Promotion using the exterior of your car may be the most powerful and least expensive way for you to gain city-wide exposure. Hundreds of people a day will see your car parked or in traffic. So why don't you and more agents do it?

People disagree about on-car advertising.

Some believe that having signage on the outside of a car marks agents as "non-professionals; after all, your doctor and lawyer don't have car signs. And several columns have been written arguing that against the practice.

The other side of the question says, phooey. No one believes that we're brain surgeons or that we are like attorneys who defend important causes before the Supreme Court. This argument says, "We sell homes in a cutthroat business, and the early bird will get the worm." This argument says, "Getting seen and remembered is the name of the game."

What do I think? Go for it in small towns.

I think that if you live in a rural area, or small town, you should put a big fat sign on your car. No question about it.

Everyone knows you anyway, so signage will just make locals think that you are in way more places doing real estate business around town than you actually are, especially if competing agents sport no car signage themselves. I've heard people say to Realtors, "Man, you are EVERYWHERE!" just because the Realtor strategically parks his car with his car sign most evident to passers by.

Now, if you sell multi-million dollar homes, you might want to remove your car signs each time you transport a high-end buyer or seller for business or entertainment. Put the signs back on when you are just doing routine business around town.

Magnetic signs work best.

Kits to make your own magnetic sign can be bought at Staples and similar retailers for about $30 to $40. But you'll get a better sign if you go to a commercial sign business and have them make your sign. Why? Because then you can have your firm's logo and/or your photo on the sign in full color and get far more options for your layout.

Another reason to go commercial and pay a bit more, is that the sign firm keeps your artwork on file, so if you change a phone number, etc. or lose a sign, they can rush you an alternate, or a whole new sign, at a greatly reduced cost.

Just be sure that before you buy, you actually take one of their signs out to your car and check to see how strong the magnetic backing is, and see if it is the right size for your door. You should get a sign that is made with "industrial strength magnetic sheeting," not the wimpy magnetic backing used to stick stuff to your refrigerator. Be sure the sign maker supplies you with premium solid vinyl lettering and graphics, instead of paints or ink, which will fade.

See if the firm will round the corners of your sign. This helps prevent the wind from getting under the sign and blowing it off your car.

Most agents get a sign for both sides of their car, but if you get only one sign, put it on the driver's side door since that side shows when you parallel park alongside a curb.

Your name should be the biggest thing on your sign along with the word, "Realtor," so that people in a neighborhood know who and what you are in a flash. A Realtor friend of mine, while she was showing a property to buyers, has twice had neighbors see her car sign, then walk up and ask if they could have their home listed, too.

The next biggest item on the sign should be your phone number, email address, and your web site address -- just leave off the "www." This is partly to save space; after all, everyone knows what a URL looks like by now.

But I have a caution about signs.

Very rarely vandals, or young pranksters, yank magnetic signs off cars and then ditch them at the next empty lot or brushy area. My realty friends have searched DOWNHILL from where they'd parked and have soon found their driver's side sign. Twice, over ten years, good Samaritans have called them saying that they'd found their magnetic signs in their yard. The agents have had a string of luck because they've had the same set of signs now for five years with no loss.

Your sign on your car can promote you legally when no other agent's sign would be allowed under municipal codes: A wise Realtor shows up early for big city events and then parks his car along a curb, in the most visible spot, so that the bulk of motorists and/or pedestrians visiting the activity or place will be sure to see the magnetic sign.

Target audiences include crowds attending high school plays, rodeos, retail store grand openings, entrances to big shopping centers, bass fishing tournaments, amusement parks, high school sports, and so on.

There are times, though, when you do not want your sign on your car. For example: unguarded, public parking lots, "bad" neighborhoods, or when you get your car washed.

Whenever you remove your signs, lay them flat on a desk, table, the bottom of your car's trunk, on the side of the freezer or fridge in your garage, or other flat surface so that they do not bow or bend up at the edges when you put them back onto your car. It takes just a little bit of gap for the wind to enter and peel off a sign. But well flattened ones will stay on for years. Keep them looking new with a mild dish detergent and a kitchen sink sponge.

Some other options to consider:

• Personalized License Plates (Many good realty ones are already taken)

• License Plate Holders (Limited space)

• URL tags (Example: www.TailGateTags.com)

• Top-of-Vehicle Lighted Sign (Like Pizza Delivery firms use)

• Scrolling Electronic Sign (Like a mini-Jumbotron)

• Bumper Stickers (the old granddad of on-car signage)

These choices can vary from the discreet (classy URL tags) to the garish (scrolling colored electronic messages), so use them with care. To a degree, the hints above for magnetic signs apply to other signage options, too.

Bottom line? If you market in a small town, on-car signage may be perfect for you. If you sell in an upscale area, carefully weigh what upscale buyers might think of your car signs. You might consider removing them when you are driving such buyers around posh neighborhoods. And anyone routinely selling big luxury homes and driving a luxury car might ignore car signs altogether.

What's best? Who knows? Some agents even paint the sides of small trucks like billboards and park those vehicles around town. They often make the trucks available for clients to use as moving vans.

Is there a set of marketing rules for car signs? Like most marketing tactics, a lot of variables come into play. What do I suggest? Why not try it for a couple months and see what happens? Then ask people if they've noticed your car around town. If they have, you are making an impression … people are starting to link your name with buying and selling homes. And isn't that exactly what you wanted?