The Dos & Don'ts of Yellow Page Advertising

In a smaller town with one main book, the Yellow Page ad usually proves to be a valuable investment for most business owners, but only if the ads are good! Let's start off by looking at some of the common mistakes that are made in Yellow Page ads and how to avoid them.

1) Unless your business is almost totally dependent on the yellow pages, say like a rental car company, a self-storage facility, or a locksmith, do not spend all of your advertising money on yellow pages. Do not go in several different books either; it costs too much money. Pick the best book and spend the rest of your money on local print and direct mail advertising. Try to keep your yellow-page cost to a maximum of 30% of your monthly advertising budget, preferably less.

2) Do not waste space with useless information. The space costs too much money to waste. Every time you design a Yellow-Page ad, picture a square filled with hundred-dollar bills, because that's what that ad really is -- your money. Come up with the very best way to use this space to your advantage.

3) Do not, as many businesses do, put a big headline like AUTO SALES, when the yellow pages have already done that for you at the top of the page. If you are in the auto section, you don't have to waste space telling people that.

4) Do not use reverse type for any more than a single line. While ad reps
will tell you that it makes your ad stand out, what it actually does is makes your ad 25% harder for the human eye to read. Now why would you want to do a thing like that?

5) Do not pay extra for several different colors -- it's not worth the extra money! Unless you get it thrown in as part of the deal, which you often can just by asking!

6) Do not let the Yellow Pages typeset your ad, they will screw up it up if they can. Take it to a graphics shop or print shop and have them do it for you. It will only cost a few bucks, and you will know that the phone number and ad are correct. Trust me on this one, it's painful to wait 12 months for the phone to ring because they listed the wrong phone number. It’s happened to me, it won’t ever happen to me again!

7) If you were in ad sales you would take the trouble to learn something about ads, wouldn’t you? Most don’t! Do not let the advertising representative design your ad. They know nothing! They are there to sell you space, let them do that and nothing else.

8) Do not use a photograph unless it is perfect. That means a picture with excellent clarity and a contrasting background. When you print with high volume presses on low quality paper, the photograph will get 20%-30% darker. In many cases your photo ends up looking like a black cat in a coal cellar at midnight. Only use good, clean photos and drop out the background to make them even better.

9) Do not point the photograph off the page or at somebody else's ad. This takes the reader’s eye with it. The picture or graphic should always be facing the information you want the reader to READ!

10) Do not make the ad so cluttered or the type so small that it is hard to read or people will just pass your ad over
and go to the next. Use 12-point or larger type, 55% of Americans can’t read anything smaller.

Yellow Pages Do's

People who read the Yellow Pages are in a buying mood! Help them make the decision to choose your business by providing clear, simple and useful information about you and what you offer!

1) Use a benefit in your headline for your Yellow Page ads. Try to use the words YOU, YOUR, YOURSELF or

FREE in the headline.

Give your child a head start in life at XYX preschool!
You don’t pay unless we collect!
Family Pizza Centers are Fun!
Free estimates in writing!

2) Put a distinctive border around your ad to isolate it from the others and to make it Stand out. A bold black border is fine, although you can do a custom frame that ties in with your business. For example an art gallery might use a picture frame. Shadow the bottom line of your ad and the right side to give your ad a 3D look and make it stand out more.

3) Use a few and well chosen short buzz sentences that offer benefits:
* Family Pizza close, affordable & fun!
* Lose weight and Increase your fitness for a longer, healthier life!
* The Computer Doctor offers same-day repair or replacement on all hardware!

Notice that each of these sentences provides a clear and direct benefit to the reader as opposed to putting a bullet that tells them nothing.

4) Use a picture that appeals to all the groups you are trying to reach. By showing a man, women and children in an ad, you say that you offer something for each of these groups without having to use up valuable copy space to do so.

5) Make the phone number easy to find. That means putting it at the bottom of your ad in large type! Try to get a phone number that is easy to remember like 589-5000, 589-1234 or 555-GOLF. Then tell the readers what you want them to do, CALL NOW !!!!

6) When negotiating for space, remember that ad space is blue sky. Once you get the best price that you can for a plain display ad, start asking for more. Ask for free spot color, additional free boldface listings, or even a second ad. You don't get anything by not asking, and you will often be surprised at what you do get!

7) If there are other similar businesses close to yours, put a small map in your ad and give a major landmark that the caller will recognize. Across from Wal Mart. Once you have gone to all the trouble of doing a good ad, the last thing you need is a prospect going to the wrong business.

8) Plan in advance, don't wait until the last minute when you will be forced to settle for a less than perfect ad. Call your Yellow Pages today and find out what the deadline is for their next book. Then make your own deadline six weeks ahead of the final deadline. Always insist on seeing a final proof of your ad before it is printed. Once a phone number is printed wrong, it stays wrong all year!

9) Once you have gone to the trouble of designing a good Yellow Page ad, don't blow it by having an answer machine on the other end of the phone. People who are using the yellow pages want answers now. If they get your answer machine, the chances are that they are simply going to call the next listing in the book, even if it is an inferior ad. To avoid this terrible fate, consider: Getting an answer service. Forwarding the number to your home. Or carrying a mobile phone around with you.

10) Last, but not least, make sure you train yourself and your staff on good telephone procedures. Over 50% of your potential clients can be lost on the first phone call.