If you are trying to sell your home in the metro Atlanta area today, you’ve a job ahead of you.

And as we’ll see, it usually takes a lot more to get your home sold than just putting a “For Sale” sign in the front yard.

In this and future columns, we will cover eight “power moves” you can make to market your home. Notice I didn’t say “sell” your home - that is the desired outcome. Instead, I want to talk about marketing your home.

While there are many definitions of “marketing,” I like this short one:

“Marketing is the combination of messages and programs (the 4 P’s: packaging, price, placement and promotion) that drive shoppers to choose your product over someone else’s.”

And while we won’t be able to cover the multitude of messages and programs available for home sellers, we will talk about eight steps that have proven time and again to be effective in driving home buyers to make an offer.

Move No. 1: Curb Appeal - First Impressions Count

One of the most important concepts you must know is that people buy real estate emotionally, then justify their decision logically.

That emotion begins with the first glimpse of your home that the prospective buyer sees, typically from the curb in front of your house.

That’s why we call it “curb appeal.” It’s an important concept, and it can make or break a deal before it even gets started.

Here are some ideas on how to maximize your home’s curb appeal:

• Clear the yard of weeds and limbs. Mow the lawn. Cut back and prune overgrown shrubs and bushes. At the very least, cut all bushes below window sill level, and add mulch on the ground underneath. Clean the gutters of seedlings and leaves. Spiffing up will give the yard a larger look and will keep the buyer from feeling like the area is cluttered and in need of a lot of work.

• The front door must appear friendly and inviting, not forbidding and lifeless. Add pots of colorful flowers up close to your front door. Replacing your dead plant life with a few blooms will go a long way toward creating an inviting first impression. A trip to your local nursery or home improvement center can accomplish this task in no time at all.

• Repaint the front door area, including the door, the frame and the rails leading to the door. This is a shortcut to creating a positive impression, because our visual attention is naturally drawn to the entrance. Dirty or flaking paint gives the impression that the house is old and will need work. Instead, invest a few dollars in some “eye-candy.” New door hardware creates the impression that the house has been updated. Investing a few dollars now in touch-ups will make a huge difference later when the offer comes in.

• Believe it or not, your mailbox says something about your own perception of the value of your home. There is something inconsistent about asking a quarter of a million dollars for your home and having a nineteen dollar cheapo mailbox at the street. New home builders know that a first class house must have a first class mailbox. Learn from the pros.

• The technicians who installed your power meter box, your service cables, and your exterior cable wiring are typically not trained in aesthetics. Paint the exterior of these eyesores the same color as the exterior of your house and watch them disappear. (Please don’t electrocute yourself in the process).

• On the house itself, remove cobwebs, remove and store exterior screens, and put away all the kids’ toys. I recommend having every window of the house cleaned both inside and out. My grandmother did this herself every spring, but some of us may have neglected this chore. Now is the time to have it done.

There are plenty more “curb appeal” ideas you may wish to employ. Look for solutions that are visually appealing, and at the same time don’t break the bank. Doing this work before you offer your home can make the difference between a quick sale and an agonizing Atlanta summer.

Native Atlantan John Adams is a real estate broker, investor, and author. He answers real estate questions every Sunday at 3 pm on WGKA-am(920). He welcomes your comments at Money99.com, where you will find an expanded version of this column.