Advertise on Your Car for Money

So, if these programs are real, the question becomes:

"Can you advertise on your car for money?"

Well, advertisers pay bus companies and transit systems today for the very same thing. Why not on cars as well which go to destinations these buses and light rail systems can't or don't visit?

Now, these companies are looking for some very specific things to make sure they actually make money off of the ad campaign.

They want drivers with cars that look good. You don't have to be driving a Mercedes but you might not have a lot of luck if you're driving an old Buick with half the side smashed in. That's not really going to give consumers the message the company has in mind.

It also helps if you live in or drive through large cities. If you live way out in the middle of nowhere, well, not enough people are going to see the ad wrap advertising on the side of your car to make it worth the cost of the marketer's campaign. But if you live in a populated area and there's always traffic, people and hubbub in your neck of the woods, then you stand a much better chance of being chosen for such a program.

Drive a lot? Your odds go up again. The more time you spend on the road, the more people will see the ad on your car and the more effective the campaign is for the company running the ad. When you sign up for these programs, you're going to be asked how much you drive per month specifically so they can calculate how many people will be exposed to the ad.

Photo by: Mulad CC BY 2.0

While some companies might look for their own drivers and put out an ad in the paper looking for local folks to allow them to put advertising on their car in exchange for a monthly payment, most companies now use a service to find and select these drivers for them.

You'll need to look for these companies online. Most have a site where you can register and apply right online to be considered. Some are free and spend a lot of time screening out applicants. Some charge a monthly fee for you to be a member and then match you with potential campaigns in your area. One such company is TheFreeCar.

For $29.50, you can enroll in their program for a year. That works out to just under $2.50/month. Or, for an even better deal, you can sign up for a five year membership for $39.50. That's only $0.66 a month. That's really nothing more than a service fee for them to administer the contract agreement.

What I like about TheFreeCar is that they have offices in not only the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Spain. They're a large and growing operation.

Photo by: f_fuentes CC BY-SA 2.0

You don't have to do any work to get the ad placed on your car. Once you're matched with an advertising program, the service company will make arrangements to put the ad on your car. This can be done at your home, depending on where you live, or may require that you take the car to a pre-arranged shop to have the work done.

The ad wrap on your car will not damage your car. When your ad campaign is over, the company arranges for removal of the ad.

Maybe this was your first question. We always want to know the cash opportunity, right? Well, the answer depends on a few things, most of all the price the company is willing to pay for their ad.

In 2006, Microsoft alone spent over $11 billion in advertising, according to Marketing Pilgrim. That's one company, one year, a couple of years ago. That is a LOT of money. Hundreds of billions of dollars a year are spent on advertising.

As more and more people are using DVRs to record their television shows and skipping past commercials, advertisers are eagerly seeking new ways to get their advertising in front of buyers. In 2006, there were about 134 million registered vehicles in the US. Microsoft could have paid $80 a month for the ad space on every one of those cars and saved themselves $268,000,000. Again, one company - one year.

TheFreeCar reports that you can get paid anywhere from $100-$3,200 a month to advertise on your car for money. Obviously, $3,200 a month is going to be unusual. Averages have been reported in other articles of around $400-500 a month. I know that covers my car payment!