Are the Yellow Pages
Putting Cash in Your Pocket Or Sucking Cash Out?

So what can you do to maximize returns and stop worrying?

First of all, know this—Yellow Pages Advertising has incredible potential. As a business owner, you have few other ways to reach prospects who are as targeted, and ready to buy as these. But naturally… your success depends on the quality of your ad. And when it comes to ad content, far too many advertisers are quite simply… lost.

“The red-hot commodity of the Information Age?... Why that would be the Yellow Pages… It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
Fortune July, 2003

There are few places to turn. It makes for an unpleasant situation for the honest businessperson trying to harness the tremendous potential of such a perfectly targeted medium. And so, most advertisers rely on the Yellow Pages design department, who, as it turns out, develop most of the ads in their directory.

It’s hard to differentiate your company if that’s the case, don’t you think?

While many advertisers fail to develop an ad that draws a strong response, that doesn't mean it's difficult to do. In fact, because of the mistakes that “riddle” just about every subject heading, there's an amazing opportunity for the business owner that does his homework. If you’re reading this article, you’re doing your homework.

“How come we still have the Yellow Pages? They Work. You don’t go to the Yellow Pages and look up pizza unless you’re planning to order pizza.” Fortune July, 2003

What Yellow Page success boils down to is ad content. Not color. Not professional design.

Sure, those things matter too; but they are nowhere near as important as the words you use to fill your ad. People turning to the Yellow Pages have already determined that they need you. They just need to know whether they should call company A, B, or C.

Their choice doesn’t depend so much on color or design, as it depends on what you offer that your competitors don’t -- the policies you hold yourself to that give consumers faith in you and your business -- they way you build credibility, and actually give a prospect insight into "how" you do business.

Here is a point you need to understand… Listing the brand names you carry and the “laundry list” of products or services you offer don’t build credibility. They don’t set you apart from your competitors who offer the same thing!

Plenty of other things do. And chances are you embrace those policies and those hassle, and risk removing, motivators already. You probably do quite a bit for your clients that make their lives easier, more lucrative, more pleasant, and so on. You probably have credibility boosters that you’ve never considered including.

And that is because you may not realize the power they have in motivating an eager prospect to act. Iron-clad guarantees… customer testimonials… rock-solid offers for new customers… a headline that goes well beyond your logo and company name; these are things that work wonders in a targeted, ready-to-buy medium such as the Yellow Pages.

When your competitors focus on the same "laundry-list" of products and services offered - they only appear like AN option. Use the copy points I talk about above, and you show your prospects why you're A GOOD option.

There's a huge difference.

That’s what the Yellow Pages are all about, right... showing an eager prospect why they should call you instead of one of your competitors.

Legal Theft - How to Squeeze the Most From Your Yellow Pages Ad Budget