Follow these steps.
Online ( You have to become the authority for mortgages in your area)
1. Check a mortgage site with a blog. Use wordpress
2. Get an area friendly url and keep it local. For example if you're in Dallas. Get something like dallasmortgageguide.com
3.Try to keep the have the keywords in the url
4. Add good content that you're visitors will be wow by. If you can not write like me, hire someone to do it for you. You need at least 10-20 articles on your site. I use textbroker.com for my content. Get them to write it in "spin-ready format" see-> jetspinner.com ( the reason is you will be able to reuse the same article over and over again.
5. Make sure to have a lead capture on your site. A short simple form that gives out a free report on mortgages or something to get the visitors to leave their email address and name. ( all you want is email address and name at this point) I find that most sites with complete apps fail because the visitors are too leery of you to get you leave "all" their info. Just email and name is all you'll need at this time.
6. Use an automatic responder like aweber.com to sent daily tips on getting a mortgage ( again you can outsoure this or do it yourself). Sent it out daily, not once a month. Remember these people have opted to get mortgage info from you, so don't feel like you spamming than. Besides, they can opt out at anytime.
7. Have audio or video testimonies from previous customers (if you're new, get your friends or family to say how great you are)Use youtube.com to embed the videos on your site.
8. Traffic- Free traffic from the search engine. The key is SEO, you must have good on page SEO factors ( title, description, meta keywords,etc) and off page factors ( back links to your site).
To correctly do on page install the All-In-One plug in for wordpress.
To correctly do back links, you will have to visit mortgage and real estate forums that will allow dofollow links. You can go to Google and search for "mortgage forums" or "real estate forums". Additionally, do blog commenting(
http://www.ericbramlett.com/do-follow-real-estate-blogs and article submission to ezine.com and guest blogging on other mortgage and real estate blogs. I use a guy that's on the DP forum (
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1389947. You should do some directory submission
http://10000freedirectorylist.blogspot.com/ ( I hate doing this, so have done it the least. Then, build some hubpages.com weebly sites, and squidoo.com lens all with links to your sites with the anchor text being your keywords. And finally, use social sites like facebook.com, myspace.com, digg.com, etc.(
www.socialmarker.com has a huge list)
Ok a recap on backlink
1. mortgage and re forums with do follow back links
2. blog commenting
3. guest blogging
4. directory submission
5. external pages
6. Social media
If you did all of these for your site it will start moving up in the search engine results pages and soon would be on page 1, which is where the traffic comes from. I have a total of 4 sites generating over 1000 leads per month. Even if you're conversion ***** at 1% you're still closing 10 deals each month, right?
Here's a good resources for the basics of internet marketing (
www.thirytdaychallenge.com). Important for the newbies at websites building and marketing.
Ok enough about online. Here's what I did offline.
1. Make sure to not lose touch with people. Call people often. I spent about 30 min each day to make calls to previous clients, cpa, lawyers, friends, family, etc. Make sure the moment someone says "mortgage" to them, they think of you and only you. You're the go to guy/gal for mortgages.
2. email list of the above-mentioned. Send them what's new about mortgages. You can get these from Google readers. Take mortgage news and spin it, give it your professional opinion. Again you want to reinforced that you're Mr/Ms. Mortgage.
3. send out birthday cards, x-mas cards, post cards to friends and family etc. I've closed a ton of deals from this method alone.
4. Pass out your business bards. You're not a secret agent, so pass them out any chance you get.
5. Show up early and stay late at all local real estate investment meetings.
6. become a member of your local clamber of commerce
7. volunteer at all help the homeless, habitat for humanity events, church gathering, new years party. Be seen at these events. Make sure to pass out cards.
8. Run walk for cancer and all other outdoor events. Make a few shirts with your web site address on it. You're a walking promotion now.
9. Make nice brochures of you and your services and start handing and mailing that out. Tri fold works the best
10. Farm your area by sending out post cards. Use jumbo size and make sure to include your site. ( people will go to the web to check you out. This is when having a professional mortgage site help convert.) Many people call me after looking at the post cards and then the site.
11. Sit in "open house" with the agent. Call up local agents who do open houses and offer to sit in with them. Most will say yes because it is very boring sitting in a empty house on Sat and Sunday, so they will appreciate the company. ( this is when you can work you charm with them,
)
12. Take real estate classes. Yes, in order to get business you must have a real estate license. The relationship you'll build with your classmates can be worth hundreds of thousands. One agent,whom I met in RE class, gave me over 200K worth of commission over the course of my career. Go find sign up for the classes. ( in some states like California, you must have a Re license to write loans)
13. Keep learning. Learn from lawyers, cpa, rehabbers, etc. You want to be the Authority for Mortgages and to do so requires that you keep learning. Do doctors stop learning when they get their medical license? the answer is no, they keep learning. I see this so often a new LO starts closing deals and he/she quits learning about the new stuff going on . Learn credit repair, mortgage mods, estate planning, etc. I don't know how many times when clients have asked me to repair their credit. I do it for "free", but I make the money when they either refi or buy a new home.
Final thoughts: The most success people in our industry are doing the above-mentioned. Some of these services cost money on a recurring basis, but it is mere pennies when compare to the dollars that can be made. You do not need to do all of them, I have seen successful LO focus on only a few areas.
Remember everyone starts off in this business with no clients, no knowledge, no help, no etc, so there should be no excuses for you.
I bolded the above because I have heard all types of excuses from new LOs over the years.
To your success,
Ann
