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<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>Happy news. I
don't use a business line, just residential--one of the many advantages =
of
ruralness. So I have to pay to be YP listed. I'm the only one in many =
phone
books around here and one of three in the the Rolla, MO book. No one has =
a
display ad.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>My =
comments on YP
as a use for promotional dollars was based on the absurdly high price =
they want
for those ads and the year-long lock-in (no flexibility, if the ad =
doesn't pull,
you're stuck). I used to own an executive consulting firm in St. =
Louis.
After getting soaked for several years, we retreated from YP ads. But we =
ran a
good-pulling ad every week in the Sunday Post-Dispatch. =
THAT'S expensive,
too, but we could adjust ad copy and location week by week and not
advertise on holiday weekends, etc. Flexibility is not a YP
benefit.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>Unless one
is in city market with a bunch of competitors, I think promotional $ can =
be
spent much more effectively than the YP. That was my =
point.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>I
also believe, based on my experience, that the most valuable
long-term, business building clientele, does not come from =
"shoppers,"
though I do take your point about people getting a referral, then =
forgetting the
name. You DO have to be in the book and I think the bold =
listing is
worthwhile, but not necessarily any more than that.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>Also, if you have
multiple services & products, I think it pays to buy listings =
in more
than one section, too. Exposure is a good thing.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>And =
lastly, I do
have an ad in one book, for a specific reason, but it is a =
professionally
designed ad I submitted to them. The ads that YP companies will slap =
together
for you are usually sub-par at best.</FONT> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003></SPAN><SPAN =
class=684513015-01052003><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>Alan
Barnard</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>Salem,
MO</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff =
size=2>(Hey Wim, "What's
shakin' in Alabama?")</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=684513015-01052003></SPAN><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=684513015-01052003><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff> </FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>