The 4 Real Estate Lead Magnets Every Agent Needs
A lead isn’t a lead unless you have the means and permission to contact them.
That’s why every agent needs real estate lead magnets on their lead-generating real estate website.
A real estate lead magnet is something of value that you offer for free to website visitors in exchange for their contact information (and their permission to be contacted).
Here’s how they work.
You create something that would provide a benefit to your target client. You promote it on your website, in your newsletter, on social media. Your target client is interested. They follow the link to your real estate website.
Awaiting them at the link is a form they must fill out — they have to provide their name, email address and/or phone number, and maybe a few details about themselves (such as whether they’re interested in buying or selling). Once they’ve submitted the form, they’ll receive your lead magnet (either as an email attachment or as a downloadable file).
You get their info. They get your resource. And now you have a lead to follow up with.
The tricky part: creating real estate lead magnets that your target client actually wants.
We’ve got some ideas. Read on for four real estate lead magnets that every agent needs.
Cheat Sheets
Cheat sheets are a perfect real estate lead magnet because they promise to make life easier for a target client by doing some thinking for them.
Plus, they’re pretty easy to assemble. A cheat sheet can be as simple as a one- or two-page PDF.
Here are a few samples of real estate lead magnet cheat sheets:
- The real estate process for buyers
This cheat sheet covers the steps to buying a house, from getting mortgage approval to dealing with closing costs. Use it to target first-time buyers who are unfamiliar with the buying process.
- The real estate process for sellers
The same as above but for sellers. Create a cheat sheet that outlines each step to selling a home, from choosing an agent to prepping for photos to dealing with open houses and showings, and so on.
- Mortgage approval
This is another great real estate lead magnet to target buyers, especially first-time buyers. Provide an overview of what it’s like to secure a mortgage. Include details about what information buyers should be prepared to show lenders and tips about how to secure the best rate. You could also include a sidebar that defines key mortgage terms.
How-Tos
The possibilities for real estate how-tos are endless. The trick to turning them into real estate lead magnets is to choose topics that make the most of your particular expertise and insights.
Topics like…
- How to prepare your home for listing
- How to choose the best real estate agent for you
- How to increase the value of your home through five key renovations
- How to improve your home’s curb appeal
- How to prepare for — and win — a bidding war
- How to get started as a real estate investor
If properly configured, lead magnets are among the most effective marketing tools you can use and a terrific way for real estate agents to gather a list of local contacts.
Checklists
Like cheat sheets, checklists are an easy-to-consume, easy-to-create real estate lead magnet.
If you create real estate blog content, you probably already have the basis for many a checklist. You can take that content, add a few more points, then turn it into a checklist format.
A checklist should be concise and actionable — tasks that a target client can realistically take for a specific real estate-related activity.
Examples of checklist real estate lead magnets include:
A home viewing checklist. What do buyers need to be looking at and paying attention to when walking through a listing?
A moving checklist. This list would include tasks such as getting moving company quotes, setting up mail forwarding, changing utilities and leaving keys.
A seasonal home maintenance checklist. What tasks do homeowners need to be doing in every season to keep their home in top condition?
Neighbourhood Guides
Creating guides to key neighourhoods in your area takes more work than the other real estate lead magnets mentioned here. Guides are typically multi-page PDFs with text and images.
A neighbourhood guide can be as comprehensive or as basic as you choose, though the more information and insights you include, the more valuable the guide will be. A high-value lead magnet can deliver a higher rate of conversion.
Here’s a list of what kinds of details you might want to include:
- Market statistics (average sold price, days on market, and etcetera)
- Demographics
- Key landmarks
- Greenspace
- Recreation
- Arts and culture
- Shopping
- Restaurants, bars, bakeries and coffee
- Fun facts
- Your own insights into the area (e.g., why it’s desirable, whether it’s up-and-coming, why people like it, what types of buyers you’d recommend it to)
