Last week, we talked about how buyers tend to focus your home’s condition. But if the buyer doesn’t know your home is for sale, the condition won’t bring in an offer at any price. You simply must find a way to tell the prospective buyer that your home is available and on the market.

You need a way of communicating your home’s availability to the world, and I call that process marketing. Advertising is merely public promotion, but in my view, marketing is much more. It is an overall plan of action designed to attract prospects and persuade them to purchase your particular house.

Advertising is powerful. You may be able to sell your house by doing nothing more than putting a "for sale" sign in the front yard. I have literally seen situations in which a crude hand-lettered sign produced multiple offers in a matter of hours.

Your hope is that someone, probably a current neighbor, has been driving by your home twice a day for the last five years. Each time they pass by, they say to themselves: "If that home ever pops up for sale, I want to buy it, whatever the cost!" But such sales experiences are the exception, not the rule.

Instead, an overall marketing plan designed to communicate your home’s features and benefits will be more likely to produce a ready, willing and able buyer. Here are some key points you and your agent will want to include in any real estate marketing plan:

* Create a one page informational flier listing the basics of your house and some of its best features. Include a color photo of the house with flowers in bloom, and state your asking price and contact information. I recommend stating that your home is shown "by appointment only" to avoid surprise visits. Your local copy shop has a variety of standard flier templates and will make it look professional for a small fee.

* If you have decided to try selling your home yourself, I recommend that you make friends with agents instead of considering them enemies. Decide on an amount of money you would be willing to pay for an acceptable offer, and offer a referral fee to any agent who brings you a buyer.

Put a rider on your "for sale" sign that says "agents welcome" and state your referral policy on your flier. If any agent tells you that you are required to sign something in order for them to show your property, you should politely decline. Blame it on your attorney.

* Classified advertising in the dominant local newspaper will get your message in front of the largest number of prospects possible who are specifically looking for a home in your neighborhood. Don’t underestimate the power of a small classified ad to draw potential buyers to your home. To save money, the ad should direct prospects to a recorded message giving callers lots of details and specific information.

* If you are internet active, consider setting up a free website for your home with lots of photos and additional information. Google now lets you set up a free web log at blogger.com in three easy steps. Best of all, it’s free. Now you can direct prospects to your website to see pictures before they decide to visit.

* Consider having an open house for the neighborhood. Sellers often overlook neighbors as potential purchasers, but they are logical prospects. Since they already live in the area, they probably like living here, and might want a bigger or smaller house like yours. In addition, they likely have family or friends that they would love to see move nearby. The key here is to spread the word far and wide.

* Distribute your flier to schools, churches, and employment centers that are located near your neighborhood. They may have a new employee looking to buy, or a longtime employee may be ready to move up from renting.

* Once a prospective buyer actually visits your home, I recommend that you give him a marketing package that contains copies of your flier, a current appraisal, a recent home inspection, a survey of the lot, utility bill averages for the past 12 months, and a recent termite inspection report.

But if your home has already been on the market for several months, it’s time to give up on "going it alone." You need professional help, and that means listing with a real estate agent.

Interview several experienced agents, and ask each for two items in writing. First, you want a competitive market analysis, listing all similar homes that have been sold in your area in the last 12 to 18 months and comparing their features to those of your house. Second, request a written marketing plan, explaining exactly what the agent intends to do to get your house sold.

The multiple listing service makes your home’s vital details available instantly to all other member agents, and is much more likely to produce results than any other tool available to the typical home seller. Remember that most serious buyers are already working with agents, and are most likely allowing their agent to select which homes they will view. In most cases, only homes listed in the MLS are considered.

Following this advice will give your prospective buyers every opportunity to discover your "home, sweet home."