13 Steps for Successful Mortgage Lead Generation
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May 15, 2023

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With so many competitors and a tumultuous market, mortgage professionals must have a well-defined lead generation strategy to rely on day after day. If you work in this capacity, the following steps will help you consistently generate high-quality leads that convert. Let’s get right into our best tips for successful mortgage lead generation. 

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Redesign your website

Even if you have a website that’s generated leads in the past, it doesn’t mean it’ll do the same in the future. Get into the habit of reviewing your website for redesign ideas every year. 

As an essential part of your mortgage business, your website must be up to date and designed with the current state of your target audience in mind. 

Here are some questions you can answer to help decide if it’s time to redesign your website:

  • Are you achieving all of your website-related goals?
  • Has your business strategy changed since the launch of your website?
  • What do your customers and prospects think about your website?
  • Does your website reflect the needs of your audience?
  • Is your website both user-friendly and search-engine-friendly?

Redesigning and optimizing your website for lead generation is critical to your success. It takes time, money, and manpower. However, the process is often easier than it sounds. That’s especially true if you hire a web design agency to manage the project. 

Create industry-leading blog content

It’s easier than ever to launch a blog, but that’s not good enough. A blog is only helpful if it’s home to industry-leading content. 

The mortgage industry is crowded. A quick online search will show you just how much competition you have. The best way to beat your competitors to the top of the search engine results is by creating and sharing industry-leading blog content.

Here’s what you should do:

  • Take a strong stance on the subject matter
  • Provide a unique take; don’t rehash what’s already been published
  • Make your content the most comprehensive content on your subject
  • Provide content on the specific niche(s) that you specialize in  

As a general rule of thumb, quality over quantity is the best approach. 

Rather than publish three mediocre pieces of content every week, focus on creating a single blog post that will attract and engage your audience. 

For inspiration, review Kaleidico’s list of “The Best Mortgage Websites of 2022 and Why”. It includes:

  • Comprehensive advice on what a good mortgage website should include 
  • A breakdown of what makes each website a winner
  • Screenshots to provide a visual break while engaging the reader

Take it slow. Set out to create one industry-leading blog post in the next two weeks. Use common questions that you hear from clients as inspiration. As you get your feet wet, build out a content calendar that works for your schedule without compromising quality. 

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Use online advertising platforms

In addition to organic traffic (more on this below), the use of online advertising platforms is one of the best ways to drive qualified and targeted consumers to your mortgage website. 

Before we go any further, there’s one thing you need to know: It can take a good amount of time to pin down an online advertising strategy that generates a positive return on investment (ROI). 

If you’re set on making online advertising work, here are some questions to answer upfront:

  • What are your online advertising goals?
  • What is your daily, weekly, and monthly budget?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • What keywords will you target?
  • How will you track your ad spend and ROI?

Your initial goal with online advertising is to break even. You want to generate as much revenue as you spend. From there, continue to tweak your strategy to boost your ROI.

Get active on social media

There’s a lot of good that can come from using social media. That’s why a growing number of mortgage companies, loan officers, and brokers are spending more time and money on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even TikTok.

Get started on social media by:

  • Create and maintain a unique voice
  • Share interesting and engaging original content
  • Don’t actively search for leads; let them come to you by producing helpful content
  • Keep the conversation going; don’t post and disappear 

Along with the above, focus on one or two social media platforms to start. Don’t feel like you need to be on every up-and-coming platform. Find out where your audience is and post there.

For example, Facebook and LinkedIn. Learn everything about these platforms, from the audience to the type of content that performs best. And of course, tweak your strategy as the days turn to weeks. 

Final tip: if you’re going to get active on social media, get ACTIVE on social media. Don’t post twice today, one time tomorrow, and not again for two weeks. The best way to build a loyal audience is to regularly share content and engage when possible. 

Use email marketing

There’s a group of marketers who believe that email marketing is dead. They no longer see any value in it. 

While the game has changed, there are still plenty of opportunities to make it work for you. It can even be one of your most cost-effective marketing methods since it’s typically free or relatively inexpensive. 

According to HubSpot, “77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.” 

In other words, there’s never been a better time than now to use email marketing.

Maintain communication with prospects

With email marketing automation, you can efficiently maintain communication with prospects until they’re ready to move forward. This is preferred to neglecting prospects for an extended period of time. 

Keep past customers informed

Just because you’ve worked with someone in the past doesn’t mean you won’t do so again in the future. For instance, when a past customer wants to refinance their mortgage, you want them to contact you first. Email marketing keeps you “top of mind.”

Share your thoughts

Email marketing isn’t just about generating leads. A big portion of what you do is sharing your unique thoughts on the mortgage industry, recent news, and other topics that your audience will find interesting. 

If nothing else, a dedication to email marketing allows you to grow a list that you can use to generate business in the future. There’s no downside to this marketing tactic. 

Build your personal brand

As a mortgage professional, your personal brand is your face to the world. This is what people see when they’re researching you online or communicating with you. So, there’s no gray area. You need to build a strong personal brand. 

Doing so overlaps with many of the other steps on this list. Try the following:

  • Choose your target audience: You want your personal brand to resonate with your audience, so carefully choose who you’re targeting. 
  • Optimize your online profile: This includes your website, social media profiles, directory listings, and more. If it has anything to do with your business, optimize it with your reputation and lead generation in mind. 
  • Take advice: Maybe a co-worker makes a suggestion about how to better position yourself in your market. Or perhaps a prospect went in another direction because of your approach. Any advice is advice you can use to your advantage. 

When you think about it, your personal brand is all you have. Get serious about establishing a foundation and building a brand that you can be proud of for years to come. 

