Consumer confidence is rising. The housing market is stabilizing. Federal regulators are easing up on lending rules. And mortgage rates will likely hover below 4% for much of 2016. It’s a great time to increase mortgage sales and put more loans in the pipeline! But how do you go about it?
There are dozens of ways to increase mortgage sales and grow your business. Referral partners, direct mail, advertising – the list goes on. You’re probably already familiar with those strategies. But you might not be familiar with the content-based strategies below, and they can be even more effective as the traditional techniques. So they’re worth considering.
3 Internet Strategies to Increase Mortgage Sales
Here are three content-based strategies you can use to increase mortgage sales in 2015.
1. Mortgage Blogging
If you’re not familiar with the term, a blog is a frequently updated website published in reverse-chronological order (with the most recent articles at the top of the home page). Blogging programs simplify the Internet publishing process to the point that anyone can do it. Simplicity is the primary benefit. But it’s not the only benefit.
By blogging about mortgage-related topics on a regular basis, you can steadily grow your web presence. This gives home buyers and loan shoppers more ways to find you online. Thus, it can help you increase your mortgage sales and grow your business in 2015. It’s also a low-cost technique, compared to most other promotional efforts.
Mortgage blogging happens to be one of our specialties. We have been using this content-based strategy for nearly 10 years, since they used to be known as “web logs.” So if you need help getting started, just drop us a line. This is a great way to boost your mortgage sales in 2015.
You can build a blog onto your existing mortgage website. You can even take the branding “look and feel” of the main site and apply it to the blog. You’ll then be able to publish a steady stream of articles, news and tutorials for your online audience. The blogging software makes it incredibly easy. You just write your post, click the “publish” button, and the program does everything else.
Our clients are frequently amazed by the user-friendly nature of blogging programs. So I want to show it to you. The image below shows the writing and editing area of the WordPress blogging program. This is the screen you would see when creating a new blog post (think of an online article). Note the simplicity here. You enter a title for the article or post, type the rest of it in the box provided, and then click the blue “Publish” button. The program will then publish your new article online, and even categorize it for you.
By itself, a blogging program will not increase your mortgage sales. But it gives you an avenue for doing just that. It gives you a way to publish an endless stream of quality content online (articles, news, tutorial, descriptions of loan programs, Q&As, you name it).
What you’ll need: A blogging program such as WordPress. A content plan or a list of topics to write about. Someone with basic writing skills. That’s it! You’re off to the races.
2. Press Releases And PR Strategies
There is no shortage of news within the mortgage industry. Take interest rates for example. Rates change all the time, and borrowers need to how they are changing and what they can expect at any given time. This is where a strategic PR campaign could prove useful.
By publishing industry-related press releases online, you could drive more visitors to your mortgage website. And, like the blogging strategy above, this is a technique you could repeat over and over again. You can easily monitor the results as well, in order to assess your ROI and justify additional press release submissions in the future.
Here’s how it can help you increase mortgage sales.
- You start by publishing news releases on popular topics. Interest rates are always a good place to start. Mortgage trends, new lending rules, and FHA changes are also hot topics.
- You publish the press releases through a service that will distribute them online (general distribution).
- You could then follow this up by sending the releases to a select list of publishers, journalists, bloggers, or news outlets (select distribution).
- Each release would mention your company and the loan programs it provides. Each release would guide readers to your website, where they can learn more about the topic at hand.
What you’ll need: A press release distribution service, such as PR Newswire or PRWeb. A writer who knows how to properly format a news release. Something newsworthy to write about (mortgage rates, new loan programs, housing market, etc.). Speaking of housing markets…
3. Housing Market Reports
At this point, you might be thinking: “I’m a mortgage professional, not a real estate agent. Why should I publish housing market information? I’m trying to increase mortgage sales and grow my business … not sell homes.”
We always encourage our clients to publish in-depth information about the local housing markets where they operate. And for good reason. It’s a hot topic among home buyers, and most buyers use mortgage loans to finance their purchases. So by publishing this kind of content, you are once more attracting the very people who need your services.
This strategy is good for consumers as well. There is a lack of good real estate reporting at the local level (city or metro). Most of the mainstream media focus on national real estate conditions, while neglecting local trends. But buyers need to know what’s happening in their own backyard. In short, there is often an information void at the local level, and you can increase mortgage sales by filling this void.
What you’ll need: Information about the local markets where you are licensed (try using Zillow, Trulia, and local Realtor associations). An easy way to publish your reports, like blogging. Someone with basic writing skills. That’s it! You’re ready to be a housing reporter.
Using the Web to Generate More Leads in 2016
These are certainly not the only ways to boost your mortgage sales volume. There are other ways to pursue this goal, both online and off. These are just a few strategies that have worked well for us in the past. But despite their effectiveness, they are often overlooked.
It is my experience that many mortgage companies focus on traditional business-development strategies, such as agent referrals and print advertising. Those techniques certainly have their place. But there is unlimited (and often untapped) potential to be found online. You just have to be proactive about tapping into it.
The three strategies listed above are web-based in nature. They leverage the broad reach of the web, and with good reason. These techniques are relatively low-cost, when compared to TV, print ads, direct mail and the like. Yet, they have unlimited potential for increasing your mortgage sales volume.
Need Help Getting Started?
We can help you with all of the strategies mentioned in this article. Blogging, in particular, is our strong suit. We have been helping real estate and mortgage clients blog their way to more sales for nearly ten years. We can do the same for you. Our services included (but are not limited to) the following:
- Blog development and design
- Content strategies and topic selection
- Writing and editing
- Mortgage news publishing
- Press release writing and submission
If any or all of these strategies appeal to you, and you want to use them to increase mortgage sales in 2015, just shoot me an email. We can set up a time to talk on the phone, and see what ideas we can come up with. Now is a great time to expand your web presence.
