The Real Story on Paid Car Advertising

Drive for FREE! Earn Millions for doing nothing. Your car is your ticket to the car advertising bonanza.

Now that I have your attention, here's what "car advertising" is all about. You've seen the cars and trucks with ads plastered on them. Many of these vehicles belong to the companies. Some, however do not, and that's the area we are exploring today in paid car advertising. Many of these advertising programs come from marketing companies who are paid by their clients to get their name and brand visible in the market place. Advertising is an area of constant change where newer, bigger, better, and unusual seems to work. You might remember years ago when "brand placement" in movies was a big deal. A Coke sitting on the counter in a movie was seen as a huge win for the brand. Now paid car advertising is just another way to reach consumers.

People really do make money in paid car advertising. The amount of cash available is dependent on how much you want to drive, the area in which you live, and your willingness to drive near big events. Paid car advertising isn't a lot different than other forms. The biggest difference is you have a degree of control.

Private vehicles, most likely yours, are wrapped in high quality vinyl adhesive with graphic images promoting products and brands. These "wraps" are very colorful, different, and hard to miss because of their location. The wraps are fun as well as educational. They are spotted by motorists and pedestrians during the commute or outside on other business. Paid car advertising reaches consumers in places and conditions that internet, radio, television and print are ineffective. "Wraps" or paid car advertising are one of the only forms of advertising that cannot be switched off, tuned out or lost in a quicksand of other advertisements.

You can imagine the number of people today who would like to drive for pay. Couple that with a drop in advertiser spending, and it can be a little challenging. I've included links to reputable companies on this page so you have a place to start. You must be over 18, have your own vehicle and insurance, and be in an area that an advertiser is targeting. By the way, you don't get to know if you are in the area in advance. Most of the time when people aren't selected in these programs is for lack of paying advertisers. There are a few less than honorable companies in this business who "sell" you access to their list of clients. I haven't heard good stories on these companies.

There is another way to get paid car advertising. Sell it yourself. Really. Find a business you think could use advertising, or one you know advertises, and pitch them. A full car advertising "wrap" will cost $2-3000. You should be able to get $4-500 per month in ad revenue for driving. Put your own ad package together and sell it. $8000 minus expenses seems like a pretty good use of time and energy today.

There are honestly a lot of landmines to watch. I personally reviewed 20 sites on paid car advertising. Most were posted between 2000 and 2005 (when paid car advertising was new). They didn't look like they had been updated since then. Also, paid car advertising seems to be more in style in the UK and Australia. Local agencies in your area may differ of course. One way to feel out the honesty of these firms is their advertising on Google. If they have money invested in Google ads, there's a good reason to look deeper into the paid car advertising plan.

I noticed one other item that's worth mentioning when you are looking into any online activity. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has issued new rules pertaining to bloggers and how money changes hands. One of the big areas of focus is on "testimonials." Seeing testimonial copy that seems incomplete or slightly less than completely honest is afoul of the new FTC rules. I saw lots of that kind of advertising being done on many of the paid car advertising sites.