Since I tapped myself out of freebies with Monday’s birthday freebies post, I don’t have any new Friday Freebies for you this week. However, I do have something just as good: tips on making a successful garage sale sign.

With spring just around the corner, people are probably starting to think about when they can have that first yard or garage sale so they can clear out their stuff. I happen to be planning a community yard sale in April, and can’t wait to set up my table and sell off my stuff.

Regardless of where you’re planning to hold your garage sale, Jonathon Papsin, founder of Tag Sell It, an online community connecting people with virtual tag sales as well as real-time ones happening locally, has some advice for creating successful garage sale signs. “I’ve seen everything from paper plates with chicken-scratch scribble to more elegantly constructed signs, most likely done by a professional,” he says.

While you don’t have to spend big bucks outsourcing your signs to a print shop, Papsin recommends that you always include the following 8 things in a garage sale sign–if you actually want to get people to show up and shop at your sale:

1. The street address of the sale
2. The time and date of the sale
3. Arrows pointing shoppers in the right direction to get to the sale
4. Big enough lettering so people can read it from far away
5. Keywords on the sign that are likely to catch someone’s eye, like “Antiques,” “Art” or “Tools”
6. Bright and bold signs and printing that catch people’s attention
7. Not too much information that someone driving by can’t read your entire sign at 30 mile per hour
8. Signs that are waterproof and windproof, in case Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate

You should always create multiple versions of your sign and place them in high-traffic spots on the way to your sale. He also recommends spreading the word by telling your friends, posting information about the sale on neighborhood and community bulletin boards (both online and offline) and, of course, listing your sale for free on Tagsellit.com. (Putting something in Craigslist’s “garage sale” section probably wouldn’t hurt either.) Finally, Papsin always advises people to take down their signs as soon as the sale is over so they don’t clutter the neighborhood and become a nuisance and eye sore.