Yellow Page Ad Design: Does Adding Color Make Sense For You?

By: John Morana
Submitted: 2007-01-17 11:40:39
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You know Yellow Page advertising isn’t cheap. But you probably also know that a high-performing Yellow Page ad can pay for itself ten times over. One easy way to both economize and maximize your return on investment is to forget about costly color options such as white knockouts, spot colors and the very expensive "4-color process" option. Your Yellow Page sales rep will eagerly show you multiple studies claiming that color always increases ad response. Don't buy into it! Color is the "golden egg," high-profit item for Yellow Page publishers... Most would bend over backwards and sideways to convince you to buy.

The fact is color has little to do with how well an ad will "perform." While a multiple color ad will be flashy to the eye, a blur of color can’t speak to the desire or felt needs of your prospects. Color just can’t hold a prospect’s attention long enough for an ad’s message to sink in. How successfully are you able to screen out neon signs, full color billboards, etc.? How easily does the new car you’re interested in jump out at you from the blur of traffic? The new car speaks to your desires, while the billboard (more often than not) doesn’t. Color alone simply doesn’t speak to prospects’ desires.

The truth is, there are only two factors that will determine how many CALLS your new Yellow Page ad will generate:

1. The ability of your Yellow Page ad DESIGN to attract attention (and not just momentarily catch the eye of a prospect)
2. The CONTENT of your Yellow Page ad.

Superior design is more than eye catching – great design attracts attention AND speaks to the desire of the customer. This is a challenging balance and it’s why you'd be wise to leave the design of your ad to a genuine Yellow Page ad design expert.

Successful Yellow Page ad design requires a unique set of skills and few people have the direct response background and experience in the Yellow Page medium to actually make your phones ring off the hook. If you find the right expert, the small additional cost for a professionally designed ad will be well worth the improved response rate you'll enjoy, not to mention the savings you'll reap by foregoing color in your ad.

Don't let anyone fool you! The manner in which your Yellow Page ad is developed will largely determine your success or failure! Your Yellow Page ad will be surrounded by ALL of your competitors. Your ad MUST visually stand out from the pack and be able to draw readers into the content. A professionally executed 1 color Yellow Page ad with compelling copy will always outperform a full-color ad that is improperly designed and is full of generic, meaningless ad copy.

So, if you're considering expensive color options for your next Yellow Pages ad put your money where it matters most: Effective ad design and compelling content FIRST, positioning (ad size) SECOND and color LAST!

Most Yellow Page advertisers greatly under estimate the importance of effective Yellow Page ad design. It's unfortunate because print Yellow Page directories are still one of the very best ways to reach into the hearts and minds of your local market. If you'd like additional tips and suggestions on effective Yellow Page ad design, feel free to drop me a line.

John Morana is president of MaxEffect Yellow Page Ad Design and has specialized in print advertising design for over 3 decades. He has developed print advertising for Bausch & Lomb, Kodak, Time Warner Communications, Xerox, USA Today and thousands of Yellow Page advertisers around the world. For more tips and quick answers to your Yellow Page ad design questions OR to request a free, no-obligation Yellow Page ad design evaluation: Call toll-free 800-726-7006 or Visit http://www.max-effect.com/

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