Cancel Your Yellow Pages Ad

Cancel that #*$%! expensive yellow pages ad.  This was the clear advice I gave to attendees at our conference "Developing Your Personal Marketing Plan" in Chicago.  I repeated the advice at the Chicago Bar Association technology conference.  You now have permission to save yourself a small fortune.

Fewer people are reading the Yellow Pages every day. It's last century's marketing. Instead, they are using the Web to find attorneys. Take the money you save and plow it into your online presence.  People now use Google to look up phone numbers, addresses and law firms.

Ask yourself -- when was the last time you personally opened that thick, hard-to-read yellow directory?  It's been a long time, hasn't it? There are multiple yellow page directories anyway -- which one did you use?

According to Pew/Internet, Yahoo beats all yellow pages.  Verizon yellow pages are No. 2.

By advertising in the yellow pages, you are doing what thousands of other lawyers are doing.  You are simply making yourself more like the competition, not distinguishing yourself. There's no way to break from the clutter -- there are hundreds of lawyer yellow page listings.

Besides, most yellow pages ads are written by their salesmen.  That's why they all look the same. Save your budget while you still can. Get out now.

Comments

[Anthony Petrelli]

I would have said the same thing before I read this free chapter offered by the yellow page price busters. http://www.yellowpagepricebusters.com/freechapters.html
I am going to give it one more try this year, and Ken the book specifically talks about how ridiculous the statistics that the yellow page companies give are anyways. Why would you believe statistics that are paid for by the same company that is selling you and ad? However I think that this year will be the best one yet since I am paying less and have larger ads! Good luck.

[gomylocal]

Yes cancel your yellow pages ad and go online. there are many to choose from. Of coarse I like www.gomylocal.com, but hat is because am an owner. But merchant circle, yelp, yellowbot and other are really making a name

[Lance]

As a media consultant in the yellow page industry, I have witnessed the progression towards Internet Yellow Pages(IYP)from the traditional print first hand. I could use facts that "trump" ignorant objections just like any other sales rep, but my experiences have shown me it's not worth my time to piss an attorney off with pointless facts. However, through research and "showing"(showing value in something Mr.Customer cannot see is very critical) my clients how to VISUALLY see their advertising work has put me into a situation RIGHT NOW that has made MY ATTORNEYS a positive return on their investment. Advertising becomes fun when you hear fly-by-night reps get chewed up by MY clients because they fail to produce SOLID results. My advice to anyone who has second thoughts on any advertising is tell the person failing to sell you they suck with proving VALUE. Research -"Creative Advertising vs Directional Advertising"- They are both very important to your business. The worst excuse I've ever heard is that a firms advertising budget has been exceeded. What would a Barber do if his scissors broke and his budget was maxed out? I'll check back on this site periodically in hopes there is anyone who needs help. The first response is free, but my focus is on value. VALUE IS A WORD WE ALL CAN APPRECIATE, RIGHT?
God Bless
LAS

[Kim Jones]

Consumers can now “opt out” of receiving telephone books at www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org. This organization will contact the publishers and inform them to stop delivering books. This is a free service for consumers.

Here are phone numbers of the publishers if you would like to call them instead: The directory publishers listed make it possible for you to stop receiving their books, but they don’t make it easy. None of the menu options includes “opting-out”.

— ATT/ Yellow Pages: 1-800-479-2977
— Verizon: 800-555-4833, press 4, then 5, then 2
— DEX: 1-877-243-8339, press 2
— Yellow Book: 1-800-929-3556, press 2

[mitch]

Larry - Cancel my Yellow Page ads. Never. Or at least that's what I thought for the past 17-years of investing more than $400,000 in PacBell, then AT&T Real Yellow Page directories since 1990.

I didn't cancel my ads, and I wouldn't have dreamed of it, until.... AT&T did it for us. They forgot to run our contracted ad. The message to our competitors and customers were that we are out of business.

While AT&T explains that customers can have $30 in sales for each $1 spent on ads, we just got a letter saying "sorry."

