Me Too Yellow Page Advertising

Hi Friend,

Emette Massey here and I'm Guilty As CHARGED! I know that sometimes I’m guilty of ‘me too marketing” but it’s been a long, long time ago. And to be perfectly honest, I learned this valuable marketing lesson the hard way.

Fortunately many years ago, one of my favorite copywriting and marketing mentor’s, the late, great Gary Halbert, came and saved the day!  

Are you guilty of this cardinal marketing sin too?

Here’s a little test you can take to see what I’m talking about. Just go to your local yellow pages and lookup your classification heading.

Here’s what you’ll most likely find . . .

Just about every advertiser in your classification is saying the same thing. It’s typically a laundry list of services along with a line or two about your business. You’ll find the days and times your business is open and maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll actually see a weak offer of sorts.

Seems rather silly, right?

Show a little cleavage, as long-time marketing pro Drayton Bird would say. Do something to skillfully select your ideal client and gain his attention. Then make damn sure you hold his attention by being interesting. After all, you certainly can’t bore your reader or you’ve lost them forever.

If you already spend money on yellow page ads, wouldn’t you like to get the most out of this investment? Do I see a nod yes?

First of all you should realize that when someone opens the yellow pages a couple of things you can usually count on.

1.    Folks are ready to spend some money.

2.    They are not entirely sure who to do business with.

So with this in mind, here’s how to stack the odds in your favorite when that illustrious prospects heads over to the yellow page book.

Let’s start with human nature . . . aka people. People are more likely, as much as five times more likely to read editorial items (or appears to be editorial items) than stuff that is obviously advertising. Think about this for a moment.

Guess what . . . some of these people are your prospects. And if you do your job correctly these people will turn into your customers and into best customers.

Now think about this: When folks go to the yellow pages they are looking for a “solution.” These folks not only want to locate a business that is near them, they also want to deal with someone who can help solve their problem.

Ok. Let’s just say for the sake of argument you need a plumber. You get to the “plumbers” section of your yellow pages. You see all of the “look-alike” ads, but you also see an editorial message that looks something like this: 

WARNING: Don't Call

Any Plumber Until You

Read This Announcement

Or like this . . .

Leaky Pipes? 

Read This Before You

Make A Mistake You And 

Call The Wrong Plumber

                                                                                                      

Or how about this:

Drains Clogged? Is so,

Call (000) 000-0000 And Listen 

To An Amazing FREE Recorded Message

That Reveals An Amazing Way 

To Get Your Drains Cleaned

  

Keep in mind also whatever headline you use, it must deliver on the promise it makes. It should educate, inform and give a compelling reason why the reader should choose the plumber who has written this “announcement” instead all of the others. 

Also, in addition to the message being important, the look of the message can be important as well. It should look like a hot, news story just like you see in a newspaper.

Now check out the “news release” or “announcement” I made up below. First, note how it’s formatted to look like a news release. The ad gets attention and draws people to it. It also offers news, a solution, and something free. 

Keep in mind I made this up. I am not a plumber or anything that resembles a plumber. But that's not really the point. The point is you need to start thinking about what kind of a "news release" or "announcement" you can create that gives you that home-team advantage to beat the competition.

Think: Offer news; Offer a solution; and Offer something FREE if you possibility can. And most of all . . . have your "news release" typeset to look like other news articles and NOT an ad. Got it? 

Now go get 'em!

That's all for today.

Warmly,

Emette Massey

P.S. Are you experiencing an advertising or marketing problem that's slowing your success or profits to a crawl? Send me your questions at eemassey@yahoo.com . . . OR call my 24-7 advertising hotline: 828-270-9438.

 

 

 

WARNING: DON'T CALL ANY Plumber UNTIL YOU READ THIS!
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