Merchant Accounts

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she would press Iraq's Arab neighbors hard next week to do more to support Baghdad's government and shield it from Iran's "nefarious influences."

Sorry to be bugging you on your day off, but after youve been to church, had lunch with the family or been out golfing, return with me to your den and take a moment to look at your ad. In review, until now, Ive had you create a more effective headline, sub-head, photo, body text, and made you consider your ad size, placement, and type of customer you are targeting. So, what could possibly be so important that I would bother you on a Sunday afternoon? Well, its just this very important thing you have to do to measure your ad if you dont want to waste your money. Its called tracking.

Even if all the elements are in place, you have to know if the ad is getting you the results you hoped for. This is especially crucial if you have other forms of advertising. Suppose you have newspaper, direct mail, and Yellow Pages. When the customer calls in, how do you know which of the media is working? Or, if you have several YP ads, which is the one carrying its weight? There are many ways to track the results, beginning with the ad itself. You could place a special phone number in the ad that isnt listed anywhere else. When that line rings, its from a specific ad. Or place a line of copy that says, Ask for Fred for a discount. In another ad, it says, Ask for Bob.

If the ad is already in the book, jot down every page number with the various ads and have the person answering your phone ask for that number at the end of the call. Then have a notepad next to each phone and tally the results weekly or monthly. Of course, you have to train each employee to ask for that number. But its important to know how many calls come directly from your YP ad to gauge the effectiveness. Anyway, its a day of rest but I just wanted you to be thinking of ways to insure that your program is a success.

Speaking of success, you may want to learn about all the other vital elements to your ad. Right about now, you also might also be asking yourself how I know so much about directory advertising.

Well, I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. Ive been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have experience in creating ads and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective ones. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in essentials areas like the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must also understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

So consider getting some expert advice before you place your next ad. If you want to more detailed instruction on all the inside secrets to better YP marketing, then please visit my website listed below.

Jeffrey Hausers latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages, which can be viewed at http://www.poweradbook.com

He was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

posted by ma31592  # 10:43 PM