Yellow Book Advertising

I did the YP's last year, I received two calls, booked one job. So it paid for itself. My main reason for going to YP's was for people who already knew of me being able to look me up. It adds a bit of prfessionalism to be able to say your in the yellow pages.
My ad is just a bold name listing with web address.
It's not the best advertising, I get more work off of yard signs and lettering on the van.
Good luck.
Funny you brought this up, I just received my Advertising program in the mail today.
Sage

sage said:

... booked one job. So it paid for itself...

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You mean it cost you XXX, and you grossed XXX on the job?
Or really, it paid for itself out of the profits

It didn't pay for itself unless you grossed YYYY, and made XXX in profit, and the ad cost you XXX or less

Yes, it's a picky way of looking at it, but the only way to get an accurate assessment of the situation...it's also how your accountant, bookkeeper, loan officer, and government look at it

Slickshift,
Picky way of looking at things, yes, but you are right.
I oversimplified, it paid for itself out of the profits.
Sp is anyone else using YP's?

Advertised in the book, I get at least 2 calls a week..... from painters looking for jobs. Thats it.

sage said:

Slickshift,
Picky way of looking at things, yes, but you are right.
I oversimplified, it paid for itself out of the profits.
Sp is anyone else using YP's?

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I will be again this year.
Also will be using the Pink Pages.

You mean it cost you XXX, and you grossed XXX on the job?
Or really, it paid for itself out of the profits

It didn't pay for itself unless you grossed YYYY, and made XXX in profit, and the ad cost you XXX or less

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Uhh Ohh... my wife isn't going to let me hang out in here if she finds out about all the the XXX...

Wolverine said:

Uhh Ohh... my wife isn't going to let me hang out in here if she finds out about all the the XXX...

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Heard it on the X

George Z said:

Also will be using the Pink Pages.

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We've got yellow, white, and blue
No pink here

It depends a lot in the type of community you live in. If your in a retirement area a lot of people still use the yellow pages. But I think a lot of people use the online yellow pages now when they are looking for service or a search engine. I know I do. I always throw my yellow pages in the garbage.

The real issue is that they over charge for what they are offering. They used to be THE PLACE to advertise and therefore charged an arm and a leg. Now less people are using them but they haven't decreased their rates.

No Yellow Page ad here! Did it for years with low results..found most to be shopping us painters.
I invest in direct mail lists(Hill-Donnelly CD, starting USPS post card program) and oversized Post Card flyer inserts in newspaper. Im also on local Angie's List, and Service Magic.
Also, web site. I currently come up in top 5 of goggle search for my state and area as painting contractor.

yellow book...what's that?

People around here don't pick up that old thing anymore.

That's why I'm on yellowpages.com and many more place online :thumbsup:

(that is a great price on the 1/4 page add...up here it's over $200 per month)

1/4 page add in Milwaukee is anywhere from $800 to $1200 depending on what special they are running.

That's per month, two color.

I had 2 different ads in the yellow pages last year (2 different companies). One ad was 1/8 page and cost about $1200 a month. The other was just a bold listing and cost $59 a month.

The big ad got 54 leads, I sold 10 for $31K. The small ad got 29 leads, I sold 7 for $26K. The big ad cost $273 per lead. The small ad cost $24 per lead. We are only doing small ads this year.

The YP guys always tell you a bigger ad draws better. My experience confirms this. However, the cost per lead between the ads wasn't even close.

Brian Phillips

slickshift said:

We've got yellow, white, and blue
No pink here

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Drive out to the end of the Cape and ask any shop owner for their pink pages. P-Town and the Pink pages have something in common.

George, we conducted a small study last year and found that most people in our trade in the Pink Pages did not do much better than the yellow pages. Most had a lot of luck in the monthly gay papers. In your area Slick, the monthly paper is called the "Bay Windows".

Ah...lol...
I'm familiar with the Pride Pages out here
Not a ton of response for my type of deal though
Maybe it's too touristy

I'll look for the Bay Window
Thanks

On a personal note, I don't pick up a phone book for anything anymore

First off, there's way too many for my area, it's confusing
(YPages, YBook, OneBook, Verizon...)
Second, it's quicker and more accurate to anywho.com someone or something (always on cable high-speed)
Third, if it's a local service I need, I open up the C of C book first anyway

Someone puts out a mini-book I keep in the van, but that's it
It's great...for absorbing coffee spills

slickshift said:

Someone puts out a mini-book I keep in the van, but that's it
It's great...for absorbing coffee spills

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:laughing:
This, to me, is an excellent summary of the yellow pages type of advertising.

It is a dinosaur who's day has come. Right now the only reason any of us put adds in it is because it is necessary for a small percentage of our potential customers.

It has replaced the Sears catalog as outhouse TP. And, much like print journalism, it will be completely destroyed by the Internet. Unless they figure out a way to make themselves relevant again and fast.

Yp Ad

Hi,

In my neck of the woods we have 2 types of yellow books we have the one that can be used to chock a door or for a small child to sit on while getting his hair cut and the smaller version about the size of a hard cover novel. Im planning on advertising in the small version. Its $65 a month. There are 3 painters in there now? Is that a reg flag? Maybe the money can be better spent elsewhere.

Larry

FHI Decks & Windows said:

Drive out to the end of the Cape and ask any shop owner for their pink pages. P-Town and the Pink pages have something in common.

George, we conducted a small study last year and found that most people in our trade in the Pink Pages did not do much better than the yellow pages. Most had a lot of luck in the monthly gay papers. In your area Slick, the monthly paper is called the "Bay Windows".

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Most are in the downtown high end condo/decor type demographic.
It's a good market for us.

http://pinkpages.org/