Ep #105: How Kelly Zitlow Uses Video to Build Trust and Close 232 Loans

Kelly Zitlow breaks down exactly how she uses video to stay top-of-mind with 3,500 real estate agents and past clients, resulting in a 34% business increase her first year. She and her marketing director Shay cover content batching, weekly email cadence, Facebook custom audiences, and BombBomb one-to-one video — all from a system they've refined since 2014. LOs who want a concrete, repeatable video marketing operation should listen.

Takeaways you can run this week

• Batch 3–5 videos in a single one-hour block every Wednesday (or your chosen day). The night before, have your marketing person pull 3–5 topics from a running list and text them to you. Review, say 'got it,' show up, record. No teleprompter — use a sharpie bullet-point cheat sheet taped below the camera lens if needed.
• Send a weekly video email to your entire agent database every Thursday or Friday via Constant Contact (or equivalent). Keep the copy short — its only job is to get them to click play. Include 1–2 bonus videos lower in the email to lift click-through rates above 10%.
• Upload your agent database as a CSV from your CRM into Facebook Custom Audiences. Run video ads exclusively to that audience when promoting events or new content — this turns cold contacts into warm ones before you ever pick up the phone.
• When a new listing agent appears on a transaction, immediately start them on your video drip and send a BombBomb text: 'Hey [name], Kelly here — I'm your buyer's lender on [address]. Looking forward to a smooth close together.' Automate this in your CRM so it fires without thinking.
• Send a separate monthly video email to your past-client and pre-qual database (~3,500 contacts in Kelly's case) with consumer-focused messaging — different from the agent weekly send. This keeps the 30% of business that comes from past clients engaged on autopilot.
• Start a running notes list on your phone for video topics. Kelly captures ideas while driving or in the shower. Topics that work: guideline changes, 'Did you know…' facts agents miss, purchase contract interpretation tips, condo vs. townhouse differences, renovation loan explainers, and local community events.

The playbook

1. 1. Keep a running topic list on your phone — add any idea that comes up.
2. 2. Block one hour every week on your calendar as your video shoot block.
3. 3. Night before: pull 3–5 topics from the list, send to yourself or your assistant.
4. 4. Shoot day: sit in front of a natural background (bookcase, office wall), camera on tripod, bullet points on paper taped below the lens.
5. 5. Record 3–5 videos back-to-back in one session — this is your 'content in the can.'
6. 6. Upload to YouTube; enable the auto-post-to-Twitter toggle in YouTube settings.
7. 7. Separately upload natively to Facebook for organic reach.
8. 8. Thursday or Friday: send weekly Constant Contact email to agent database with video thumbnail linked to YouTube. Add 1–2 bonus videos below the fold.
9. 9. Monthly: send a separate video email to past clients and pre-quals with consumer-relevant messaging.
10. 10. For in-process clients, trigger milestone-based video emails automatically via CRM (Kelly uses Salesforce).
11. 11. For one-to-one outreach (listing agents, referral thank-yous), use BombBomb text video.

Worth quoting

“When I stopped thinking about myself and shifted my focus to what I could bring to whoever was going to watch the video, it changed everything.”

“The first year we incorporated video, my business increased by 34% — and I already had a really viable business.”

Best for

LOs who know they should be doing video but keep stalling — this episode gives them the exact system, cadence, and mindset shift to finally start and stay consistent.