More Reasons To Move Your Yellow Page Advertising From Print To Pixel
Recent years have seen a massive decline in yellow page advertising
, and with good reason. You only have to look at the decline of print advertising in general to realize that the yellow pages can't be far behind. Newspapers are going out of business, a phenomenon that some blame solely on the success of Craig's List. Yellow Pages Goes Green has started a movement to charge directory publishers $5 per unwanted book they distribute.
* Fewer people receive the print version of the yellow pages. With more and more households dropping their land line phones in favor of cell phones, advertisers are finding their print ads are not reaching as many consumers as they once did.
* A crowded, dusty marketplace taints all the vendors. Print yellow pages are all about getting the most ads on a single page. How can a consumer be expected to find what they are looking for in that kind of environment? How can your customer find YOU when your ad is crammed between the ads of your competitor?
* How do you even know you're reaching your target market? Sure, you might do one of those "mention this ad for 10% off your first order" promos, but does that work? How many people have actually mentioned that ad? The fact is, there is no good way to test the effectiveness of a yellow page ad.
* Even if you could test its effectiveness, you couldn't change it. What good does testing an ad do if you're stuck with it anyway? With print yellow pages, you're married to that ad for a year or more. Better hope you like it!
* Want to actually talk to your customers? Don't use print. Print ads are one-sided. You can talk, but there is no way to interact, and without interaction, your customers are simply not going to stick around very long. They can go to the local big box store if they want to be treated like a number. They don't need it from you.
* They expect you to pay exorbitant fees, too. An average display ad in a print yellow page directory will run you more than $7000 per year. For that you get an ad that's permanent, in a book few people receive, and even fewer want.
There Must be a Better Way to Get Your Ad in Front of Your Customer
Online yellow page directories are the way small businesses will advertise in the future. With nearly 75% of Americans having access to the Internet, it makes sense that they would turn to Google when researching a purchase.
Online yellow page ads aren't crammed onto low quality recycled paper with a hundred other ads. They're easy to find with common search terms, whether the searcher heads directly to the site, or just uses Google like she's always done. Online ads are flexible, colorful, and interactive.
Even better for small businesses with limited advertising budgets, online directory listings don't have to be as expensive as their offline counterparts. With no typesetting fees, ink and paper costs, or minimum print runs to worry about, online advertising is much more cost effective for both the advertiser and the publisher.
Online directories are a win-win-win situation. The consumer gets easy to find solutions to her problem. Businesses get less expensive advertising with more exposure. Publishers get lower production costs and increased profits.
Does that mean you should cancel your print campaign? That's going to depend on the return you're currently realizing from your display ad. If you can say for sure that new customers find you via print ads, then you should absolutely keep advertising that way. If you renew your contract every year simply because that's what you've always done, it might pay to take a closer look at how you're spending your advertising dollar, and perhaps save yourself a chunk of money as well.
by: James Belt
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