Whether you’re a new agent trying to break into real estate or just keeping up with the latest techniques, continuing education is absolutely crucial for real estate agents. Today, there are loads of resources out there for realtors hoping to market their listings, generate more leads, and close more deals.
This is because real estate has never been so accessible! There are literally more than 200 marketing ideas you can use to start getting leads today. That said, we all need a little help sometimes. So today, we’re sharing our 15 favorite free online real estate courses that’ll actually teach you something instead of just pitching you on a paid course.
Want the short version? Check out this video for our 5 favorite courses from this article. Otherwise, read on!
Most are continuing education, but we’ve also got a few for new agents too. All of these courses are designed to keep you current on the latest trends and help you land more clients. The best part is that almost every course is completely free of charge!
1. Beat Zillow: The Step-By-Step Course for Real Estate Website Traffic and Clients
Beat Zillow is a free-of-charge 3-part video course. It focuses entirely on helping you get substantial traffic on your real estate website, hence the bold claim in the course’s name.
The entire course is about 30 minutes long. The info is bite-sized and easily digested since it’s split across the 3 videos. But you’ll still cover the most important topics, like blogging, SEO, and setting up your real estate website.
This is one of the free online real estate courses designed for new agents, and for those who need a little help with traffic or conversion.
You see, traffic is the lifeblood of your online business. More traffic leads to a healthier site, which gives you more exposure online, and ultimately results in more sales for you! Considering over 90% of real estate transactions begin online, you absolutely must focus on getting substantial traffic if you want to stay relevant in real estate.
Click here or here for short previews of what you’ll learn in Beat Zillow. Click here if you’re ready to join now!
2. The Real Estate Diaries
The Real Estate Diaries is a series of discussions from the Realtor.com team. They cover a wide variety of topics relevant to both new and veteran real estate agents. The series includes 10 videos total, and each one is 50 to 60 minutes long.
It’s incredibly valuable to be able to watch this experienced team discuss things every realtor faces at some point, like CRMs, buyer/seller objections, and using Live Video.
Click here to launch the full Real Estate Diaries playlist, or watch the first episode of the series below:
3. Introduction to Personal Branding
This is another one of the free online real estate courses designed for beginners. Presented by the University of Virginia, this free course is 7 hours long and covers the importance of branding. Specifically, you’ll learn personal branding, social media management, and brand management.
First, you’ll understand the benefits of branding and get help establishing yourself on at least 3 social media platforms. Next, you’ll create a mission statement for your personal brand and become familiar with reputation management. Finally, you’ll create a foolproof system for ongoing brand management.
This class is completely free of charge, but you can pay for a certificate of completion if you’d like. Just click here if you’re ready to join.
4. PPC University
PPC “University” is actually a collection of articles that teach you to use PPC (Pay Per Click) ads extremely effectively.
PPC ads are essential for agents—especially new agents who don’t yet have other ad-free systems in place for lead generation. While traffic is the lifeblood of your business, PPC ads are the way new agents get that lifeblood pumping.
The articles are all fairly short and broken up into 101 courses, 102 courses and Advanced topics. Just like at a real university, start at the beginning and work your way towards the Advanced articles. You’ll also notice topics for Social Ads, Facebook Ads, and a Guides section for more general topics.
All told, there are over 65 articles available to you and every single one is an easy read. This collection is perfect for self-motivated learners who just want all their information from one convenient hub.
If you’re ready to join PPC University, just click here.
5. Inbound Certification
Inbound Certification by HubSpot is a free inbound marketing course. Because inbound leads are one of the best types of leads you can get, this in-depth course offers huge value to new and experienced realtors alike.
In this course, you’ll cover core SEO, blogging, and social media tactics. You’ll start with exploring the foundations of inbound marketing, then learn the inbound methodology and flywheel as a core part of any inbound business like real estate.
There are 6 lessons, 15 videos, 4 quizzes, and 2 hours of material in total. It’s also available in 6 languages! By the time you’re done, you’ll have officially started your path with inbound. You’ll also be able to generate a buyer’s lifecycle map by the end.
All in all, Inbound Certification is a fantastic way to learn about getting significant traffic to your website and to start generating leads online. You can join anytime by clicking here.
6. Internet Marketing for Smart People
This collection by CopyBlogger is self-branded as a tool teaching “the smartest ways to mix social media, content marketing, and SEO for lead generation.” With over 15 eBooks and over 20 videos, it does a great job of giving you in-depth education on advanced strategies.
These strategies cover content marketing, landing pages, email marketing, and keyword research, all of which are foundational for your success as a realtor. Because you can learn a variety of online marketing types, this is one of our favorite free online real estate courses.
