the local newspaper every morning I don't run ads in it.  Price is WAY too high for the return.
3:59pm • #88
Congrats on the feature. It is sad that so many agents (and companies) continue to same things they always have, paying no attention to changing times. I agree it is our responsibility to educate our clients about how business is conducted today.
5:31pm • #89
874,487 Points 154 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
I've been saying this since 2004, I rarely ever, ever, ever use print media.
8:03pm • #90
404,039 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog
I have had a busy week - thanks to all the people I have not responded to individually. It seems that people here at least agree. So which Realtors are spending 75% of their marketing on print? I guess the ones who think Active Rain is a heavy storm!
11:35pm • #91
DEC
03
2007
 Subscriber numbers speak for themselves.  I just wish consumers read the statistics.  Unfortunately, I doubt it will be the newspapers printing them.
7:45pm • #92
404,039 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog
Alayna - that is a real number - 75% of Realtor marketing goes on print that nobody reads. The public needs to know.
7:53pm • #93
102,732 Points

Your right but I find it still useful to place ads in papers and magazines as it comes in handy during the listing presentation when others have already abandoned that medium.

Take care!

RJH
8:27pm • #94
404,039 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog
Thanks for your comments Robert, but seriously what you just said was I was right, but it was great in listing presentations because you can show potential sellers that you are doing something YOU KNOW doesn't work. Clearly you're not telling the potential sellers that.
8:52pm • #95
DEC
04
2007
I think selling 'For Sale by Owner' is the way to go in this market. I currently am selling FSBO and having better success with leads vs when I was listed with a broker who dragged me along for 6 months. Who knows in this market. I currently have my place listed on ForSaleByOwner.com, BrokerFreeRealEstate.com, and Owner.com....I guess the more the better. Any Advice on selling on my own?
Steve Harden
3:00pm • #96
404,039 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog
Steve - I think selling "For Sale By Owner" is possibly the worst thing to do in this market, but you do need a Realtor who understands what's going on in your particular market and how to sell it. One thing you certainly need to do right now is to offer a commission to any buyers agents in your town so that they know you will pay them if they bring you a buyer.
3:05pm • #97
DEC
05
2007
 I have maybe received 5 calls from a home ad in the Newspaper in the last 10 years.  I have received countless calls from web advertising, mostly form Craigslist and thats FREE1
11:10am • #98
303,602 Points 9 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Simon, it's very true that all the old-school training about "work your farm" and "make the neighborhood yours" is out of date.  Mega-brokers love that sort of thing.  Those companies sell franchises (by territory, of course) and the only way to make that work is to divide an area up in to little territories, each served by its own franchise.  Things don't work well if an agent is stepping over the boundaries of their "farm".

Companies that buy full-page ads with dozens of listings have been doing it wrong for years.  I see $200,000 cottages on those pages, right next to million-dollar homes.  Open a copy of Town & Country or Robb Report.  Do you see Rolex watches sold on the same page as Timex?

 
11:20am • #99
404,039 Points 16 Featured Posts Outside Blog

James - yes and there are other free sites as well as some that are worth paying for.

Eric - I LOVE my Timex!! Point very well made.

Thank you both for commenting.
12:57pm • #100

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All


What does the graphic say?
Leave a response…

(optional)
Spam Prevention:
 
Img_1846 Rainmaker_large

Simon Conway

Orlando, FL

More about me…

Orlando Area Real Estate Services

Office Phone: (407) 876-8200

Cell Phone: (321) 624-3174

Email Me

For the best information on Orlando and Central Florida real estate - especially Windermere, Dr Phillips and the rest of south west Orlando, this is the place to be. Here you will find information on Orlando and Windermere homes for sale and general real estate information.


Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog

Find FL real estate agents and Orlando real estate on ActiveRain.