How to Get Real Estate Leads for Free
You don't need an expensive lead-generation system to find real estate deals.
For Johnoson Crutchfield, one of the strategies he uses the most today costs absolutely nothing: social media.
Johnoson posts about real estate consistently, often three times a day. He talks about buying houses, getting started in real estate, and what he's doing—even when the post itself is about something completely unrelated, like weight loss.
Why?
Because he wants people to remember what he does.
When someone has a parent who passes away, a family member who gets sick, or another situation that creates a need to move, Johnoson wants to be the person they think about.
And those people actually reach out.
He regularly receives messages from people asking questions such as, "What do you think about this deal?"
Those conversations can become real estate leads.
Quick Takeaways
Social Media Can Create Free Real Estate Leads
The biggest advantage of social media is simple: it's free.
Johnoson can consistently put himself in front of potential sellers without paying for advertising or buying leads.
The goal isn't to make every post a sales pitch. Instead, he uses social media to keep himself associated with real estate.
People regularly see that Johnoson is a real estate investor and that he buys houses.
Eventually, something happens in their life that creates a potential real estate opportunity—and they remember him.
That's when the message comes in:
"What do you think about this deal?"
Or:
"What do you think about this?"
Those conversations can turn into leads.
The important lesson is that marketing doesn't always have to produce an immediate response. Sometimes the job of marketing is simply to stay top of mind until the right situation happens.
Pay Per Lead Works When You Have Money to Invest
Johnoson's second favorite strategy is pay per lead.
This approach makes sense when an investor has money available and is comfortable investing in deal flow.
The concept is straightforward: a homeowner visits a website and indicates that they're interested in selling their house. The investor then pays for that potential lead.
The advantage is that the person has already expressed an interest in selling.
But there is a cost.
Johnoson says investors can expect to spend roughly $100 to $300 per lead.
For him, one of the biggest benefits is getting the opportunity to call people who have already raised their hand rather than spending all day making completely cold calls.
That doesn't mean pay-per-lead is necessary for someone just getting started.
If money is tight or an investor is still working out their system, cold calling remains an option.
Cold Calling Takes More Time, But It Can Work
Johnoson's third favorite strategy is cold calling.
He currently uses virtual assistants to make calls, including multiple VAs working through targeted lists.
The important point isn't necessarily which list provider an investor uses.
Johnoson emphasizes that making the calls is more important than getting the list from a certain place.
Some lists are more motivated than others, though.
For example, a list of recent pre-foreclosures can be more motivated than a list of foreclosures from the previous year.
Timing and circumstances matter.
But investors don't necessarily need to overcomplicate their search.
Johnoson recommends looking for characteristics such as:
- Absentee owners
- High-equity homeowners
- Other seller situations that fit the investor's criteria
The key is taking action on the list instead of spending all the time trying to find the "perfect" list.
Choose the Lead Strategy That Fits Your Resources
There isn't one lead-generation strategy that every investor needs to use.
Instead, the right approach depends on available money, time, and resources.
If an investor doesn't have much money to spend, social media provides a way to market consistently for free.
If there is money available to invest in deal flow, pay-per-lead can provide access to people who have already expressed an interest in selling.
If an investor has more time than money, cold calling provides another way to create opportunities.
The three strategies can be viewed simply:
- Social media: Free, but requires consistency and patience.
- Pay per lead: Provides access to potential sellers, but costs roughly $100–$300 per lead.
- Cold calling: Requires more time and effort but doesn't require paying for every potential lead.
Investors can also combine these approaches.
Social media can keep an investor top of mind while paid leads create inbound opportunities and cold calling provides another pipeline to work.
Stop Looking for the Perfect List and Start Making Calls
One of the biggest lessons from Johnoson's approach is that execution matters more than finding the perfect lead source.
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About Johnoson Crutchfield
Johnoson Crutchfield is a real estate investor, coach, and host of the Grab the Map podcast. He helps aspiring and active investors move beyond analysis paralysis and take the consistent actions required to close real estate deals.
Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Johnoson teaches practical, real-world strategies focused on finding opportunities, building relationships, securing funding, and making offers. His approach emphasizes weekly execution over endless education, helping investors create momentum through simple, repeatable actions.
As the leader of the Wealth and Real Estate community, Johnoson shares lessons from real transactions and real conversations with lenders, sellers, and investors. He is a strong advocate for local banking relationships, seller financing, and private lending as powerful tools for growing a real estate business.
Through coaching, content, and community, Johnoson has helped investors gain clarity, build confidence, and take meaningful steps toward closing their first—or next—deal.
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