Generating real estate leads doesn't have to a marketing hurdle. If your open houses are starting to feel a little bland, we have a couple of ideas to spice things up! This post covers easy ways to generate leads when you're feeling stuck.

Let's face it. Between helping customers find their dream home, the paperwork and the travel, your marketing strategy can take a hit. Where do you find the time to obtain new customers?

Striking a balance between selling and lead generation isn't always easy. However, these creative marketing ideas will not only help to ensure your success, but also lead to new referrals. Following are some of the easiest ways to get people excited about your open house!

Give your guests what they want — free stuff! Place a basket on the kitchen counter that's filled with small, useful gifts, like our stainless steel Box & Bottle Openers or our SuperScraper XL. They’re both extremely handy, high-quality freebies that your guests will appreciate and use every day. Plus your business gets repeated exposure in the process! 

Another useful strategy for lead generation is to host a giveaway. Have visitors sign up for your email or mailing list for a chance to win an eye-catching gift, like our LifeLong Gifts Cheese Knife or Keepsake Wine Box. (Each of these client gift ideas can be engraved with your business information). Display the giveaway piece next to tasty snack items, like cheese, crackers and fruit. 

For more great ways to grow your real estate business, be sure to check out these other real estate marketing ideas. Or browse our full line of custom promotional products at Magnets USA.

We believe our Personalized Inserts are a critical part of your marketing mail-out. Whether you're sending out calendars (all of our calendars have a matching insert!), sports schedules or notepads, including an insert is an amazing way to put a face — and a personality — to your name.

But they can also do so much more.

When done right, Personalized Inserts can connect with recipients, turn prospects into paying clients and encourage referrals. Here are a few tips to get you started: 

• Make our pre-written text your own. All of our inserts come loaded with a pre-written letter. You're more than welcome to use it, but we strongly encourage you to switch things up and let your personality shine. 
• Mention something specific to your community. You know your neighborhood better than anyone, so show it! Mention your high school rivalries, your favorite local festival, or your favorite spot to have fun with the family. When prospects relate, or get a better sense of who you are, they're more likely to reach out when they need your services.
• Let them know why you've sent this gift. This is your chance to encourage them to hang their magnetic gift on the fridge or in the office as a way to keep everyone organized and on track.
• Tell them how the local market is. The goal here is to show that you're an expert. Mentioning whether it's a buyer's or seller's market boosts credibility and may create urgency to get their home listed with you.
• Close with a friendly reminder that your small business thrives on referrals. Even if your recipient isn't ready for your services, they probably know several friends who are. You can't afford not to mention this!

Here at Magnets USA, we don't believe in just selling products. We strive to educate our customers on why and how to use them to generate more leads and foster client loyalty. In other words, we want our products to help grow your business! 

Here are a few resources to help you get the most from your Magnets USA sports schedules, calendars and more: 

Does the thought of coming up with a yearly marketing plan make your head spin? This one is for you: 
Suggested Yearly Marketing Plan

​Want to see how our Magnetic Football Schedules can boost your business? Learn more, and see which type of football schedule is right for you: 
Football Schedules 101

If you recently ordered a sports schedule from us, here are nine creative ways to get them out in your community:
Sports Schedule Marketing 101

When you're ready to design your Magnets USA product, our photo tips guide is a must-read: 
Photo Tips

It's June, which means our famous Tear-Off Magnetic Calendars are coming soon! Be ready for launch with this helpful guide: 
Calendar Marketing 101 

Have a custom design in mind? Avoid these common design mistakes: 
Common Design Mistakes

Score a front-row seat on every fridge in your area by sending out our famous Magnetic Football Schedules. With millions of Americans following a college, pro or high school team, football schedules cater to a supportive and appreciative audience. In turn, this creates a sense of community, as well as loyalty toward your brand.

​Pro tip: Complete your mailing with a football-themed insert (in the photo above) and a football envelope for ultimate impact. 

Open up the conversation with Magnetic Box & Bottle Openers. Here's what you need to know about this handy gift: It's a high-quality stainless steel bottle opener that also opens boxes, and each one is personalized with your branding, so recipients always know who to call. 

Pro tip: Pass them out at tailgates and local games, or use them as fun referral gifts. 

Rack up new leads by hosting a giveaway for our LifeLong Gifts Gourmet Grilling Set. This incredible gift features a heavy-gauge stainless steel tongs, spatula (with a built-in bottle opener) and fork. It's also engraved with your name and logo. 

Pro tip: Display one at your next open house for even more entries.

Are you seeing fewer posts from pages in your Facebook feed?

Earlier this month, Facebook announced that it would start giving news-feed priority to personal posts from your family and friends, while showing less from businesses and media.

More and more it seems, small business owners can't rely on Facebook to get their messages across. 

While there are some ways around this new algorithm, like producing more live videos and running highly targeted ads, the news is still discouraging and downright frustrating for small business owners.

And with so many of our customers small business owners, we wanted to address this topic and offer a solution.

With 28 years of small-business ownership under our belts, we know the answer is traditional marketing. That's right: A traditional marketing strategy is the secret to staying top-of-mind in today's digital world. It's crucial.

When Facebook posts, tweets and emails inevitably get lost in the sea of digital marketing, traditional marketing sticks around — if you do it right.

For almost three decades, our customers have trusted our famous magnetic calendars, sports schedules and more to put them in front of their clients daily. Every product we make is carefully designed to be the most useful for our customers and their clients. 

We can't count the number of success stories we've received over the years about leads and referrals generated from one simply, handy magnet on their clients' fridges. 

Here's just one example: 

"A man who lives in my neighborhood called about a house that had just come on the market. When I picked him up to look at the house, his adult son was with him. When we returned to their home to drop them off, I handed the son one of your magnetic calendars. He took it out of the envelope and thanked me, then his Dad laughed and said 'Jim, that's how I got your number and called you! Your calendars have been on my refrigerator for years, I use them often, so when I wanted information on this house, I called you.' This resulted in a cash sale in the $600,000s."

Ready to see how traditional marketing can work for you, too? Ready to have your own success story? Start with magnetic baseball schedules, our famous magnetic tear-off calendars or a popular non-dated magnet.