How To Generate Real Estate Leads [34 Ways Online and Offline]
We were able to have a successful real estate business do over $15 million in volume in 2021. We don't have a team. We don't outsource our marketing to platforms or agencies.
To us, the production and volume is not the most important part. It's control and time. If you're not sure where or when your next lead is coming it's hard to feel in control.
For example, we took August off and road tripped with the kids to Wisconsin so I could be the officiant for my niece's wedding.
The Importance of Real Estate Lead Generation
Having enough real estate leads is one of the most important aspects of surviving as real estate agent. I wouldn't say real estate lead generation is what makes a thriving agent. But if you can't survive, you won't thrive.
A new real estate agent should recognize that without real estate lead generation you'll end up a stat. 87% of new agents don't make it five years in the industry.
In this article, we will discuss some of the best ways to generate real estate leads online and offline. Doesn't matter if you're a new agent or the market leader, there will be a lead gen idea or two you can take away to find yourself some more buyer leads and seller leads.
What is lead generation in real estate?
Real estate lead generation is the process of finding potential buyers and sellers. You probably weren't told in real estate licensing school how to generate leads or how important it is to having a successful career. And unless you're on a Leads Team, you don't have a broker or team leader handing you leads every day. So now you have to figure out how to find prospective buyer leads and seller leads yourself.
Cold Hard Reality
You can’t just be good at helping people. You can't just know your contracts, how to do a CMA and be a local real estate market expert. You have to be good at finding people to help also. And better yet, getting people who need help to find you.
How to generate leads in real estate
There are a number of ways to generate leads, and the best method will vary depending on your specific market, situation and skillset.
You're going to see 34 different real estate lead generation ideas. But as you go through this list of real estate marketing ideas keep two things in mind:
One vs Many
You can do lead gen activities where you try to connect with one person at a time. Or you can do activities where you try to connect with many at a time. It's the difference of attracting and having incoming leads versus chasing leads.
Strategy vs tactic
You can focus on lead generation strategies or lead generation tactics. Strategies are big ideas versus tactics are one off actions.
Let's break this into two sections:
Free Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas
1. Asking For Referrals
Referrals are one of the best ways to generate leads for your real estate business. After all, is there a higher quality lead than someone who wants to buy or sell a home and was referred by satisfied clients?
Don't make the mistake of being too aggressive by just making phone calls. Or being too passive by just making a Facebook post asking for referrals.
You already have a personal connection with this group, so communicate with them in the way they prefer to be communicated. That means for some you'll send a text. For others that might be getting together for coffee.
Your former clients should already think of you as the go to expert. Your job now is to simply remind them that you can help and answer questions when their friends have a real estate need.
A quick note on Past Clients.
A lawyer doesn't call their client a past client. A financial advisor doesn't call their client a past client. A doctor doesn't call their patient a past patient.
Stop using the phrase past client to reference or introduce your clients. And certainly, stop calling them a past client to their face. If you keep telling them they are "PAST" they'll start to believe you. As soon as that happens kiss the referrals goodbye. And when it's time for them to buy or sell again, be worried they might be looking for other agents now.
2. Host events
Invite your clients and their friends and family members. It doesn't need to be hundreds of people either. You can save money and keep things more intimate. It would actually be hard to connect with everyone if that was the case.
It could be as simple as a movie in a park or pizza party. We had a local taco place that we loved and always told our friends and clients about it. So one client party was simply renting out a portion of the restaurant and getting tacos for everyone.
BIG DISCOVERY
What we realized was the event was a great excuse to reach out to everyone and personally invite them.
And then after the event, thank everyone who came and more importantly let everyone know who wasn't there they were missed.
The event wasn't as important as the pre-marketing and post event follow up. It's about the personal connection.
3. Host Open Houses
Probably my least favorite lead generations idea on the list. An open house is time consuming and potentially dangerous. And new agents who don't have listings to hold an open house have to spend time cold calling to get permission to from the listing agent.
