Three Ways to Save on Yellow Pages Advertising

Yellow Pages advertising costs business owners thousands of dollars each year, or even per month. Many small business just pay the costs suggested by the sales representatives year after year, trusting that they are getting the best possible listing at the best possible price.

The good news is that it's possible to reduce annual spending on Yellow Pages advertising. The better news is that these tips are very simple for any business to implement. Taking a little time to evaluate a current Yellow Pages advertising program prior to renewing can save thousands of dollars.

The first tip to saving is tracking, measuring, and evaluating phone book call traffic. As with any form of advertising, measuring is crucial to determining its effectiveness. On every call that you receive, whoever answers the call should always ask, “How did you find us?”

When the answer is “The phone book,” the next question should be, “Which one?” Use a spreadsheet to track these calls. Next, evaluate whether any of these leads turned into actual sales. Calculate the total sales dollars brought in by each phone book. If the sales from any particular phone directory is less than the cost of the advertising, you lost money on the ad. Stop advertising in that book, or at least purchase a much smaller ad. If you received no sales, then cancel it completely. This simple system could save you thousands of dollars each year on Yellow Pages advertising.

Another simple way to save on Yellow Pages advertising spend is by looking at the type of listing you typically purchase. Upgrades that are meant to be eye catchers can be costly and do not impact effectiveness as much as the phone book rep tells you. Adding italics and/or bold faced type to your business name or phone number can add hundreds of dollars to Yellow Pages advertising, but no difference to your bottom line.

Finally, working with Directory Assistants, Inc. advertising consultants is a great way to save on your advertising spend. We guide businesses through the entire phone directory listing process. We share our extensive experience with the Yellow Pages and knowledge of the many hidden tricks the phone directories use. Our consultants work as a liaison for your business to the sales representatives and take the tricky contract negotiations off of their clients’ hands. Our insider knowledge can find countless ways for you to save on your Yellow Pages advertising.

You can make a big dent in your annual Yellow Pages advertising spend by taking a look at these three simple tips. Businesses looking to find every possible way to save on Yellow Pages advertising might do best by making their next call to Directory Assistants, Inc.