There letter of apology and our new blog "YellowPage the Dinosaur" is getting lots of visits and attention from merchants across the country.

No more Yellow Page advertising for us and now our campaign is to force an opt-out policy so consumers don't have to threow out the books; better yet, how about an "opt-in" program - delivering books to only those who want it?

http://www.blog.yellowdinosaur.net

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/FREE/508523106/1112/FREE

Mitch - President and CEO - ScanMyPhotos.com

[Martin Snytsheuvel]

You said: “Fewer people are reading the Yellow Pages every day.” This is a fact!

I am the CEO of Yellow Pages Nationwide, Inc. and our digital yellow pages directories are all online and we have no print directories. The only elements that I envy of a Print Yellow Page company are their typically sizable customer base and their incredible local sales force. Other than that they are a huge slow moving brick and mortar behemoth that must move online if they are to survive.

Here are predictions I recently heard at a “Drilling Down on Local” conference by the Kelly Group in Santa Clara, California.

Over 50% of SMEs that advertise will include vertical and specialized directories, print and online as part of the advertising mix. (we have numerous vertical directories including yellowpagesattorneys.com)

Even though only ½ of SMEs maintain a website presence, these businesses will have a disproportionate influence on the local media space in the next five years

25% of SMEs with websites will integrate video into their user experiences

25% of SMEs will advertise on a mobile platform, ours is getyp.mobi

SME’s will embrace consumer and expert feedback (our new platform includes this very important feature, allot like the recently purchased insiderpages.com by City Search)

SME’s will look for Agency like relationships with their advertisers

Combining software and services are becoming increasingly more valuable and relevant

Our company embraces the 2.0 mentality and is always looking for ways to improve our product and create positive partnerships…

Excellent Blog Larry!

[Stephen G. Cobb]

I cancelled my yellow page ads this year. Here is why:

1) Go to Google and type in "Florida criminal defense lawyer" see where I rank.

2) Our other marketing efforts encourage people to use CobbLawFirm.com for all of their legal needs - not just my Florida criminal law niche.

3) I want top tier, A+ clients. Direct mail won't provide them, yellow pages might provide them, the Internet definitely provides them.

4) Practice Managers advise me to network, recycle clients, use the rule of three as I build an associate based law firm and I do NONE of these things. All of my competitors have practice managers that basically tell them to do the same things they all have told me to do. Instead, I have a Unique Selling Proposition none of my competitors even understand.

5) Yellow page ad reps have tried to reel me in with their NEW AND IMPROVED yellow pages Internet extravaganza . . . expensive pay per click campaigns I could do myself. I use organic search and can have a web SEO expert put me on the first page, first three rankings for any niche search I want for a fraction of the price.

As a side note, Practice Managers also advise their clients to network instead of advertising. I don't network. I don't like it, won't do it - and I am more successful than at any other point in my career.

[Alan Saltz]

A blanket statement to cancel your Yellow Pages ad just doesn't make sense. The results show the ROI for attorney ads is quite positive, and with an ad that distinguishes you from the competition you can truly excel. Cancel it? No. Track it and see for yourself that it's a good investment. That's how you decide.

People are ABSOLUTELY still turning to the Yellow Pages, especially when they want to review numerous options at once. Your prospects are in there. If you're content letting your competition grab ahold of them, then by all means just "save" your money.

[BB]

Cancel your ads at your risk. Have a look at www.yellowpages.ca to see the future.

This organization combines print, internet and telephone advertising that blows away everything. All the local business listings on Google.ca, Yahoo.ca and msn.ca are provided by the Yellow Pages Group. They just recorded another huge quarterly profit. They sell sonsored links on the major search engines to local businesses. Their online find engine is entirely keyword searchable and the print ads are all digitized. They are working on pay-per-call and already have a free telephone version of the talking yellow pages called hello yellow. What's more it is a 100 year old company and is getting ready for the future in a big way.

Like I said, cancel at your own risk.

