ight I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

It’s mid-week and we’ve been going over your directory marketing. Okay, so you have a pretty good Yellow Page ad, but is “pretty good” enough? You have so many parts of the ad to work well, where do you begin to make it better? Assuming that you have a solid headline and sub-head, the next place the reader will turn is to the picture or photograph. If you are an emergency service firm like a plumber or electrician, do you have a picture of your truck in the ad? Does it have your logo on the side and is it nice and shiny? It is? Then shame on you! Who cares that you have a truck, van, bus, hummer, or any other vehicle to carry you and your parts. The average customer assumes you have a truck, and you have legs, arms and a head. So don’t show yourself either.

So what should you show? It depends on the headline and topic or focus of the ad. If you are a mover, do you begin with “Professional Moving,” as the headline? Let’s hope you got a bit more creative and came up with something like, “We Safely Relocate Families.” Then the sub-head says, “The safe moving of your precious belongings is our number one priority.” Great, you say, so NOW do you put a picture of that huge semi with the large logo on the side in the ad?

Of course not. You have to tie into the headline. Rather than waste the space with a moving truck photo, become creative. What is the ad really selling? It’s the safe delivery of personal items, furniture, or other valuables and collectibles. So what would show that happy outcome? How about a photo of the result? Might I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

ke a plumber or electrician, do you have a picture of your truck in the ad? Does it have your logo on the side and is it nice and shiny? It is? Then shame on you! Who cares that you have a truck, van, bus, hummer, or any other vehicle to carry you and your parts. The average customer assumes you have a truck, and you have legs, arms and a head. So don’t show yourself either.

So what should you show? It depends on the headline and topic or focus of the ad. If you are a mover, do you begin with “Professional Moving,” as the headline? Let’s hope you got a bit more creative and came up with something like, “We Safely Relocate Families.” Then the sub-head says, “The safe moving of your precious belongings is our number one priority.” Great, you say, so NOW do you put a picture of that huge semi with the large logo on the side in the ad?

Of course not. You have to tie into the headline. Rather than waste the space with a moving truck photo, become creative. What is the ad really selling? It’s the safe delivery of personal items, furniture, or other valuables and collectibles. So what would show that happy outcome? How about a photo of the result? Might I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

should you show? It depends on the headline and topic or focus of the ad. If you are a mover, do you begin with “Professional Moving,” as the headline? Let’s hope you got a bit more creative and came up with something like, “We Safely Relocate Families.” Then the sub-head says, “The safe moving of your precious belongings is our number one priority.” Great, you say, so NOW do you put a picture of that huge semi with the large logo on the side in the ad?

Of course not. You have to tie into the headline. Rather than waste the space with a moving truck photo, become creative. What is the ad really selling? It’s the safe delivery of personal items, furniture, or other valuables and collectibles. So what would show that happy outcome? How about a photo of the result? Might I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

icture of that huge semi with the large logo on the side in the ad?

Of course not. You have to tie into the headline. Rather than waste the space with a moving truck photo, become creative. What is the ad really selling? It’s the safe delivery of personal items, furniture, or other valuables and collectibles. So what would show that happy outcome? How about a photo of the result? Might I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

ight I suggest a small child sitting on the floor of the new house, surrounded by boxes and the parents in the background putting stuff away. Wouldn’t that illustrate a perfect ending to a move? Would that trump a picture of a moving truck every time? You bet it would. Therefore, show photographs of happy people with successful outcomes because that’s really what you’re all about.

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. I’ve 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.