I could give you tips like:
Do a 10 down and 5 across
Have a sign in sheet
Greet people at the door
Do a mega open house - have lots of signage
But when you think about:
the time spent trying to find an open house to hold (2+ hours )
promoting it (3+ hours )
getting ready for it (2+ hours)
and finally doing it (3+ hours)...
You've potentially spent 10+ hours.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), just 7% of buyers found the home they bought by visiting open houses or seeing a yard sign.
I bet you can find a handful of other ideas from this list that will give quality leads and new business without spending that time and energy on open houses.
4. Branding Swag
Not exactly free, but nothing really is. Get a name tag or shirt with your name and brand on it. Not only does this help with branding and being memorable, I think overall it makes you more approachable.
5. Door Knocking Or Hangers
When it comes to door knocking, you need to make sure you have the right attitude. You should be excited about what you do, and be ready to talk to anyone who will listen.
Next, make sure you're prepared. You should always have a list of questions prepared, as well as some valuable information to share.
Be the judge if door knocking is right for your area. Maybe it's not the best way to get more leads for you.
I've door knocked before in one market where it went well. But in another market, people where afraid that someone was knocking on their door. They were scared to open it. And I think in the short term it actually hurt our brand in that neighborhood.
A better approach might be to just do door hangers.
Or turn this tactic into a two step lead generation strategy.
Leave a door hanger with a link to get local market info.
Door knock the next week asking if they got it. If not, would they like it now?
6. SEO Your Website
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website on search engines.
This can be done through optimizing the website content, structure, and on-page elements like titles, meta descriptions, and images. SEO can also be done through developing off-page SEO tactics like link building and social media outreach.
Succeeding with SEO is 20% on-page SEO and 80% off-page SEO. Here’s my best tip for seoing your real estate website to generate organic leads:
Understand your ideal buyers and sellers intent.
Understand what your potential leads struggle with, the language they use, what they are trying to do and build pages and content around that.
Don’t just build a neighborhood page because some SEO guru told you that's what you had to do for real estate lead generation.
Listen to the language of your clients and build content for them.
7. Blogging and Content Marketing
Agents can use content marketing and blogging to generate traffic to their website for real estate lead generation. You should focus on creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience, and then promote your content through social media accounts and other channels. By regularly publishing fresh content, combining that with SEO, you can attract new leads and build your brand online.
8. YouTube and Video Marketing
Video marketing is a powerful way to connect, build an audience, drive traffic, attract prospective leads and find new clients.
By creating videos that are relevant to your target market, you can connect with potential leads and build their trust. You can also use video marketing to drive traffic to your website by publishing videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites, and then promoting them with your social media presence and other channels.
When you make a listing tour video that you can use that for generating real estate leads. But not just buyer leads. A good listing video is helpful in generating seller leads because the potential client sees what you do and how you market homes.
I like to think of a listing video as a 24/7 open house.
Facebook Marketing
There are a few different ways to use Facebook for real estate lead generation.
9. Facebook Personal Profile
Using your personal profile is one of the best ways to stay in front of your sphere, generating referrals and getting repeat business.
One of the great things about your Facebook profile is being able to demonstrate your level of expertise, sharing stories of success and still being seen as person.
Doing these things right is what I call being an Approachable Resource.
10. Facebook Business Page
Another way to use Facebook for lead generation is by creating a Facebook page for your real estate business. You can use this page to share information about your business, connect with potential clients, and build your brand. You can also use Facebook ads to reach a larger audience and attract new leads. See #22
11. Facebook Marketplace
A free way to reach more audience is posting your listings inside the Facebook Marketplace.
You can also use it to post your open houses and events. The more activity you have within the marketplace, the more people will see your listings and event posts.
12. Facebook Groups
Not a fan of spamming groups with listings and service offerings, but one tactic that has worked well for us to increase audience us if our Sellers is in a neighborhood Facebook group, have them share it. And they tell the group that the first three people to share on their profile will get a coffee gift card from their Realtor®.
