How to Rent Your Own Billboard

In Los Angeles, it's common for the almost-famous to rent a billboard and advertise their silicone-and-plastic-enhanced selves to speed up the "discovery" process. Or maybe you have more business-minded needs, like promoting a company or product. Here's how to get thousands of motorists to glimpse your 6-foot-tall mug while speeding by.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Communicate your message in eight words or less. If the billboard is near fast-moving traffic, the lettering should be at least 3 feet (.9 m) high. Standard billboards range from 6 by 12 feet (1.8 by 3.7 m) on the small end up to 20 by 60 feet (6.1 by 18.3 m).

2. Determine your budget. Depending on size and location, expect to pay from $75 to $200 per month for rural sites, and from to $900 to $2,500 per month for city and interstate signs. If you're renting more than one billboard, negotiate a discount. The billboards on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood run $10,000 per month, whereas the monthly tab for the billboard in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is $525 entering town and $375 on your way back out.

3. Contact the advertising company that owns the billboard (usually posted on a lower corner). Most advertising companies will work with you on your objectives, budget, concept, design, execution and monitoring of traffic that passes by your ad.

Tips & Warnings

• If your cause is sufficiently just, a billboard company may be willing to donate billboard space. You'll still have to pay for the design, printing and mounting costs.

• Tests show that billboards motivate very few people to contact you unless you are giving away a gift or money.