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Check out my new Yellow Page ad. Feedback would be great.
did you build the ad yourself, Ron?
Looks like a real eye catcher.
Yes. It took me about 2 weeks working on it part time. This will be running on the back cover of the phone book.
Ron,
Did you purchase the rights to the winged cherubs? Can you tell me how much they cost? I wanted to buy them earlier, but it was a rather high price then and I didn’t want to publish without owning them. The owners might get a little mad…Well, actually nore than a little.
Looks pretty good though…in those colors as well?
Dave in Lancaster County Pa
No I didn’t. I thought they were corporate provided. Can you point me in the right direction to get them?
The image “http://www.ronhollingsworth.com/ad.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
Did you take it down?
Nope, something is up with the server. I’ve contact my host.
Call Jim Dickey or Barry Lowenthal in DC…they used it and I think others have as well. I know that they bought the rights, about $500 if my memory serves. Cody was looking into trying to purchase some corporate rights I think. Not sure of status… Copyright laws are really serious stuff. In RCA, we had a real problem with it. Hope this helps. Not trying to stir up stuff, only protecting you. Dave
Thanks Dave. The site is now up and you can see it here.
If anyone wants to use this ad let me know. I can customize it to fit your needs.
Ron looks great. I would like to know the response you get by putting your ad on the back cover of the book. I always assumed it was to expensive although everybody would see your ad. Here in Fort Collins, CO more people are liking the whole organic thing. It was my wife’s idea to put in all caps and bold lettering ORGANIC/Citrus based Solution. I talked to John as said if that was accurate and he said he would get back to me which he did and he said yes. I cleaned a house today and that is the main reason she called. I don’t know how much it will help. We shall see!!!!
ORGANIC/Citrus based is very misleading to me. It has the connotation of being natural to me since I was raised on organically grown foods until I was 11.
I do not believe the citrus based materials referred to are truly citrus based as used in the HB Citrus booster or as an additive elsewhere. I belive they are man-made chemicals made to smell like citrus but not really Organic/natural God-made organic citrus.
They may be organic in nature since they may contain carbon, however, then that would mean that there should me no inorganic chemicals in the mixture and I am sure that there are…
Since the composition is not listed due to the nature of OSHA laws, one can only believe that they are relatively safe. But saying they are ORGANIC, to me , is a misnomer, since they are most likely manmade chemicals giving the citrus the citrus name….if that makes sense. The word ORGANIC has the connotation of God-made, not man-made.
One could always have the chemicals analyzed by a lab to determine the composition though and end the issue…a customer or mine took our MSDS to at least 2 local vets and they thankfully sent her away….
Dave
I’m nearing the beginning of my 4th year and like what the yellow page ads have done for me in the past, however, 25-40% growth per/year is not fast enough for me. I’m in both Dex and The Yellow Book, spending about $250/month in each with a dollar bill size ad (no color). So, I spend $6000/year with the yellow pages and approx. $6000/year w/ the newspapers. I am cosidering working my way to the top of the phone books w/ the largest ad. A full page ad in Dex, w/ color, will run about $1200/month. A full page ad in Dex and a smaller ad in TYB is my consideration. I realize no two areas are the same, but does anyone feel the yellow pages alone is the way to go? My goal is to become the largest carpet cleaning service in my area, running up to 10 trucks. I feel Dex is used more in my area vs. The Yellow Book. Feed-back is more than welcome!!!!!!!
Brian, The price of the ad is second to it’s usage. Do you track how your customers are finding you? Is Dex the most used book in your area? You have a great reputation! Do you have the employee’s in place for the increase in business? Do your employee’s get paid based upon customer satisfation?
In many cases establishing the business end of business will determine it’s growth. It’s a bounce between 100% quality work and running a business. For example… 1. evaluation cards 2. reminder cards (every six months) 3. newsletters (take allot of time but become very important in building dominance.) 4. have a checks and balance program set up. (have the employee report something good about the person or place, have a person call each customer, within 24hrs of job. “Hi, Mrs. Jones, this is Jenifer from the Heaven’s best quality control division. Earlier today Heaven’s best cleaned your carpets, is that right? Can I ask a few breif questions about their appearence and quality of their work? By the way, Brian your cleaning tech, said he loved the blue carpet “(the stone drive way, you husband’s model T in the garage or what ever good he had to report positively). Ask a few questions fron the eval card and them say, “Brian recommended that the carpet be cleaned every six months.(nine months or a year, What ever is recommended) Could I scedual that for you and have a reminder card sent out about three weeks before the date of cleaning?”
Most of us are extremely good at cleaning and rely solely on advertising and let the business run us insted of us running the business. There is not a wrong way between the two, it’s what you want out of the business or what you want to make of it.
Brian,
Interesting and I’ve thought about this as well. Remember that old saying that you need to fish when the fish are biting. Do you think that your spring and fall newpaper advertising can be eliminated? Will the yellow pages alone find those biting fish? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I personally would be afraid to spend so much on yellow pages that I couldn’t spend on newpaper ads.When I am in the market for anything…especially services, I always have gone to the Yellow Pages/Book…first.
Where do all of you go when you are looking for a service? The newspaper? ValPak? just wait for a flyer to come in the mail? The PennySaver?
My only concern is this…in our new ad with logo, I cannot say more do the restrictions…I am hopeful that saying less says more. If that makes any sense to anyone. Our current ad has worked like a charm. Oh well, hope this works better than the signage installation on our vans.
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