Print Advertising and Yellow Pages

Here are some useful tips for planning and preparing your print advertising and yellow pages.

Gumdale Laundromat, Brisbane, Australia	Laundry by Gold Coast Laundry Distributors

• Plan ahead. Many print publications and yellow pages may require artwork weeks and occasionally months ahead of time. Be sure you inquire about due dates prior to committing to make sure you have enough to time to prepare your materials. Yellow pages require even further advance planning, with renewals happening only annually and usually only having a very narrow window to update your artwork.

• Yellow Pages are now more than just the phone book. In this digital age, less people are using the yellow pages less and less themselves and are going online for phone numbers and product listings. Be sure to talk to your yellow pages provider about having your ad included online. Usually this is only a small additional charge (10% or less of your total yellow pages expense) but it can have VERY big results.

• Pick a powerful image. When it comes to print ads, readers spend 65% of their time concentrating on images—photos and illustrations, while the remaining 35% is spent browsing your text. In order to grab attention, make sure that you pick a powerful image that “jumps” off the page. Dexter does have professional product photography of all of our products available. For more information on how to get these, ask your Dexter Authorized Distributor.

• Create an attention getting headline that is NOT your company name. While you know your company name and are proud of it, chances are that many potential customers in your area don’t have the slightest idea who you are. This means, using your company name as a headline has absolutely no impact, since they don’t know you, or what products you offer. Instead, pick a strong headline that promotes your products and services ----that’s what the readers are really looking for. They’ll learn your company name once they read your ad and give you a call.

• Encourage readers to call or e-mail and include the info for them to do it! One of the most important concepts in advertising is called the “call to action” which basically means asking the reader to act now and contact you today. Many business owners just automatically assume someone will call, just because they ran an ad. That’s not true! You need to give the readers a REASON to contact you. Point these potential customers in the right direction by including in your ad to “Call for a free quote.” Or perhaps—”Stop by today.” Customers are much more likely to pick up the phone or come in if they know where to begin. If you make it easy for them by including this call to action, they will get moving right away.

This point is especially important for new customers----people who may not have ever interacted with your business before. These new customers are especially vulnerable to indecision because they are entering uncharted waters. That’s why you need to tell them why and how to contact you.

And don’t forget to include your phone number and/or e-mail in your ad. This may seem over obvious, but many business professionals can often forget this basic info. After all, how can your customers contact you if you don’t give them the info on how to reach you??

• Ask for the agency discount. When placing advertising, ask your rep if you can get what is called the “agency discount”. This is a standard 10% - 15% discount that is typically given only to advertising agencies, however more and more publications are giving this directly to the consumers who ask for them. The publication may say no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask and it may save you money!

• Negotiate placement. Many rookie advertisers aren’t aware, but usually you can negotiate for where your ad is placed. Sometimes premier placements (such as the back cover) have a small additional cost, other times all you have to do is ask. Whether it is placement of a full page ad in a magazine, or even just a small yellow pages ad’s position on a page, ask your sales rep what premium placement options are available. Even if there is an additional charge, the increased results will usually pay off in the long run!

• If you have to make cuts to your budget, cut color and not ads or size. While color ads are definitely more flashy, they are also much more costly. If you’re on a tight marketing budget, instead of cutting ad placements or size. Color ads typically do not increase results over black and white ads, so consider saving dollars by cutting the color.

• People prefer pictures of people. While Dexter laundry equipment is definitely some of the most attractive on the market, photos of the machines by themselves still appear static and even sometimes “boxy” when appearing by themselves. Marketing research has shown that people respond more to pictures of people. Consider including pictures of your laundry with your customers. You’ll reward your customers for their loyalty and increase your ad results at the same time!

• Negotiate volume discounts. When running several ads with an individual publication during a calendar year, find out what discounts are available. Often, discounts are given to advertisers who advertise a certain number of times a year. This is a great way to get your name and info in front of customers on a regular basis and to save some dollars doing it.