[Ben Glass]

Yellow pages, like any media, can work. However, letting the Yellow Page rep design your ad is nuts. Their solution for everything is "buy more."

To be effective, your ad must look different from other ads, make a clear offer and invite the consumer to start a conversation with you.

Most ads (designed by the reps) look the same, make no real offer ("Free Consultation is not an offer")and offer nothing unique.

Look, yellow pages is one of two media that people who are looking for a lawyer go to.. the other is the Internet and the Internet is killing yellow pages. ..but, if you are going buy yellow pages media, you just can't do what every other lawyer is doing.

[Jack Rawlins]

Today I received a notice from Yellow Pages Inc, with this notice:(in red yet))
"IMPORTANT!please detach and return this portion with your payment. Please respond by March 14, 2007"

Just below the "Total Amount $177.00" was a small notice that said: "New Total if Additional Advertising is Ordered."

In the old days the scammers were nice enough to say "This Is Not an Invoice."

[Zach Katkin]

Yellow pages are being used and referenced less and less everyday, but as people switch to more forms of online digital marketing, the pendulum will probably end up swinging back. But, the beauty of the yellow pages is that, unlike search engine rankings or optimization you are not at the mercy of an ever changing system, you get what you pay for, and there are not typically thousands of spammers paying for local listings for Personal Injury Attorney.

[Dick Larkin]

Advertising in ANY medium without a well thought-out plan is likely to be a waste.

Yes, as the others have commented, print Yellow Pages are far from dead.

Granted, overall usage of the print product is on the decline, and the number of titles has proliferated, but they still deliver value if used properly.

Print Yellow Pages are effective for attracting certain types of clients in certain situations.

It's important for an attorney to clearly define the types of clients he/she wants and to focus all components of the marketing plan toward those targeted customers.

Ask your current clients if they use the Yellow Pages. If you find that your clients use the Internet, then that's an indication where you should be spending your marketing funds.

If your current clients ask their accountants for referrals, then that's another market to cultivate.

The Yellow Pages have provided value for over a hundred years. Don't write the obit yet.

[John Kelsey]

Why don't you let peoplwe know the truth, Larry?
So let me provide some clear advice to attorneys who want to see their business grow. Advertise in the Yellow Pages. Why?
1. In 2002, there were 263.6 million references to the print Yellow Pages. In 2005, that number had grown to 311.5 according to Knowledge Networks/SRI.
2. Eighty-one percent of people who go to the attorney heading in print Yellow Pages say they have already done business or intend to do business with an attorney. In other words, they are ready to buy.
3. The return-on-investment for attorneys who advertise in Yellow Pages is 18 to 1. In other words, according to CRM Metered Ad Study, for every $1 invested in print Yellow Pages attorneys can expect to get back $18 in revenue.

[Ann]

I believe Yellow Pages advertising will be obsolete within 3 years. The hyper aggressive scare tactics employed by the Yellow Pages sales reps I dealt with last year were signs of desperation. Buy a bold listing with an extra line for your website, and do the same in the White Pages and call it good, then get yourself a website that represents you well.

[BB]

Larry Bodine's comments about getting out of Yellow Pages advertising are on target - and the rebuttal by Ken Clark is laughable, spoken by a true Yellow Pages person. Once I saw those rantings, I figured they must be from someone from YP. Sure enough. Follow Larry's lead - spend that money wisely, but elsewhere.

[Ken Clark]

Cancel your Yellow Pages ad?? Are you nuts or just kidding everyone?? US adults referenced them over 15 billion times last year. And that’s just the print versions. 90% of all adults reference them at least once a year, 75% in a typical month, and 50+% on average month. How about on average 1.4X each week? And let’s remember that not everyone has Internet access to reference those websites you are talking about.

There is no other directional media that can provide buyers the information they need when they need it about local businesses than the print Yellow Pages. It is truly the original local search engine.

But if you insist, that same Yellow Pages sales rep also has a complete portfolio of local search and Internet based products that they can help you with.....