phone book

[tattoo.dan]

I have really been evaluating my advertising and exposure. Shop has been in it's knew location for over a year now and seems like everyone thinks we just moved in last month. Does anyone use the phone book anymore? I ask customers where they heard of us and in 3 yrs of business(short time i know) not one has said found you in the phone book.... hard to justify paying for an add in each of the two phone books in my area. Especially in signs, screenprinting, and embroidery....what are your thoughs? just thinking i could spend that $1000 a year in another way...

sorry, just thinking myself in circles

 

[Designer Wraps]

Stop wasting it in the phone books and move it online (google ppc). You'll get TARGETED traffic to your site (people actually searching for the services you provide). You'll only pay for what clicks you get and you can track everything. You can do A LOT for $1000/yr online and actually get a return on your investment.

Good luck - trash the book.

 

[tattoo.dan]

so far you two are supporting what I am thinking....i just think, how often have i looked in a phone book for anything in the last 3 yrs......once i think for a lawyer! lol

 

[Jthompson Designs]

phone books are a waste of money, how are you advertising now? since I see you do wraps do you have a vehicle wrapped which would cost less than a grand for you to do and become a moving billboard and last for years, funny some times we can design Awesome things for our clients but we never take the time to do it for ourselves, " NOT SAYING YOU HAVEN'T" but I think you know what i mean. Websites are more informational unless your selling on them and it's not cheap to get to the top of the search engines, pay-per-click "maybe" FACE BOOK pages work & there FREE and you will find out in searches they usually end up on the first page. GOOD LUCK

 

[tattoo.dan]

phone books are a waste of money, how are you advertising now? since I see you do wraps do you have a vehicle wrapped which would cost less than a grand for you to do and become a moving billboard and last for years, funny some times we can design Awesome things for our clients but we never take the time to do it for ourselves, " NOT SAYING YOU HAVEN'T" but I think you know what i mean. Websites are more informational unless your selling on them and it's not cheap to get to the top of the search engines, pay-per-click "maybe" FACE BOOK pages work & there FREE and you will find out in searches they usually end up on the first page. GOOD LUCK

that is true. have a wrap designed, just not installed...to make matters worse....haven't even put my lighted sign up yet! been in back for almost a year!

 

[Flame]

I got rid of both my phone book ads and fax line over 2 years. It's a new era, some media forms/ technologies just need to die.

 

[Jthompson Designs]

that is true. have a wrap designed, just not installed...to make matters worse....haven't even put my lighted sign up yet! been in back for almost a year!

Save the grand and get that sign up and the wrap on and you will be glad you did. Remember A New sign attracts new EYES.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

The internet is king now. Spend the money on a decent website with top-notch SEO, invest in and implement a comprehensive social media strategy, buy some highly targeted pay-per-click internet ads (adwords), and spend what's left over to join some local networking groups. That will get you many times the business the phone book ever would.

I'd really recommend hiring someone to manage your social media content, there is a true art and science to it. It's not overly expensive, but if you do it right, there is a tremendous amount of business to be gained from it. About 2 months ago we started paying about $200 a month to have ours managed, and the return has been very significant. There are a lot of people that still don't believe in the power of Facebook or Twitter, but look around at the big companies. There's a reason Fortune 500 companies are investing millions and millions of dollars in this new media.

In my opinion, in this day and age if someone is still so antiquated that they're using a phone book, we probably don't want to work with them, nor will they likely want, need or see value in our services.

 

[heyskull]

I dropped all advertising in the phone book/yellow pages as it worked out in a year we were making £140 out of an advert that costs us £800!
we ran a survey for a year asking every customer where they had heard of us.

SC

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Still use mine

 

[Pat Whatley]

They still print phone books?

 

[iSign]

Hawaii is a bit behind the mainland... I get tons of sales from my YP ads... but i have a pretty state of the art web presence too...

 

[Jillbeans]

Have had a one liner in the phone book since 1992.
I like to keep it for those old reliable types.
But I get so much more business from my website.
Love.....Jill

 

[Bigdawg]

AT&T isn't even publishing a yellow pages in our area this year. My how times have changed...

 

[SignManiac]

I dumped yellow page advertising around five years ago and don't even have a sign in front of my business. All of my work is generated by word of mouth referrals and a website only. 100% of my business searching is done on the internet when looking for other companies. The local yellow pages left this years book by my mailbox last week. I picked it up and deposited it in the dumpster on my walk back to the shop.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I still keep a copy of the YP around just in case for some reason AT&T decides to work on the line and I don't have internet and I have to find a number. Other then that, there isn't much reason for them anymore, they have been replaced. You might find remnants of them until the early to mid baby boomer generation is still around, but after that, hard copies of various things(YP, books, newspapers, magazines) are going to start to be really hard to find as cost of producing those items electronically are almost total profit.

I have one client that owns her own nursery and I'm trying to get her to let me put her catalog into electronic format. I know I prefer the electronic format more. My parents every now and then like to have something physical to thumb through even though they do in the end use the electronic version more.

 

[TheSnowman]

I haven't used a phone book to get a number since high speed internet was available at my house seven years ago. I was always at the computer working, it was just quicker. Now, I have an iPhone, and I rarely ever use my computer to find numbers.

We didn't used to spend a ton, but I remember writing checks for $150/mo for a small ad, we dropped that probably three years ago, and I just have a one liner in there because we have Vonage, and the number isn't listed in the book.

 

[Bill Modzel]

We're down to a three line add and considering dropping it altogether next year. Thing is, we're still basically a screen print shop and 95% or the phone book calls are for t-shirts and we've never printed them and never will.
Maybe it would be more logical to place a "We don't print apparel" add in the book instead. It would probably pay for itself in time saved.

 

[SightLine]

We discontinued our phone book ad last year. Have not noticed it in the least other than we have one less bill....

 

[tattoo.dan]

You all share the same ideas and experiences as I am. I have been asking people where they heard of us for a while now and not one said the phone book. Times have changed...Thanks all for weighing in on this!

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

We'll ALL regret throwing away all those books when TP hit $9 a roll.

 

["Deposit Please"]

Pay over a thousand dollars for a teeny weeny 1" ad for one year and have it placed with about 100 other teeny weeny ads that offer same service. No thanks