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

The three main components of advertising, also known as the three big M’s, are: the message, the media and the market. To briefly summarize what each component consists of: the message consists of the words used in the advertisement; the medium is the type of advertising; and the market is the group to whom the advertising is directed. Now you can start brainstorming. When you brainstorm your message, medium and market, you can do it yourself or include other partners. The more minds, the better the flow of ideas becomes.

To start, assess the market you are trying to reach. To achieve a high level of success with your advertising, narrow down your market. You want to make sure you are targeting motivated potential sellers. Don’t necessarily think that a larger, broader audience is better than a narrow, targeted 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 down your market, it’s time to craft your message. This can be anything from an “elevator speech” to a catchphrase. Remember that people are bombarded with advertising almost 100 percent of the time. This puts extra pressure to make sure your message attracts motivated sellers. Focus your message on what your company can do for the motivated seller—how working with you will benefit them.

Finally, choose the medium for your advertising. This may include mailings, newspaper advertisements, television advertisements, etc. A good place to start is to look at what other investors are doing: where do they advertise? Discuss how their choices have been successful for them or detrimental to their work. The results of your analysis can be a start for your 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 go back to the drawing board after evaluating the effectiveness of your advertising. If your advertising isn’t performing to its full potential, ask yourself these questions: Does my message need to be changed? Is this the right medium for my market? Is my market too narrow or too broad?