[Continued from Part 1]

Sub-Headlines
After you've got their attention with your rewarding headline you'll want to lock them in to reading the rest of your ad.

Sub-headlines can give you (at least) three benefits.
1. They split the ad up so it makes it easier for the potential client to read your advert. One massive chunk of text can be a little off-putting if the client is in a hurry.
2. You can outline the important points of your product or service without taking up too much of your potential client's time.
3. You get a second-chance to get the reader interested if you then outline, e.g., those "6 reasons to buy our hand-made stationary". Don't make the client work too hard - and give them the reward to make them happy they are reading your advert.

Main Body Copy
You get one chance in Yellow Pages. So make the main content of your advert convert potential clients into paying. Don't waffle. Just give the reader enough information to be interested enough to call you instead of your competitors. Tell them as much as they need, but don't over-egg your pudding.

Only make one offer in your advert, but make it enticing enough to pull in your customer.

Keywords
In addition to the above components, Yellow Pages readers are often also looking for keywords. They want these to be prominent in the advert they select.

For example, you're looking to get your car resprayed. The keywords you need to see in an ad are "car" and "respray". But if the advert just says "bodywork repairs and car renovation", you're likely to skip over it.

Think like your market. Think of the adjectives that are foremost in their mind when they pick up the Yellow Pages. You can't expect to hit every potential client, but you should be targeting a specific cross-section of potential clients. It's easier to hit 100% of the 20 people looking for fish tank repairs rather than 0.00005% of people looking at pet supplies.

Use of Pictures
Readers see pictures before they see words. A meaningful picture in your advert should help your response increase. If your benefit is friendly customer service, a photograph of a smiling receptionist may be attractive. If you are in pest control - a rat in a cross-hair would demonstrate your effectiveness.

But please, as is often the case with 'home-made' Yellow Pages ads, don't try to be clever or funny in your advert. No one buys from clowns.

If you are a sole trader, it can also be useful to put a picture of yourself in the advert. Essentially, you are saying to the client "I am willing to be judged on my workmanship". This can be a powerful magnet to those readers who like the personal approach. But know your customer before going ahead with this.

Call To Action
A principle that is true for all forms of advertising, you have to spell out to your client WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO. There is no shame in printing at the foot of your advert "Call Stacey right now for an over-the-phone quotation". Don't mess about.

Again, in common with other forms of advertising, the client needs three things to make the call to action have an effect on them.
1. When: Right now is preferable. "Call Now!", "Contact Us Immediately" etc.
2. How: How should they contact you? "Email us at...", "Fax your requirement to 020...","Freephone 0800..."
3. What are they contacting you for?: "...to arrange an appointment", "...to get our best locksmith to your door in 60 minutes".

4: How Large Should Your Advert Be?

Who knows. Only by testing will you find the optimal size for your ad. It can depend on the type of business you're advertising. Testing can prove that buying an ad that's twice as big can double your response rate.

Obviously the bigger your ad, the more likely it is to get seen, and the bigger ads usually (not always) get displayed at the start of the section.

You have to think like your customer when they open the Yellow Pages. They'll generally call round maybe 6 to 10 providers so they get an idea of who's offering the bestvalue /prices/response/whatever. So you have to ensure you're at least in this initial set of likely providers. Some shoppers will be looking for something specific, and not call you unless you're display that thing they are specifically looking for. But in general, bigger is better.

But - you have to balance the likely cost of a large ad with the likely response and the amount of cash those responses will put in your bank account. Do your sums before shelling out on the biggies.

The question you might ask yourself when trying to decide how big to make your advert is "How much do I want to make?" then calculate if it costs £12,000 for a quarter-page ad for one year and that is very likely to bring in £15,000 in 6 months...

5: Anything else?

Just to round up here a little bit (as there's plenty of information in the preceding paragraphs), you might not have thought of:

How to produce the ad. Do you need extra photographs of your product, or service in action? Go professional for your photographs - it will reflect well on you.

What to say when customers call. If your Yellow Pages advert starts an earthquake and your telephone shakes itself off your desk, you'll need to know what you're going to say to convert those hot leads into paying customers. You only need a few lines to get things rolling and to hook the customers in. There's acres of pages on how to put together a decent 'phone script'. I should get round to writing a quick page on it soon.

What to say when customers call. If your Yellow Pages advert starts an earthquake and your telephone shakes itself off your desk, you'll need to know what you're going to say to convert those hot leads into paying customers

In the meantime, remember the last time you called a company from the Yellow Pages?
"Hi, VHL Air Conditioning"
"Hello, I'm just calling to find out the price of a portable air-condition unit".
"£200 to £800 for the larger ones".
"Thanks, I'll telephone some other suppliers and call you back".
*clunk*

Did you call back? Maybe if it was the best price, and that was all you were interested in. But instead of just blankly reciting your price list, try and give your prospective customer some *immediate value* by taking an interest in their problem. They're not looking for an air-conditioning unit, they want a cool comfortable environment.
"Hi, VHL Air Conditioning"
"Hello, I'm just calling to find out the price of a portable air-condition unit".
"Thanks for calling us. So we can help you with the most suitable product for your needs, can I ask a couple of questions first please?"
"Yes, go ahead" (no one will ever refuse to be asked a few questions that will help them get what they want)
"Is the unit for a domestic or business premises?"
"Domestic"
"So you need your home to be cool and comfortable. Is this for the main living area? It is? How large is that room?"
"10 by 24 feet"
"Well in that case, that's a very reasonable size, so we'd recommend Model ZC300..."
"That sounds excellent"
"And how about your bedroom area, is that comfortable enough for you? We could recommend the smaller companion model the ZC100 for silent night use".

You get the idea. You've learned something about the customer's needs, and you can better fit your product or service to fulfill their needs. You also have more scope for selling them a combination of products, or services.

Do you have enough stock if the ad goes through the roof? There's nothing quite as disheartening in business as hitting a rich seam of customers, and finding you cannot satisfy them. Be this distribution, time constraints, whatever. At least have some kind of idea what you will do if 30 people need their Chiropractic appointments this week - you might be able to sub-contract them to approved practitioners. And you're on your way to getting paid while someone else does the work...

For further reading, I'll put together a few ideas for writing headlines that will draw in the Yellow Pages customers and have them calling you, desperate to give you their money.

[photo: Andy Hargraves]