Yellow Pages Ads Are Not Image Makers

When readers look at Yellow Pages ads, the questions foremost in their minds are these:

• What's in it for me?
• Can I trust this person?
• Will I be treated right?
• Does this lawyer have enough experience to get me what I want?
• Will I get the best value here?

Notice that every question in the readers’ minds includes the word “I.” Advertisements that communicate how lawyers, or their practices, look good overlook the “I” that is so important to readers. Advertising that is not about potential customers does not generate phone calls from potential customers. The telephone book is not the place to establish or reinforce your image.

Communicating your standing in the community, reinforcing buying decisions, and creating an image are all worthy objectives. However, Yellow Pages directories are not the medium to accomplish these objectives. If you want to communicate your standing within a community, consider buying a glossy ad in a magazine, the medium designed to carry such a message.

And don’t use Yellow Pages advertising to send hidden messages to other law firms, or to battle with them.

Scrutinize your Yellow Pages advertisement. If you see something created with the intent to accomplish anything other than generate new business, strike it.

From The Lawyer's Guide to Effective Yellow Pages Advertising, Second Edition
by Kerry Randall and Andru J. Johnson
ABA Law Practice Management Section

Click here to learn more or purchase this book

Inside Practice Table of Contents