We all want our moneys worth! Whether it's a new car purchase or that huge high-def plasma TV you've been eyeing for the past year, you want the maximum benefits from every single purchase you make. A perfect example of this is when businesses purchase Yellow Pages advertising. Go ahead, open your directory and thumb through a few pages. What do you see?
Lots of ads. Lots of BLOATED ads. Ads that are chock full of photos, graphics, logos and type. Top to bottom and left to right. And why shouldn't you fill your Yellow Page ad to the very brim? At $2,000 per month, a full-page ad is costing you roughly $25 per square inch. Total up just four square inches of empty space and you're wasting $100 a month! That's $1,200 a year for NOTHING! That's nuts! Or is it? Let's examine the "power of nothingness" (white space) and why paying for empty space isn't quite as nutty as it sounds.
You (and even some Yellow Pages advertising "experts") may not be aware that the empty space (known to design professionals as 'negative space'go ahead and Google it) in your Yellow Page ad has many very important functions. Consider that the strategic use of negative space:
- Helps attract your prospects' attention.
- Sets your business apart by conveying a clean, uncluttered and professional image.
- Lets you organize and emphasize the key, business generating elements of your ad (Headline, Artwork, Body Copy and Call To Action)
- Allows for effortless navigation (eyeflow) through your ad, from top to bottom
Notice how these points parallel the selling process itself: gain the prospects attention, differentiate your business from the rest, make the sale, and close. Negative space actually increases your ads ability to 'sell' prospects on calling! If you cram your Yellow Page ad with too much stuff, you will NOT achieve a visually pleasing and inviting ad. Then, your information will be irrelevant because it will have blended into the background with other cramped, too-busy ads no one will be reading.
How to save space for white space without paying a mint for a larger ad:
- Use the least amount of carefully crafted, persuasive words that you can. This doesn't mean write in bullet points. Your copy has to sell! But focus your copy on addressing your customers, and cut any phrase that doesn't persuade. Examine every single word as if your life depended on it. Cut unsubstantiated claims or unnecessary info. When you're done, every single word and every phrase will have purpose and be working towards one goal... persuading the prospect to call you. When you eliminate EVERY worthless word, you'll save space.
- Dump that 1/4 inch border. Thick black borders around your Yellow Page ad do not persuade more effectively than hairline rules. They only waste precious space.
- Downsize your phone number to a 14 pt.-20 pt. font. If the size of your phone number resembles that of a license plate, you're wasting space.
- Dump electronic and other useless info. People turn to the Yellow Pages with the intent to CALL you. Once you've engaged your prospects and persuaded them to call, why send them off to their computers where they can become easily distracted and... Goodbye phone call! You're usually better off NOT listing your Web site, email address (plus area code and zip code), etc, and you'll save space.
Yellow Pages advertising experts that advise against the proper use of Negative Space simply aren't experts. Very likely they lack the direct response and ad design background needed to really make this medium work for your business. If you'd like a professional opinion on your Yellow Page ad, please contact me.
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