What’s the number one thing that sells a home or any product in general? It’s the marketing. You can sell anything if you can get the marketing right, including a house. My goal in this post is to give you some pointers on how to increase the numbers of views that you get for a property that you are listing. I am not a marketing expert by any means, but I do know a thing or two about creating a critical part of the marketing: the photos.

One Thing Will Always Stay The same In Marketing: Attention

In studying marketing I have become convinced that one thing will always stay the same: attention. It does not matter how you get it (of course you want to get it in a legal way), but that is always the goal of a good marketer, to get the attention. You can get attention in many ways, but here are the best ways that are working right now.

1. Video’s on Social Media: especially ones that grab peoples attention. Also, in my experience video ads are cheaper if you want to pay for advertising on Facebook.com.

2. Photo’s on Social Media: they grab peoples attention. Especially good photos.

3. Copy on Social Media: if someone reads something stark, you will have their attention.

As far as selling homes, the biggest platforms at the moment are websites like Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Redfin.com, etc. I am not saying that the classic way of selling and buying real estate by using the MLS won’t work, but a lot of people are looking to those websites to find homes because they’re convenient. If you are trying to sell a home, you need to have good marketing materials on these platforms.

The two areas that you can focus on are photos and the copy. Unfortunately, video is still not a big priority for these platforms at the moment, but photos and copy are. I am a real estate photographer, so my knowledge is very limited when it comes to writing copy for a listing. One thing I do understand is that the copy better grab someones attention. Where I feel I am qualified to give advice is the photography.

The first three photos that a potential buyer sees matter the most.

Good photography is crucial for selling a home. Here are some compelling statistics on the impact photos have: click here. The main thing I would like to focus on when taking photos is that they will grab a prospective buyers attention. The first three photos that a potential buyer sees matter the most. That means the front photo and the next two interior photos should be the best photos you have. Here’s an example:

For this home I ended up doing a sky replacement for the front photo and putting the best shots as the first three photos. Usually, I find that the living room, kitchen, and dining area are the best photos to put after the front photo. They don’t have to be this amazing, but they need to look good and grab attention.

So how do you make them look good? The best option in my opinion is to hire a good real estate photographer even if it seems really expensive. A good real estate photographer has experience on how to make the colors look accurate, use a good composition, and the image will look sharp.

However, if you decide not to hire a photographer, here are some points to consider:

1. Open all the windows before taking the photos. You need the most light possible. Consider turning on the lights if needed. This will make the space look bigger.

2. Get rid of any clutter. Clutter will make the space look small and unkempt. You don’t want your potential buyer to experience negative emotions because of this.

3. Make sure all your verticals are straight. There’s nothing more jarring than seeing a photo that is crooked, especially the infamous small bathroom photos that are taken from almost ceiling height looking down at the toilet. Nobody wants to look at the toilet.

Video, Photos, and Copy that are attention grabbing will get you more views and in turn more sales.

I believe those three tips alone will make the photos look a lot better. The biggest take away is, if you want more views on your listing, you need to get attention. Video, Photos, and Copy that are attention grabbing will get you more views and in turn more sales.

By: Ven Kravchenko (Lead Photographer at Grandshowing.com)

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