Painting Leads: 3 Easy Ways to Get More Business

How do you get more clients? You need to get leads—people who know you and your business. To get more leads, you need to spread the word about your painting business to make your company a household name throughout your community.

We know that's easier said than done. In this article, we'll give you three actionable tactics that you can use to get more leads for your painting business—plus show you how a custom booking app can help you close more of those leads once they come in.

Make Social Media a Marathon

You most likely have social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram. To really leverage your work, you must make a consistent effort on social media, ensuring you're actively posting pictures and videos from your latest projects.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your social media:

  1. Use the stories and reels function to showcase your work in different stages. You can transform the simplest touch-up into a beautiful and compelling before-and-after narrative.
  2. Once or twice a week, create educational videos that demonstrate your professional authority. Walk your audience through DIY projects, like applying weather stripping to a door or choosing the right paint finish for different rooms.
  3. Give clients a discount or voucher for posting content displaying your work—with a link to your business in the comment. When clients do this, they publicize your professional abilities for minimal cost.
  4. Even if your next project doesn't start until next week, remember to post social media content daily. Doing this will show your network that you're actively marketing your business.
  5. Rapidly snapping photos and videos and immediately posting them is a no-no. Ensure you have good lighting when taking pictures, hold your camera still, and use the right filter when filming. Take the time to edit your content before you post. Remember that the appearance of your published content will reflect directly on your professionalism.

If you're active on social media, people in your network will see it, and your network will slowly grow. The good news is that you have content for social media whenever you work on a project.

Being active on social media is a great way to popularize your painting brand while generating leads. Each completed job becomes marketing material—a virtuous cycle that compounds over time.

Run Social Media Ads

Social media ads are a powerful form of digital advertising to promote your painting services on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. For around $500 or less, you can create an ad featuring your social media account. Just follow these steps to get your ad up and running:

  1. Select your ad format: Social media platforms allow single-image or video ads. You will be fighting for your audience's attention, so create an eye-catching ad for social media users to, at the very least, stop scrolling. Your ultimate goal is to get your audience to tap the ad and contact you.
  2. Design your ad: You can use video or pictures for your ad. You must ensure that your ad gives your target audience a good idea of your work and expertise, so feature your best work in the most aesthetically pleasing settings to grab viewers' attention.

    The idea is to captivate people with your work so they can't resist tapping on your ad. When they do, it will take them to your business page to learn more about your services.
  3. Define your target audience: On the ad launcher, choose the age, location, business type, and interests of the people you want your ad to reach. Defining your target audience is one of the most critical aspects of your ad campaign because these will be the people seeing your ad.

    Set your geographic location to a few miles within your business. Target people who have recently moved and are in an age group most likely to own property (between age 30-70). Also, ensure the job function is set to people who might work with painters, like contractors, real estate agents, and moving companies.
  4. Launch Your Campaign: Once you set all your parameters, click "Launch," and your ad will go live.

Most social media ad campaigns take your payment in advance and deduct money for every "impression"—or when a user stops for a few seconds to read your ad—or for when users "engage" with it, that is, comment on it or click on it.

It may take some time before your social media ads campaign pays off—don't just post an ad and expect dozens of leads to flood your inbox. Stay active on social media, and consistently post pictures and videos of your work showing that you're busy and making customers happy.

Don't just initiate a social media ad campaign one time. Keep it consistent, and adjust your demographic accordingly. Consistency will ensure more people see your ad. Some will eventually contact you, which will help you gather more leads.

Reach Out to Contractors and Real Estate Agents

Your most significant source of leads might be those who need your services for their operations. Who are these untapped lead gold mines? We're talking about real estate agents, contractors, and moving companies.

Many real estate agents sell homes requiring upgrades before the buyers move in. One major upgrade is painting—both interior and exterior. Similarly, while construction companies specialize in building homes, they usually subcontract much of the work that goes into home building—like plumbing, electrical wiring, landscaping, and painting.

Don't forget about moving companies. Their customers often want to make sure the house they're moving into has a fresh coat of paint. Reach out to moving companies in your area and offer to provide that fresh coat of paint their clients desperately need. By giving them the option, you'll save them the time it takes to find a painting company and make their clients happy.

If you're having difficulties reaching out to contractors and real estate agents, offer your services to the clients directly by putting leaflets advertising your services on the doors of new builds. Spreading leaflets can get you in direct contact with homeowners who are already thinking about improvements.

Building relationships with these partners creates a referral pipeline that generates leads without additional advertising spend. A single contractor relationship can produce dozens of jobs per year.

Use Adalo To Get More Leads

It's not just about the total number of leads your business gets—the most important number is how many leads you close. In other words, how many leads go from just looking at your website or calling you to actually booking a painting job?

Before seeking real estate agents and contractors out on Google Business or social media, build an app that makes booking your services a breeze. Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. Use its drag-and-drop interface to tailor your booking app, and you can integrate it with any calendar software.

Ada, Adalo's AI builder, lets you describe what you want and generates your app. Magic Start creates complete app foundations from a description, while Magic Add adds features through natural language.

The platform's Magic Start feature generates complete app foundations from a simple description. Tell it you need a booking app for a painting business, and it creates your database structure, screens, and user flows automatically—what used to take days of planning happens in minutes. Magic Add then lets you describe additional features in plain language, like "add a photo gallery of completed projects" or "include an estimate request form."

Once you get your app up and running, you can make it available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. When you pitch your services to contractors and real estate agents, include a link to download your app. They'll most likely be impressed by your abilities to harness technology, making booking business with you a breeze.

You can also make your booking app available to regular clients as well. On your social media, provide links to your app's location on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Why a Custom App Beats Generic Booking Tools

Generic booking platforms charge monthly fees and display competitor ads. A custom app built on Adalo puts your brand front and center with no distractions. Clients see your portfolio, read your reviews, and book directly—all within an experience you control.

Adalo's paid plans include unlimited database records, meaning you can store every client interaction, project photo, and estimate without worrying about hitting storage caps. The platform processes over 20 million data requests daily with 99%+ uptime, so your booking system stays reliable even during busy seasons.

Starting at $36/month with unlimited usage, Adalo offers a more affordable path to app store publishing than alternatives. Bubble's comparable mobile offering starts at $59/month with usage-based charges and record limits. Glide doesn't support App Store or Play Store publishing at all. For a painting business that wants a professional mobile presence, Adalo provides the most direct route.

Stay Consistent

Getting leads for your painting business is a long game. You acquire a new follower on social media for each new customer for whom you perform your services. Keep building relationships with contractors and real estate agents, and don't forget to start an ad campaign every couple of months.

The combination of consistent social media presence, targeted advertising, strategic partnerships, and a professional booking app creates a lead generation system that compounds over time. Each element reinforces the others—your social media showcases work that drives app downloads, your app makes booking easy for partners you've cultivated, and satisfied customers become social proof for future leads.

Get started building your painting app for free.

FAQ

Why choose Adalo over other app building solutions?

Adalo is an AI-powered app builder that creates true native iOS and Android apps from a single codebase. Unlike web wrappers, it compiles to native code and publishes directly to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store—the hardest part of launching an app handled automatically. With over 3 million apps created on the platform, the visual builder has been described as "easy as PowerPoint."

What's the fastest way to build and publish a painting business app to the App Store?

Adalo's drag-and-drop interface combined with AI-assisted building lets you go from idea to published app in days rather than months. Magic Start generates your app foundation from a description, and Adalo handles the complex App Store submission process—certificates, provisioning profiles, and store guidelines are managed for you.

How much does it cost to build a booking app for my painting business?

Adalo's paid plans start at $36/month with unlimited usage and no record limits on the database. This includes publishing to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store with unlimited updates. Compare this to Bubble at $59/month with usage-based charges, or Appypie at $99/month for comparable iOS publishing features.

How often should I post on social media to generate leads for my painting business?

You should aim to post social media content daily, even if your next project doesn't start until the following week. Use stories and reels to showcase your work in different stages, and create educational videos once or twice a week to demonstrate your professional authority. Consistency shows your network that you're actively marketing your business.

How much does it cost to run social media ads for a painting business?

You can create effective social media ads for around $500 or less on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. The platform will deduct money for impressions or engagements, and you should run campaigns consistently rather than just once. Adjust your demographic targeting accordingly to maximize results over time.

Who should I reach out to for painting business leads besides homeowners?

Your most significant source of leads may be real estate agents, contractors, and moving companies who need painting services for their operations. Real estate agents often sell homes requiring upgrades before buyers move in, construction companies typically subcontract painting work, and moving companies have clients who want fresh paint in their new homes.

How can a booking app help me close more painting leads?

A booking app makes scheduling your services effortless for clients, contractors, and real estate agents. When you pitch your services, including a link to download your app demonstrates your professionalism and ability to harness technology. This convenience can impress potential partners and make them more likely to choose your painting business over competitors.

Do I need coding experience to build a painting business app?

No coding experience is required. Adalo's visual builder uses drag-and-drop components, and the AI-assisted features like Magic Start and Magic Add let you describe what you want in plain language. The platform handles the technical complexity of native app compilation and app store publishing.

Can I store unlimited client information in my painting business app?

Yes. Adalo's paid plans include unlimited database records, so you can store every client contact, project photo, estimate, and booking without worrying about hitting storage caps. This is a key advantage over platforms like Bubble and Glide that impose record limits and charge extra for additional storage.