Yellow Page Ad

[lonestardrain]

....i just recently got a great deal for a yellow page ad in the Sub-burban southwest Dallas(where i live and my service area)....they will only charge me $135 a month for a 2-inch color ad with a link to Yellow-Pages.com for $150.00 a month. Keep in mind this isnt the "BIG" yellowpage book but more of a "localized" book for the sub-burbs. The Roto-rooters/RescueRooters...etc are in it also. All i have to provide is my master plumbers number with my ad and im in...what do you guys think for that fee?....she says the link to yellowpages.com is included which includes the google and yahoo search engines...suppose to me sending out over 40,000 books in May...ive paid MORE for newspaper ads($200 month) which really isnt doing too much now....i do know that the Y.P. isnt gonna BLOW my phone up with the tiny 2-inch ad, but somebody MIGHT see it and i really want the link to Yellowpages.com because we all know how people are using the internet....the postcards arent doing a dam thing for me right now,except for the one that i mailed to the commercial property management companies who are keeping my jetter busy!!!!...anyway for that fee...let me know what you think.

[DUNBAR]

I just briefly scanned your posting and here's my dilemma in my part of the world:


Internet ads through my local phone company has proved useless.

Over the past few years I've had it and only get like 244 views a year at the tune of $44/month.

That's 12 views to my listing and I haven't gained much in return for the money invested. I promise a percentage of that has to do with me testing the links to make sure they work and possibly a few hits from my competition on the curiousity level. Now you have a sliver of a pie that's small, but remember that just because you didn't get a site hit, doesn't mean your name wasn't noticed.

In june I'm pulling the ads in 5 categories because through their fine stupidity, they've made it where you have to do an extensive search to find me in those categories by defaulting to alphabetical order to read it.

Screw that.


Here's how the majority of people find contractors:

Search Engines Google/Yahoo or any other number of search engines that quickly and instantly pull up local info.

I state this solely by what the customer states to me when I ask how they found me.

Hopefully I'm wrong in your case but I'd ask your competition if they are just running those ads for continuity or name branding or part of a large package that came with it.


Telephone companies are losing their *** right now so expect them to throw out all kinds of deals to get attention back to their product. Only thing is, the internet is a powerful competitor that allows for shared information without having to go to a specific site to get it.

It's all about strategy and what you're trying to accomplish in your advertising portfolio.

If you're dead set on the ad, counter with a 20% price reduction to what they proposed; they'll take it. They need that money more than you need the advertising.

[stxrus]

in a small to medium sized market the phone book/yellow pages can be a great asset.

at present my advertising for a market of ~ 50,000 is a yellow page ad (2X2, with a link back to my ad from another section, + name & number in the white pages for $156.oo/Mo), local newspaper ads (around $215/Mo), and business cards i print my self (ink & stock about $60/Yr)

1 job from the phonebook + 1 job from the paper + 1 job from a card/referal and i am writing with BALCK INK!!!

in a major maket the numbers just don't add up. but here it sure does

steve

[Drain Medic]

Yellow pages .com is the biggest joke out there. I had an add in there and cancelled it with a ton of hassle behind it. :mad:

Never again. As far as the local YP, i pay just alittle more then that for an add in the Big YP.

[Service Guy]

Yellow pages vary by region. Some have small territories and some have giant territories. So unless the territory and market are exactly the same, then we are comparing apples to oranges.

Also any marketing is very CONTENT oriented. A small ad well done with great content can often beat a larger ad done poorly. Content is everything.

[All Clear Sewer]

I have a 1/3 page ad that`s kicking the crap out of a guy that has a 3/4 page ad. He`s flat Rate and lost his house last month.....rotflmao :D

All the internet stuff I do is off search engines only. I wont do the Yellow pages .com and other crap as it doesn't work. I set up my web pages to be search engine friendly ;)

[plumberscrack]

Welcome to the 1K club All Clear :welcome:

Unless you are on the 1st or 2nd page listed under plumbers, the Yellow Book just isn't worth it.

The statistics show that most people won't flip past the 2nd or 3rd page to call a plumber.
So that means if your plumbing company name is Zenith Plumbing you are SOL :loser:

$150 a month for Yellow-Pages.com? Hardly seems worth it, LoneStar

Do you poll your customers to see where they get your number?

[All Clear Sewer]

WOW...1000
didn`t even see it...lol... Thanks for the Welcome P.crack :D

[Gene Bickford]

Congrats Allclear,
Now if you could just redeem all those post, you could afford to fill the fuel tank on that boat:eek:

[HVAC HAWK]

the only thing our company has is its 24 vans ,yellow pages and good service people talking to people

[lonestardrain]

Welcome to the 1K club All Clear :welcome:

Unless you are on the 1st or 2nd page listed under plumbers, the Yellow Book just isn't worth it.

