I've found the bags you can use at supermarkets work well.  (We add a cleaning product and care instructions.  People use to save on plastic and get discounts at store + they advertise us while there.

A good pen with a decent slogan/contact worked wonders for me. I ordered different colors too and let people choose. Highly recommended

Recyclable bags are my favorite, since everyone likes them and uses them all the time. 

I have purchased promotional pens in the past and used them at open houses.   I'm not so sure they were particularly effective in marketing and in the end(not such great writing implements either).    Not great customer service from the distributor either.  

We just got beach towels in. It's been a good pop-by gift in our beach community.

The best thing I have received results on and they last a long time is Calender white boards.   I was just at a cients house and m white board was up from 2012.. lol

We have magnets for the different towns we service and they have a spot for the Agents card and a list of important phone numbers like police,library,trash pick up, hospital, etc.  Not everyone is computer or Google savvy.

I use notepads and sport schedules,  if people do not get them they call.  Captainnotepad.com  are great.

I only use calendars.

I have found magnets and postcards work really well for me.

People love my pens and know me from them. Plus I hand them out to walkins. We do get quite a few in my office. I don't use cheap pens. I have the barrel ones from National Pen. They write well, and I get complimented on them all of the time. I drop them off at the same business about every two months. 

In the summer, water bottles at Open Houses with personalized labels seem to be a huge hit.

I use business card magnets and calendar magnets and send to my database.

A realtor got 2000 grocer bags and handed out at local farmers market. Before you know every other person in small town walk around with her name on it. One needs to get better quality as the real cheap ones do not last.

yearly calendars that are nice. . .  appointment calendars. . . . always brings me referral clients. . . .

Large Calendars ..every home I walk into has mine up!!

I have found pens work and magnetic football game calendars, depending on the areas. I have used both and the pens for open houses and the calendars mailed to farms.

Kenneth,

We actually designed a notepad with the brand for one of our clients who actually knocks on doors in one of the high end communities in Santa Barbara.  His people love them.

Another client in a mid range market sends annual magnet calendars.  Her people call to make sure she is sending them one.  A

I used to hand out ball point pens.  Nobody phoned me and said "I saw your name on a ball point pen", but it may have helped with the branding.

No open house anymore.

I have used notepads in the past that produced positive ressults.

parked and reading...

I send our annual calendars and note pads with my business cards attached throughout the year. I do not farm and do not hold open houses.

Kenneth Cameron - I have never used such promotional items in my marketing! Only once I bought some magnetic calendars - and I still have them - did not give away all.

None of the above.  I do very different types of things to be remembered, none of which has my name imprinted on an item. Message me direct and I will give you some examples.  I don't want to offend anyone by uploading photos...

Just calendar magnets with house tips on them. 

Farm & PC

NO to open houses.

I don't do promotional products.  I love signing listing agreements when some other realtor's scratchpad is on the refrigerator door.  Especially when you find out they never even thought about calling that realtor!

I don't invest in money sinks

Kenneth Cameron In my opinion, promotional products only benefit the people who sell them.

Promotional products have limited value. I use pens provided by the title company or the lenders I suggest.

I don't use any

Though I do get lots of fun samples from Myron every month and occassionally order some stuff for staff and select clients, I think that serious prospects would prefer good information over a pen or a calendar.