How to Generate Painting Leads: Top 27 Painter Marketing Ideas to Get More Painting Jobs
Every painter needs painting leads and painting jobs to survive—no matter your location or how long you’ve been completing painting jobs for your community. Without a good flow of new painting leads, bringing in new customers and making money become impossible.
But, if you create a system that attracts new customers and delivers new painting leads to your business like clockwork, that’s a recipe for:
- More high-paying painting jobs
- Increased revenue for you and your painting crew
- Growth of your painting business
We know why painters need to generate painting leads, but how can you do it affordably and efficiently? The answer is: a good painting contractor website with good painting web design. If you’ve ever wondered how to get more painting leads, follow the steps below to turn your business into a painting lead generation machine.
Top Rapid-Fire Marketing Ideas for Painting Companies
- Get More Painting Leads Through Your Website
- Always Use Local SEO for Painting Lead Generation
- Content Marketing = Painting Marketing
- Ad Retargeting Is a Fresh Painting Marketing Idea
- Sign Up With Townsquare Interactive to Maximize Your Painting Marketing Budget
1. Get More Painting Leads Through Your Website
If you don’t yet have a painting contractor website, yet, one of the best things you can do for your business is to create one. A website acts as your painting business’s online storefront—it’s the cornerstone of your online presence and gives potential customers a place to:
- Learn more about your painting business
- Read about the paintings you provide
- See your service area
- Get in touch with you about painting jobs
- Become a quality painting lead for your business
Without a website, how are your potential customers going to find your business on Google? How will they know where to contact you? They won’t.
Without a website, your business might as well not exist at all.
2. Canvass the Area to Generate Painting Leads
Canvassing to generate painting leads might seem like an old-school marketing tactic, but it’s a painting contractor advertising idea worth trying. After all, consumers are more likely to work with you when they can put a face to your business. If you want to give canvassing a shot, try doing it after completing a painting job in the area.
Follow these tips for the best results:
- Always be polite and courteous, even if you don’t get the reaction you want.
- Set a goal for each interaction: set an appointment, get their contact information, or make a sale.
- Have a script ready, so you’re better prepared.
- Follow up with potential customers after getting their info.
When you’re prepared for a constructive interaction, you’re much more likely to get a favorable result. In this case, that’s a painting lead!
3. Send Out Direct Mailers to Get More Painting Leads
Here’s another painting marketing idea that’s stood the test of time: direct mailers. Compared to the chaos that is most email inboxes today, old-school mailboxes are seeing a lot less action, which means your letter or postcard is much more likely to be seen and read by potential customers.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail has an average cost per lead of $51.40 for a general mailing list and $54.10 for postcards. Compare that to what you’re paying on average for painting leads and painting jobs from other sources to determine if this is a viable solution for you.
4. Use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
A good PPC and SEM campaign is one painting contractor advertising idea that’s been proven time and again to generate quality painting leads.
While Google is the most popular search engine for these types of campaigns, thanks to its widespread popularity, don’t sleep on Bing. PPC and SEM are great ways to bring in both residential and commercial painting leads and painting jobs.
Still on the fence? Check out these stats:
- For every $1 spent in Google Ads, businesses make an average of $2.
- About 41% of clicks on a search results page go to one of the top 3 paid ads.
- More than 85% of people use the internet to find local painting companies.
- Visitors who come to your website via PPC or SEM are 50% more likely to make a purchase.
Sounds good, right? Reach out to us to learn more about how we can help you create a powerful PPC and SEM campaign that will help you with painting lead generation.
5. Always Use Local SEO for Painting Lead Generation
Search engine optimization (SEO) is still king in the digital marketing space, which is why SEO services for painting companies are so popular. SEO is what moves your painting business to the top of page 1 on Google and keeps it there. If your campaign is robust enough, SEO alone can generate the majority of your painting leads (but we still recommend reading the rest of these painting marketing ideas)!
A good first step is setting up your Google My Business account. From there, you can advance to backlinking and content marketing.
It’s always a good idea to let an SEO expert get you up and running.
6. Get More Painting Leads Through Facebook + Instagram Advertising
Still wondering how to get more painting leads for your business? Advertising on Facebook and Instagram can be a cost-effective method, provided you put the right strategy in place and know how to navigate the ad builders on these platforms.
You can target your ideal painting customers by their location and other pages they’ve liked—such as your competitors’ pages.
