How to Write a Good Advert

Time spent in preparing your descriptive text will most definitely reap the rewards of extra bookings so please do take time to read these guidelines.

Your advertisement is your first 'point of sale' and it is very important that you quickly attract holiday makers/property seekers to what your property offers them. May we suggest first of all that you look around the site to see how existing properties are laid out before you start work on creating your own advertisement.

The content of each advertisement is made up of several standard sections and we suggest below the type of information that you need to include in each section below.

General Property description section

You should provide a general introduction of your property here together with details of the grounds and swimming pool if you have one, etc.

If you are letting more than one property in the same grounds, please give details of any features that are common to all. NB French Connections will only allow you to advertise more than one property in an advertisement if the lettings share the same grounds and facilities. If you want to advertise more than one property but they are in different locations, then you will need to create different advertisements for each one.

Long Winter lets

Our Long Winter Lets section is very successful for clients who would like to consider letting their property for a longer period, usually during off season months.  For inclusion in the Long Winter Let index, you will need to add this option on the order form as you go through the sign up process.  Please include within your descriptive text document copy identified as Long Winter Let Copy - including source of heating. It is not necessary to state how much per week or per month on the listing. This is best left to negotiation when you know how long someone wishes to let.
 

Accommodation details section

Please describe separately (in detail) each letting property that you wish to feature on your page.

It is a good idea to mention such things as TV, Sky, hi-fi, dishwasher, microwave, etc. as this is important to some holiday makers and may sway their decision to book with you. If your kitchen or bathroom(s) are particularly well equipped, be sure to mention this too eg. Luxury bathroom with Jacuzzi.

In addition, please give us the following information for each so that we can enter it correctly in our database.

• Number of single bedrooms
• Number of twin bedrooms
• Number of double bedrooms
• Number of bedrooms with three beds
• Number of bedrooms with four beds
• Maximum occupancy for the property
• Number of children's beds if any
• Number of cots if any
• Number of Bathrooms/shower rooms
• Number of separate toilets
• No of mezzanine's if these can be used as a sleeping area

Description of the Location (surrounding area)

In this section, please enter as much detail as you can about the surrounding area including nearest villages, tourist attractions etc. Try to paint a mental picture of the area and describe what would attract visitors to this particular part of France .

Activities

You should enter here details of specific nearby activities that people may be interested in. eg horse riding, golf, walking, and anything else specific to your area. If you organise structured activities, please include details about these as we identify, on the home page of our website, specific searches that will allow surfers to locate your property by specific activities offered – eg fishing, skiing, golfing. NB Whilst we recommend that you give us much information about local activities available, for inclusion into these specific activity searches, these activities must be 'organised' and structured by yourselves. If, for example, your area is simply good for fishing, then we will not be able to include this in a specific activity search.

Travel details

Please provide details of the approximate driving times from the ports, nearest airports, and if you wish brief details of how to find your house.

Pricing details

In order that people can can search on pricing for your property we require the prices in a specific format.

Dates must be in a 'night of' format and should not overlap (please note if you enter overlapping dates they will be automatically adjusted). Please state your change over day if it is not Saturday.

Please see below for examples of pricing format layout

[First Night of stay] [Last night of stay] [Price in either Pounds or Euros]

Prices displayed for self catering rentals are per week of letting and for B&B the prices displayed are per room per night

Example 1 - Part month pricing based on a specific changeover day

Example 2 - Monthly Pricing

Example 3 - Bed and Breakfast (per room per night)

Prices should be supplied in either a base currency of either UK Pounds or Euro's. Your prices will be shown in Pounds, Euros and US dollars converted at the prevailing exchange rate.

Please also add any additional notes re the pricing such as security deposit required, reductions for multi week bookings etc etc

Photographs:

We know from our experience that it is really most important to the success of your advertisement that your photos make the right impact and promote your property to its best advantage. Please now go on to read our guidelines for photo submission to ensure that your advertisement makes the best impression possible on your potential clients.

Thank you for choosing French Connections. We are confident you will be delighted that you have chosen to advertise with us and we hope that you receive many successful bookings through using our site. GOOD LUCK