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Yellow Page Extortion
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pilediver View Drop Down
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Joined: 03/December/2005
Location: Sidney BC Canad
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Points: 3235 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pilediver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Yellow Page Extortion
    Posted: 13/September/2006 at 12:48am
I sat down with my local Yellow Page (now owned by Verizon) representative today and discussed my intentions for their next publications.

He informed me that, as of this year, any new accounts with Yellow Pages have to pay the first THREE MONTHS billings at the time of booking their advertising. He said this applies to all new advertisers.

If a company was planning on being aggressive with their YP advertising that would be a lot of money out without receiving any benefit for six or seven months. The book closes in October and the publication comes out end of February or early March.

I know there are lots of opinions about YP both pro and con but these guys are making my expenditure decisions way easier.

Any thoughts?
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MR. STEAMER View Drop Down
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Joined: 03/March/2004
Location: Canada
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Points: 14549 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MR. STEAMER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/September/2006 at 9:24pm
location location location...lol
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jtuseo View Drop Down
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GULLY

Joined: 23/November/2005
Location: United States
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Points: 681 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jtuseo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/September/2006 at 10:48pm
advertize on the internet. Use the yellow pages to wrap fish
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pilediver View Drop Down
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Joined: 03/December/2005
Location: Sidney BC Canad
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Points: 3235 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pilediver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13/September/2006 at 11:05pm
I have asked many of my customers if they use the internet to source local services and many do.
I will be putting a lot of effort into my website and into seach optimization.
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Michael View Drop Down
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Joined: 18/June/2005
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Points: 557 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Michael Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/September/2006 at 4:56pm
Originally posted by pilediver pilediver wrote:

I have asked many of my customers if they use the internet to source local services and many do.
I will be putting a lot of effort into my website and into seach optimization.

Optimization is a real project. Even if you throw a lot of money at it, it will take awhile to score high on a Google search. But it's worth it.
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dennis_is_ok View Drop Down
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Joined: 02/August/2005
Location: Canada
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Points: 460 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dennis_is_ok Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:09pm
nobody uses the book but they do use
http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/
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pilediver View Drop Down
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Joined: 03/December/2005
Location: Sidney BC Canad
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Points: 3235 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pilediver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:17pm
I agree and you don't have to buy big advertisements to make an impact in this section. It puts the big spenders on par with the guy who is smart enough to say the right stuff in the right way. That is exactly what I intend on doing. Their extortion just caused them to lose 75% of what I was going to spend and that was a lot of money. Now I will spend it other ways and problably spend less of it.

I think there will be a big backlash to this policy. I only use the YP to look at my competitors ads. I use the internet to look up services on Canada 411 or a localized Google search.

Screw YP even if it works I will go another way.    
    

Edited by pilediver - 14/September/2006 at 11:19pm
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MR. STEAMER View Drop Down
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Points: 14549 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MR. STEAMER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:38pm
pile...yp is just a piece of the pie... you need it to become a whole pie...
 
YP
Direct Mail
Vehicle Advertising
Word of Mouth
Telemarketing
 
you need everything to get good flow.....but it will cost money...
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jtuseo View Drop Down
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GULLY

Joined: 23/November/2005
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Points: 681 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jtuseo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15/September/2006 at 10:17pm
This is my formula
 
Year round Local newspapers, Internet, Mail post cards to my customers, Door hangers in April and before the holidays & during the slow months. I also advertize on the back of store receipts at waldbaums & stop and shop. I did that this year and got 350 new customers. I also live in Nyc I have unlimited amount of customers
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MR. STEAMER View Drop Down
True Patriot
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Only in the GTA

Joined: 03/March/2004
Location: Canada
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Points: 14549 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MR. STEAMER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/September/2006 at 11:33pm
is 350 customers a lot????
 
www.mr-steamer.com
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Michael View Drop Down
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Joined: 18/June/2005
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Points: 557 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Michael Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/September/2006 at 12:51am
The better question is, how much of a return did you make on your investment?
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pilediver View Drop Down
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Joined: 03/December/2005
Location: Sidney BC Canad
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Points: 3235 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pilediver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/September/2006 at 2:25am
There is no doubt that YP can offer a return on investment. However given the opportunities with the internet and the "tuned marketing" that we have available to us from proven commodities like Howard Partridge and others I can choose to not rely on the YP like I was intending. The YP policy of new businesses paying 3 months up front is discriminatory and doesn't make good business sense to me. In my YP marketplace you have to pass 5 double page advertisements before you get to several full page advertisements. To get visibility in this crowd costs lots of money. For my market that amounts to spending approximately $40,000 per year of which $10,000 must be paid up front six months ahead of the books being delivered.

I think I can spend it more effectively by using a mix of direct marketing, customer base referral marketing and a well done website that is search optimized. I will still do a small amount of YP advertising because I have to.

YP books are becoming less preferred by many prospective customers in favor of YP web and phone directory internet and Google searches. Smaller advertisers that understand the importance of effective copy in advertisements and content on their websites can in today’s paradigm be on an even footing or ahead of the big dogs in their markets in the quest for new customers.   

    

Edited by pilediver - 17/September/2006 at 2:26am
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MR. STEAMER View Drop Down
True Patriot
True Patriot

Only in the GTA

Joined: 03/March/2004
Location: Canada
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Points: 14549 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MR. STEAMER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/September/2006 at 12:44pm
The YP is holding up someones couch...being used as a high chair......some times a plant stand....sometimes a step stool...or it's in a closet with all the years gone pass.....
 
People only use the damn thing when they have an emergency....plus you have pages and pages of competition.... if your ad doesn't stand out from the rest you are toast....
 
full or half page...or just don't bother..
 
rule of thumb....... most people call the biggest ads first
 
go big or go home
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jtuseo View Drop Down
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GULLY

Joined: 23/November/2005
Location: United States
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Points: 681 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jtuseo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17/September/2006 at 8:55pm
your right. To make you laugh I did a small $80 permonth ad in the yp and to my surprise i landed 1 $250 job. She then refered me to a $275 job. I know that will be the only work I get from that yp ad though, but I landed two new cuties.
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