Ten years ago, the prospect of receiving a free education on everything you could possibly need to close $5 million in sales in less than two weeks might’ve had us shaking our heads. Nowadays, these click-bait traps are barely even circulating anymore. Why? Because they don’t provide genuine value.
A lead magnet is a valuable piece of content placed on real estate websites to generate leads. You can offer prospective buyers information that will help them along their journey in exchange for their contact details (usually an email address), making it easier to funnel leads into your sales pipeline.
But they’re getting popular, and leads are becoming increasingly immune to their magnetizing effects. So how can you use real estate lead magnets to grow your business and keep them effective in the future? This article will explore these questions and offer tips to keep your lead magnets fresh.
Why Do Agents Use Real Estate Lead Magnets?
Real estate agents use lead magnets to expand their database of qualified leads, learn about their target audience’s needs, and collect contact information. The term ‘magnet’ denotes a scenario where your offer is so compelling that prospective leads cannot help but be attracted to it. This is because you provide them with value by answering questions or offering insider knowledge that can save your targeted leads time, money, or hassle.
The best part is that there’s something in it for you too. So what does a real estate agent stand to gain by creating alluring lead magnets for a targeted audience?
Collecting Lead’s Contact Information
Usually, an agent offers a lead magnet on their real estate website in exchange for website visitors’ email addresses. The process generates new email subscribers that the real estate professional can nurture through an email campaign or sales funnel.
Once a lead is in your pipeline, you can use an email funnel to provide additional guidance, ask provocative questions, and keep your brand at the front and center of your lead’s mind. This has been shown to convert leads to paying clients over time.
Establishing Authority And Credibility
Purchasing or selling a home is a huge deal. When selecting a suitable real estate professional to assist with the sale or purchase of a property, leads look for agents with a firm grasp of the real estate industry. Real estate lead magnets are an excellent way to demonstrate and share your knowledge of your chosen niche.
They provide you with a platform to help targeted leads solve a specific problem for free. This exchange illustrates that you’re an expert in the field and have a genuine interest in guiding your leads to achieve their goals, while you champion them along the way. Lead magnets allow you to get playful with your brand as you establish trust early in your agent-client relationship.
To Inspire Leads To Take Action
The ultimate goal of a lead magnet is to motivate prospective buyers to engage with your business. Let’s say a client downloads your lead magnet in exchange for their email. The first objective has been achieved but we are nowhere near done yet.
The content inside your lead magnet should also be designed to encourage prospects to take action in the future by hiring you. When done properly, a lead magnet will increase your conversion rates. This is why so many real estate professionals are using them.
If you’re looking to increase your pool of leads and conversion rate without expending energy and time creating online resources, get in touch with Elizabeth Riley today. Through the eXp platform, you can gain immediate access to powerful lead generation tools and technology that grow your real estate business fast.
How Can I Use My Lead Magnet To Attract The Right People?
To attract the right people with your lead magnet, you need to precision target your audience. Break your market into segments and consider who your business serves. For example, are you targeting buyers or sellers? Apartments or single-family homes? Luxury homes or affordable real estate? Investors or first-time buyers? Immigrants or Veterans?
Answer all of their questions in the lead magnet, otherwise leads already interested in your business may look to your competitors for solutions to problems you do not address. Another great idea is to consider any reservations your leads may have about engaging with your business and provide a counter solution so that it’s no longer perceived as an issue. This helps reassure prospects that working with you will solve their problems. After all, if you’re targeting the right niche, you are the best agent to work with.
Real Estate Lead Magnet Ideas That Work
1. E-Books and Guides
Hone in on your expertise and create a resource that explains which techniques you use to excel in your niche. Are you an excellent negotiator? Can you present a home for viewing that rivals Marie Kondo’s crowning achievements? No matter what area you shine in, create a PDF document that gives your target audience a leg up and raises the bar.
You don’t need to give all your secrets away – just offer a taste of what it will be like to work with you and the value you have to give your leads. E-books and guides can be as long or short as you want them to be.
2. Cheat Sheets and Checklists
Cheat sheets are usually a condensed version of a guide. Think back to the study resources you were provided at school – they’re succinct, direct, and don’t need to be very long. If you have access to a creative suite, you could make an infographic with the essentials of your subject or provide a categorized list that’s easy and quick to read and understand.
