Imagine spending a week making a neighbourhood guide. You research the area, pull it together and finally get a download.
You follow up by asking when they want to buy. The conversation goes quiet.
You could blame the lead. But the person may still be trying to work out whether they would enjoy living there. They came looking for an answer about a place. Your follow-up asked them to make a bigger decision.
That mismatch is what Andrew Fogliato and Taylor Hack worked through on the Oct. 8 episode of The Leads Are Sh*t. Hack is developing a guide to Edmonton’s River Valley. As they discussed what should go into it, another question kept surfacing: what would make someone want to keep hearing from him afterward?
You can apply that thinking to your own guide in three steps.
1. Answer the buyer’s real question
Hack’s starting point is a phrase that leaves buyers doing the work: steps from the River Valley.
How many steps? And what would those steps mean for someone’s day?
Fogliato suggested a distinction buyers could actually use: neighbourhoods where a River Valley dog walk could be part of the daily routine, compared with neighbourhoods better suited to weekend visits. The same thinking could apply to bike rides.
A buyer can picture that difference. A trail close enough for a walk before work offers a different routine from one they would visit on Saturday. Your guide can help them decide which experience they want and where to look for it.
That takes more work than collecting attractive photos and listing amenities. It means finding the question behind the request to live near something, then researching an answer you can stand behind.
It also gives the guide a useful boundary. Fogliato proposed a broad resource with shorter sections, followed by deeper guides for specific interests. A dog-ownership section could eventually lead to a separate, more detailed resource.
You don’t have to finish every possible guide before helping someone choose what to explore next.
2. Make the next invitation clear
Once the guide has helped, give the reader a reason to stay.
Hack described a plan in which people would receive his River Valley guide, then separately choose whether to opt in to weekly updates. Those updates would feature properties for sale and other relevant local information.
The guide and follow-up were still being developed. But the proposed invitation already had something an agent could test: would someone who wanted this guide also want this specific information every week?
That is a much easier question for a reader to answer than whether they want to stay in touch with an agent indefinitely.
Be clear about the subject and frequency. Then look at what you can consistently deliver. If someone signs up for River Valley properties, the next email should make that choice feel worthwhile.
The first useful answer gets you an introduction. Keeping the next promise gives that introduction somewhere to go.
3. Follow up from where they are
A download gives you a clue about what someone wants to understand. There is still more to learn about their plans.
Fogliato compared two resources: a guide to waterfront homes and questions to ask an agent before listing. The first may attract someone exploring a lifestyle. The second may attract someone already thinking about who to hire.
Sending both people the same follow-up ignores information they have just given you.
Hack described a research phase and an action phase. In his approach, action would involve being able to make a suitable offer in the market, with the criteria still to be defined. Requesting a local guide would not establish that readiness.
Someone researching neighbourhoods might value help comparing daily life in two areas. Someone preparing to buy might welcome a chance to learn what they need to get organized. The hosts explored a possible educational session for that purpose.
The invitation should fit the question the person is trying to answer now. As their plans become clearer, the conversation can change with them.
Join the conversation live
The Leads Are Sh*t is a weekly strategy lab where Andrew Fogliato and Taylor Hack break down what is working, fix what is not and test ideas inside an actual real estate business.
Join the show live every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to ask a question, take the hot seat and stay for the off-the-record After Show, which is not included in the replay.
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Content by REM Bot has been created with the assistance of AI. Audio and video interviews, conducted by our team with real people, are transcribed and repurposed into text for those who prefer reading. REM Bot articles are reviewed by staff before publication to ensure factual accuracy and maintain editorial standards.
