Free Leads for Tree Services

Every tree service business must get leads for tree trimming and removal jobs for their company. Paying for leads can get expensive. Wasting leads can put you out of business or lower your profit margin considerably. In this article I will explain the number one way to get free leads for your tree service.

But there is a hurdle for you.

Having worked with dozens of tree services, this is one thing is so hard, that only 2 out of 10 can get for me when I ask. Their list of emails!

When asking clients for their customer emails, their prospect emails, I know right away; they don’t have a system in place to store them. At least not one they can send in a file in a day or two of asking. And that is why most tree service companies can’t generate free leads for their companies. No systems in place.

Before we begin, I want to show you why I wrote this article. We use data for everything; it helps make great educated decisions. One of the things we use is Google Search Console to track what people are asking.

While going through the data for our article on “Tree Service Lead Generation”. There were a few search queries for “free leads for tree service” and “free leads for my tree service” 56 in one week to be exact.

search queries for free tree leads

Everybody wants free. I have news, nothing is free, but some things don’t cost money, just time. This article explains a FREE way to generate leads, in terms of money. But it will cost you time if you do it yourself. To do it right takes a few hours per month.

Ok let’s look at the lead gen system.

Arborist CRM

There is no reason in today’s digital world why you shouldn’t have and use your tree care business CRM (customer relationship management) software. Even if it is a system as simple as a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet. You should have it at your fingertips at all times and is one of your biggest business assets.

Every time you do a tree trimming job, removal or other tree service for a customer. You should log in and update the information, who, what, where, when, etc. It is simple and can be done faster than collecting the check.

Every time you give an estimate, no matter if you label them a “tire kicker”, etc. You should log them into your CRM system as a prospect or opportunity.

You should have an opt-in form on your website for your company newsletter and it should go into your CRM, automatically.

Sounds like a lot of work, but it is mostly an automation, taking less than the time it takes to see what is going on in Instagram or Facebook. You have no excuse for not using a CRM other than you are plan lazy.

That being said, let’s jump in and look at how to use you CRM to generate free leads, get more referrals and get those Google Reviews you never seem to get.

Free and Paid CRM’s for Tree Services.

Other Tree Service Articles

Your Tree Service Monthly Newsletter

Now before you say RJ, nobody reads or wants a newsletter or email from their tree service, I want to say you are wrong. Many dead presidents (faces on dollar bills) wrong per month.

When this statement is said to me, I know already know a few things.

One you haven’t tried it. Or you tried and didn’t have immediate success (it takes time). Also, you probably don’t track the results of your marketing efforts. Either one is costing you big money and the stress of not getting leads and business for your tree service.

 

Problem #1 Newsletter not working.

Most businesses don’t know how to approach creating a company newsletter that gets the results they want. Because they only think of what is in it for them…getting business. When you take this approach to newsletter marketing your customers and prospects can see it right away and that is why they don’t open you email, unsubscribe or worse send it to spam.

An effective newsletter is an extremely valuable marketing tool that can go a long way in educating and persuading your clients and prospects to work with you, give you a referral or call you for repeat business. Your newsletter is supposed to be helpful and add value to the reader’s life is some way. Not be a sales pitch.

To have a lead generating tree service newsletter you want to have these components in every email newsletter. Something local, something personal, something specific to your business that affects the reader.

The goal of your email newsletter is not sales, the goal is engagement. The sales will be a by-product of the engagement.

 

Something local:

  • Include some local charity or benefit. Example: Is it national blood drive month, then list where they can give blood locally. Girl Scout cookie season? Local food drive? Local town Christmas tree decorating contest? Something local. Local news has and always will be of interest. Look at any local Facebook Group, see what the buzz is and include that in your newsletter.
  • Talk about a local problem. Example: Do the trees need water in a drought condition? Are the insects killing trees in your area? Maybe a famous local park tree to visit.

Local content always piques people’s interest and is good content to have in your newsletter.

 

Something personal:

  • Did an employee have a child? Did you or an employee win an award, get certified in something? Did you add a new employee or piece of equipment to your arsenal? Explain how this benefits your customers and readers.
  • Don’t be promotional, keep it benefit to them focused.

 

Something specific:

  • Problem-solving advice. Example: During mulch season, make sure they know the proper way to mulch around a tree.
  • Example would a birdhouse in the customer’s yard promote birds to eat the insects? Would spraying the yard or injecting the tree save it from insect damage?
  • Hold a Contest. Example: Hold a FREE tree removal or service for a person in need. Have your list of readers write you an email providing details. Check out how we did it with this tree company social media.

 

Problem #2: Not getting fast results.

