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Your Yellow Page Ad Looks Terrible

Ok, we all know your hate what your yellow page ad (or ads) cost you, and when I wrote "How To Make Your Yellow Page Ads Pull More Leads", I had no idea we had ignited a powder keg! Readers responded in droves by faxing in their ads for a free critique. (My fax machine choked on a few terrible examples that came through.) Don't worry, all the offenders have been set straight.

After reviewing dozens of ads from readers across the country, a few trends in unprofitable ad design emerged. Here they are… 

Crime #1: No headline. Look, 80% of your ad's effectiveness (that you're paying for by the way) is in it's headline. A headline is "the ad for the ad" and commands an importance not approached by any other element in your ad. Your company name isn't a headline. A cartoon of a guy in a truck is not a headline. The "oldest, biggest, smallest, newest, fastest, mostest" anything is not a headline.

A headline is a strong, clearly stated benefit for the customer. Without one, your ad suffers miserably with all the other losers. With one, you stand out, get read, and get called. Isn't this why you're advertising in the first place?

Crime #2: Bad layout. The YP reps love to center vast blocks of text and change typestyles about every 3rd word. Here's my 3-word advice: Don't do it! Experts in human comprehension have many "don'ts" in ad copy layout: Don't exceed 5-7 words to a line. Don't center over 3 lines in a row. Don't put smaller than 14 point type in a reverse block. Don't have more than 8-10 words in a headline. And so on. Each of these rules were violated in the vast majority of ads I reviewed. This is costing you serious money in sheer ad cost and lacking results.

Crime #3: Dull, pointless copy or graphics. Most of what I saw were mere "menu listings" of services, generally laid out in some nonsensical fashion that lead absolutely nowhere. A staggering 86% of the ads I reviewed did not contain one complete sentence!

Worse than this, many of you continue to pay for things in ads that readers DO NOT see as benefits

Photos of trucks and vans - unless you're selling trucks and vans - don't increase traffic, yet they do cost you money.

Putting in logos "just because they fit" is not a good idea. Logos are not complete thoughts - they're symbols - and should be treated as such.

Phrases such as "For all your <service> needs" is a total waste of space. It is so overused, it means nothing to prospects. Same with about 6 other wildly overused phrases that the Yellow Page ad folks are passionately in love with for no apparent reason… other than to fill up your ads with them and charge you for their inclusion.

Crime #4: No "call to action." If you're not going to ask people to call you in some compelling way, pull your ad and save your money. There is no need, at any time, anywhere to pay for an ad that has no call to action.

Crime #5: Bad and costly waste of space. Hey, I'm a marketer; bad use of space means bad return on investment. This Crime is the overall loser. Pictures of stock art, oversized multiple logos, and absurd clusters of pointless phrases means your ad is just too much trouble to wade through. There is a logical order to all things. Your most expensive, year-long ad should certainly be among them.

Solution: Create a powerful headline. Punch up your copy. Get a compelling call to action, and lay it out so normal human beings can actually follow it! Then and only then will your YP ad reach its potential.
You may also have your ad critiqued and/or designed by a professional. You can then use this lead-generating ad for YP or newspaper, or many other ways. The small investment in getting this very important image and sales enhancer done right, will pay significant dividends for years.

Click here if you would like to have your ad critiqued for free.