Displaying ads to this audience has the added benefit of creating and boosting awareness of your business. If people see your logo and your ads all over the place, they’re more likely to remember you when they need painting services in the future. If you’ve been wanting to try social media advertising for your business, this is one painting marketing idea worth trying.
7. How to Generate Painting Leads Through Strategic Alliances
Another smart way to generate painting leads is to partner up with the suppliers in your area, such as hardware stores and big-box stores. That could be Lowe’s, Home Depot, or a mom-and-pop shop down the street. Creating a partnership means they’ll recommend you to their customers and provide a steady stream of painting leads.
8. Download Storm-Chasing Apps
Ready for a more creative painting marketing idea? Download a storm-tracker app that notifies you every time a storm passes through your service area, then go and canvass those areas. Since homes damaged by storms tend to need a fresh coat of paint afterward, your timely arrival is more likely to get you customers who need painting services now.
9. Content Marketing = Painting Marketing
Creating content for your ideal customers is a great way to get more painting leads. Consider writing blog posts and articles that you can post on your website, and make it easy for your audience to share that content on social media.
Here are some topic ideas:
- New Painting Color Trends for Homes
- How to Correctly DIY a Painting Project
- The Best Paint Brands for Color Longevity
As you write these articles, plug your painting services. Suggest that readers use a painting contractor they can trust to do the job correctly the first time, and—if you’re affiliated with a certain paint brand—talk them up!
10. Email Marketing = Painting Marketing, Too!
Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, and there’s a reason it’s stuck around so long: it works. For every dollar you spend on email marketing for your painting business, you’ll make (on average) a $40 return on your investment.
Because most painting businesses overlook the benefits of email marketing, it’s a great painting lead generation option for your business. For instance, businesses that stay in touch with their ideal customers via email generate 50% more sales-ready painting leads and spend 33% less money on making sales.
11. How to Generate Painting Leads at Trade Shows
Attending trade shows should be high on your list of painting marketing ideas. They not only provide plenty of solutions for how to generate painting leads, but also let you observe your competition, create new business partnerships and boost brand awareness among potential customers.
To make the most of your trade show experience, make sure your booth provides something valuable to your audience, such as a freebie or another incentive, like coupons, giveaways, contests and more.
Finally, make sure you’re collecting information from visitors and following up to make the sale.
12. Get Painting Marketing Ideas From Your Chamber of Commerce
If you haven’t already joined your local chamber of commerce, attend their next meeting and start networking with other local business owners. In particular, try to connect with property managers, developers and construction contractors—they’re likely to send more painting leads your way!
13. Give Telemarketing a Chance to Generate Painting Jobs
Though telemarketing was once a good channel for painting lead generation, many people now block unwanted calls. However, there are still companies out there that will telemarket for you and set up appointments with potential painting customers.
14. Reputation Management Affects Your Painting Business
Did you know 85% of people search online to find local painting businesses? Those same people are also researching your reputation—what are your past customers saying about the quality of your work? Were your prices fair? Did you show up on time and do what you said you were going to do?
Offline, you can use word-of-mouth to your advantage. Ask your satisfied customers if they can think of any neighbors, friends, family, or acquaintances who might need your painting services. Give them plenty of business cards to pass around, and ask if you can put a temporary sign in their yard with your business name and phone number.
Online, list your painting business on review websites and ask your happy customers to leave a review on Google. Doing so makes it more likely that you’ll get more painting leads and painting jobs.
15. Ad Retargeting Is a Fresh Painting Marketing Idea
Have you ever searched for a product online then noticed ads for it following you around the internet? That’s retargeting, and you can do it for your painting services.
Whether you want more residential or commercial painting leads—or both!—retargeting is a great way to keep your painting business in front of potential customers who have already shown interest by visiting your website. This is one painting contractor advertising idea well worth trying, especially if you’re already getting good traffic to your painting contractor website. Throw in some SEO services for painting companies for an extra boost!
16. Make Your Painting Business Stand Out With a Unique Selling Point
If you want to stand out from your local competitors, your painting business needs a unique selling point, or USP. That could be your level of service, your experience in the industry, your competitive prices, your reputation, your employees, your workmanship guarantees—anything that sets you apart. Once you’ve figured out your USP, use that selling point in your marketing materials!
