garyk said:
Simply not true.
Late last year, I met 3 local accountants.
Before meeting each of them, I looked at their ads in the YP and concluded that:
Ad 1 wasn't producing results.
Ad 2 might be paying for itself, might not.
Ad 3 was the best and was probably turning a profit.
On meeting with a/c's, I learned that:
Ads 1 & 2 weren't producing responses, but ad 3 was a real money spinner, returning a solid profit.
(BTW, the ads were all about the same size)
Of course, two of the accountants told me why the YP is a waste of time. What's the saying about poor workmen blaming their tools?
Saying "the yellow pages doesn't work" is like saying direct mail doesn't work because you sent out some letters and got no response or that websites don't make money because yours doesn't bring in any business.
The simple truth is that there are a hell of a lot of businesses, in a hell of a lot of different industries, making very good profits from their yellow pages ads.
So, it's a very useful marketing tool.
However, it has to be used properly.
That means:
(1) you only use it if it's right for your business
(2) you have a good ad
The second one is the key.
Most YP ads look like they were slapped together in 5 minutes based on someone's business card. There's no selling point, no offer, and no understanding of how the YP differs from other forms of advertising.
And, as a result, no business generated by the ad ....
Steve