3. Market Reports And Neighborhood Analyses
Typically a market report gets used by real estate agents, buyers, and home sellers who want to know the data and metrics of a particular market or area. For example, average home sale prices, local council development plans, local home loan market, or changes to tax laws.
These demonstrate that you’re a strategic thinker who can tap into multiple arenas to derive the best outcomes for your clients.
4. Local Drawcards
When buyers shop for a new home in your area, a massive part of bringing the decision over the finish line is feeling assured that the lifestyle and amenities available locally will match the needs of their family. So create a document that shows them how incredible your location is!
People are interested in schools, the local economy, dining and shopping, weekend getaways, public transport – the list goes on. There is plenty to write about, so try to narrow it down to a couple of elements your niche cares about the most.
5. Exclusive Property Lists
Property lists are usually presented in a PDF format or a section of real estate websites where visitors gain exclusive access to property categories such as newly listed, foreclosed, over or under a certain price, or luxury.
Target the categories to the kind of homes you want to sell and the clients you want to serve.
6. Discounted Offers
Everyone loves something for nothing. And often, for the value a real estate agent gets from a qualified lead ready to work with you, offering a discounted service is well worth the effort.
But we’re not talking about a 20% off deal. Instead, think about what you can offer for free that will inspire leads to revisit your brand. For example, free access to a resource section of your website that provides a tool or library of information that will keep leads returning over and over again.
What Causes Real Estate Lead Magnets To Fail?
Lead magnets are by no means new, and the market is saturated as it is. So how can you cut through the noise and stand out in your market? Testing, testing, and testing via Google analytics is the best way to determine what works well with your audience.
Additionally, ensuring that your content is either timeless or regularly updated will guarantee your leads get the most relevant solutions to their challenges. Here are a few more tips to keep lead magnets effective and competitive.
Not Targeting The Right Audience
Did we mention lead magnets should be targeted? Generalist lead magnets don’t work because few people carry “general” problems around with them. To create real value, consider exactly who your niche audience is and which specific issues they need to solve.
For example, let’s consider home staging. A lead magnet offering tips for staging a home will be completely different if you’re serving a high-end audience versus home staging for those on a tight budget. Moreover, presenting an apartment unit will differ from a mansion. As will staging a mountain house versus a beach house. The more specific and targeted you can make your lead magnet, the more likely it is to convert.
There Is No Call To Action
It’s necessary to take some leadership in your lead magnet content and go ahead and ask the client for the sale. You may offer the most valuable information, write the most compelling copy, and include the most luxurious graphics. Your lead magnet will still be benign unless you tell clients exactly what you want them to do in a way that makes them want to do it too.
To create an effective call to action, explain how your services solve an issue or challenge your leads face. Then tell them precisely what they need to do to solve the problem, or what steps need to be taken first. Be specific – confusion does not lead to conversion.
The Lead Magnet is Not Unique
If you offer the same information in the same way as other real estate agents in your area, your leads are not incentivized to work directly with you. Before you start creating your lead magnet, do some field research and see what else is being offered – then find ways to make your offer better.
The Lead Magnet Is Not Clear
In an industry rich in jargon, it can be easy to forget that your leads are likely far less exposed to real estate industry terms and processes than you and your colleagues. Leads will derive zero value from something they cannot understand, so keep the language and concepts simple – especially if you’re creating market reports and the like.
Another hiccup agents face is when they make the lead magnet sound too salesy. This is a pitch, but it’s taken from a different angle. Consider that your leads want helpful information, so an explicit but moderate approach is the fastest way to get a conversion.
Final Thoughts
Lead magnets have been around for a while now. To achieve a high conversion rate, you must stay on top of the crowds by creating a lead magnet that immediately communicates value and stands out from others in your area.
Many real estate agents lead busy lives and don’t have enough time to create lead magnets – especially if it means recreating ones that are not working. A simple solution is to consider whether your brokerage is providing you with the support necessary to generate sufficient leads without the grueling work. If you want to generate leads and expand your business the easy way, get in touch with Elizabeth Riley to see how the eXp platform can facilitate lead generation and grow your business the simple way.