Focus on search engine optimization (SEO)

A website that’s not properly optimized is a website that will continually fall short of your goals. Search engine optimization improves the likelihood of driving targeted traffic via high-converting keywords.

Take for example a mortgage broker in Los Angeles, California. They may want to target keywords such as:

  • Los Angeles mortgage broker
  • Mortgage brokers in Los Angeles
  • LA mortgage brokers
  • Lowest mortgage rates in Los Angeles

SEO isn’t something you learn overnight. In fact, it may be something you never learn. Many companies bring on outside help to manage SEO and everything that goes along with it. 

To build a more effective SEO strategy, try the following:

  • Regularly create high-quality, targeted content 
  • Create content for your audience first and search engines second
  • Build high-quality, relevant backlinks to your website
  • Establish a strong social media presence
  • Focus on user experience 
  • Optimize your website for search engines (technical SEO)

It takes a lot of time and effort to build a website for your mortgage business. You want to do everything you can to help it succeed, and a big part of that is optimizing every page for the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others).

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Get serious about online reviews

Online reviews are a big part of your reputation in the mortgage industry. Positive reviews will give you the momentum you’re seeking to grow your business. Negative reviews will bog you down and make it difficult to grow. 

With 93 percent of people reading online reviews before making a purchase, don’t wait to get serious about online reviews. Some things you can do today:

  • Ask satisfied customers to leave an online review about their experience
  • Monitor all reviews and report those that are spam 
  • Answer both positive and negative reviews

Remember, even the most successful mortgage professionals will receive a negative review every now and again. There’s no way around it. 

Don’t let that stop you from growing your business. Respond to the review, do your best to resolve the issue, and move on.

Network in person

It’s hard to imagine that there’s value in in-person networking in 2022, but it’s entirely true. 

There never has been and never will be a replacement for meeting other people face to face. There’s something about the personal connection that makes for a stronger relationship.

Don’t go into a networking event with the idea of generating leads or making sales. Instead, connect with others with the goal of:

  • Starting a meaningful business relationship
  • Providing information, guidance, and advice
  • Sharing details about yourself and your profession

Think about it this way. You’re not likely to close a deal the first time you meet a prospect. There’s time for this in the future. At networking events, focus your attention on establishing a relationship with like-minded individuals. 

Use video content to stand out from the crowd

You’re always looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. You’re always looking for ways to get a leg up on your competition. 

Video content is one of the best ways to do so. This is largely due to the fact that most mortgage professionals don’t consider this strategy.

As soon as you share your first video, you’ve taken a step ahead of many of your competitors. Try these themes when creating video content.

How-to guides

A simple example is “how to apply for a mortgage online.” You know this subject like the back of your hand, but first-time buyers don’t. It won’t take much to create a script and film a short video. 

Relevant industry news

What are your thoughts on the current state of the housing market? What do you think about rising mortgage rates? People who are in the market for a mortgage are likely to consume content associated with buying a home. You can fill a void by sharing your professional opinion on the latest news stories. 

Informative

Think about everything you need about the mortgage industry. Now, think about the subject matter that your audience is most interested in. Bring the two together to create informative video content. 

Ideas could include:

  • How to apply for a mortgage
  • How to get the lowest mortgage rates
  • Comparing many types of loan products 

Upload your video content to YouTube, publish it to your blog, and share it on social media. The more people who view your video the greater chance there is of them sharing it and others seeing it. 

Optimize lead management and communication with CRM software

You want to generate leads, but you also want to keep them organized. Neglecting to do so can result in mismanagement, which increases the likelihood of prospects slipping through the cracks.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software will benefit your business in many ways:

More timely follow-ups

You put a lot of effort into generating leads, so you don’t want to miss out on following up at the appropriate time. A CRM keeps you organized no matter how many prospects you have in the pipeline. 

Improved customer relations

You want your prospects and customers to know that you care about them. In addition to tracking follow-ups, use a CRM to remind you of important events such as closing days and birthdays. 

Enhanced productivity

Imagine managing hundreds of leads without software. There was a time when this was the only option, but those days are long gone. CRM software will boost your productivity by doing all the heavy lifting for you. 

You can generate as many leads as you want, but if you’re not working them effectively you’re missing out in the end. 

Create a referral network

It’s natural to associate lead generation with some type of online activity, such as content marketing or social media marketing. 

While these are among the best ways to generate leads, you have other options. And creating a referral network should be somewhere near the top of your list.

A referral network is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a group of individuals who send you referrals, often in exchange for some form of compensation. 

The best way to succeed with a referral network is to reciprocate. It’s not a one-way street. For example, if you receive leads from real estate agents, return the favor by sending customers to them when buying or selling a home. 

Buy mortgage leads

When times are slow and you’re looking to fill your pipeline, buying mortgage leads is one of your best options. Within a few minutes, you’ll have your hands on qualified leads that you can contact to discuss your offerings. 

The two top benefits of buying leads include:

  1. Speed and efficiency 
  2. The leads are qualified 

Buy a small batch of leads to start. This ensures that you have enough time to properly work each one. Depending on the results and your ROI, you can decide if buying more leads makes sense. 

Final thoughts on mortgage lead generation

A successful mortgage lead generation strategy is one that keeps your pipeline full. 

It’s as simple as that. No matter your approach, if you’re generating a steady number of high-quality leads, everything else will fall into place. 

If you need help taking the steps above, you’re in the right place. Kaleidico is a full-service marketing and lead generation agency for the mortgage industry. 

We’ll work with you to create a lead generation plan that includes blogging, PPC ads, email marketing, lead magnets, mortgage calculators, and more.

Get mortgage leads fast. Start here.

Photo by Dominika Roseclay

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