My Rental Unit

           Rental property advertising in Ontario Canada

     If you own a rental unit and need to advertise a vacancy, there are a few low cost to free options you have available.  Before the on-line  world exploded property owners needed to spend a bit of money to advertise their home for rent. With today's technology getting easier and more accessible, putting your hone on-line makes sense. 

     The first step in this process is with the property itself.  Prospective tenants want to be able to picture themselves living in your rental unit. Have your repairs done and the place sparkling before advertising.  A good quality camera or device is required to capture your home at it's best.

     As stated earlier there are now choices for you to let people know you have a home for rent.  Kijiji is one of my favourites I've used with much success.  If you don't already have one create an account with them to advertise.  Choose the town/city you are advertising in . The cost is free.  But after a few days your ad' gets bumped down a few pages and might not be easily found. For a small fee you can do a bump up and have your ad' at the top of the list once more. A brief description of what is offered and your asking rent is required.  Let people know when the place is available and the best way to get in touch with you.

   Craiglist is another large platform to market on. You will again need to create a profile beofre uploading your pictures and text to create your advertisement. 

    Another creative idea is too make a video of your rental unit.  Give a guided tour of your home.  Create some interest by letting people know if you are close to schools, or near public transit.  Next step post your video to Youtube .  This works especially well for sought after neighbourhoods or Rent to Own homes. 

    Having said all this, don't count out the more traditional forms of media.  Print advertising can still bring in traffic. Finding the right news paper is important, you don't want to throw away your dollars on an ad' no one will read.  I prefer the free weekly paper as opposed to one requiring a subscription. The cost is low, and my target market are the ones who receive it. 

     To round out your campaign,  get some signage going. A lawn sign lets people who already live and work in the area know about your place, Vistaprint offers inexpensive advertising materials and it's shipped to your door relatively quickly. 

     As with all advertising keeping track of your results is paramount.  Split test are a great way to eliminate what doesn't work.  Change your words up if an ad' isn't getting much interest. Compare the calls you receive for the new ad' against last weeks.  Did your call volume suddenly go up?   Try the same ad' in a different paper. Track your data and measure your results.

     There are many different ways to get the word out there.  Be prepared, cover multiple forms of media and get ready for the phone to ring.  Happy surfing!