Advertising in the Yellow Pages
When you think of yellow page advertising, you probably think of the stone age but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Millions of people today still rely on the yellow pages to look for the business they need. They use it because it’s easy to browse, easy to find what they need and it’s a lot handier than booting up a computer and searching for a few minutes on the computer for what they need. Sure, the Internet is helpful but for the older generations, it’s a lot easier to pick up the yellow pages.
Businesses today say they generate over 50% of their sales from the yellow pages. Don’t you want in on that 50%? Yellow page ad creation shouldn’t be done in five seconds, instead there are a lot of things you need to know about this ad and I’m going to point them out so that you can create that perfect ad, so that you have customers knocking over your door.
Don’t be cheap- The first thing you want to understand is that you don’t want to be cheap with your ad placement. Generally, the bigger your ads, the more you’re going to pay but many business owners have paid the extra money and it has paid huge dividends!
Test your ad copy – When you think you have written a great ad copy, you may find it’s not doing too hot. Generally, if you’re doing about 2-3% of your sales from the yellow pages, you’re not doing too hot and you should change it up. You’ll be surprised at how many people you can get just based on changing a few words. Tweaking and testing will take you a long ways.
How do I write an ad copy?
If you’re confused on how to write an ad copy, I’ll show you some tips and tricks that you can use that can hopefully help your business.
Ask a question. The first thing you want to do is ask the potential customer a question. Say you’re selling golf lessons. You could start it off by saying “Are you struggling with golf?” The potential customer will naturally say yes and continue to read the ad.
Show some creditability. The next thing the customer wants is some creditability. They don’t want to work with someone that has been in the business for 2 days. Instead, write something like “Servicing the metro area since 1995 offering low rate prices.” or “Helping new golfers play like pros within weeks.” Customers love to see things like this and if they feel comfortable with it, they will trust you.
Let them know how they can pay. People want to know what you accept. If you accept credit cards, definitely let them know it. If you accept cash, checks, etc, you have to let them know how they can pay you. The more options you have, the better.
Be creative. Don’t let your ad seem boring to the reader. If it’s boring, they are going to skip right over it. Instead, add some creativity to it to make them want to read further into it. If you don’t have a creative mind, try hiring someone to do the dirty work for you.
Give LOTS of info. When you have a yellow page ad, don’t worry about making it too cluttered. The customer is there to get information. The more you give, the more they can learn about your company. It’s never bad to give too much in a yellow page ad.
Now that you know a few tips for when it comes to creating a successful yellow page advertisement, I thought I’d create a sample ad on the example we used earlier with the golf lessons –
IS YOUR GOLF GAME STRUGGLING?
Get the golf lessons you deserve this spring without hurting your wallet. Certified golf lessons from a true professional. Servicing the Metro area for more than 15 years.
[include a logo / picture here]
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Certified PGA golf trainer
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The lowest priced golf lessons in the area, guaranteed!
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Choose your lesson package, we fit your needs!
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We’re as flexible as you are when it comes to scheduling.
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We accept all forms of payments (credit cards, checks, money order)
Speedy Golf Lessons
123 Main St
Deroit, MI
1-800-GOLF-LESSONS
Act now – spots fill fast!
There you have it, that’s one ad that would look fantastic in the yellow pages. If it didn’t work well, we could simply cut and tweak things until it did work for us. When you’re running your business, the yellow pages are an area you shouldn’t pass up!
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