3 Things Every Yellow Pages Advertiser Needs to Know
Too many business owners and marketers know that Yellow Pages advertising has an incredible amount of potential but they dont quite know how to take advantage of it.
Fortunately, its a mystery thats solved pretty easily once an advertiser knows where to turn for advice. There are fundamental truths about Yellow Page advertising that so many businesses fail to recognize, but once they do, they stand to capitalize on a sizeable reward. That said lets try to understand it a bit better, shall we?
1. Common Yellow Page advertising mistakes are simple to fix.
Very simple. You dont have to be a graphic designer or marketing expert to drastically improve your ad eitheryou just need to know your customers.
You see, most Yellow Page ads make the very same mistakes year after year directory after directory category after category. Some of the ads I see from professional design firms are riddled with mistakes too.
Of course they may look nicer... but that wont cut it in the Yellow Pages! While a professionally designed ad can certainly help grab attention, there is no substitute for ad content (read: words) if your goal is to generate a phone call.
And when it comes to Yellow Pages advertising, that's all that really matters.
By learning what makes a good headline, good body copy, and how to develop a strong offeryour Yellow Pages ad will run circles around an ad that just looks great, but makes the same mistakes most others are making.
An example? Using your name and logo as the headline...
Its disastrous and yet more advertisers do it than not. No one cares what you call yourself until they've decided to pick up the phone and actually call you.
Your company name does not win you business. So if your name and logo is at the top of your ad if its big and bold and takes up space if it takes the place of an attention grabbing, hard-hitting headline youve made a big mistake.
Next, heres fundamental truth number 2
2. Most Yellow Page ads are developed by the directory publisher.
Thats rightthe directory itself develops most of the ads you see. Thats a pretty unfortunate scenario if you think about it. What happens if they design your ad and 4 of your competitors ads? Whose ad stands out? Who gets the best ad content and the most original headline?
Thats not a risk youll want to take.
When it comes to Yellow Pages advertising those that know how to set themselves apart from the pack fare well. Nice design might get you noticed, but good ad copy grabs attention like a magnet and doesnt let it go.
Dont just hand the reins to someone else and let them develop your ad for you. Learn what it takes to generate response and play a role in developing that winning ad for your business.
Your design department will be happy to design your ad free of charge, but make sure you play an active role in developing the content. Because no one knows what makes your customers tick like you do!
3. Yellow Pages Advertising is different from just about EVERY other medium you use.
You might want to re-read that. Yellow Pages advertising is different because people see your ad when they are ready to buy. This is huge! Almost every Yellow Page ad I see takes the approach: This is who I am and this is what I offer.
Guess whatthats dead wrong!
All that matters in Yellow Pages Advertising are the reasons someone should choose you over your competition. Telling them what you offer does no good. They know what you offer! Theyre looking at your ad because their tooth hurts and they turned to the Dentist category.
Focus on why, with all of these options, they should choose you and youll be doing what so many advertisers before you have failed to include.
That is the information your prospects looked in the Yellow Pages to uncover. Give it to them. Give them a reason to pick up the phone and know youll provide them with something different something better.
Your prospects are a skeptical bunch. Make contacting you and giving your business a shot a risk-free, value-filled proposition for them. When done correctly this will give any usiness a tremendous edge over the competition.
Care to learn a little more?
Alan Saltz, the author, teaches Yellow Pages Advertisers how to boost their response and return on investment, using simple, but extremely effective techniques. To learn more about how to improve your own Yellow Pages ad, visit: http://www.YellowPagesProfit.com.
alan@YellowPagesProfit.com
Written by: Alan Saltz
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