Advertising - what is the best investment

What it best advertising for a homebased agent? 

First nothing in the world will be better than word of mouth and a happy customer.  It doesn't matter what you spend in advertising, word of mouth is key in this business.  You must take care of your customers and be good at customer service.  If you ignore complaints, don't return phone calls or emails, don't care about someone after they give you their money - then you are going to not make it in this field period.

Can you advertise on a small budget?  Absolutely.

Here are some ideas:

Get a really nice business card - no they don't have to cost a fortune.. some places to try are:
www.printsmadeeasy.com  www.vistaprint.com

Get that card out everywhere.  Get brochures and get your card on them.  Leave them anywhere you go for example waiting rooms.. people love to look at brochures while waiting someplace like dr, dentist, auto shop, etc..

Talk to people.  Again word of mouth is so important.  Tell people what you.  Get a fun shirt.  I have one that says "work sucks, I am going on a cruise" that I wear.  It is a conversation starter.  Always have a card in a pocket or easily accessible in your wallet or purse. 

Hang flyers on bulletin boards along with a couple cards.

People need to see your name about 10 times before they will recongize it.

Call local media like the newspaper and find out about getting featured in an article. 

You can do it.  I started my business with a very, very small budget so it is very doable!