Hi,
I rented a list of Yellow Page advertisers recently, hoping to create a better list than I created on my own for FLCW leads. Boy, did this backfire!

I asked InfoUSA for YP display advertisers in my area for certain SICs and certain dollar volume in annual sales that I wanted to work with.

My first mailing got 0 response. My second mailing got 0 response. I went to assemble a phone list to call them. What I discovered is that:
* many of the businesses had NO display ad, just a line listing,
* many of the names had no listing whatsoever,
* several were out of business.

Several nixies made their way back to me too, but I expected that.

What really floored me was when I related the story to a friend in a totally unrelated business. He said, "You did business with those guys?" as if everyone knew better!

The rep at Info USA was not very helpful, and after many complaints offered me 200 free leads to compensate for stacks of wasted paper & postage. Oh boy... a free serving of the food that already made me sick! They never did offer a real explanation of exactly why the data was so inaccurate.

InfoUSA advertises full-page in DM News. I would be careful if you're tempted to work with them. My list was relatively small -- it should have been really easy to service! If you're already working with them, I hope they treat you better than they did me.

Jeff

Hey Jeff,

Man, I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience there. I one used InfoUsa a long time ago don't think I got any response from the list I rented, but then at the time I knew nothing about proper direct mail or copywriting so I'm sure I was mostly to blame.

I've only recently developed interest in doing YP makeovers, but I would think the best list you can use is the one you put together yourself based on what you see in your local Yellow Pages. In a recent post JP had the excellent idea of actually ripping out the display ad and enclosing that with the letter you send to someone to offer your help - and that just sounds like a fantastic way to get an advertisers attention to me!

Just out of curiosity - what kind of offer were you making these folks? I would think the best thing would be to offer a free report to give them some free advice while you get their name on your email list so you can continue to give them reasons to work with you.

Cheers,

Steve,

I offered a special report, a time-sensitive discount and an actual case study ("turn right now to page 571 in your Yellow Pages book...").

The first mailing I did was a list I compiled myself. I figured it was weak because I had no name to address, just the biz. When I called, most thought the letter was from the YP rep and ignored it because they had already renewed (although there was plenty of time to beat the publishing deadline) OR because they were just too cheap to even consider some marketing help. That was Yellow Book, and that deadline came & went.

Next mailing was Yellow Pages. The list from InfoUSA was supposed to be based on a display ad, minimum # of employees, certain sales volume and include a name. In other words, more targeted. I changed the headline a bit to make it clear I was not with the YP publisher.

It appears to me that this is really an educational thing. I don't think most advertisers would see the value of a re-written ad unless it was explained to them part-by-part (all due respect to JP). That's why I included the case study in the sales letter. "This is why you need a headline..." etc. I dissected the ad to show why it was lame.

I may have erred in disclosing the price, but I had to in order to discount it (or maybe I didn't). It was even "reason why" -- to spread out my workload!

At any rate, I'm looking for a new hook, because we're now months and months away from any publishers' new-book deadline. I thought the deadline and one-year YP committment would be a slam-dunk.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Jeff Sharp

Hi Jeff,

I haven't actually tried the YP thing as I've been wrapped up with a couple of other projects, but here's a site you might try:
http://www.yellowpagesprofit.com

I'm not associated with that site in any way, but Alan Saltz is a frequent
contributor here and would probably be a good resource for you.

Kindest regards,

radioboyalan

YELLOW PAGE ADVERTISERS List

10,262,518 Total Advertisers $100/M

YELLOW PAGE ADVERTISERS are businesses that advertise in the yellow pages. These business are 100% telephone verified. This database also offers a full range of powerful marketing selects. YELLOW PAGE ADVERTISERS is one of the most efficient lists on the marketfor reaching companies who want to promote and grow their businesses.

Additions Selections:

Professional Titles- Please inquire

Year Business Was Started- Please inquire

AD Size @ N/C

Add'l Selects- Please inquire

AD Size:

Regular Listing 7,567,342

Bold Listing 855,107

In-Column Ad 1,051,732

Display Ad 788,337

http://www.walterkarl.com/content/da...6&mode=Managed


Note that key select of "AD size" @ N/C.

But, before running out and buying this list I'd post the actual direct mail piece here and see if that isn't a major part of the no response problem.

I had one bad experience with InfoUSA myself when I was first starting out about 4 years ago, and that has soured me on them for good. Fortunately I was able to make lemons out of lemonade, but I had to put in a lot of extra time to do it. I bought a list of marketing, advertising, and graphic design firms who did a certain volume of business annually, in a certain geographic area. I specified by primary SIC codes, meaning I did not want somebody if their SIC code matched but wasn't the primary one. I got a LOT of trash on the list - crap like printers who also listed graphic design among their services, solo practitioners, stuff like that.

I got on the net and on the phone, and winnowed down that 200+ list to 60 viable candidates. Then I mailed. Out of 60 postcards mailed, I got 8 responses, 7 meetings, and 6 clients. I learned two valuable things: 1) be careful with InfoUSA and 2) I hated working with agencies, and decided never to do it again. But I did get some good experience and portfolio pieces out of it.

You get what you pay for when you use InfoUSA. What's the cost per 1000 there? It can't be much.

Good mailing lists cost (at least in this day and age) $100 per 1000. Period.

If $100 for 1000 names is a respectable amount to pay for quality names, I am embarrassed to say I was royally ripped off. Ah well, live and learn.

Folks,

Here is the headline and start of the sales letter I used for this campaign.

The formatting in this post does not match the letter. The first line is a pre-head that appears in the upper left corner. The lower case in the headline was yellow-hilighted.

Critical Notice for Yellow Pages Advertisers:

“TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR YOU TO EXPLODE YOUR PROFITS

WITH A NEW, KILLER YELLOW PAGES AD

(using psychological buying triggers totally unknown to your YP rep),

AND TO SAVE $100 IN THE PROCESS!”

Your SBC/ATT Yellow Pages Ad Deadline is July 26, 2006. My independent audit of your ad indicates that you have been losing business to your YP competition, and that your ad could pull at least 135% more phone calls *without* increasing the ad size OR the monthly cost...

Dear Fellow Business Owner:
If you’re NOT swamped with cash from all your new customers… if you DON’T have a cramp from lugging a fat wallet around with you … if you’re DISAPPOINTED in the low amount of actual business you got from your last Yellow Pages ad…thank heavens you can read this letter before the deadline!!
*
*


I know it's not Halbert or Carlton. I'd appreciate your comments.

Thanks,
Jeff

If I read your headline I would immediately think it was from my Yellow Pages representative and I would probbly ignore it. After all, who else would warn me of a deadline coming other than a sales rep?

Overall, the openning seems weak to me and wouldn't catch my attention or imagination.

I think you focus too much on the deadline and the potential cost savings up front. You first have to prove to them that you'll bring them more sales.

If I was running a Yellow Page ad, what I would want to see is your commentary/critique of my ad and examples of how you've helped others make money with their ads. Better yet, others in the same field as me.

Maybe something like "Why is auto mechanic John Smith increasing the size of his Yellow Page ad while all the other auto mechanics are canceling their ads? Does he know something they don't"

Or, if you want to go the classic route...

"All the other auto mechanics around town laughed at me when I showed them my new Yellow Pages ad. But their laughter turned to envy and jealousy when they saw the cars lining up in front of my station."

You get the idea.

Just my two cents

James