Are You Making the Most of Your Real Estate Yard Signs?

Real estate yard signs don’t get a lot of attention from many real estate agents. Some brokers have signs in standard designs that are less expensive than if the agent purchases signs on their own. So, agents tend to view signs as a “set it and forget it” task. If the neighborhood allows yard signs, you just automatically put one up. But, are your yard signs helping to sell your listings?

What to Expect from a Yard Sign

It’s true that real estate yard signs have been around virtually since the beginning of time, and they don’t get a lot of attention in some agents’ marketing plan. Further, it’s true that the National Association of REALTORS® statistics for 2017 show that only eight percent of homebuyers found the home they purchased from a yard or open house sign.

However, real estate agent signs are a tireless marketing tool that works 24/7. You only pay for it once, often you can use it multiple times, and it reinforces your brand and attracts attention to your listing every time someone passes by. Therefore, it’s reasonable to expect to get some return from the time and money you spend to get the sign on the lawn.

How Can You Get the Most from Your Real Estate Yard Signs?

There are a number of things you can easily do to make your for sale and open house yard signs work harder for you. Here are some examples.

Use Sign Riders to Grab Attention or For Lead Generation

Real estate sign riders can be used in a number of ways. Some agents use them to catch attention with messages like “Not Haunted,” “Reduced but not stupid or desperate,” or “Honey, Stop the Car!” Those same agents change the real estate agent signs from time to time so avoid “sign blindness,” a syndrome that affects us all after looking at the same sign over and over.

If you want to use your real estate agent signs as lead generators, you can use sign riders for real estate that also provide real estate SMS marketing capabilities. For example, you can put a telephone number and a code on the rider. When homebuyers drive by, they can send a text message to the number.

In return, they’ll instantly receive photos, pricing and additional information on their smart phone. At the same time, you will receive the phone number of the homebuyer requesting the information. You could contact the buyer while they’re still in front of your listing and knock their socks off. It will help you sell your listings faster, and provide new buyer leads.

Design Your Own

Many agents and brokerages are realizing that people buy from individuals, not brokerages, and custom real estate agent signs are being used more often. If you have the opportunity to make your yard sign stand out, it’s worth creating your own design. People driving by won’t be as quick to tune out the sign because it’s just like the other hundred they’ve seen from your brokerage.

For yard signs and open house signs, work with a knowledgeable sign maker to finalize your design. To be seen from a distance, figure that you’ll need one inch of letter height for every 10 feet of distance. Therefore, if you want people to be able to read your sign from 30 feet away, you’ll need three-inch letters for the most critical parts of the message on the sign.

Pay attention to color, too. Light lettering on a dark background looks larger than it really is. In addition, use vibrant colors to attract attention, but recognize that some color combinations “vibrate,” making a sign difficult to read. For example, red lettering on a blue background will simply give people a headache.

Don’t Let Your Yard Signs Go to Waste

As long as you’ll be installing a yard sign, it makes sense to make it worth your time. If you want more information about using your yard signs to generate leads, call us at 800-245-1526 or get started today.