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7 Alternatives to Newspaper Classified Ads

Landlord Advice

I went into detail about how landlords should advertise in newspaper classifieds but the savvy landlord knows that newspaper classified are not the only way to advertise.

Many landlords don’t even use newspaper ads to market their properties anymore, due to all the optional alternative methods available.

If you have property to rent, you should be exploring some or all of these alternative marketing ads to newspaper classifieds:

#1: Craigslist, etc

Craigslist is one of the most popular places to market your rental property. Craigslist is an incredibly popular website which is built completely on classified ads in one way or another.

The ads are free to post, and there is detailed categories for every possible property you wish to promote. Also note that various states or countries may have “similar” type of Craigslist sites, focused on a smaller region. Also in other countries, there are alternatives to Craigslist that are more popular, such as Kijiji.

Be sure to cover them all.

#2: Social Networking

Social networking can be a great way to promote your property. Twitter seems to be the most popular social networking tool that landlords use. Simply posts tweets like:

“Furnished 2 bdrm spacious home for rent, #NewYork”

With links to pictures attached, phone numbers, or websites providing more information.

#3: City Rental Specific Websites

There are many websites out there that deal with city or state specific rentals. The easiest way to find them is to google “______ Apartment Rentals” where ______ is the city that you have a property in. Then look through the top 10 listings. Some of the websites will allow you to advertise for free, while others will charge a small fee.

If these websites are ranking high in the search engines however, then you can be guaranteed a lot of interested people will see your advertisment or rental listing.

#4: Local Websites & Blogs

There are lots of websites dedicated to events happening in a city, and they often have forums. It’s usually possible to contact the website and have them list your rental ad, or even post in their forum with information about the property you have for rent.

You can also find blogs ran by people in the area, and ask them to make a post about your rental property. I know one landlord who has properties in areas highly populated by students that goes this route – he contacts students who run blogs, and gets them to make a short post listing his properties.

#5: Your Own Website

If you run a lot of properties then it makes sense that you have your own website to advertise your listings. You may even be able to rank highly in the search engines for key phrases, and cut out the middle man in terms of #3 or #4.

There are literally thousands of website designers out there. We work with and highly recommend Epik Media who can handle hosting, web design, search engine optimization and more for you.

#6: Bulletin Boards

Not all your property marketing has to be on the internet!

You may not have noticed it – but everywhere you go, there are bulletin boards. Grocery stores have them. Schools have them. Restaurants or Cafes may have them. There are bulletin boards everywhere, and a great way to promote your property for free or cheap is by posting an ad in a bulletin board in a store somewhere.

#7: Signs

Posting signs about your rental property is an obvious one – however most people usually restrict the signage to ON their property, which is a mistake.

You need to think about where people are going to be, and put signage there. If there is a local university nearby that students attend from all over the USA for example, then you should be putting signage up there so visiting students can see your ads.

There are many, many ways to advertise your rental property. Just take a walk one day and look around, and you’ll see many landlords coming up with unique and innovative ideas to promote their rental property.

See theirs. Copy it. But do it better!