| |
| |
|
Advertising Information - YourOnlineClassifieds.com - Home |
|
|
|
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 don't quite know how to take advantage of it. Fortunately, it's a mystery that's 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? let's try to understand it a bit better, shall we? 1. Common Yellow Page advertising mistakes are simple to fix. Very simple. You don't have to be a graphic designer or marketing expert to drastically improve your ad either-you 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 won't 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 offer-your 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... It's 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 it's big and bold and takes up space? if it takes the place of an attention grabbing, hard-hitting headline? you've made a big mistake. Next, here's fundamental truth number 2? 2. Most Yellow Page ads are developed by the directory publisher. That's right-the directory itself develops most of the ads you see. That's 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? That's not a risk you'll 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 doesn't let it go. Don't 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 what-that's 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! They're 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 you'll 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 you'll 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? About The Author 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.
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Grab Your Share of Untold Amounts of Advertising Dollars If you advertise in any way, the following information could show you how to find and utilize untold advertising dollars you may not be aware of.In the mid 80's I was an account executive for a radio station located in Santa Rosa, California. 11 Ways To Make Your Business Cards Work For You 1. Spend money on decent quality business cards. Advertise Where Its Forbidden To The most common way to drive people to your business site is advertising. You cannot succeed without advertising, this is a fact. Top Jingle Companies: What to Look For, What to Expect The internet offers you the opportunity to seek out jingle companies and listen to their jingle samples online. Your success depends upon a thorough evaluation of as many companies as possible. Finding Your Target Market Achieving sales is probably the biggest challenge a web business owner has. It requiresa balanced mix of the right products, competitive pricing, optimal web design, aggressive advertising and attracting the right online visitors. Too Much Build-Up: Over-Zealous Ad Copy Can Break The Sale How many times has this happened to you?A friend recommends a film that just came out: "You've GOT to see this movie! It's SO (funny, scary, suspenseful, etc.). Advertising That Annoys: The Real Story Critics conclude that entertaining or "creative" commercials sell better than those that are bland. But liking the commercial may not really be that important in the scheme of things. Dont Put All Your Eggs in The Same Basket Solution: You can protect yourself by partnering with other lead sources because it is unlikely that they will all have a problem or technical issue at the same time.Other alternative: It doesn't hurt either to use a few marketing tools to generate leads for your business. Turn Your Ad Copy into a Goldmine! Today, more than ever, it is crucial that your ad copy explodes the reader's curiosity. Are you interested in simple yet powerful ways to improve your ad copy so your readers will rush to action? Invoking a reader's call to action can be communicated in various effective ways. Seven Ways to Kick Up the Power of Your Print Advertising - More Small Business Power Tools If you're a retailer and the only kind of advertising you do is built around sales events, you don't need much in the way of advice. All your advertising needs to do is spell out as clearly as possible what's on sale, the amount to be saved and your store's name, address and phone number. How Can All the Radio Stations Be #1? Are you confused by all the information you receive from various radio stations? Do they all tell you they are #1 and you don't know who to believe? Most of them probably are #1 so believe it or not, they aren't lying to you. The question is, "What are they #1 in and is it a group of ears you want to reach?"Quite often a radio "Account Manager" or "Account Executive" which are pseudonyms for radio sales person, receives a call from someone who states they are gathering information for someone else, the real decision maker, someone who is looking at radio as a possible advertising medium. A $40 Million Dollar Little Known Referral Strategy Would you like to know how a car wash chain with only 12 locations has cleaned over 33,373,975 cars and has an annual revenue of over $40 Million (that is not a misprint) using little to no paid advertising?Well, sit forward because I'm about to tell you. The company name is "Car Spa" and here's how I discovered their brutally effective referral strategy. How to Write B2B Ads That Catch Customers Are your business-to-business ads working for you? If they are not making sales, are they at least generating interest in your company? Are they making an impression on your potential customers by making you stand out in a crowd? If not, then you should take a look at this article and get those ads working hard for you.Don't just fish for customers, catch them!1. Custom T-shirts -- Put Your Company Logo on Cotton! An effective way to gain company recognition is to order custom t-shirts with your company name, logo, phone number, and other important information on them. You can use customized apparel to outfit your employees as well as to contribute a sense of professionalism and reliability to your company. How to Make Your Claims Believable When you hear claims like??Best Lawnmower in the country?Absolute Lowest Prices In Existence?Leaves your hair cleaner than any other shampoo?do you believe them?Or is there a certain degree of doubt in your mind about their credibility? Or whether they are 'hyped up'?Think about it. Everybody expects advertisers to exaggerate their claims. What To Do With Your Business Cards Without a plan to distribute your cards, there'sno need to print them in the first place.Many fall into the trap of thinking all thethinking about business cards is over once theorder is placed. For All Those People Who Struggle With Benefits and Features For Everyone Who Has Ever Struggled Sorting Out Benefits From Features - "SWAT Them!"SWAT is not actually an acronym. It is a compaction of the question "so what?"You see, one of the biggest problems that even experienced copywriters and marketers fall into is being clear on what benefits their product or service actually delivers to their customers. How to Know if Direct Mail Will Work for Your Business Here's a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready? Some people say one thing and do the opposite. Predictions for 2010 2005 puts us at the mid-point of the first decade of the new millenium. What will things look like at the end of the 1st decade of the new millenium in the world of advertising? I thought I'd project where the ad industry is headed and what 2010 (or sooner) might look like. Marketing Tips For Small Business - Advertising That Works, Part I Have you ever seen an ad on television that was beautiful, slick, and stylish but didn't fit the product? How about a magazine ad that, though gorgeously photographed, didn't make it clear what was being sold? Or have you heard a catchy radio ad that neglected to give contact information? If you pay attention, you'll notice these money-wasting advertisements in all types of media.If a corporation puts out a bad advertisement, the marketing department will have the resources and budget to make a mid-course correction (sometimes).
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
youronlineclassifieds.com - home | site map
üClick Here to Earn - an ongoing, monthly residual income - a very SUBSTANTIAL monthly income - even if you don't have a website! |
| © 2006 |
