Every so often a Home Base Holidays member contacts us who is disappointed not to have received replies to exchange offers sent. Although there will always be some members who fail to respond for a variety of reasons, taking the time to ensure both your listing and offer messages are enticing will go a long way to increasing responses.
Home and Area Description: Before sending any exchange offers, go over your listing information to see if there's anything you could add or change to improve it. Not everyone is a naturally gifted writer but reading descriptions in several members' listings may give you some ideas to adapt for your own listing. Less is often more when it comes to descriptions. There is no restriction on the amount of copy you can include but remember that a reader's eyes may glaze over if you go into too much unnecessary detail. Once in contact with members interested in your offer you can share full information directly.
Summary Listing: The first sentence in your description will be seen in the brief summary in search results so give careful thought to how you start your description to persuade members to read your full listing. It might be your home -
'18th century thatched country cottage with many original features'
or it might be your location -
'Modern apartment with sea views, a one minute walk from the beach, restaurants and shops'.
These are examples of particularly attractive offers but even the most modest suburban home will have its attractions. Your Edwardian semi with its long garden in a London suburb may seem little different from thousands of others built in the early 20th century but, for someone who lives in a modern apartment in an area where anything built in the 1960s is considered old, the period detail and space in your home could well be appealing. An example of good copy in the search results summary from a recent listing (in photo):
Dalyan, Mugla, Turkey. This spacious modern villa is cool, light and airy with spectacular mountain views. Each bedroom has its own balcony(s) ..
The type of home and location are succinctly described, giving enough information to encourage members and site visitors browsing search results to want to read the full Home Swap listing and see more photos.
The Importance of Photos: listings with photos are much more attractive than those without. Add photos as soon as possible after joining - you can always change the photos later on if you have better ones.
In our next post (9th October) we'll look at ways to make your home exchange offer messages stand out and encourage responses.
Comments