Content Based Lead Generation - Let's Get You Leads!

At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur, let me ask you: remember the old days when stuff like news, shipping, music and information cost money?

When it comes to the latter, we used to have to pay the big bucks for a set of encyclopedias, or pay with our time to visit the library, take classes, attend seminars or pay for instructional tapes.

Today, all we need is an internet connection and a search engine to find an entire universe of information – for free.

After all these decades, content is still king. And, if done right, content based lead generation can deliver real estate leads.

If you’re flailing about trying to figure out how you’ll deal with the utter ineffectiveness that Facebook ads have become, we have a suggestion: Turn your website into the powerful lead generator it can and should be.

Content based lead generation starts with your blog

Are you adding a call-to-action to those twice weekly blog posts you get from EAP? If not, that would be a good place to start.

A concise CTA should convince your visitors to download (an e-book, special report, list of down payment assistance programs, etc.) or sign up (for your newsletter, to be contacted when homes in their price range are listed, monthly market report for their neighborhood) a brilliant piece of gated content.

So, what happens, when they heed that call to action? They land on your amazing landing page. You can read more about landing pages here.

Paywall your valuable content

When a website visitor clicks on a call-to-action, ends up on a landing page and submits contact information, you’ve got yourself a lead. The challenge in this process is getting the visitor to your site and then convincing him or her to click on your CTA.

One of the best ways to do this is with premium content. Unlike the typical blog post, premium content is “exceptionally informative,” according to the pros at Techopedia.com. It can be in any number of forms, including long videos, e-books and lengthy articles that go in-depth on a topic.

The topic must be compelling enough that the visitor doesn’t mind giving up personal information to obtain it.

One of the best topics to use as buyer bait is a list of down payment assistance programs, so we’ll use it as an example.

How will they find it?

Your amazingly valuable list of down payment assistance programs won’t do a thing to generate real estate buyer leads if it lives in secrecy on your website. You need eyes on it, which means featuring it in as many places as possible.

It definitely deserves prominence in your newsletters and email blasts (with an additional link to it in your email sig), but don’t hesitate to market it on your social media platforms as well.

In fact, link to your premium content’s landing page from all of the sections in your profile on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Other ways to promote your gated content include pop-ups (ugh), a website banner or you might consider running Google ads.

Avoid these common mistakes when it comes to content based lead generation

Keep your form’s fields to a minimum. Shorter forms have a better chance of persuading visitors to fill in the required information.

“Design guidelines tell us to stick to five fields or fewer in order to reduce friction and, in theory, increase conversions,” according to Aaron Brooks at VentureHarbour.com. He goes on to warn us, however, that “nothing is ever quite so straightforward in marketing.”

The number of fields required depends a lot on the offer. If your landing page form offers a free home evaluation, the reader will expect more than just name, phone number and email address fields.

The location of the sign-up form on the landing page is important as well. To achieve maximum lead capture, place your form above the fold on the landing page.

“With the lead generation form and CTA above-the-fold, you have little convincing to do and little risk for the prospect,” claims Neil Patel at NeilPatel.com. Studies prove his point.

“Content below the fold does gather some looks, but not nearly as many as the content above the fold,” according to ocular studies performed by the Nielsen Norman Group.

Check out the feature-packed LeadSites offered by Easy Agent Pro and do reach out to us with any questions you have about content based lead generation.