this might be a dumb question but here goes. ive got my 107, decent kit (mini 3 pro, working on saving for an air 3), and ive done maybe a dozen free or nearly free shoots just to build a portfolio. the footage looks good, got some nice real estate walkthroughs and some landscape stuff. but i have no idea how to actually get in front of people who would pay for this.

i posted on instagram and got like 47 followers which is great i guess but not exactly generating leads. do people actually cold call real estate agents or is that super annoying? a friend suggested i reach out to property management companies which makes sense but i dont know what to say or what to charge. feels like everyone else already has a drone guy and im late to the party.

real estate is honestly pretty saturated in most markets at this point, but it depends where you are. the thing about real estate agents is most of them DO have a drone person they already use, but those relationships fall apart all the time because of flaky operators or slow turnaround. so i wouldnt say dont bother, just go in knowing youll have to be reliable and fast as much as anything else. 24hr turnaround on edited footage is a huge selling point for agents because they want listings up fast.

cold calling is a bit old school but showing up to an open house with a business card and a QR code to your portfolio actually works. agents are there anyway with nothing to do half the time. also joining local facebook groups for real estate or small business owners in your area ? not to spam your services, just to be present and helpful and mention what you do when it comes up naturally. people hire people they feel like they know.

honestly same boat as you like 8 months ago. what actually got me my first few paying clients was just telling everyone i knew. sounds too simple but my neighbor mentioned it to her boss who needed footage of a construction site for a progress report thing and that turned into a small recurring gig. also posted in a local community facebook group not advertising just like hey im doing drone stuff if anyone needs it, and got two wedding inquiries within a week. those local groups hit different compared to instagram for actual local business stuff.

the construction and inspection angle is underrated btw ? less sexy than weddings but way more repeat business and they dont care as much about cinematics, they just need clear footage from above. might be worth looking into if theres development happening in your area.