Deduct Advertising Expenses For Rental Property Acquisition?

[Jason Phillips]

This may be obvious, but I couldn't confirm in my NOLO deduction guide so asking here: I know I can write off the advertising costs associated with advertising my rental property once I own them, but can I deduct the advertising costs related to finding and acquiring my rental property?

For example, if I want to spend some money advertising to find my next rental (let's say via a direct mail campaign), can I write that off as a start-up or operating expense if the goal of the campaign is to acquire an off-market property to turn into a rental?

Thanks in advance for your input.