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Even with today’s technology, it’s nearly impossible to construct a persuasive, phone-ringing Yellow Pages advertisement in under 30 minutes. Where did I get thirty minutes from? In 1975, my first gig was designing Yellow Page ads for a large national Yellow Pages publisher. I considered it my “dream job.” Our tight-knit group of creatives would dole out dozens of Yellow Page ads per day, every day. We did our best to make each ad a selling masterpiece BUT we did have a daily quota of 10-15 ads to contend withArrange time for breaks, paperwork, etc. and that rate works out to about 30 minutes per ad.

OK, so it takes more than 30 minutes, but why worry about Yellow Page ads?
Even as “online local search” continues to grow at a rapid clip, today’s print Yellow Page directories represent a not-too-shabby $14 billion a year industry, and has morphed into a broader medium that includes BOTH print and online capabilities. In fact, directional media (Yellow Pages, online local search and classified advertising) is expected to top $119 billion by 2010. For all of this, print Yellow Pages are still what they have always been, a very effective means of generating telephone calls and revenue from your most important local prospects.

So if the Yellow Pages designers can’t always produce great ads, who can?
My two year stint working for a Yellow Pages publisher taught me a great deal about ad design and Yellow Pages advertising. But despite a promotion to Art Director status, I soon left the Yellow Pages to start my own graphic design company…

After twenty years of running a successful design studio and servicing Fortune 500 members, the corporate advertising world had become stale and left me underwhelmed. I decided to re-visit the Yellow Pages industry and created a niche service that, at the time, practically didn’t exist: “The Yellow Page Ad Design Specialist.” By improving the message and visual impact in my clients‘ Yellow Page ads, I was able to unleash the incredible potential of the medium. Over the last decade, my clients and I have enjoyed phenomenal success, and my niche market has spawned many competitors.

How can you outmaneuver and outsell your Yellow Page competitors?
While designing phenomenal Yellow Page ads takes more than a few tips - it takes real design talent, advertising experience, and expertise in the dynamics of Yellow Page advertising - the very best guidelines for Do-It-Yourselfers can be found in “Effective Yellow Pages Advertising for Lawyers” written by the late Kerry Randall. It was written for attorneys but its’ principles apply to any business appearing in the Yellow Pages. After exhaustive analysis, Kerry determined that nearly all effective, call-generating Yellow Page ads include six key elements. He taught that all high-performance Yellow Page ads should contain:

• Strong headlines that command attention and engage readers
• A laser-sharp focus; a willingness to ignore most readers
• Arresting, eye-captivating illustrations or photographs
• Clearly identifiable differences ( from competitive advertisers)
• Relevant copy (text) that covers less than 50% of the ad space
• Professional-looking, clutter-free layouts

I’ve developed and been preaching very similar principles to my Yellow Page clients for a decade so I wasn’t overly surprised when Mr. Randall emailed me kudos for our Yellow Page advertising efforts. Kerry’s recent passing was a big loss for the industry but he left behind a sparkling gem of a book that will continue to help countless Yellow Page advertisers. Whether you’re determined to create your very own Yellow Page ad or looking to hire an independent designer, Kerry’s masterful dissertation is an invaluable guide.

And you’ll need a guide in picking out an effective designer. Remember, every industry has it’s share of sneaky imposters. It only takes about $20 a month to hang out your electronic shingle these days and some Yellow Page ad “professionals” lack even a formal advertising design background, let alone a solid, direct-response experience, or a successful track-record for their clients.

Scrutinize prospective designer’s Yellow Page ad samples in light of these 6 principles. Make sure that the ads clearly and honestly speak to the prospects’ emotional needs and effectively persuade prospects by presenting the very best solution to their specific problem. Also verify that the Yellow Page design specialist you choose has a solid direct-response background and a successful track-record for their clients.

Otherwise, you’d be better off doing a little reading and create your own persuasive Yellow Pages advertisement. One that will deliver “off-the-hook” phone calls for you, 365 days a year! If you stumble along the way or you need a few pointers, let me know if I can help.

John Morana is president of MaxEffect Yellow Page Ad Design and has specialized in print advertising design for over 3 decades. He has developed print advertising for Bausch & Lomb, Kodak, Time Warner Communications, Xerox, USA Today and thousands of Yellow Page advertisers around the world. For more tips and quick answers to your Yellow Page ad design questions OR to request a free, no-obligation Yellow Page ad design evaluation: Call toll-free 800-726-7006 or Visit: http://www.max-effect.com

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When you read your Yellow Pages contract you will see initials for various items success as BLN, WBLN, WFL, and ABLN. Most of these items cost between $ 7 and $34. Do you ever ask your sales Rep “what the heck is this?” The reason you don’t ask is because the item only cost $ 30 dollars, and you had it last year, and you don’t want to appear stupid asking questions about $ 30.. The problem is that these unidentified items can add thousands of dollars to your advertising bill.

When you read your Yellow Pages contract ask the publisher’s sales Rep what all the initials are and why do you need them. In almost all cases you don’t need them because there is a cheaper or free version available.

White page listing (WBLN) - If you have a business phone you are entitled to a free listing of your business name, address and phone number in the White Pages and the Yellow Pages. You will be told that it’s much easier for your customer to read a bold listing (BLN) and it only cost $31 than the semi bold free listing. Unfortunately it is not $31 but $372. The $31 is for one month but the contract is for a year. It is very clever the way the publishers show all costs on your contract by the month instead of by the year, even though the contract is for a year. Ninety percent of all business name listings in the white pages are the free listings version and their customers seem to be able to find them. People read the white pages alphabetically and the bold print can actually be confusing.

White Feature Listing (WFL) - This is the super big print that you see in the white pages. A bold white page listing (WBLN) cost $31 a month while the super bold (WFL) listings cost $90 a month or $1080 for the year. Can you imagine paying $1080 for something that is free, yet thousands of businesses have WFL’s.

Anchor Bold Listing and Number (ABLN) - If you purchase a display ad you receive a free Incolumn listing in the same heading the display ad appears. You will be told that it’s much easier for the customer to read your name if it is bold. An anchor listing is the business name, address and phone number and where your ad is located (see our ad on page 456). The price of a bold anchor listing can ranges from $30 to $114 a month or you can get it for free (ARL). As my son would say Duuuh.

Buy the largest display ad -All advertisers are told that the largest display and will receive the most calls. However research shows that the ad that contains the most pertinent information that the consumer is looking for, in an easy-to-read format, will receive the most calls regardless of size. Spend your money on ad design and copywriting instead of Yellow Pages ad space and you can reduce your advertising costs by 50% or more.

Process color ads - The Yellow Pages sales Rep will bring in a sample ad for your business that looks like it’s straight out of Time magazine. Unfortunately a process color ad adds 40% to the cost over a black and yellow or spot color ad. There is no evidence in any study of Yellow Pages advertising that a process color ad increases customer calls.

Businesses that have followed my advice have been able to reduce their Yellow Pages costs by as much as 50%. Take charge of your yellow page program, and examine every item on your contract.

Never let the Yellow Pages publisher design your ad because they design all of your competitor’s ads. The best money you can spend in Yellow Pages advertising is for a professionally designed ad. Remember the best designed ad will get the most calls.

Michael Warner, known as Doctor Yellow Page to many yellow pages advertisers, has operated a successful Yellow Pages consulting and design company for over 20 years, and can be seen and contacted at http://www.doctoryellowpage.com The good Doctor offers a free evaluation of your Yellow Pages ads and contracts.

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