My first year out I direct mailed 100 postcards to local business that I hand picked. I got about 10-12 calls for quotes, and closed on about half of them.
I also ran an ad in the local paper. That netted zero commercial calls, and the only residential calls were little old ladies that wanted plowed three days after the storm. It also netted some calls from people that drove over their driveway for days, and had 2" of hardpack that could not be scraped up. I did not get any "regular" customers from the local paper.
After my first season out, I have not had to advertise, and can pick and choose accounts.