Newspapers are old, stodgy and…still quite an expensive form of advertising.

But, people still read newspapers. And perhaps more importantly, those in your “target market” for private money are probably newspaper readers (at least the Sunday paper).

So…

Should you ever advertise for private money using the newspaper?

I think there are a few determining factors that you must consider before pulling the trigger on something like this.

1. Your market
2. Your marketing
3. Securities laws

First let’s talk about your market.

If you don’t have a clearly defined target market for your investment opportunity, you’ll be wasting a great deal of time and money on advertising in the newspaper. A big part of this waste will come from: wrong ad copy, wrong ad positioning, wrong paper selection.

How you write your ad is critically important. If you cannot catch the readers attention and compel them to the action you want (lead generation in this case) then you are wasting your money. But you don’t just want any old reader…no…you want to signal out to your target market (those that have investable assets) that your message is for them.

Even if you get your ad copy somewhat decent,  if you don’t place your ad in the right part of the paper (it’s very easy to mess this up) then your response is going to be depressed. In addition, you may not even be selecting the right newspaper to place the ad in.

But let’s say you get this down: you have the right paper selection, good ad copy and the proper position in the paper.

Now it comes down to what exactly you are offering to anybody that calls. Are they calling you directly? Visiting a website? Calling a voice-mail box? What happens after they call? What kind of follow up marketing sequences do you have in place that will ensure a return on advertising investment?

Ok, let’s say that you have a fantastic marketing sequence in place and you also have a great ad, good paper and good placement.

Now, let’s talk about securities laws for private money for a minute. Of course, I’m not an attorney and what I’m saying here should never be construed as legal advise. You should retain a good securities attorney when you get super-serious about raising private money.

When you run an ad in a newspaper for private money, depending upon what you are offering in terms of investment, you may be making what’s called a “general solicitation.” This means, in the eyes of regulators, that you are trying to sell a security to the broad investing public.

And there are lots of laws in place that try to protect the investing public from securities solicitations that haven’t been at least reviewed by the SEC.

Is this a complete bummer?

I don’t think so. If you have a good opportunity and you know that you can deliver, then it may be worth pursuing. There’s nothing better then having your phone explode with leads from people who are ready, willing and able to place funds with you.

An important note: you have to be ready to do proper follow up marketing and securities laws compliance when you use bigger advertising. The worst thing you can do is let a bunch of hot leads sit for days and days. People want instant information. Give it to them.

Advertising for private money could be very profitable for you, even in spite of the small obstacles. Consider everything I’ve said here in addition to your own business goals and objective.

-Happy Investing!