If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at how your competitors are generating painting leads. What’s their USP, and how can you beat it? What would matter more to your customers and the community you serve? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Eco-friendliness
- Specialized services
- Roof types
- Guarantees
- Level of service
Can you think of something else that’s unique to your business? Maybe your origin story or how you got started? Use it!
17. Use Google’s Local Service Ads to Get More Painting Leads
Google’s Local Services ads are a type of pay-per-lead ad, and they appear at the top of the search results page. These ads get about 13.8% of clicks—that means if 50 people in your area search for painting services, at least 7 of them will click one of those ads and turn into a painting lead.
How much more money would you make per month with 7 more painting jobs?
18. Co-Market With a Relevant Business
Co-marketing means you’re teaming up with another business to share lead generation opportunities. For example, you might want to partner up with a construction company or contractor and offer a discount to customers who use both of your services. In the end, this kind of combined marketing can lead to many more painting lead generation opportunities since you’re both working to generate new leads.
19. Increase Referrals to Get More Painting Leads
Referrals are a great way to capitalize on word-of-mouth marketing. Offer your existing customers an incentive to refer their friends, families and neighbors to your painting business, and give them a discount in return. Since people are far more likely to use a business that a friend recommends to them, this is one painting marketing idea you shouldn’t pass up.
20. Create Helpful YouTube Videos About Painting
YouTube is a popular platform, so why not use it to your advantage? Make an account (it’s free!) and start posting helpful painting videos. The videos can document your day-to-day activities, follow a job from start to finish, or illustrate how to properly paint a surface. These videos will build your credibility as a painting provider and make it easier for viewers to see that you know what you’re doing and build trust.
In the video description, include your contact information and a link to your painting contractor website so they can learn more.
21. Create a Painting Facebook Group
Having a dedicated Facebook business page for your painting business is a must, but creating a group page for your business is a good idea, too. Post helpful content (maybe something you wrote for content marketing!) and interact with group members to start building trust and brand awareness in your audience. Down the road, that trust could turn into painting jobs.
22. Take Pictures of Completed Jobs
A picture can say a thousand words, so make sure you’re taking before and after photos of every painting job you take on. It’s a great way to show the quality of your work, and it gives you great content to post on your website and social media.
23. Use LinkedIn to Attract Commercial Painting Leads
LinkedIn is more than a great place to establish yourself as a painting expert and painting business owner—it’s a great place to generate painting leads, too. How? Do a search for local businesses and property managers you can connect with and talk about the painting services you provide.
24. Hunt for Painting Leads on Craigslist
Craigslist might seem like a dated suggestion, but tons of people still use it when they need to find someone for a painting project. Take a quick scroll through the classifieds and see if anyone is looking for a painter. Write down their names and numbers, then get in touch with them to discuss the project they have in mind and schedule a consultation. More often than not, people searching for painting services on Craigslist are ready to work with you and pay for your services.
25. Send Out Press Releases About Your Painting Business
Press releases are a great way to share new and exciting developments about your painting business. Are you offering a new painting service? How about a discount for repeat customers or those who refer their neighbors? Write a press release that outlines these new items and send it off to your mailing list to start generating painting leads.
26. Don’t Pay for Painting Leads If You Don’t Need To
We’ve talked about using HomeAdvisor and Angi for leads before, and both should be treated with caution. While they might deliver a lot of leads to your painting business, the quality of those leads isn’t up to par. Whenever possible, you want to attract quality leads that will turn into paying customers. All too often, lead generation services like HomeAdvisor and Angi’s list just don’t deliver on quality. You’re likely to spend your time chasing down bad leads instead of talking to good ones.
27. Sign Up With Townsquare Interactive to Maximize Your Painting Marketing Budget
Website design isn’t the only element of an effective painting marketing campaign, but it is the most important. One of the best things you can do for your business is to make sure your website has everything it needs to continuously generate painting leads using the steps above.
Adding other elements to your marketing campaign, such as SEO services for painting companies and reputation monitoring, can strengthen your painting marketing campaign and help you to generate more painting leads.
The team at Townsquare Interactive specializes in creating painting contractor websites and marketing campaigns that generate painting leads for businesses across the country. All of our painting website designs feature the elements mentioned above, and our dedicated marketing specialists and teams of experts can provide personalized suggestions for how to take your painting marketing campaign to the next level.
Click the button below to learn more about our painting marketing packages and jumpstart your painting website.