When it comes to marketing a listing, there are a lot of factors to consider, but first and foremost, you want to present your property in the best possible way. To help, we've collected our many years of industry knowledge to provide you with our best tips and tricks on how to compose an attractive listing to get your property the attention it deserves and bring you quality prospective residents.

Photos 

We can't say enough about the importance of showcasing the best pictures in your marketing. This all starts with high-quality images. As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure that the pictures you include on the listing say what you need them to say about your property. 

Here are some tips for capturing the best photos possible to attract your next prospects:

• Focus on quality over quantity. A lot of bad pictures can almost be as big a turn off as no pictures at all. Try to provide at least 6 high-quality photos.
• Take photos with clear focus and at wide angles to highlight the available space – a tripod may help.
• Shoot from a flattering angle. Taking pictures at an angle from one of the corners of a room usually creates a more appealing impression than a head-on shot.
• Keep the camera as straight and level as you can. Prop it up on a shelf, table, or even a stack of books if you need to, but most of all, make sure the camera is level.
• Lighting is important. Open the blinds and curtains. Don't be afraid to let in the daylight. If you take your pictures about an hour before sunset, the lighting inside will be about the same as the lighting outside, so the windows will not look like glowing orbs of light.
• Cleanliness is key. Prospective renters will be turned off by a messy or cluttered space. Make sure countertops are clear, belongings are picked up and put away, floors are swept, and toilet seats are down. This includes your exterior photos too -- don't forget to move that garbage can out of the shot.
• Speaking of clutter, you want prospects to imagine themselves living in the new place, so avoid idiosyncrasies. In other words, remove doll collections, mounted deer heads from the wall, ironic posters of past era country music stars, or whatever else may not be part of the next residents’ image of themselves in their new home.
• Some independent listing sites also have minimum size requirements for photos, so always provide images large enough for the listing sites you want to use.
• If you’re only going to include a small number of pictures, try to highlight the best parts of the interior and either limit or exclude exterior shots. Prospective renters tend to care more about the interior, and can usually find an exterior view online with services like Google Street View.

Title

Sometimes, the listing title is the first thing anyone sees, so it's important to make it both catchy AND professional. A title needs to make a good impression, so here are some tips to help you make the most of your introduction:

• Provide relevant details in a professional manner.
• Details like rent price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and property type can quickly grab a prospective renter's attention and lead them to read further into that listing.
• However don't feel like you have to restate the obvious either if the "everyday" details aren't enough to grab attention in your current market. You know what sells so make the most of our your character limits.
• Avoid turn-offs like calls to action ("CALL NOW"), excessive capitalization, or too much punctuation. (Don't write a title LIKE THIS!!!)
• Stick to consistent and professional punctuation and capitalization standards to ensure your listing isn’t ignored or flagged as spam.
• Use Title Case. That means every word in your title should be capitalized except for small prepositions such as with, it, in, to, and for.
• Make sure you are not violating Fair Housing rules to try and gain attention of your listing will be prohibited from marketing. Saying things like "No Section 8" or "Kids Welcome" in the title of your rental listing can already be taboo subjects depending on where your listing is located so it's important to factor in the rules of the listings you use as well as the federal, state, and local Fair Housing guidelines that apply.

Description

Once you have your prospects' attention with awesome photos and a great title, it’s easier to keep that attention with a detailed overview of your listing. 

Provide a useful description that highlights desired features and details that matter most in your area. This is your space to provide relevant information for the prospective residents, while also letting your property's features shine bright. Physical feature highlights are important, but so are your lease terms and policies.

• Be as specific as you can about the property location. If you didn't feel comfortable listing the exact address, list the nearest major intersection or other landmarks to help your prospects get a sense of the general area. Many neighborhoods are quite large, so the more specific you can be, the better.
• If lots of people in the area use public transit, make sure to mention which train and bus stops are within walking distance of the property.
• Share the square footage, the style, everything that makes your property unique and desirable when comparing to your competition in the market. This is your time to mention those brag-worthy kitchen appliances, private laundry, or luxuriously large walk-in closets.
• Include details that are relevant to your area and prospective renters, like pet policies or what size bed fits in each bedroom.
• Put size into perspective. Most people can’t visualize exactly how big 11×13 is without a frame of reference. Renters need to know if they’ll have space for their queen size bed plus a desk and dresser or that dining table that seats 6.
• If the listed rent is for a lease term other than 12 months, specify how long the property's lease term is plus any applicable short-term fees you might charge.
• If you accept pets but require a deposit and/or pet rent, you can let the prospect know that as well when you detail the specifics of your pet policy in the description.
• Try to cover anything that would otherwise come in as questions over email or phone. Don't give them any excuse to keep browsing because you missed a chance to provide that detail up front. Plus if they have to reach out with a question on something you forgot, you could miss an opportunity because of a round of phone or email tag.
• When bulleted attributes or bulleted details can be added, add them. People are more likely to read them versus paragraphs. And they matter more for search on listing sites.

Review and Proofread

This matters! Make sure your listing appears professional and appealing by making sure all written content is mistake-free. Not only is the written content important, but so are the address and photos. Confirm that the address actually maps where it's supposed to, and not in another country or in the middle of nowhere. This is especially important with newer construction.

Small details are a big deal when it comes to online listings. One tiny mistake that would have only taken a few seconds to review and correct could lead to a lot of time wasted and missed opportunities with prospects. No one wants to go through the hassle of a showing where a prospective renter is expecting 3 bedrooms when there are only 2. Proofreading your listings is the best way to catch all those details before they become a problem. Consider having a second person in the office read over them as well to check for typos you might have missed.

Follow these rules and you’ll do great. Use ShowMojo to help market your properties and to schedule your showings and you’ll do even better.