Get Results From Your Yellow Pages Ad
 By Patrick L. Wynne

With so many marketing options for reaching new customers, a small-business owner might be inclined to forget one staple that’s a superstar. It’s the perennial Yellow Pages ad.

Don’t be quick to rule it out of your advertising budget. An ad in the Yellow Pages offers a lasting impression, and it’s easy to gauge whether your ad is effective – two factors that mean value for your ad dollar.

Yellow Pages ads last all year, or at least until the next edition is delivered free to everyone with a phone, which is to say to virtually everyone. Add to that the simple conversation-starter, “How did you hear about us?” and you can zero in right away on the effectiveness of your ad in bringing in customers.

Now that you’re persuaded (you are, aren’t you?) of Yellow Pages ads’ value, there are a few things to keep in mind when buying yours.

Ad Size
The size of the Yellow Pages ad is the best way to distinguish yours from pages full of competitors. If all other factors are the same, the eye is drawn first to the largest element on a page. A full-page ad accomplishes this in spades.

When weighing how much you can afford, first weigh how large you can afford to go. Size generally also buys some preference in requesting strategic placement, such as at the beginning of a category of listings.

Boldness And Contrast
Boldness is the next factor to consider in attracting eyeballs. This can be accomplished in black ink, if done well.

An ad that stands out – good use of contrast with bold visual elements – need not be colorful. Indeed, many black ink ads exceed the attraction quotient of color ads simply because of their deft use of contrast.

Contrast makes use of empty space. As painful as it may seem to pay for unprinted space on a page, when that white space is properly used, it actually directs the eye to the adjoining, dominating graphic element, like a headline or a picture.

Don’t clutter your ad and disorient the eye. Use the empty space to your advantage.

Color
When used correctly, color can be extremely effective in luring the eye. But avoid the use of color for color’s sake. There’s nothing less effective than a kaleidoscopic jumble forcing readers to wade through a maze to decipher the message.

Yellow Pages users are in a rush. Make their hunting easy. Make your message clear, which can be especially difficult when the ad is too colorful.

The Message
Once you’ve attracted attention, you must deliver your message.

Headlines are read before body copy, and body copy is almost never read unless a headline has pulled the reader into it.

The headline is your gateway into your offer. The briefer, the better. But its message is all-important.

Benefits
That brings us to the heart of your ad. As with all advertising, whether it’s in headlines or body copy, don’t tout your company name or even your product’s features. Instead, play up the benefit for buyers.

People don’t shop for tools. They shop for solutions to problems, needs and desires. Try this: “Tools for every job, complete with instructions to make it effortless and worry free.”

Be careful. What you may regard as a benefit, may not be so easily understood that way by shoppers. “We are the biggest dealer in the state” requires readers to infer the significance to them. It’s better to say, “We have the largest selection in the state,” which conveys a distinct benefit.

Once you’ve delivered the benefits, bolster them with features: “Our wrenches are cast iron.”

Ad Creation
Now that you’re equipped with a basic understanding of how to create a Yellow Pages ad, it’s time for self-evaluation.

Are you or your employees capable of creating an ad that effectively touches all these bases? If not, hire a professional, either a graphic designer with a portfolio you can inspect or an agency that specializes in such ads.

Don’t rely on the Yellow Pages publisher to create the ad for you. They create most of them. That’s why most of them look alike. Set yourself apart.

(Posted October 2007)

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