A few years back I watched a guy pour $2,000 into Facebook ads for his business in one month.

You know how many actual customers he got?

Two.

Two customers. For two grand. He did the math on a napkin and about had a heart attack.

Here's what nobody tells you about social media advertising: you're not advertising to people. You're advertising to an algorithm. A robot decides who sees your ad, when they see it, and whether they see it at all, and that robot changes its mind every few months just to keep you paying more for the same reach you used to get for free.

Meanwhile, almost 6,000 people in this town open my inbox every single week. Not "reached." Not "impressions."

Opened. On purpose. Because they want to know what's happening in Redlands, and they've learned that RedlandsNow tells them straight, without the noise.

That's the difference between an ad and an introduction.

When your name shows up in RedlandsNow, it's not sandwiched between a stranger's vacation photos and an argument about politics.

It's sitting next to the story about the new restaurant on State Street, the Bowl schedule, the weekend everyone's already planning around. You're not interrupting anybody. You're part of what they came for.

I'm opening two sponsor spots for November.

Just two, because I'm not interested in turning this into a billboard; I'm interested in it staying something people actually read.

And since I'd rather have you see results than take my word for it, here's the deal: book one week, get two more free. Three weeks in front of nearly 6,000 local readers for the price of one.

Realtors, restaurants, performers, shops, anyone with something worth this town knowing about- this is your shot.

Two spots. First come, first served. Send us email to carlos@RedlandsNow.com before they're gone.