How much money do you spend on your listings?

I posted a blog yesterday showing off what one agent was doing with an aerial photo to help promote a unique listing, and it sparked a discussion about spending money to promote your listings. Since I'm not a real estate agent, I don't honestly know what is normal and customary.

How Much Do YOU Spend On Each Listing?

Does it depend on the listing itself? Or do you have a fixed budget for each listing? How do you decide - gut feeling? Or stick to some plan you learned? Do you ever ask the seller to pay for your marketing services up front?

Has the slower real estate market caused you to cut back on your marketing efforts? Or just the opposite as you realize that it takes extra effort to help get your home noticed amongst so many competing listings. Or do you just hang a sign and hope?

I'd love to hear answers and get a conversation started on this topic. Hear your successes and failures. Did you do something special for a past listing that really paid off? Did you spend good money promoting a listing only to have the seller turn around and burn you in the end?

What are your feelings on "buying" customer loyalty? Is this a good idea or a foolish one these days? Can successful listing agents buy up the current market because they can afford to promote more heavily than the typical part-timer who's also working working full time at a warehouse job? Or are successful listing agents cutting back too?

Where do you stand on this issue? I am very, very curious - and I'm sure others are too.

Thanks for sharing!