Do You Need Help Designing A Better Yellow Page Ad?

If you own a local small business effective yellow page advertising is nearly a must. But for small business owners who almost always have small advertising budgets every dollar really counts. And just how many of us actually know how to design an ad let alone an effective ad? Well I'm gonna give you a few tips on doing just that.

For starters I want you to know you can do it yourself but if you need to you can hire a professional to do it for you. Just remember that's going to cost you also.

So where do you start? First off you need to contact your local phone book and set up a meeting with an advertising rep. Now remember the rep can offer you some decent advice on how to design an ad but they've still got a job to do which is sell ad space. They really don't care what you're ad looks like. To be fair I have had ad reps that did seem to give a hoot about my ad but I've had the reverse too!

Now before you meet with them you need to get an idea of what your budget is going to be. Your comittment to the ad will have to be anywhere from six months to one year depending on how often the book is reprinted. You'll be asked to make your payments monthly but the ad will also need to be submitted about four months in advance to allow for changes to the proof.

When it comes to designing the ad and what the ad will cost there are two main considerations. Number one is the size of the ad. The bigger the more expensive it is. Second is if the ad is in color or not. They don't really care about pictures or how many words you use when it comes to pricing. It's size and color.

Size and color I've found really go hand in hand. If you want an ad that stands out you either need to be the biggest in your category or be the sharpest looking. I've always opted for the sharpest. Personal experience has taught me that being the biggest is not always best. Mainly because they're dull looking. They blend in to much with the book itself.

So I highly recommend a color ad. And when your picking colors try to develop some rythm to it. Say if you have a website or color business cards try to stick to the same scheme. If you don't have one now's the time to create one.

Next you need an image. You want an image that tells people something about your business. One image I used to use featured our store front. And remember an image can act as a background as ours did or it can be a focus point of the ad. The point is that you need to grab their attention remember you're just one of many so you need to stand out.

Once you've got your size, image and colors figured out then you need a headline. You need something appealing to them but make sure you're not copycating someone else. People don't want to see multiple ads saying they're the fastest. So you need to pay attention to what others are saying and say something new and powerful. You want your ad to speak to people.

As far as the actual text of the ad is concerned it needs to tell readers something about your company. You need the usual address and phone. If you have a web site make sure you list it. Also if you're a member of the Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau mention it. If you take credit cards make sure to include those symbols too. Opinions vary on how to lay these things out but one thing I've seen that seems universal is don't clutter it up. Space things out as much as possible. People don't really want to read ads they just want to find a provider for their needs.

So tell them what you do and make it easy to contact you. Your telephone number should be prominent and the website address as well. Also remember a phone book is not a magazine. Don't try to get to cute with the ad. Remember your just trying to get their attention!

My last tip in designing an ad is flip through your yellow pages. Pick a subject and see what catches your eye under that heading and others. You'll probably be able to figure out who is wasting their money and who isn't.

Yellow page ads can earn a healthy return on your investment but you have to put in the work so take it seriously and you might actually wind up having some fun with it in the process.


About the Author

Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His years of experience in small business cover many topics. For more information visit Small Business Resources or go to http://www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com

Relaited Links:

• The Importance of Marketing Mix and the 4 Key Mix Elements
• Do You Need Help Designing A Better Yellow Page Ad?
• Why Do Direct Marketing?

4 Reasons Traditional Advertising Doesnt Work for Law Firm Marketing

One thing is certain: if your law firm is going to continue to grow, it must grow its client base as well. Clients come and clients go but not all clients come back again. As a rule of thumb, people try to avoid putting themselves in situations that even require an attorney. Most repeat clients only need your services on a spatial basis and that is not enough work to create the growth you want. This is the reason you have implemented your law firm marketing program; to accommodate this growth required in your client base.

Is the law firm marketing program you are currently following filling that void adequately Chances are, not as well as you would like. The question is why is not producing like you had hoped Does this frustration seem all too familiar to you If so, you are not alone. The growing pains of expanding any law practice go with the territory. Now you must decide where to go from here. If your law firm marking plan is based on a traditional advertising model, that may be a large part of the problem you are experiencing. This type of advertising simply doesnt work well for law firm marketing.

Traditional advertising as a law firm marketing plan drains your budget, costs many hours of time and leaves your waiting room virtually empty. Does this frustration seem all too familiar to you If so, you are not alone. The growing pains of expanding any law practice go with the territory. Now you must decide where to go from here.

Successful marketing requires diligence, patience and some good old-fashioned creativity in order to turn prospects into clients. For this reason, you must first determine who are your most likely clients and determine the best way to reach them.

Legal clients are seeking a trained professional who can learn the facts, present them to others and convince the offending party that their clients deserve what is being asked of them. Legal clients are not the same as those targeted by a car salesman or an insurance company. Legal clients have specific needs that can only be met by your law firm.

Here are four reasons why regular advertising methods dont work for you and what you can do to change it:

1. In many cases, the owner of the law firm who placed the ad ends the campaign too early. Advertisements take a long time to produce noticeable results. If you have only just begun to advertise your legal services, you cannot expect clients to come knocking at your door after the first week or two. Until they begin seeing your marketing efforts
consistently, they have no idea that you even exist.

2. It is vital that you find ways to measure and compare the results of your law firm marketing efforts. Paying no attention to how your marketing efforts are working for you is just a waste of your time and money. You must test campaigns against each other to discover which ones work well and which ones you should abandon. Unfortunately, results from advertising are notoriously difficult to measure. Therefore due diligence is required to separate the seed from the chaff. This goes for the actual determining of who will be a good prospective client and who is just a bad prospect.

3. Often, the downfall of an advertisement is that it misses its purpose. This purpose is to create a desire within your target market to buy your product or service over and over again. It is not to make people laugh, win awards, use special effects or to be clever.

4. Many companies tend to advertise only when they are desperate for new clients. Your law firm marketing has already fallen short of its mark if you have reached the point where you need new clients in order to stay afloat. The best time to advertise and reach more target markets is when you really dont need them. When you are at the top of your game and have a case back-log, this is when you would do well to seek additional clients.

A lawyer who shows genuine interest and concern for a clients needs and is willing to work them into a busy schedule is much more likely to win over a new client than one who is barely treading water and has no cases in the works. A quiet office, an empty calendar and no phones ringing tell prospective clients that you arent busy because you arent that good.

The best way to continue putting forward your best efforts in the realm of successful law firm marketing is to ask yourself this question: If you were looking for a good, skilled and reputable lawyer, where would you begin looking Think long and hard about the answers that first come to mind. These are likely the places most people seeking legal counsel would go to first; that is where your marketing efforts must also be prominent.


About the Author

Stephen Fairley is CEO of The Rainmaker Institute is the nations largest law firm marketing company that specializes in helping small law firms generate more and better referrals and create a 7 figure law practice. Over 6,000 attorneys have benefited from our proven Rainmaker Marketing System. Attorneys: claim your FREE legal marketing CD 7 Keys to a 7 Figure Law Practice at

Relaited Links:

• The Keys to Developing Successful Marketing Strategies
• Do You Need Help Designing A Better Yellow Page Ad?
• How to Drive Free Traffic to Your Website - Part One