Whether you love or hate using Craigslist to post rental listing ads, you have to admit that the website is pretty effective at drawing in applicants (plus, it’s free). The problem with this popular listing website is that you have to post frequently, and attract users to your information with headlines. Here’s our guide on writing catchy, but informational, rental listing headlines.

The Basics

Before we continue, let’s hash out the basics your listing headline should have. Although all of these factors are included within Craigslist, and are searchable through their filter, it doesn’t hurt to reinforce it. Basic information you could (and should) include in your headline are:

• Price
• Bedroom/Bathroom count
• Location

An example of a headline using all three is “$1435, 1 Bedroom Home in beautiful Thousand Oaks”. Considering that Craigslist shows all of the information in the listing, you can drop to 2 if you need the space or want to emphasize one of the three basic factors. Easy, right?

Features Attract your Audience

Beyond the basics, you’re going to want to attract the perfect applicants for you through your headline. Like we said in How to Cater your Rental Listing Ads to the Perfect Applicants, “to get the perfect tenants you need to think strategically about your property. Think of its assets: number of bedrooms/bathrooms, location, size, extra factors (like a spacious backyard, energy efficient appliances, smart-home features, etc.). Then, brainstorm the type of applicants that would be attracted to your property’s features.” By using these features to target specific applicant types, you’ll avoid wasting your time on leads that don’t follow through to the rental application.

Now that you have your features down, and have a grasp of the basics, it’s time to write your rental listing headlines! If you get stuck, take a look at our examples below. Can you figure out which features we used?

For Family Renters:

“$1,590 – Affordable 3br in Oxnard with Upgraded Appliances!”

“2 Bedroom, 1 Bath House with spacious Loft and wood Fireplace for $2,995.”

“Great 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath Home near Riverview High School, $1950”

For Pet Renters:

“Pet Friendly 2 Bedroom with backyard near Downtown Santa Barbara”

“Spacious Three bedroom apartment next to Dog Park in Clovis”

Millennial/College Renters:

“Studio with wood flooring near UCLA, $1891”

“$1,150 1 Bedroom with Patio. Water included!”

While there are many different ways to write and attract renters on Craigslist, using a headline that is direct will not only intrigue your applicants but save yourself time. By providing basic information from the get go in your attractive rental listing headline, you avoid unnecessary questions down the road and get closer to gaining your dream tenants. Just don’t forget to save yourself some money (as well) by taking advantage of our no cost tenant screening report with ApplyConnect!

Do you have any tricks for writing rental listing headlines? Let us know in the comment section below and subscribe for more helpful tips!