If you’re a mortgage broker, marketing is key to your business growth. Want to get started? Check out our top 7 tips for DIY success!

Being an independent mortgage broker is both a challenging and rewarding career. You are your own boss. That’s scary for newcomers, especially those who don’t have any background in marketing and self-promotion. The good news: the internet has made access to mortgage broker marketing info easier. Getting these tips under your belt is a necessary move towards continued success.

For this post, we’re going to focus mostly on how you can boost your sales with online marketing. Although it’s a lot of work to get all of these efforts up to par, all of them are relatively inexpensive to learn or invest in. Here’s the catch: you need to treat marketing as an everyday task. If you keep yourself visible and relevant online, more business will come your way.

7 mortgage broker marketing tips to boost your sales

1. It all starts with your branding message

Independent or not, branding is always the cornerstone of a solid marketing plan. A strong brand name communicates several key messages to every reader. Ethos, service quality, target audience, professionalism, creativity—just to name a few. Your brand will also provide the foundation for all your online marketing efforts; it should be reinforced again and again.

Here’s a tip to create and promote your brand: hire a professional to design your logo.

• Write out 20 – 30 bylines to accompany your logo. Ask for opinions from people in the industry.
• Promote your brand online, including social media, websites, directories, etc.

2. A clean, professional, and responsive website

Your website is a crucial piece of your online marketing. It’s the place where your e-leads are searching and gathering information about you. Take the time consult a professional web developer and research your local competition. What can you include that they don’t have?

• A live chat option is a great way to connect with web visitors right away.
• Post a video of yourself explaining how you help customers attain the best loans for their new homes.
• Make sure your website is responsive to mobile and tablet technology.

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3. Show you are an expert in your field

Start a blog! Make the decision to use this wonderful marketing tool. A business blog is an effective way to showcase your knowledge of mortgage lending and related topics. Consider what your audience is interested in reading. Do they know what you do? Start off by giving an in-depth explanation of your services and build from there.

• Research what your audience is looking for and write to them directly.
• Keep your posts short and sweet. 400 – 600 words is great.
• Follow other bloggers and research ways to use SEO techniques within your writing.

4. Promote testimonials

A testimonial is a powerful tool for mortgage broker marketing. It’s a personal referral that all of your potential clients should see, read, or watch. If you obtain testimonials, then make sure to promote them. Make it a habit to ask your best clients for a video testimonial.

• Testimonials are most effective with an accompanying picture and full name. Ask for those details every time.
• Include one at the bottom of each page on your website.
• Promote videos over social media and include them on your business profiles.

5. Optimize your online presence

You’ve probably heard of search engine optimization (SEO) before. Maybe you’re not exactly sure what it is or how to do it. Here’s is one of our biggest mortgage broker marketing tips: learn how to utilize SEO (or pay someone to do it). You want your business found on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other search engines. If you target the right keywords within your web content, more visitor traffic will come to you.

• Take a course on SEO marketing.
• Learn how to utilize your blog and website content for increasing search traffic.
• Research techniques such as link building and social media promotion.

6. Treat social media like a business tool

Let’s face it: social media is a huge part of marketing and networking today. As a business owner, you have to keep tabs on what’s happening within these channels. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are the “big four” to focus on. But don’t shy away from industry-specific channels either.

• Have a regular schedule for sharing, posting, and conversing online every day.
• Set up notifications on your phone and laptop to respond quickly.
• Use the same professional headshot for each profile picture.
• Be consistent with your brand message and description of services.
• Always provide links back to your website.

7. Actively network for referrals and reviews

This last tip includes both word-of-mouth and online mortgage broker marketing. At the end of the day, a solid marketing plan is based on building strong relationships. It’s crucial that real estate agents and like and respect you. They will be one of your primary sources of referrals.

Actively seek out positive online reviews. Both from your referrers and clients. When people search for you online, they will want to see your ratings. Get yourself in a position to receive a stellar review and ask for it!

• Pay attention to review sites like Yelp, Zillow, Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau, etc.
• After you’ve completed your business with a client, follow up to ask for a review. Make it easy and provide a link to the site within the email.
• Send your referrers appreciation gifts throughout the year and praise them online.

Mortgage broker marketing is an integral part of your business plan

If you can do the grunt work to get all of these marketing efforts up and working, you will see increased business. But don’t go for the gold right now; take it slow and focus on one task. You don’t want to overload and get distracted from other tasks. Research these topics online, ask others for advice and invest in courses. Within a year, you should be far ahead of the competition.

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Lead management is challenging for independent brokers. Let us help you simplify your sales process.  Sign up for a 30-day FREE trial of our lead management software and turn more leads into customers with less work!

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What’s your opinion? Do you have DIY marketing tips for independent brokers? Share your experiences in the comments!