I know, I know... Trulia is primarily a real estate specific blog, so why would I choose to post a blog that talks about mortgage lead generation? For starters, you'd be surprised with how many mortgage professionals regularly visit, and post to Trulia.

It's a great platform, and excellent tool to reach a targeted demographic. Not to mention, everything I post about mortgage lead generation applies to real estate marketing as well - We're all targeting the same group of people. Those who want to buy or sell a home.

Though my comments today will be short, they will be pointed. Mortgage lead generation has changed. We've all watched it happen in fact... The market has shifted, the refi boom ended, and people have been hesitant to take action.

As if these changes were not enough, the shopping habits of the average consumer has changed as well. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2009, 90% of home buyers used the internet to help select a new home. While I don't have official statistics in front of me, we can imagine that a huge percentage of those home buyers also used the web to check on mortgage rates, and compare loan officers.

Direct mail, magazine ads, cold calling... Traditional methods of mortgage lead generation are not as effective as they once were. I'm not here to scream that the sky is falling, and that these means of generating business are completely dead. Traditional methods will always have their place when used correctly.

I know, I know... Trulia is primarily a real estate specific blog, so why would I choose to post a blog that talks about mortgage lead generation? For starters, you'd be surprised with how many mortgage professionals regularly visit, and post to Trulia.

However, in 2010, the average consumer is hit with (According to the most recent stats from the DMA) more than 3,000 advertising messages per day. That's right, more than 1.2 million per year! Is it any wonder that interuption based advertising methods such as direct mail and cold calls are not as effective as they once were?

This is advertising overload! Which brings me back to the original point I wanted to make. If you want an effective marketing strategy, you're going to need to alter your focus. Instead of lumping everyone into a single group to advertise to in bulk, why not spend your time marketing to those who are already interested?

Sounds impossible at first glance doesn't it? I named this blog post "mortgage lead generation" for a reason, and that's because despite appearances, it's very doable. There are hundreds, if not thousands of prospects in your area taking the time to search for mortgage rates, companies, brokers, and more. These people are actively searching, and they're leaving bread crumb trails for savvy marketers to follow.

I'll continue telling you about the process in my next post. Make it a great week, and please check back in a few days to learn how to identify these hot prospects.

You can skip ahead and read more on the topic of Mortgage Lead Generation here.