Yellow Pages in or Out?

Does people still use yellow pages?

  • Yes

    Votes: 28 49.1%

  • No

    Votes: 11 19.3%

  • People Use the Internet Now

    Votes: 18 31.6%
  • Total voters
    57
Matthew Norman

Matthew Norman

Moderator
Does potential customers still look through the phone book for our service?
 
I was paying about $1000/month for my Yellow page ads which I have sinced dropped it down to $700/month. Either way its a tough nut to swallow thru the winter months here. The problem I have is I usually get most of my commercial work thru the yellow pages. Still in March I have to re-up again for the yellow pages which I plan on cutting down a couple of more hundred a month and put the advertising expensed towards other avenues.
 
I still get calls from the yellow pages but my biggest and best jobs have come from people finding me on the internet.

People are finding me on the internet both locally and Nationwide so it can go either way but the price shoppers are the ones mostly using the yellow pages.

Until nobody uses the yellow pages anymore, I will still be in there, kind of a necessary evil.

I am hoping that with enough good marketing and advertising, I can reduce the size of the ad for next year and work on getting better quality customers from the internet site.

I heard that in the last 4 years, Austin, Texas has reduced the amount of advertising size of ads in their yellow pages because most people up there are searching with the internet.

DON'T FALL FOR THE INTERNET "DIRECTORY" SCAMS OUT THERE!!!!!

There are so many of those that are just a scam and some send you what looks like a bill in the mail hoping that you will pay it, DON'T FALL FOR IT!!!

Get a good website, learn about marketing and optimizing your website and get that site ranking on the search engines so when people rely on the internet in your area more than the yellow pages, you will be there and ready for them.

Good Luck!





_________________
Superior Power Washing<O:p</O:p
Chris Chappell<O:p</O:p
361-853-2513<O:p</O:p
Exterior House Cleaning in Corpus Christi Texas<O:p</O:p
Cleaning Concrete Driveways Sidewalks and Walkways in Corpus Christi Texas
 
coming around on a full season in the yellow pages....the ad started last June. Got one 225 job from it, costs 450 per year. We'll see what happens in the spring....
 
Necessary evil. I am in 3 books here but they all are just 1 inch ads that show Name, number and Vist website for coupon. I give a reason to leave the book and go to the website. It is all that is needed. I get the same number of calls as I used to get from a 1/4 page full color ad.
 
I think it has to do with YOUR area ?
In Tampa, we have 3 major yellow page books :eek:
Way too expensive to be in ALL of them.
Most of our business comes from ex customers, or referrals from them.
I would say our Yellow Page Display ad barely pays for itself.
I will probably downsize next year to smaller ad.
Internet is good because it is cheap.
But if I did not have employees, I am confident we could cut out all paid advertising, and survive quite nicely just on reputation.
 
Apple Roof Cleaning said:
But if I did not have employees, I am confident we could cut out all paid advertising, and survive quite nicely just on reputation.
Click to expand...

That thought above has crossed my mind but then its the end of your business ever being a big time money maker since you can only do so much work by yourself. Me being 47 I am not getting any younger and the physical aspect of doing all of the physical labor will be tremendous wear on my physical well being and the older you get the worse the long term effects are.

That aside I could do alright doing the work myself but do I really want to do those 5000 sq' houses by myself anymore????????? I don't think so. Its been about 7 years since I did most of the work myself and to go back to that.....is somewhat depressing.
 
I have learned the hard way again. Dont go into other area code # unless you have a 800#. Yellow book gives them free. Also I was going to pull my yellow book ad, but they change the Cost by lower it, and gave me 4extra free adds IN COLOR. If you push it, they will give the main men or women who can do this. I have one large add maybe 1/4 page and 4 business card size adds all in color.
 
Only had a few jobs landed from yp since the September issue came out from customers that only saw the ad & didn't view the website. Problem that I've had from this type of ad is that a competitor listing a yp ad under pw'ing that continuously undercuts me. Micheal has the right idea, a re-direct to the website to set yourself apart from others & weed out price shoppers is the way to go.
 
I run a 1/4 page ad in two phone books here.Im the only lg ad in both.....Total cost for both.....320.00 1 house wash a month pays for that......Hurry up Spring !
 
I wish most of the calls out of the phone book were not price shoppers.

I guess it all goes back to the marketing.
 
if you are a first time yellow pager then around here you can get your ad at half price. we also have the talking phone book which is a little cheaper. i tried the yellow one year and the talking another and got more response from the yellows. but, not the response that i was hoping for. for me it's the internet, door hangers, flyers, yard signs, word of mouth and past customers.

rando
 
I am in 2 books, the Yellow Book and the Community Book. I have a coupon in each and they pay for themselves - and then some. When you consider all of the referrals generated by these customers, the numbers make an awful lot of sense. In total, I pay about $250/month, which also includes a bold listing in the Verizon Yellow pages.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top