E-books: Real estate lead capture mega-machines

That little pop-up box that forces your real estate website visitors to cough up their contact information if they want to continue browsing your IDX is but one way to capture real estate leads.

Apparently, people don’t mind being forced to do something in exchange for information.

There are nicer ways to get what you need out of them, though. Less-alienating ways. After all, there are lots of other agent sites in town where the consumer isn’t forced to register.

One of the ways to capture email addresses is by offering in-depth and valuable information on the real estate process they’re about to enter. A real estate e-book is the ideal way to do that.

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Why a real estate e-book?

Writing a book, even if it’s in a digital format, is a brilliant way of establishing yourself as an expert in your niche.

“We worked closely on the collaboration,” Minnesota broker/agent Kris Lindahl explained about the freelance writer he hired to write his e-books.

“She nailed it. The  book sounds like I  wrote  it – even  my  wife was amazed at how she captured my voice,” he said.

Back in the days when short sales were the norm, he used his first e-book to educate potential and actual clients on the process. Because he’s listed as the author, “The book enforced my brand as a short sale expert,” Lindahl recalls.

Lindahl went on to create several other e-books before publishing actual branded, printed books that he hands out to listing clients.

Establishing your real estate authority and reinforcing your brand aren’t the only reasons to consider e-books for real estate lead generation.

Your e-book can act as an incentive to opt-in to your mailing list, beefing up your email marketing campaign. Use it as a social media giveaway or a prize for the winner of a Facebook contest.

Finally, since there is no better client than an educated one, use your e-book as part of your seller/buyer counseling program.

How to write your real estate e-book?

The most important element of a successful real estate e-book is that it isn’t “salesy,” but informative. Sure, slap your branding on it wherever possible, but the text isn’t the place to promote how awesome you are, unless you can do so subtly.

Lindahl says that his e-books aren’t  “salesy,” at all. They are “straightforward, good, solid information. I get a lot of requests for” them.

This doesn’t mean you can’t sneak in examples of your brilliance. Instead of outright boasting, use your success stories as examples of points you’re making.

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For instance, Wisconsin broker/owner Jolenta Averil once sold an impossible-to-sell home after the previous agent held the listing for a year.

The house didn’t have a front door.

She successfully sold the home, in just a couple of weeks of listing it. If she were to write an e-book for sellers (she chose to use a case study instead), she could use this listing as an example of how to sell the hard-to-sell home in a real estate e-book targeted at sellers.

 

The logistics of writing a real estate e-book

Grab a free e-book template from Hubspot.com (and also tips on creating it, here) or LucidPress.com or, if you don’t want to write an entire e-book, customize one of Easy Agent Pro’s free e-books.

Another way to get around the I-don’t-have-time-to-write-and-I’m-too-cheap-thrifty-to-hire-someone dilemma is to pay for a service (such as Beacon) which turns your blog posts into an e-book.

Once it’s ready for prime time, you’ll need a way to get the e-book to your audience. If you make it available to all, via a link on your website, it loses its lead-capturing power. A squeeze page, on the other hand, is just the vehicle. Learn the process, right here on Easy Agent Pro.

 

Real estate e-book topics

The aforementioned re-purposing of blog post content is an easy way to create a real estate e-book. Take all of your seller posts, for instance, and combine into one e-book.

Or, go ultra-niche with your e-book and offer information on:

• How to go from renting to owning
• Getting Help with the down payment in [City]
• Staging and curb appeal
• The mortgage process, from A to Z
• Buying a condo in [city]
• How to sell a home in winter

Take a trip into your blog’s archives and you’ll find a ton of e-book topic ideas.

Or, give them information on what they are truly interested in right now. A couple of weeks ago we showed you exactly what Gen X sellers who are going to also buy are looking for when they Google for real estate information.

There ya go – instant e-book fodder

 

Market your real estate client e-book

“We follow  up  with  the people [who downloaded his e-book] monthly,” Doylestown, PA agent Al Ferraguti said. Which is excellent advice, considering the time and possibly money you’ll spend creating the e-book.

Consider setting up a Facebook ad campaign to drive targeted traffic to your squeeze page.

We’d love to see your finished product and hear how it’s working for you.

 

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Looking for even more ways to connect with new leads? Here are 200 ways to market like a pro.

Need more ideas for the perfect e-book lead magnet? Take a look at this video: