Eric Marke, i understand. My partner was with them until about a year and a half ago. Then he went with a less expensive policy with a different company. He cut his monthly cost in half but regretted it when he had to have knee surgery and the cheaper policy with the bigger deductible left him paying more than what he saved...I envy you. We're somewhat limited to the Las Vegas Review Journal & I don't think $55 gets more than a couple of words, in fact they charge $25 just to include your URL. Better ROI with PPC here.
With listings of 700+, hire a pro! Have your own camera, (yes I like Canons & they have wide angles) but a pro can get the lighting & angles so much better than an amateur with he best camera. The shots you take can be good fill in for blog posts, etc. We keep telling our clients how they need to hire a professional, full time Realtor so don't turn around & skimp with anything less on the photos.
They're not cheap, but I've had BC/BS for years. When my late husband was undergoing cancer treatments, they were better than I expected so I've stuck with them even when I moved to NV.
+Linden Moe unfortunately, most of the little hyper locals you saw are from Greenspun Media, publisher of the main paper. I did get results from the sort of "free list" ads you're describing a few years ago, even though they were $$$, but they gradually got a lesser response.