Why would an adviser choose to pay for advertising when getting your name out there through traditional PR channels is free? Although I encourage you to try a traditional PR approach before spending money to create and place an ad, there may be times when paying for placement makes sense.

Consider the potential mix of marketing activities in the chart I've created for how, in general, advisers should spend their marketing capital (see "The Ideal Marketing Porfolio" below). Notice that 80% of the marketing effort is dedicated to activities that will either put you in front of people in person (speaking, networking, volunteering, hosting events) or through a traditional PR approach (media coverage via radio, television, internet or print publications). As you develop and refine your marketing plan, you will want to create a portfolio of marketing activities that, just like the investments in a portfolio, work together to produce results over time. Since this is a people business, you should not rely on advertising or direct mail alone--you've got to get out to meet, greet and mix with the right people. However, if you have the proper foundation in place, you can use paid advertising and targeted direct-mail pieces to build name recognition and create a familiar brand.

A good example of why you shouldn't rely primarily on advertising comes from Jim Ludwick (www.adviceonly.net), a fee-only financial planner with dual offices in Maryland and California. He was sure that targeted advertising coupled with seminars would create new business. "My first year in business was 2003," he says. "I spent several thousand dollars on a campaign with a quarter-page ad trying to attract the attention of 25,000 civilians and 4,500 military who read a weekly newspaper in my town. After 13 weeks, I had not received a single telephone call from the ad. This was the most money I ever wasted. Think of how many attorneys and accountants I could have taken to breakfast, lunch or dinner for those kinds of dollars. Even worse, I signed up for three different yellow page ads, totaling over a thousand dollars for the year. After one year, I received only one call--a wrong number. The second year I spent my time and money taking attorneys, accountants and other referring advisers out to breakfast and lunch. I spent less and the results were staggering in comparison."

Bert Whitehead (www.bertwhitehead.com), founder of the Alliance of Cambridge Advisors, and the Alliance in general eschew advertising. "General advertising is not the mark of a real professional," he says. "The best doctors, lawyers and therapists don't resort to advertising for this reason. I have never heard a success story from any professional financial planner who has advertised--not including directory listings--and every adviser I know who has tried it found it to be a waste of money." On the other hand, good PR can generate a landslide of inquiries. "About 10 years ago the Detroit News ran an article about our firm and fee-only planners," says Whitehead. "We were so swamped with inquiries, our clients complained about not being able to reach us."

Many advisers who are struggling to generate new business would embrace such a problem. But planners who've had trouble working traditional PR channels may feel compelled to advertise. This is the case for one new planner who said, "If you can't manage to get your name out into your community and gain recognition free through press releases, event announcements or articles, paying is the only other thing you can do. Unless you have tons of contacts who will pass on your name, the fastest way to get your name out there is advertise." This planner is doing the right things: She has a website, networks within the business community, speaks on financial matters and has an ad in the yellow pages. She's been quoted in national publications four times in the past six months, but she has failed to garner any local media interest, even though she's tried.

She asked if I thought it would be a good idea to spend $1,000 a month (with a four-month minimum commitment) to participate in a local ValPak mailing, a coupon package that would go out to 160,000 people in her area. "I know I always check the coupons," she says. "And it's cheaper than if I bought a list and did my own mail-outs." My advice: Don't do it. Discounting your services alongside plumbers and carpet cleaners will not create the professional image you need. Keep building relationships and network like crazy. Use that $4,000 to begin a drip-marketing campaign, and ask a PR professional to help you fine-tune your media pitch.

THINK LOCAL AND LONG TERM