The statistics show that most people won't flip past the 2nd or 3rd page to call a plumber.
So that means if your plumbing company name is Zenith Plumbing you are SOL :loser:

$150 a month for Yellow-Pages.com? Hardly seems worth it, LoneStar

Do you poll your customers to see where they get your number?



i get most of my calls for the camera and jetter is from other PLUMBERS/CONTRACTORS who dont have the equipment....i thought about ways to market to other plumbers because i do alot of drain maintence work from plumbers who wont touch drain/sewer maintance....semms like other plumbers wanna use me so we both make money which i like OR they are jealous of all the equipment that i have and dont give a rats azz about helping anyone but themselves.....how would you guys market to them??...and P-Crack it was $150 mth for both the yellowpages AND internet....ONE PRICE....$150 A MONTH!!......imma do like you all say and get them to lower that price by $50 a month....it MAY be worth it!!

[rooter-mania]

Ive also had ads in both the yellow book and Verizon Yellow pages,.... the Yellow book ads were never fruitful.. meaning the cost of the ads outweighed the customers that I service using the Yellow Book.

In my demographic area If you don't put a one page ad in the Verizon Yellow pages .. your going to get bumped to the four or fifth page... that being said I thought I would not get new customers, so I decided this year not to put ad in this year because of the cost factor and I'm only a one man operation. Plus I was caring for a family member with failing health...

I think that the yellow page book directories are going to taken over by more creative ways to advertise... hopefully by not using me ..... thats what they got law firms for.

It is true that I pulled a dead shunk out of a post office drain ( no hidden agenda there) ( nothing news worthy) just a true story.

Now I look forward to building a brighter future for myself and family .

[NorthernIllinoisPlumber]

In my area, I am doing $19 a month for company name and phone number, and city. If I get 4 calls a year...its more than worth it.

Have you looked into Money Mailer?

[Ace Sewer]

I am in a small community, a tourist area. We have something like 5 phone books covering parts of the area I serve. I am in 3 of them, to the tune of about $3k/yr, mostly just so repeat customers and referrals can find me when they've lost my card. I have no idea how much its adds to new business... at this point it is just habit. Most people who call tell me they got my name from so-and-so, who I rarely even remember. We are a small area with a lot of work in new constuction and remodels, and it is often hard to find any tradesman, let alone a good one. There are a lot of hacks here, mostly GC's, who blow in for a couple years, rip a bunch of people off, then blow out again. Most people who've been around a while ask friends who to call for a problem as they've been burned in the past. For me it is almost all referalls, but I keep the ads just so they can find me.

[Service Guy]

I am having poor success with yellowpages.com also and I am thinking of dropping them. The actual yellowpages phonebook I get calls from fairly consistently, but the people who mention they found me online are only about one or two a month which is hardly worth the money.

Since I will probably drop their service, what are some other ways to market online? If anybody can help I'd appreciate it. You can send me a private message if its more comfortable. I already PMed Greg about it, as I see he has recently cancelled with yellowpages.com also.

[Service Guy]

Thanks for the ideas (in private messages or phone calls): Gear Junkie, Drain Medic and Masterplumb.

Very helpful advice.

[spodelee]

I am having poor success with yellowpages.com also and I am thinking of dropping them. The actual yellowpages phonebook I get calls from fairly consistently, but the people who mention they found me online are only about one or two a month which is hardly worth the money.

Since I will probably drop their service, what are some other ways to market online? If anybody can help I'd appreciate it. You can send me a private message if its more comfortable. I already PMed Greg about it, as I see he has recently cancelled with yellowpages.com also.

Google has been our best resource for driving people to our website. It's really easy to overspend on google though, so it's important to understand it and set it up right - search regions, keywords, max bid, etc... (I have spent as much as $5000 in a single month with Google when I didn't need to - :eek:)

More important though, is to understand the internet shopper, who is different than the yellow page shopper. Internet shoppers are researchers, and don't respond well to internet ads that lead them to web sites where information is limited or is not presented well. I also don't believe people are in "calling mode" until they find a site they are comfortable with, so posting a phone number as the result of a search engine result is a waste. People search, visit sites, then pick-up the phone or use an on-line response form - IMO. They will decide who you are and what you are about in no more than three clicks!Consequently, a informational web-site with special offers is really important. My recommendation is not to spend any money on internet marketing until a solid web site has been established.

I have a suggestion for the best value in marketing of all time...

My company was literally built on membership in a Kiwanis Club. When we started in 1981, my dad and I joined a Kiwanis Club that had about 100 members. Before we knew it, we were working for most of the club members, their family, their employers, etc... Nothing beats getting to know someone by working side by side with them while helping the community!

I'll bet you are already involved, but if your not, think about joining Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Exchange Club, etc... Find a club you are comfortable in, volunteer to head a committee or chair a fundraiser, feel great about helping the community, and watch your company grow without spending a nickel!

I still belong to a large Rotary club and I have to say that if I was lucky enough to once again run a one man show, the first thing I would do would be to join another service club and maybe get more involved in my church. I doubt that I would ever again list in the yellow pages! :D

[Service Guy]

Just wanted to tell everyone that my new yellow pages ad design came out this past week and the phone is ringing off the hook!:thumbup2:

On the plus side, my marketing dilemma is solved for now. But I probably won't be posting nearly as much. Its hard to keep up with the all the work and a new baby is coming soon!

Anyway, see ya soon.:wave:

[garager]

Fantastic for you, I'm glad to hear this. Now you really get to pamper that baby and don't forget College. :cool: :cool: :cool: