walk around with two signs one in front and one in the back. Realtors....

Actaully that was the strategy of dot com laid off engineers used. They found out mailing, internet sending resumes, calling people they thought were their friends produced no results.  Point is do what it takes to get your face, name out there. Don't messed up the deal  because unhappy clients can ruin your reputation by bad mouth you on the internet (Yelp etc.).  

Erica Simpson Tell everyone you meet, you are in real estate and pass out your business cards.

Good morning Erica. Blogging, blogging and more blogging, will translate into future business.

Erica Simpson - there is no one size fits all program and you'll have to try the one that suits your market and personality.

Most effective and cost effective?  Referrals.  Word of mouth is powerful, it might take some time but do a stellar job and the word spreads.  Hard work, happy clients has yielded the best ROI I have ever seen to date.

Walk your farm 1 hr a day min. 2 days a week

My recommendation is the same as Jack Lewitz . Work your sphere of influence and your niche. 

I think the best marketing plan is to learn your market and then tell people you are an expert and start with people you know to build up confidence and then ask them to refer you clients and then build a good client base. Finally be yourself and good things will follow you.

Erica, this really depends on what you have to work with.

What I mean is do you have a database of folks who know you, family, friends or distant relatives or people who share a common interest with your, or of folks who engage in activities with you or of work associates, business associates, education associates from your present and past. 

How one would approach these is different than the complete stranger. I would recomment a reconnect, personal letter.

For the stranger, referred to as the 'haven't met' group, you have choices regarding marketing to them using social media, placement ads, inbound marketing, adwords, sponsored links.....and...drum roll please.....I will publish a blog this week regarding using Pinterest for marketing your real estate services. Any of these can prove effective and prove to be best for you...but only if you commit to work it.

Most will chose direct response marketing, one of my favorites. Today, what  I have found the best method to get beyond their RAS is connecting your message to something the can SEE in their community. Then, focus your message to resonate only with the reader who has selling on their mind. Those are the only ones you want to respond, so focus your message and make sure your landing page aligns with the promise suggested in your mail. 

Face to face contacts provide the most effective marketing.