How Forest City Insider turned newsletter signups into real estate and local business leads
A local London, Ontario newsletter uses a short post-subscribe survey and a multi-offer wall to route new subscribers into real estate, local business, and pet-service leads. Real production numbers.
TJ LarkinBuilds greetform at 8th replayAugust 26, 2026 · 2 min read
- 1,297 of 1,916 post-subscribe sessions finished the survey, a 67.7% completion rate.
- The same flow produced 37 real estate leads from two separate conditional offers, one for homeowners curious about value and one for people planning to buy in the next year.
- 70 total leads came from the offer wall's three advertiser categories, at a 7% take rate from offer-wall impression to completed lead.
- None of this required a new ESP, a new website, or a sales team. It runs inside the existing subscribe flow.
The challenge
Forest City Insider wanted new newsletter subscribers to do more than join a list. The publisher had real estate agents and local businesses who wanted qualified introductions, and a subscriber base that was already answering questions about where they live, whether they rent or own, and what they're interested in. The gap was routing: nothing connected a subscriber's answers to a specific, relevant offer.
- Survey completion rate. 1,297 of 1,916 post-subscribe sessions finished the questions.
- Real estate leads. From two separate conditional offers based on ownership and buying-intent answers.
- Total leads. Across real estate, local business, and pet-service advertiser categories in one flow.
- Offer-wall take rate. Completed leads as a share of offer-wall impressions (70 of 1,002).
Learn who actually subscribed
- 01City and interests
New subscribers pick their area and the local deals or activities they want to see.
- 02Household signals
Short questions cover kids at home, pets at home, and age range.
- 03The two questions that matter most
Do you own or rent your home? Do you own or help run a local business? Both directly change what happens next.
Branch into three advertiser categories, not one generic offer
- Renters and anyone curious about home value see a real estate offer built around "thinking about buying, selling, or just curious what homes are doing near you."
- Subscribers who signal they're planning to buy within the year see a separate, more specific real estate offer.
- Local business owners and operators see an offer aimed at becoming a more known and loved business in London.
- Pet owners see a dog daycare offer with a free first-day trial.
Why this works: The offer matches a stated signal, not a guess. A renter who says they're curious about home values is a different lead than someone actively planning to buy. Forest City Insider treats them differently instead of showing everyone the same real estate ad.
Measure the funnel honestly
The offer wall is measured in stages: an impression when a subscriber sees it, a click when they engage, and a completed lead when they submit their information. Of 1,002 offer-wall impressions, 70 became completed leads, a 7% take rate. That number is the one that matters to an advertiser, not clicks or impressions alone.
greetform production data, queried August 26, 2026.
TJ Larkin owns and operates Forest City Insider. No third-party permission was required to publish these results.
TJ Larkin builds software for local media at 8th replay, the company behind greetform, larkfeed and lightbreak. He and his team run more than 20 local newsletters, and greetform started as the form they built for their own readers.
