Originally Posted by Std Deviation

Not out of the question. Most of the schools I worked for did little or no marketing. Look at the demographic most likely to fly -disposable income and/or adventure seeking. Back in the day I ran a $15 ad in a newsletter at several local hospitals. Pulled a couple of docs from that. Also did the same thing with a newsletter for police/fire.

Get creative. Putting flyers on cars in the Walmart parking lot won't do it. Go to where the fish are. Country club newsletters are great. After you get a few, you've got word of mouth. I brought so many students to one school that they started giving me some of theirs because I was a producer.

I have even used the FAA database to identify private pilots that own their own aircraft and mailed them a postcard for instrument training or BFRs.

Think like a business person in addition to an instructor.