{"id":3620,"date":"2018-03-26T14:02:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T21:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=3620"},"modified":"2019-02-13T15:22:56","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T23:22:56","slug":"open-house-invitations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/open-house-invitations\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Design Your Best Open House Invitations"},"content":{"rendered":"

While many real estate agents will help you design open house invitations for your event<\/a>, at some point you\u2019ll need to create your own. People selling their homes often make the mistake of treating open house invitations like any other event invite, by choosing designs that are flashy and festive.<\/p>\n

But you should always keep in mind that open house invitations are a key part of the marketing package for your home, which means they should be simple, professional and informative.<\/p>\n

Here are some guidelines to help you design stylish open house invitations that draw buyers in.<\/p>\n

The Basics Of Great Open House Invitations<\/h2>\n

First and foremost, you\u2019re going to need professional photos for your invitations. Hiring a photographer (or working with one provided by your real estate agent) is best practice, but here are some basic photo guidelines<\/a> to keep in mind as well. Photos should highlight the best features of your home and prominently display rooms that are tidy, staged, and well-lit.<\/a><\/p>\n

Include Flattering Photos of Your Home<\/h3>\n

Nicolas Jonville<\/a>, a top San Marcos seller\u2019s agent (who ranks #1 for homes sold in the area) has a few ideas on what photos you should include on your invites. Says Jonville, \u201cHave a small amount of professional pictures of the house\u2014 teaser pictures the best pictures. [Feature] the front, the back, the kitchen, the living room, and the master bedroom and bath if they look good. Put the nicest pictures in and be truthful. Pick up some aerial pictures if it\u2019s a good location and look good from that angle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously you can\u2019t include every single angle or room of your house on the invitations, so work with your real estate agent to determine which rooms photograph the best and how many photos will reasonably fit onto invites. Jonville cautions sellers saying that, \u201cPeople have a tendency to put too much stuff, invitations should be simple and clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep It Simple With Must-Have Information<\/h3>\n
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Screenshot of Canva open house invitation free templates<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Think for a minute of the last party invite you received. What was on it? Probably the date, time, location, and a big banner that said \u201cYou\u2019re Invited!\u201d. The same rules apply to creating open house invites, but you\u2019ll also want to be sure that you choose a design and style that\u2019s classic rather than overdone. Fonts should be legible and invitations should be in color, and you should use a focused color scheme rather than skipping all over the rainbow.<\/p>\n

Says writer Wendy Finn of Bright Hub<\/a>, \u201cFirst and foremost, make sure your design stands out and catches the eye as much as possible. That doesn’t mean that you need to be gaudy, though. Simply use fonts that are easily readable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other basic information to include would be your contact information (or your agent\u2019s), the lot size, the home\u2019s square footage, and your exact address. Keep in mind that some recipients of the invite might contact you or your Realtor to schedule a different time to visit if they aren\u2019t able to make the open house.<\/p>\n

Jonville even recommends including the price. Why? The price helps narrow down the buyer pool to eligible buyers only. If people know ahead of time they can\u2019t afford your property, it saves everyone a bit of back and forth and ultimately helps you close on a deal sooner. <\/a><\/p>\n

How To Design Your Open House Invitations<\/h2>\n

Designing your invitations will be the hardest part, but now that you know what to include on your them, here are some guidelines for throwing them together.<\/p>\n

Design Colors and Styles To Use<\/h3>\n

Open house invitations should always<\/i> be in color. People are inundated with mail\u2014 don\u2019t design something in black and white that\u2019s going to be immediately thrown out.<\/p>\n

The exact colors you choose matter less than the fact that they\u2019re cohesive (no Trix cereal color schemes here). Choose a theme and stick to it. Several great platforms allow you to input your information into one of their existing themes. We recommend Canva<\/a> and Evite<\/a> for free templates (that don\u2019t look free), but you can also work with your real estate agent to see what software they use.<\/p>\n

Invitation Paper Size & Quality<\/h3>\n

Invitations should be created in a style that matches your home\u2019s other marketing materials and printed on sturdy paper. When\u2019s the last time you received an invitation on flimsy printer paper? Exactly.<\/p>\n

Writer Amelia Jenkins of Chron<\/a> says, \u201cIn general you should choose a simple, professional looking design that matches your style of open house. For example, a real estate agent could print open house invitations on white or light colored paper, using a simple, elegant font.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Yonville, \u201c[Invites] should be in color, and they need to be a full page on a harder stock. People can go to local print company.\u201d Don\u2019t send them something small and flimsy that\u2019s easy to ignore.<\/p>\n

Another alternative to a full page is post-cards. Says Finn, \u201cAnother fantastic option is to create your own postcards and send them out. Not only are these eye-catching, they’re small, sturdy, and don’t require envelopes to send – making them cheaper to send than traditional mail.\u201d If you choose to go the postcard route, just be sure all of the important info fits. Don\u2019t sacrifice sharing intriguing photos of your home just to save a few cents in shipping.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Forget the E-Invites<\/h3>\n

Sending e-invites is 100% free, so don\u2019t miss out on sending a few to inboxes instead of mailboxes. The previously mentioned online platform Canva allows you to send customizable e-invites<\/a> just by plugging in your information in the very same way you did for the printable invites. Easy peasy.<\/p>\n

Timing Your Invitations<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve made the invitations and now it\u2019s just a question of when to send them off. Two weeks seems to be the minimum to send invites<\/a>, and if you send them any later don\u2019t be surprised at a low turnout.<\/p>\n

Says Jenkins, \u201cPeople have busy lives, and often schedule themselves weeks in advance. To get the best attendance to your open house, make sure you mail the invitations at least two weeks in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your Open House Invitation Checklist<\/h2>\n

Thanks to the number of online platforms and resources, you can design your open house invitations without spending a full day fighting the computer. Selling a home is stressful enough, follow our checklist for a task you can get done without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n