I’ve written a number of articles on various blogs and news sites about how to assess whether it will be worthwhile for a business to advertise in print yellow pages. Each major city typically has a handful of print directory publishers, all dropping phone books on people’s doorsteps. For the major directory publishers, including the ones I listed, they will likely continue to be in business a year or two down the line. However, print usage is dropping off at a rate of about 5% to 10% per year, so they may not be around forever.

Here’s my “easy answer” on how to assess whether it’s worthwhile to advertise in print yellow pages:

- Is your business type one where consumers are more likely or equally likely to use printed yellow pages? (It sounds like yours definitely is since you cater to older demographics.)

- For most metro areas, the “incumbent” yellow pages provider typically has the widest distribution and the most people using it. Target your ad dollars to the official yellow pages publisher which prints the books for the main phone company which oversees the land lines for your area.

- What size/placement of ad? There are a lot of reports around which counteract each other on whether larger ads get more referrals for the business than smaller ads, etc. Generally, ads which appear earlier within a Category section of the book may see more usage. Ads on the front or back cover of a book gain a lot more exposure than ads inside the book (though, they’re so extremely expensive that typically only lawyers can afford them). But, I’ve seen compelling statistics that show that in most cases, a smaller, less-expensive ad will be the most cost-effective use of your ad dollars. Unnecessary to go in for loads of special effects color treatments and such, too.

Hope this helps!

If you owned your own small business (catering to a good number of our grey-haired friends) — would you pay to be in the print business at this point in time? What should I consider as Imakemy decision?