Newsletter marketing takes time and is a long-term game. You aren’t going to blast out a bunch of emails and the lead pour in. Sorry, it doesn’t work like that. The key, be consistent. Give value, give value, give value.

Think of it as planting a garden. Give the plants value (food, water and sunlight) and they will produce in time.

Give your newsletter a name: People associate articles. Look at any successful newsletter and you will see that they name their newsletter.

 

Examples:

  • The “Leaflet Journal”
  • The “Blossom Bulletin”
  • The “Root of the Matter Monthly”

Give your readers a schedule that your newsletter will be sent. This way they expect it, can look for it and in an indirect way, they see how reliable you are.

 

Examples:

  • The last Saturday of the month.
  • The 15th of every month.
  • Every Friday

Stick to this schedule. You may think people won’t notice if you are a day or week late, but some will.

Make sure you have some call to action that you can track.

If you have links, a phone number or even a social media post you are using as a call to action, track it and track who took that action.

 

Example:

If your call to action is check out this article on our website for ways to trim your trees this fall. If three people click that link, follow up with a call, email or text message with an offer. You will spark sales from doing this.

 

Note:

I have watched in real time people on my client’s website pages. Sent the client a text message, saying they were getting ready to get a phone call from a certain town, for a certain service soon. With-in 30 minutes, the client calls me and asks how I knew that information?

Which leads to the next part, tracking your data. Data science is an important part of business and marketing these days.

 

Problem #3: Not tracking your results.

As a tree service marketing company, I am in the business of tracking results. I see them, report them and act upon what the data tells me. But, for most tree service businesses, they couldn’t tell you how many visits they had last month to their website, and/or from where did those visitors come from.

Hell, most don’t know how many calls, emails or contact they had come in. They only know if there is money in the bank or not.

 

You need to know your numbers, period.

 

What is the old saying, that what gets measured gets the most attention? For most, the only thing that gets measured is the bank statement, the end goal number. When the well runs dry, it is too late or a stressful time ahead.

If you want to grow that end goal number, you need to focus on the process goal numbers. In this case, how many emails you have, how many opens you get, how many clicks and conversion you get. Which you can track all the way to how much money gets put in the bank.

No matter if you are just starting out or have been doing newsletter marketing to get free leads for a while now, tracking the results are important and will convert you to a believer in email marketing as a way to produce business for your tree service.

Below is an example of two tree service company newsletter campaigns and the results.

leads-from-newsletter-marketing
tree-service-email-marketing

Do people still opt-in for newsletters on websites?

Yes, people do still opt-in to your newsletter list when you have a plan in place and give them a compelling reason to join your email list. It is a great way to get new and free opportunities for you tree care business.

landing-page-email-marketing

How You Generate FREE Leads

By getting word of mouth. You get word of mouth faster from your email list. You do that by staying top of mind, with your tree service company newsletter.

 

That’s it in a nutshell. 

 

It starts with collecting the emails in your CRM, maybe segmenting the list into categories like customer, prospect or even tree trimming and tree removal. But you need to save the contacts in an organized manner.

 

Then working the list with a well thought out newsletter marketing program. Your leads will come, your referrals and repeat business will come and when you do it right, you’ll get those reviews that are so hard to get.

To get the customers on the cheap, spend the time needed, nothing in business is free.

 

Newsletter marketing and generating leads from your email list should be a part of your overall marketing plan. You may pay for the initial lead, but getting leads from a lead, for free, is how you grow your business.

Letting your good work speak for itself is great, but you can get more results when you have a plan in place to capitalize on good work, by keeping in contact with past customers and prospects.

 

Also, don’t discount those “tire kickers”. Sometimes they turn into valuable customers. They just need to see your value and your ability to stay in touch. They may just not be ready to pull the trigger and by contacting them consistently, your odds are better to turn them into customers. Less than 10 percent of the people you come into contact with are ready to do the job right then. The magic happens when you follow up and through with the other 90 percent.

You forget or don’t have the time, is only an excuse for not following through. Digital marketing is about following through. With a CRM and newsletter marketing plan, everything is just about on autopilot, except for the copywriting.

Conclusion

Getting FREE leads for your tree company is easy when you have a plan. By following through with each and every opportunity you have, your chances of getting another customer increase. Don’t feel that getting a customer is the end of the business cycle, it really is just the beginning of your life cycle with a patron of your business.

As a leading tree service marketing company, we use many strategies, tools and tactics to get leads for our clients and generating free leads through an email newsletter campaign is just one.

Give newsletter marketing a try, you won’t regret it. You just need to get that email list together first.