This helps the seller of course, their home is seen by that many more people It helps our personal brand. And then we have mailing addresses and names of the neighbors. A win - win - win.
13. Instagram
Instagram can be a powerful tool for agents to connect with potential clients and build their brand. Here are a few tips for using Instagram:
1. Use high-quality images of your listings and neighborhoods to attract attention.
2. Share stories of success and connect with potential clients on a personal level.
3. Use hashtags to reach a larger audience and attract new leads.
4. Promote your services, listings and show the behind the scenes of your business on Instagram Stories.
5. Connect with potential clients on Instagram Live and Reels.
14. Other Social Media Platforms (TikTok, Snapchat, etc)
I put all the other social media platforms into one bucket. If you're already on TikTok, great. But if you're not, I wouldn't recommend you get on there to simply look for real estate leads.
You want it to feel like you are everywhere. A lot of people are going to say you're marketing and branding need to be everywhere, but there's a difference in feeling like you are everywhere and literally being everywhere, being on every platform, being there all the time.
It's key in the mindset of the buyer and seller who are looking for real estate help, they feel like you are everywhere.
This is where being good on one, maybe two platforms and then using a retargeting strategy with GDN helps. See more at #23.
The average age of a first time home buyer is 33. But according to stats, the majority of TikTok users are under 30. Some agents and many real estate coaches might debate me why you need to be there to have a successful business. Or have anecdotes about generating real estate leads there.
Great!
If TikTok fits your style, you like making a bunch of videos everyday, go for it. For other agents, you don't NEED to be on there to have a successful business.
15. Craigslist
I'll throw this one on here because you never know. Craigslist posting use to be the place back in the day. There are some agents walking around right now with Mega Teams who made their success on Craigslist lead generation.
The method back in the day was posting a 100 times a week with search links, not listings. Agents had hired full-time admins and Virtual Assistants to do these postings. It got to the point where Craigslist changed what you could post, links and images, etc.
But when you do have a listing, posting it in Craigslist can still be a good real estate lead generation tactic.
16. FSBO - For Sale By Owner
Best way to find prospective sellers is when they're already trying to sell.
There are a few different ways to get FSBOs:
1. Word of mouth: Tell your friends, family, and colleagues that you're looking for FSBOs and ask them to let you know if they hear of any.
2. Online search: Use a real estate search engine or listing service to find FSBOs in your area.
3. Newspaper classifieds: Check the classified ads in your local newspaper to find FSBOs.
4. Signs: Look for For Sale by Owner signs in your neighborhood to find potential leads.
17. Expired Listings
If you're looking to generate seller leads, you could find some sitting right inside your Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Now, in the extreme seller's market we've been having, not as easy to find expired listings.
But you never know. And sooner or later, the market will shift and you'll see more homes not selling. So it never hurst to have a strategy ready and skills sharpened.
18. Getting Reviews and Testimonials
Here are a few reasons why it's good to ask for reviews and testimonials:
1. It helps you build trust with potential leads. When people see that you have a lot of positive reviews and testimonials, they're more likely to trust you and be more inclined to do business with you.
2. It can help you close more deals. In some cases, potential clients may be on the fence about doing business with you. However, if they see that you have a lot of positive reviews and testimonials, they may be more likely to make a decision in your favor.
3. It can help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). One of the factors that Google, Bing, and other search engines use to rank their search results is the number of positive reviews a business has. In some cases, having a lot of positive reviews can even help you land on the first page of SERPs.
19. Organize Affiliate Partners
I'll cover networking further down the list, but Affiliate Partners is more specific than general networking. Affiliate partners are people or businesses that are connected to a real estate transaction. This could be a lender, an inspector, a carpet cleaner, or a stager. Having affiliate partners can be beneficial because it allows you to connect with more people and local businesses in the industry. These relationships can help agents generate more leads and close more deals.
Find people you trust. Refer them. Let them return the favor.
