Effective Yellow Pages Ad Design: 8 Steps to Ensure Your Success
If your phone stopped ringing, would your business be in
trouble? That’s my usual response to business owners who
ask me if “hand out money in the yellow pages every
month “is still a good investment. If customers don’t
usually think about your service or product until you need it,
and much of your business is done over the phone,
effective The yellow pages ad design still rings in the
most local customers for the money. So how do you design
for this one-of-a-kind medium? The next eight
the guidelines will keep your phone dancing on your desk
with new business.
1) Choose the correct size of the yellow page ad, you will save a
Bunch.
Don’t worry about buying your way to the top position
Have the largest yellow page ad in your header! Few
people only call the first (or biggest) ads. Undecided
customers keep looking for the company where they can feel the
the best, it is not the first company they come across.
Prospectuses Will respond to the yellow page ad
design that TO) Visually captures their attention and
B) Attract and persuade them with ad copy that
He talks about his emotions. The size of the ad is not as important as
states your sales rep. In fact, appearing in the first third of
your heading is considered good positioning as long as
your yellow page ad has been developed successfully.
2) Technicolor or Black & Yellow? Put your money
Where it matters most.
If you are considering expensive colors, spend your money on
design first, positioning second and color last. An appropriately
designed, a colored yellow page ad will easily outperform a
larger ad, in full color, poorly designed and without
compelling copy. Bottom line? A bad ad in the Yellow Pages
get poor results regardless of color, size or position,
because these things have little to do with convincing the
customer to call you!
3) Ignore most readers; Embrace what is most important
Perspectives.
Well-focused yellow pages ad designs are more convincing
clients to call you and do business with you.
Launching the widest possible network in an attempt to reach
they all force you to compete with everyone else in your
header and dilutes your message. What do you prefer
persuade 10% of the market 100% of the way to become
customers, or reach 100% of the market and convince them
only 10% of the way? Talk to your most important
prospects directly, and they will respond by calling.
4) A masterfully crafted title almost guarantees
Success.
If your title fails (or worse, is missing), your ad will fail.
Crucial is falling short. Make sure your headline
appears prominently at the top of your yellow page ad
design and that fulfills these main functions:
- Catch readers’ eyes as they scan the page.
- Conveys your most important benefit (unique selling proposition), which sets you apart from your competitors in a meaningful way
- It strikes a chord with the reader and forces him to continue reading. Spend 60% of your design time developing your unique benefits-related headline. It is so important! Make NOT use your trade name, logo or copy without characters. Your headline should set you apart from others, show that you fully understand your potential customer’s problem, and convince readers that you really care about helping them.
5) The persuasive copy of the body always touches its
Hearts
Once you have gained the attention of potential customers with your potential customer (and
image), you will need to turn your interest into trust
with a copy that suits your needs. Indecisive customers
they are looking for the company they can feel better with
do business with, so get into the buyer’s mind,
and they think as if they are thinking about their time of need.
Now write a copy that addresses the emotional emotions of your potential clients.
mental state, uses electric words that surprise readers with
the truth, and speak to your prospects in the second
person (you, you, you – remember, it’s ALL about them). Make
this and you will be overwhelmed by the number of customers
They end up feeling the best of their business.
Clients who trust you understand their
problem and can solve it better than anyone
Clients confident enough to call you.
6) Dazzling, clutter-free images
Designs.
NEVER use “expected” images in your Yellow Pages ad,
EG: plumbers exhibiting a fleet of trucks; lawyer ads that
display mallets, eagles and flags; or storage companies that
imagine a row of meaningless storage doors. Washed in
a sea of insignificant “clipart”, these images blur into a
scanned background quickly and push readers’ eyes to rest
in images and designs that DO stand out. If you have made a
Nice job creating your main headline, choosing an image
for your yellow page ad it will be easy. Your graph should
to be a dazzling and eye-catching image that:
- It reinforces its concept of main holder,
Y - Differentiate your business from others, in a
in a significative way
“Significant” is the key word. Smart and creative ad design
that doesn’t persuasively address the needs of your potential customers
may make readers smile, but your phone will hang
The receptor. You must stop the attention of prospects and
entice them to read the copy, AND persuade readers that
do business with you. It’s a tough juggling act that most
novice advertisers and ad designers struggle
with, but it is the only act that increases sales.
7) Call them to action or kiss them “BUH-BYE”.
Prospects only read the yellow page ads as a prelude to the call
– Give someone your business! Don’t thwart the potential
clients trying to send them to your website, giving
them your email address, or worse, trying to dial a
picture. Your prospects intend to call someone, so
Make sure you are the company they call by asking:
“Call right now!” Include a separate call to action near your
phone number. EG, “Call and get your FREE analysis
now. “Don’t put your phone number randomly
anywhere. Your number and call to action must appear on
the bottom of your ad, along with your address and
other contact information.
8) A professional yellow pages ad designer? Choose
Wisely.
Do you want results from your ad? Make sure your designer
has experience obtaining those results for your
customers! Many “connoisseurs” of yellow pages ad design
are actually marketers with poor ad design skills and
experience. Some have simply chosen to imitate others
successful yellow page design sites (both for their
creativity). Many offer the same mediocre abilities as your Yellow
The page editor provides FREE. Request references and
make sure your yellow page ad design clients
in fact, they have experienced better response rates. If they
I have not, keep looking. Never try to save a few hundred
dollars in design fees at the expense of thousands in losses
dirty.
Effective yellow page ads cleverly combine these eight
(and many other) design elements to work together to
create a powerful emotional connection with the audience.
Does your yellow page ad design move your potential customers?
deeply and force them to call you? Or are you waiting
let the phone ring? Let me
to know …