Ask Texas REALTOR®

Q   I want to advertise my company’s services in the newspaper. How long do I need to run the ad for it to be effective and produce results?

A   Longer than you probably think, according to marketing expert Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the best-selling "guerrilla marketing" series.

"I usually tell my clients that if they do everything right and run their ads like clockwork–meaning at least once a week–nothing will happen for three months," says Levinson. "After six months, they’ll see proof positive that their ads are working, but it takes even longer than that for my clients to realize that their investment in advertising is a good one."

Before you balk at his advice, consider the research behind it. "A major study on this topic revealed that a person’s mind must be penetrated nine times to move him from total apathy to purchase readiness," Levinson says. "That’s the good news. The bad news is that for every three times you advertise, consumers aren’t paying attention two of those times."

That means the average consumer needs 27 exposures to an ad for it to penetrate his mind. And in the real estate industry, he says even 27 times may not be enough. "I recommend small ads run every single week for top-of-the-mind awareness. When a person wants to buy or sell a house, he contacts the company that owns that awareness in his mind."

If it sounds like too big a commitment for you, Levinson preaches patience. "It’s not easy, not fast, and hardly instant. The idea is not to make the ads pay off quickly, but for them to pay off permanently."

You can find more marketing advice and resources at JayConradLevinson.com and the guerrilla-marketing Web site, GMarketing.com.

Illustration © Artville.

Buyers & sellers, visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.texasrealtors.com.