Ep# 36: How LeadPops Helps Get You Consumer Direct Mortgage Leads

Andrew Pawlak breaks down why most LO websites and digital marketing efforts fail to generate leads and what to do about it. He covers conversion optimization, Facebook community pages, targeted social ads, co-marketing with realtors, and how to replicate the lead capture tactics used by LendingTree and Zillow. Best for LOs who are spending on marketing but not seeing leads come in.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Go to LowerMyBills.com and LendingTree.com and click their main call-to-action buttons. Screenshot the interactive funnel flow they use. Model that same multi-step questionnaire format (not a contact form) on your own landing pages before running any ads.
• Install Google Analytics or SEMrush on your current website this week. Check your 90-day traffic. Many LOs already get 500–700 visitors/month with 0% capture — fixing the landing page alone generates leads from traffic you already have.
• Use SEMrush.com to compare search volume: 'San Diego mortgage' gets ~50 searches/month; 'San Diego real estate' gets ~8,100. Build landing pages and Facebook ads around real estate search terms (listings, down payment programs, buyer guides) instead of mortgage terms to access 100x the audience.
• Create a local community Facebook page (not your mortgage company page) focused on neighborhood content: restaurant features, local business spotlights, community news. Post daily. Tag the businesses. Offer to split a $10 boost with the featured business. Run mortgage and real estate offers from this page to a 25-mile radius — not just page followers.
• Audit 5 realtor websites you want to partner with. Look for their 'mortgage center' tab. If it has a Zillow calculator widget, tell them: 'That widget is sending your traffic to Zillow for free. Let me replace it with a co-branded lead capture funnel that sends leads to both of us.' Use that as your partnership pitch.
• Sign up for LeadPops.com's free 30-day trial to access 32 pre-built lead gen funnels for different loan programs (VA, down payment assistance, first-time buyer, etc.). Plug the funnel links into your existing emails, social posts, and realtor co-marketing within the first week — no website required to start.

The playbook

1. Step 1 — Define your ideal borrower persona: age, income, loan type, geography. Every ad and funnel should be built around one persona at a time.
2. Step 2 — Build or fix your capture foundation: replace static website with a site built for lead capture, or use landing page funnels if a full site isn't possible.
3. Step 3 — Create a local community Facebook page (not a mortgage page). Post daily local content — restaurants, businesses, events. Get interactions and page likes before running ads.
4. Step 4 — Run niche loan product ads (1% down, VA, down payment assistance) and real estate offer ads from the community page targeting a 25-mile radius with interest-based demographic filters (e.g., people who like Zillow, Trulia, DIY/home improvement pages).
5. Step 5 — Drive all ad clicks to a dedicated landing page or funnel that matches the ad's message, images, and offer exactly ('ad scent'). The funnel asks questions interactively before requesting contact info.
6. Step 6 — Retarget non-converters and drip on converters who don't answer calls with automated email sequences.
7. Step 7 — Share generated buyer leads with realtor partners to flip the referral dynamic — you bring leads to them instead of chasing them.

Worth quoting

“You can't refinance a click. You can't refer a click to a realtor. You've got to convert these people into actual leads.”

“Fix the foundation and then everything else would kind of fall into place.”

Best for

LOs who are already doing some digital marketing — running Facebook posts, sending emails, or paying for a website — but generating zero or near-zero leads from that activity.