Advertising and marketing are generally done for the purpose of finding as many people as possible. We see it on TV and magazines, or hear it on the radio. Spam emails, and pop-up ads. They are all focused on one thing, getting as many people as possible to get the message.

But, in real estate, that is all wrong. We don’t have a million pairs of shoes or billions of hamburgers or even 287 cars on the lot. We are trying to sell one house. Just one. Ok, if I have 10 listings, I’ might be trying to sell 10 houses, ditto for 100 or 1ooo… but when I write an ad for one house, I only need that ad to sell one house. The pictures of the house only need to sell that one house. The flyer is all about that one house.

How many buyers does it take to buy one house?

If you just said one, move to the front of the class…

Why, then, do we write ads that try appeal to scores, if not hundreds of potential buyers? Simple, it is to cast a wide net… at least that is what the marketing types call it. Put it in front of as many people as possible and hopefully someone will want it.

Does that sound like a good strategy?

Does McDonald’s support the opera? Do the Atlanta Thrashers advertise their games on billboards in Detroit? Is Barak Obama running his commercials on Nickelodeon? Are we going to see Mitt Romney hosting a special on the Disney Channel?

Of course not. It wouldn’t make any sense. That isn’t the target market. Should we do media buys on national TV networks to sell houses in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA? Still no.

So, what is the point of all of this?

Simple. Niche marketing. As real estate agents, we do it. A real estate agent can’t be all things to all people. I can’t be an expert in everything. I wrote a while ago about specializing in everything… And that it doesn’t work. One can’t be a specialist in everything.

Other agents specialize in a small geographic area, or in golf properties or equestrian properties. They spend their time with those people, or in those areas.

Still other agents (actually, the majority) don’t specialize in anything. They will list anything or deal with any buyer. They don’t aspire to be the experts in their field. They just aspire to get another deal done.

I specialize in properties for auto enthusiasts. I market to auto enthusiasts. I understand auto enthusiasts. I AM an auto enthusiast. I understand the needs of people that are like me.

Wrap it up, Lane.

Here is what it comes down to… I write my blog, and my website for auto enthusiasts that are or will be interested in buying properties with big garages. I study the market for properties with big garages. I work with buyers interested in those types of properties. I do this so that I can target market for homes with big garages. I know that there is only one buyer needed to sell a property. And, I know that the buyer of a property with a 4 car garage will probably like cars. And, I know that I have a better chance of finding that buyer on a car website than cruising Disney’s website. I know that when I start buying TV ads in Atlanta, Speed TV will be a better ad buy than the Game Show Network. I also know that an ad for th at house is getting a higher number of appropriate hits in Hemming’s Motor News than in the AJC.

So, if you are really trying to sell your house, let me know. We can work out a marketing plan that will search for the buyer in the right place, rather than just standing at the mall and yelling out hoping that the right person passes by.

Just as a funny aside, one of the agents in my network wrote about a seller in FL that wanted him to hire a person to stand in the front yard and shake a for sale sign on the weekends. Granted, it will get attention, but will a passerby be so thrilled to see the person standing in the yard that they will have to buy the house?