Do Yellow Pages Ads Still Work?
People pick up the Yellow Pages only when they are hot to buy.
Because of the eager nature of Yellow Pages users, the Yellow Pages are probably the most competitive form of advertising on the planet. Nowhere else on earth are direct competitors listed and competing on the same page — right next to each other as in the Yellow Pages.
But competition is hardly your biggest concern. If you’re looking to increase Yellow Pages profits and attract clients faster than competitors there’s something you MUST know about advertising in the Yellow Pages.
“Old school” printed directories are starting to fall behind internet searches for local vendors.
Many consumers rarely keep printed directories in the home anymore. This has only fueled competition for the attention of millions of businesses and consumers who still reach first for the directories.
What can a business do to gain competitive advantage? And even more, where can they truly get independent advice on creating Yellow Pages ads that work?
Nowhere.
Well, almost nowhere.
We live in a world where most Yellow Pages advertising ‘advisors’ are nothing more than commissioned sales reps in disguise.
After two years of researching the Yellow Pages industry and interviewing business owners who’ve paid for ads in the Yellow Pages the overwhelming response is…Yellow Pages is mostly a huge rip-off. There is a small group of business owners who say otherwise though.
What makes the difference for those Yellow Pages advertisers? Overwhelmingly the difference came down to who created the Yellow Pages ad. This may shock you but, staff members of the Yellow Pages directories are NOT taught much more than how to cut-and-paste your name, phone number, and photo and logo into a general set of Yellow Pages Ad design templates that all Yellow Pages directories are using.
What’s wrong with that?
To be totally to the point…those Yellow Pages templates suck. They were never created to make phones ring. They were simply created to included enough elements necessary to appeal to a business owner’s ego. That’s usually your logo, company name, some dumb slogan, and a picture of you and your staff.
Paying thousands of dollars a year for a Yellow Pages ad that is nothing more than a vanity piece is dumb. The Yellow Pages is no place for entering a popularity contest. Business owners must advertise to make money. Not to stroke egos.
Come on. Deep down you feel it’s true. Yellow Pages ad design templates are only designed to get people to buy a Yellow Pages ad, not designed to make money for ad buyers.
Really, if even one ad created by the directories gave a company a clear competitive advantage of one business over another, the vast majority of advertisers would leave. Why pay thousands for an ad only to find the directories have designed a better ad for your competitors?
The directories know people think this way. So instead of creating ads that place one company above another they will give you an ad that is basically sterile. Neutered.
But there is a better way. And it doesn’t involve paying a single penny to Yellow Pages directories.
You can learn more about getting the most from your Yellow Pages ad in this free guide I recently put together for advertisers: Yellow Pages Advertising guide