To join Internet Marketing for Smart People, click here.
7. Canva Design School
Around here, we talk about Canva a lot. In fact, we use Canva for a lot of our own promotional materials. If you aren’t familiar, Canva is an easy-to-use design tool that allows you to create flyers, PDFs, eBooks, Pinterest posts, ads, and any other visual medium you might need.
It’s extremely easy to use compared to software like Photoshop, but there is a slight learning curve. That’s why the Canva Design School is such a phenomenal free resource. You have access to over 100 tutorials showing you exactly how to use Canva for making your own graphics.
It’s true that Canva Design School isn’t specifically designed for realtors. But because it’s self-paced, chock full of videos, and easy to learn, it’s one of the free online real estate courses we highly recommend.
If you’re ready to join now, click here.
8. Quickstart Guide To Cold Emails
This course by Udemy is one of the few mentioned today that isn’t free. The price is $20, but it’s $20 very well-spent thanks to specific and actionable material.
In this course, you’ll cover all the basics of cold email marketing, which includes starting with the right mindset, recommended email length, structuring emails for a better response rate, where to find email addresses you can send to, and even strategies to start getting responses in just a few days.
As a bonus, you’ll also learn about free tools you can use to achieve even better results. All you need to get started besides the entry fee is a Gmail account. The course lasts 90 minutes, and you’ll have lifetime access to it after you pay.
If you’re ready to make a very smart investment, click here to get started.
9. Entrepreneurial Marketing by MIT
This older MIT course was introduced in 2002, but it continues to stand the test of time. If you’re less tech-minded, this may be the perfect free online real estate course for you.
In it, you’ll learn how to start a business, plus why marketing is different for a new startup versus a 5-year-old firm. The course also links to some very good articles for training your mindset to think about marketing.
If you’re just starting out and feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the technology available today, click here to get started.
10. QuickSprout University
QuickSprout University is actually a collection of articles spanning all the basics of digital marketing. Their claim to fame is: “Go through these guides and you’ll know more about digital marketing than 99% of the people you’re competing with.”
It’s hard to disagree when you see the breadth of their collection. You can read about Digital Marketing 101, starting a website or blog, eCommerce, content creation and marketing, advanced digital marketing, SEO, social media, email marketing, and conversion optimization.
If you’re ready to dive in with QuickSprout University, click here to get started.
11. Social Media Quickstarter
This course is offered by Constant Contact, an industry leader in digital marketing and lead generation. Social media is a necessity for modern real estate agents, making this one of the most valuable free online real estate courses available today.
In this course, you’ll read about most of today’s major social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Business Profile, YouTube, and Snapchat. These are mostly basic overviews with a few deep dives into how you can be more successful with each platform.
You’ll also learn the basics of how networks display content, how to grow your presence, and how to drive people to become leads from social media.
To join Social Media Quickstarter, just click here.
12. 30 Day Challenge From Realtors
This free online real estate course was created by former top producer Tyler Smith. Presented as a month-long challenge, you’ll watch videos that challenge you to get more out of your business and leads.
We love this challenge for new real estate agents and seasoned experts alike. No matter where you’re at in your career, it provides useful insights anyone can apply—regardless of how your business is performing today.
If you’re ready to challenge yourself, click here to join the ranks.
13. Tom Ferry
Now this one isn’t an “official” course, but Tom Ferry has been providing valuable advice for real estate agents through his video series for many years. His videos cover absolutely everything, from prospecting to lead generation to word-smithing your presentations.
When it comes to choosing the best free online real estate courses for you, it all comes down to what you’ll get out of it. The goldmine of valuable, actionable insights found across his videos makes this collection a can’t-miss for realtors of all experience levels.
Just click here to peruse his video library.
14. Real Estate Express
Real Estate Express prides itself on offering real estate courses nationwide for new agents who are trying to get their licenses.
To be frank, online reviews for this course are rather poor. But they do have a guarantee that you’ll pass your real estate exam. While they don’t offer much in the way of education on the newest techniques or getting your business off the ground, they are a good resource for getting your license.
To join Real Estate Express, just click here.
15. Karin Carr
LeadSite user Karin Carr has built her entire business around real estate videos. Now, in addition to having a successful real estate career, she’s teaching other agents how to effectively build their business with videos. That’s why she makes it into our list of free online real estate courses.
Her channel is jam-packed with videos you can use to improve your own real estate business. Click here to check out an example where she discusses becoming a virtual real estate agent.
To browse her entire video library, just click here.
Have you tried any of these free online real estate courses? Which ones sound like a good fit for you? Join our Facebook group to chat with other agents about your favorite free online real estate courses, and get helpful tips from agents just like you!