Q: Do you know of any members of LERN that allow for advertising space in their CE brochures? This is an idea we have discussed, but I wanted to find out if others in the industry are doing this kind of marketing.

A: There are a few LERN members who sell ads in their brochures. However, LERN does not recommend this. There are several reasons why it might not be a good idea:

1. If you have a non-profit, bulk-mail permit for your mailings, you can lose your non-profit status if you include advertising. The Post Office has enforced this regulation very rigorously over the past few years.

2. If you are found not to be in compliance with postal regulations you run some risk of having your brochures be returned or not delivered

3. Advertising may not be a real source of income. Although you can sell an ad and receive money for it, you may actually make more money by offering courses that have the potential to generate more income than an ad would do. If you do sell space for ads, you should calculate how much your average course generates, and base your ad charges on that number. You should not sell space for less than your average course would generate.

4. If you are a non-profit, and the ads you include are directly related to your mission, then you may not have any risk that your program is in violation of postal regulations. You should, however, check with your postmaster before including any paid advertising in your brochure.