20. Google My Business Profile
A Google My Business Profile can be a powerful real estate lead generation tool. When you create a Profile, you can include information about your business, such as your address, phone number, and website. You can also add photos, reviews and testimonials from your past clients. This can help potential clients see that you're local, credible and have a good reputation. Google my Business is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get to page 1 on Google.
21. Referrals From Other Agents
In today's digital world we are connected more than ever. It makes it easier to find other real estate professionals and keep in touch with them.
You don't have to passively wait to get a referral from someone in your own franchise brokerage either. You can be more proactive. There are Facebook groups or you could do direct outreach. If their are a lot of relocation buyers coming in from certain areas, contact agents and brokerages in that area and let them know you can be of service.
Paid Advertising & Marketing
22. Pay Per Click Advertising
Google Ads, also known as Google PPC (pay-per-click), is a form of online advertising that allows you to create text ads that appear on Google when some starts a search.
You can target buyer leads or seller leads based on the keywords they use in their search. You can also target your ads to people in specific regions, or cities, and you can even target them based on what type of device they're using (like a computer, phone, or tablet).
When someone clicks on your ad, they'll be taken to your website or to a page where you can capture their contact information. Then, you can follow up with them until they become a new client.
You can also do this on Bing or Yahoo and other search websites.
23. Local Service Ads
Google local service ads are a type of advertising that allows a real estate agent to promote their services to people in their local area. These ads appear at the top of the search results for specific queries related to real estate services.
How Is Local Service Ads Different from pay per click?
You pay for the lead, not for click. It's going to be more expensive but could also be the lead could be more ready than a lead generated from a click.
24. Google Display Network
Google Display Network (GDN) is a vast online advertising network consisting of millions of websites and apps across all categories. Real estate agents can use GDN to target potential customers with display ads, including text, images, and videos.
How Does the Google Display Network Work?
The best way to use GDN in my opinion is for retargeting. When someone is looking at recipes on Cooking.com or reading news on the local news website, they'll see your ads. It's hard to generate new leads with with Display ads and Banner ads. But it's a great way to stay top of mind and help with making lead conversion easier.
Alternatives to GDN: Adroll, Sharpspring
25. YouTube Ads
There are few different ways to advertise on YouTube, but there are probably only three different styles to worry about when it comes to generating leads as a real estate agent.
Skippable in-stream video advertising are the first item on the list. These can play either before or after a video. These ads play for a minimum of 5 seconds before the viewer can skip them. And you only pay if the viewer watches 30 seconds of your video ad or clicks on it.
Then there are Bumpers and Non-Skippable In-Stream video ad. The viewer has to watch either 6 seconds or 15 seconds, but there's no skip button. You get charged per impression for these.
How We Use YouTube Ads
We mainly use YouTube ads for retargeting people who have visited our website or already watched one of our YouTube videos.
26. Instagram & Facebook Ads
Since these two platforms share the same Ads manager, I'll include these together.
You can use different objectives with ads. You can go for engagement, video views or conversion. You don't even need a website or landing page to generate leads on Facebook or Instagram. You can use Lead Ads.
About Lead Ads
Lead ads allow you to find people who may be interested in your products or services and collect information from them. Using an Instant Form, you can collect contact information such as name, email address, phone number and more. These forms also let you include custom questions to help you understand your potential customers and reach your business goals.
You can use lead ads to:
Identify potential customers for your business
Collect subscriber information for your company newsletter
Encourage downloads of white papers or brochures
Understand the interests and behaviors of potential clients
Get people to enroll in your programs
You can create lead ads in Ads Manager or from your Facebook Page. Lead ads appear in Facebook News Feed, Facebook Stories, Instant Articles, In-Stream Videos, Marketplace, Instagram Feed and Instagram Stories.
When people click on your ad, they will be prompted to fill out your form. After people have submitted your form, you can download your leads data directly from Ads Manager or Facebook Business Suite, or connect to a CRM system
Lead Ads are one of simplest and best ways to generate more leads and fast.
WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR MORE INFO ON FACEBOOK ADS
It's easy to overcomplicate Facebook ads. It’s also easy to get scared to run Facebook ads yourself or to use an expensive third party platform to run your ads.
If you want to take control of your Facebook Ads, check out this Cheatsheet on the 10 Rules of Running Facebook Ads.
27. Zillow Premier Agent
Giving money to your competition is controversial and many real estate agents have opinions about Zillow in general. But this is a list of lead gen ideas, so I can’t leave them off the list.
Zillow Premier Agent is a program that allows real estate agents to advertise their services on the Zillow website.
How Does Zillow Premier Agent Work?
Zillow Premier Agent is a subscription-based program that allows real estate agents to advertise their services on the Zillow website. Agents who join the program can create a profile page on Zillow, which will appear at the top of the search results for people looking for real estate services in their area. When a lead inquires about a property, the local agents that sponsor that zip code are round robined.
Pros: Zillow has a huge brand
Cons: Many agents complain about lead quality and quantity for the cost
28. Realtor.com
Candidly a bit hard to keep up with the newest Realtor.com offerings. Seems like they are always switching up their offers. I'm not sure if that's because they're trying to figure out what works best for real estate agents or what works best for them.
Connections Plus
“ConnectionsSM Plus is a complete lead generation system to get you in front of serious local buyers searching on Realtor.com®. Receive high-quality buyer leads and the tools you need to respond quickly, make a connection, and keep them engaged throughout the process.”
29. Geographic Farm
When real estate agents are looking to generate seller leads, they may want to consider farming a neighborhood. Farming a neighborhood means that the agent focuses their marketing efforts on a specific area. This can be done by targeting a specific zip code or targeting homeowners in neighboorhood.
30. Geo Farm For Buyers
Normally doing a geographic farm is thought to bring in prospective sellers, agents could target apartment complexes, looking for renters and find leads who would like to become first time home buyers.
31. Sponsor Local & Community Events
You could host a community event or you could just sponsor one. You might not be the center of attention doing this, but it could save you time, money and headache. Your personal brand is still attached to something and it could just be a good way for you to contribute to the things that matter to you.
Things you could sponsor:
school,
sports,
teams,
4th of July,
Parades,
Local festival,
Auctions & Fundraisers
scholarships
32. Networking
A great way to connect with local businesses and rub elbows is to attend networking events. You could attend just the random event here and there. You could find things you're interested via Meetup.com or Facebook Groups. You could do the pay to play networking like BNI or Letip. And if you're a member of your local Chamber of Commerce, you should always be able to find networking, events and sponsorship opportunities.
If you’re into real estate investing, this could be a great way to meet those already investing in real estate or looking to get started with investing.
33. EDDM
Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) from USPS is a cost-effective way to reach potential customers who live near your business. With EDDM, you can mail full-color postcards or flyers to homes and businesses in a single zip code. Plus, there's no need to purchase a mailing list!
How Does EDDM Work?
To use EDDM, you first need to select the zip codes that you'd like to target. You can then create a custom postcard or flyer using the online design tool, or you can have one of our designers create a postcard or flyer for you. Once your postcard or flyer is ready, you'll need to purchase postage and drop it off at the Post Office.
The Postal Service® will do the rest of the work for you!
34. Homebot
Homebot.ai helps homeowners track their home's value and equity over time. They can use Homebot to monitor their home's appreciation, track down your home's lost equity, and more.
It's a great tool to keep in touch with your sphere but also helpful when it comes time for them to list their home or refer you.
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Generating real estate leads used to be a lot more difficult than it is today. But in some ways it's more complicated today. It's not as straightforward or direct.
I would not recommend trying all these lead generation ideas at the same time. But review them and decided what ones look like they could work for you.
And if you want to know what makes all marketing more impactful, it's having Market Leadership.
If you want to learn more about Market Leadership download my free guide.
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