Step 2: Market the Home

Over 90% of all buyers use the Internet to search for a home, so online marketing is key to selling your home. Complement your online listing with traditional tactics including yard signs, open houses, and social marketing -- both online and the old-fashioned kind, called word of mouth.

	Create a listing with ForSaleByOwner.com. With a home selling guarantee and nearly three times as many visitors as our next closest competitor, ForSaleByOwner.com is the country’s leading sale by owner website.
	Write a professional listing ad that includes all the best features of your home and that will attract buyers. For tips on how to write a convincing ad, see "Snagging a Home Buyer" in our Education Section on marketing.
	Put a "for sale" sign in your front yard. Most ForSaleByOwner.com listing packages come with a yard sign. Or, you can order one at our online store.
	De-clutter and clean to make your house more spacious. Consider renting a storage space for seldom-used furniture, off-season clothing and unused children’s toys you remove from your house and garage to make them appear more open and spacious.
	Stage your home so it makes a great first impression to prospective buyers. Staging stories in our Education center tell you how.
	Take interior and exterior photos of your home, using tips from home-photography stories at our Education center.
	Post a video tour of your home. ForSaleByOwner.com sellers can upload a video to their listing by logging onto their accounts.
	Hold Open Houses to showcase your home. Open house how-to's will help you host a successful event. Flag your open house on your listing so househunters take notice.
	Spread the word that your home is on the market by telling friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Leverage real-life social networks like school groups, local shops, church and community groups, and more. Of course, you'll want to post your listing at all your online social networking sites, too.

Strengthen Your Marketing Power

Expand the exposure for your house listing with these tools and services. The more exposure, the greater the chance that the right buyer will discover your listing.

	Advertise your home on Realtor.com without committing to the full-price commission structure. Here is how to list your house on Realtor.com.
	Place your home on your local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). You will pay a commission (around 2-3%) only if the buyer is working with an agent. Here are the details about listing on the MLS.
	Generate more exposure for your home by posting your listing on Craigslist and community websites. Use the ready-to-go ForSaleByOwner.com Craigslist  template for a quick and easy post. Log into your ForSaleByOwner.com account to find out how.
	Consider alternatives to selling your home, including marketing your home as a “lease to own.” More information about sale alternatives are in our Education Center. ForSaleByOwner.com customers can easily add "lease to own" to their listing by accessing their account.

STEP 3: Paperwork & Closing »