In today’s post we’re gonna show you some powerful statistics about real estate marketing and online lead generation, plus some great ideas that you can start implementing right away.
You’ve probably heard about Inbound vs Outbound marketing in the past, but just in case, let me tell you why this is so relevant to any real estate investor’s business today… especially those growing their business through online lead generation (like our Carrot Members, for example).
First off, let me just tell you… Inbound Marketing is where it’s at, hands down.
Having the phone ring with people who are calling to give you business is the way to go. Obviously it’s way better than cold calling folks off of a list, or paying lots of money for an advertisement.
And as you saw on the graph above, it’s way cheaper.
How much cheaper?
Let’s say that for every deal you close, you need 8 leads.
Since you’re doing about 4 deals a month, you need 32 leads.
If you were paying the average rate of $346 for each Outbound Lead, you’d spend $132,864 in marketing in a single year!
Switching over to Inbound lead generation would save you $81,024 each year!!
Now, having said that… I can tell you that most InvestorCarrot members aren’t spending even $135 per lead on their businesses. The data from the chart above is based on corporate costs that include the salaries of the person doing the work… and lots of our members are doing their own Inbound Marketing work with a little bit of help from our team and sometimes even a virtual assistant.
But that’s an important reminder… when you’re calculating the costs of your marketing, don’t forget to factor in the cost of your own time, too! Remember, your time is valuable… which is why we focus so much energy on helping you find ways to get insanely good results in the most efficient ways.
Are you ready to create a killer Inbound Marketing Strategy for Your Business?
There is a really big mental shift involved for folks who are used to chasing leads… all of a sudden they have to change they way they work.
Instead of spending money to chase people, you have to invest in building content that attracts people.
Good content marketing is at the core of what InvestorCarrot sites do for our members. They come fully loaded with proven content that converts. Each of our sites is focused on a specific audience, like Cash Buyers, Motivated Sellers, or Rent-to-Own Tenants.
But in order to really take advantage of those sites, you have to know how to add to what’s already there – to make that site your own, to brand it for your business and tailor it to your community.
Here’s my #1 Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Tip:
Write a weekly blog post and share it.
It sounds too simple, right? It couldn’t be that simple?
Trust me, it is really that simple.
Now, putting up the weekly blog post isn’t enough to generate leads. You also have to build traffic.
(Pitch: We can help you with SEO. Click here to learn exactly what we do for a very low monthly cost.)
But seriously, the biggest thing that you have to do is switch behavior. You have to stop chasing people, and start attracting them.
If you don’t make that mental switch, you’ll never be able to do good Inbound Marketing.
“You have to know the people you want to reach in order to make content that they will love. This isn’t just about profiles of who they are, but you have to know in your soul exactly the type of people they are. Then you’ll create content that isn’t all about pitching or landing the sale. It will share more about your company or solve a problem that they have. They’ll begin to connect with you and then all the other great content you have that does include the hard sell will come into play and help convert them into a customer. Start with the soul and end with the sale. Not the other way around.”
C.C. Chapman, Founder of The Cleon Foundation and author of Amazing Things Will Happen
I took that great quote from HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Report.
Does it make sense to you?
As a real estate investor, you have to Put the Soul Before The Sale.
Take the time in your business to learn from your customers, and from the people in your community.
Listen to actual people about their needs, and then create content that answers those same questions for others facing a similar situation (never reveal confidential information).
It doesn’t have to be complicated, and there is so much content out there that you can use as inspiration.
You can grab info from other sites (cite them as sources, of course) then tailor it for your local market – and make sure it’s appropriate for the audience you’re trying to reach.
An example of what not to do: Don’t post info on your site for Motivated Sellers about how much money investors are making in your area.
Do post good information on how to handle probates, estates, foreclosures, tax liens and other difficult situations that often lead to fast cash sales to investors.
Make references to local businesses, and talk about local trends.
You can have a little fun being local, for example: “I was at Stumptown Coffee treating myself to a little dark roast when I realized that too many sellers are roasting themselves in the sale of their property.”
Seriously though, start writing! If you post at least once a week to your blog, share it and build traffic to your site, you’ll see your search engine rankings rise… share in the right places and you’ll get leads through your site.
At the end of this post I’m gonna share a great training video that Trevor made for our members that spells out a great Content Marketing Strategy you can use right away, plus tools and tricks for real estate investors to generate leads online.
Before I do, I want to give you a bunch more value.
Here are ideas for pretty fast and easy blog posts:
- Tell a neighborhood story
- Promote an upcoming community event
- Review a great local business
- Make a list of churches and types of worship available nearby
- Make lists of architecture styles, unique home features, or other special local real estate info
- Comment on local news story, current event or issue
- Attend a public meeting and write about it
- Spotlight a great non-profit
- Do a cost of living comparison with real examples (use good data sources)
- List the top employers in your area and provide some commentary
- Lists of best local businesses by category (barbershop, auto repair, etc – Yelp is a great source of content)
- Market statistics for your area, such as average sale prices, absorption rates, etc.
- Local travel tips for visiting tourists or relocating buyers (everyone wants insider knowledge)
- Review of a real estate guide, book or blog
- Common (or uncommon) real estate hoaxes and scams
- How to shop for investment property
- Things that go wrong with real estate sales
Inbound marketing is all about adding value.
Online, it’s about building a strong connection with someone by giving them the piece of information that they were looking for, and using that connection as a chance to build a relationship.
Remember that every blog post will reach both your current audience and your new audience – so it’s helpful to write in the same style every time.
Be consistent and build great content!
Inbound marketing can really pay off in a major way.
If you want more information, here’s a full, in-depth training on how real estate investors can do content marketing to get inbound leads:
