Painting Marketing: The Door Hanger That Converts 5%
"We're painting your neighbor's home this week" and other hyperlocal marketing moves for painting contractors.
A painter in Austin tried something simple. Every time his crew finished an exterior job, they hung door hangers on the 20 nearest homes. The message: "We just finished painting your neighbor's home at 412 Oak Street. If you'd like a free color consultation for your home, call or text this number."
Those door hangers converted at 5%. One in twenty homeowners called. On a street of 20 homes, that is one new lead per job, at a cost of roughly $6 in printing. Over a full year, those $6 door hangers generated over $80K in new revenue.
The psychology is straightforward. The homeowner can see the work. They can walk over and look at the result. The social proof is literally next door. This is not marketing theory. It is the single most cost-effective tactic in the painting business.
Your Truck Is a $3,000 Billboard That Pays for Itself
A wrapped painting truck gets 30,000-70,000 impressions per day in a suburban market. That is not a guess. It is the Outdoor Advertising Association's estimate for daily vehicle exposure.
A quality wrap costs $2,500-$4,000 and lasts five years. Compare that to a single month of Google Ads. The wrap works 24/7, including while your truck is parked at a job site in a neighborhood full of potential customers.
The key details that matter: include a color swatch graphic on the wrap. It immediately communicates "painter" from 50 feet away. Make the phone number large enough to read from two car lengths back. And keep the truck spotless. A dirty paint truck is a contradiction that costs you credibility before a customer ever calls.
Park strategically. When you are on a job, park on the street facing traffic rather than hidden in the driveway. Your truck is working for you every minute it is visible.
HOA Meetings: A Room Full of Your Best Customers
Most painters have never attended an HOA board meeting. That is a missed opportunity.
HOA boards approve exterior paint colors, hire painters for common areas, and field complaints from homeowners whose neighbors need a fresh coat. One relationship with an HOA board member can unlock an entire community.
The approach: contact the property management company for a local HOA and offer to present at a board meeting. Topic: "Protecting Your Home's Exterior: When to Repaint and How to Choose Colors That Meet HOA Guidelines." You are not selling. You are educating. But you are also the only painter in the room when 40 homeowners start thinking about their peeling trim.
Leave behind a one-page guide with your branding. Include a "community discount" for residents of that HOA. One painter in Dallas landed $45K in work from a single HOA presentation.
The "Paint While You're on Vacation" Premium
Here is a positioning trick that lets you charge 20-30% more than competitors: offer to paint the interior while the homeowner is away on vacation.
No furniture shuffling. No living around wet paint. No fumes. The family leaves, and when they come back the house is transformed. It is the same service at a premium price, and homeowners gladly pay for the convenience.
Market this on Nextdoor and in door hangers during spring and summer when vacation season peaks. The messaging is simple: "Going on vacation? Come home to freshly painted rooms. We handle everything while you're away."
This positioning also solves the biggest objection to interior painting: the disruption. Remove the disruption, and the decision becomes much easier.
Same-Street Saturation
When you finish a job that looks great, the entire street is a warm lead list. But most painters leave without capitalizing on it.
The system: finish the job, take photos, then walk the street. Not with a hard sell. With a genuine compliment about their home and a simple offer. "We just finished your neighbor's place. I noticed your trim could use some attention before winter. Happy to take a quick look and give you a number, no obligation."
Combine this with the door hangers for homes where nobody answers. Then post the before-and-after photos to your Google Business Profile tagged with the neighborhood name. The next person in that zip code who searches "painter near me" sees your work on their street.
This same-street strategy compounds. Two or three jobs on one block means your truck is a fixture. Neighbors start asking each other who they used. You become the default painter for that neighborhood, and new leads arrive with almost no marketing cost.