What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "advertising?"

Then the answer should be TV commercials. Print ads. Direct mail. Brochures. Billboards. Flyers. Ads on the back of bathroom stall doors.

Everything except Yellow Pages, right? Truth is, Yellow Pagesadvertising is very important to your business.

The fundamentals are tricky and the competition stiff. But these tips explain the advantages and essentials you need to create your own Yellow Pages ad:

Ad Placement :
Yellow Pagesads are placed from biggest to smallest. Full page ads, 3/4 and so on. Flip through your phone book and take a look at the restaurants section. The very first full page ad you see is not randomly placed. This advertiser has had their full page ad the longest. If they were to give up their full page ad and downgrade to a 3/4, they would be the very last 3/4 ad you'd see until a newer advertiser bought a 3/4 page ad. It's all seniority-based. So if someone has the highest level 3/4 page and upgrades to a full page, they're still last until someone newer buys the same type ad.

Color:
Research is conducted every year to see if a color ad generates more response than a black and white. Every year, the results are the same. Color ads do not outpull a b&w. Color ads are also more expensive so this is a cost to consider eliminating from your ad budget.

Headline:
Tell your customers the benefits of buying your products/services immediately! There's not much time so you have to grab a potential customer's attention. Tell them how long you've been in business, why you are different from your competitors and what associations you belong to.

Open 24-7:
Another Yellow Pagesbenefit is that they're available 24-hours a day. People are usually ready to make a purchase or get more information when they use the Yellow Pages.

Research Proven :
Studies show eight out of 10 consumers contacted a contractor from an ad in the Yellow Pages. Out of that number, 40% made a purchase and an additional 40% said they were likely to make a purchase.

Target Market :
One of the unique advantages of Yellow Pages ads is the ability to target an audience in a specific geographical area.

365 Days A Year:
No matter how much begging and pleading you do, it won't make a difference. Once your ad goes in the Yellow Pages, it's going to stay that way for an entire year. Proofread! Proofread! Proofread! If you sell "dogs" and your ad says you sell "dots" then you'll have to wait until next year to fix the error.

As you can see, there's a lot more to Yellow Pagesads than just throwing your name, address and phone number in a box. That's why there are plenty of advertising agencies exclusively devoted to Yellow Pages advertising.