Before you buy mortgage marketing leads, be sure you are focusing on targeted mortgage leads, and make sure you understand the best practices for mortgage marketing. Here are a number of tactics you can employ to increase your mortgage lead generation without spending a penny on purchased leads:

Research audience searches

Start putting yourself in the shoes of those who you are marketing to. Borrowers are both looking for a true mortgage loan expert they can trust to help them understand what they can afford. Before you purchase a mortgage marketing lead, understand your audience’s common google searches. For example, a homebuyer is more likely to search for  “(city) 203k Mortgage Lender” or a “(city) HARP Mortgage Lender” that specializes in a type of loan program that will help them achieve their goals. A recent Google-Chase Home Lending Bank partnership details the most common home buyer search behavior.

Speak to your borrower’s needs

Once you identify your target audience, now you need to create a mortgage marketing campaign for them. Before you begin building sites and landing pages or worrying about where and how you’re going to drive traffic to those sites, start by satisfying the needs your niche market. Google Adwords for keyword research, and Forums like Quora and Reddit can help you get into the mind of the home buyer and better understand their pain points. Answering their questions immediately gives you the opportunity to show “buyer empathy” while displaying your expertise over a topic.

Showcase your authority on the MLS

Look to an under-utilized tool for mortgage marketing leads —the MLS—so you can showcase your authority where your clients search the most. According to a recent survey of over 15,000 agents, 95% of agents use the MLS more than Zillow and Trulia. RatePlug’s #1 MLS integrated technology helps lenders supercharge agent relationships, better qualify buyers and close more business with a world-class set of mortgage lead generation features ON THE MLS. RatePlug helps you get in front of buyers, grow new home finance opportunity and close more loans faster.