Before advertising a real estate investment company, the business owner must understand the components of advertising. Placing an ad in a newspaper, posting door-to-door flyers, or using a voice message are all useful advertising methods; however, advertising will not be successful unless the real estate entrepreneur designates an appropriate message with the right medium in the target market.

The three main components of advertising, also known as the Big Three Ms, are: the message, the media, and the market. To briefly summarize what each component is: the message consists of the words used in the advertisement; the media is the type of advertising; and the market is the target group that the advertising is intended to reach. Now you can start brainstorming. By participating in the brainstorming session to determine your message, medium, and market, you can either do it yourself or include other partners. The more minds, the better the flow of ideas becomes.

To get started, evaluate the market you are trying to reach. To achieve a high level of success with your advertising, narrow your market. You want to make sure you are targeting motivated potential sellers. Don’t necessarily think that a larger and broader audience is better than a specific, limited audience. On the contrary, it is much easier to shape a message and choose a medium when you have targeted your market.

Once you’ve narrowed your market, it’s time to craft your message. It can be anything from an “elevator speech” to a catchy phrase. Remember that people are bombarded with advertisements almost 100 percent of the time. This puts additional pressure to make sure your message attracts motivated salespeople. Focus your message on what your business can do for the motivated salesperson – how working with you will benefit them.

Finally, choose the medium for your advertising. This may include mailings of postcards, newspaper ads, television commercials, etc. A good starting point is to analyze what other investors are doing: where are they advertising? Discuss how their choices have been successful for them or detrimental to their work. The results of your analysis can be a start for decision making.

Once you’ve finalized your decisions about your market, message, and medium, make sure you have a system in place to track the success of your advertising. Always return to the drawing board after evaluating the effectiveness of your advertising. If advertising isn’t working to its fullest potential, ask yourself the following questions: Do I need to change my message? Is this the right medium for my market? Is my market too narrow or too wide?