Posted by cdoty_IL on 2/5/09 8:08am
Msg #276586

Yellow Page Add........Do you have one? Is it worth it?

I have been a Notary Signing Agent for some time now....but all my biz (or 95% of it anyway) is Loan Signings. I am considering getting in to the general notary work as well. I called to price a Yellow Book add it was a 12 month contract - $40 a month.

Most of our local banks (and it seems we have a bank for every 100 people in the town) still have in house notaries and I am wondering if the YB add will pay for itself. I was wondering if I could get some feedback from any of you that have a Yellow Book add.

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 2/5/09 8:12am
Msg #276587

It depends on your area. I had one in CA. I don't know if it ever paid for itself, but at least I could legally charge more than I can charge in AZ. I get my business from the internet.

Reply by Maureen_nh on 2/5/09 8:35am
Msg #276590

I do have one and advertise as a mobile notary. We can charge $10 for a notarization and that is the only thing that keeps me from losing money on it.
I learned not to take in office for these, for the most part, because people don't show up or show up late.

Reply by AngelTX on 2/5/09 9:11am
Msg #276591

if you go to yellow pages on the internet, you can get a free ad

Reply by cdoty_IL on 2/5/09 9:17am
Msg #276593

Free on Internet??

Well....that is what I thought also, but when I entered in my number, it said I would have to call and get pricing. When I did they explained that it is free to advertise online IF you have already paid for an add in the printed book. Unless, that is if you have a business line.....I do not I use my cell phone.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/5/09 10:05am
Msg #276599

I have a free YP ad on the internet....

with no conditions - it may be a regional thing but for me it's not worth it to pay for any listings - how many people really grab a phone book nowadays...

Reply by AngelTX on 2/5/09 10:10am
Msg #276602

no I used my regular land line

Reply by TRG_wy on 2/5/09 9:44am
Msg #276596

I found it to be money hole. Never did see any return on investment at all.

Best bet for getting the word out locally is to join your local Chamber of Commerce. They have services like local listings, data base for service types and ours even has free online ads. Suprising how many actually use the Chamber, especially other business.

Reply by MW/VA on 2/5/09 10:10am
Msg #276601

I have a free ad on YellowPages.com. I do get some general notary work calls from it.
For me the general notary work doesn't generate enough income to pay for a Yellow Pages ad. For one thing, I don't always have the time because of loan signings scheduling.
Many times I will actually refer to call for general notary work to a local shipping place.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/5/09 10:14am
Msg #276605

I haven't done it for notary work... but I have managed some YP contracts for other businesses... and I can tell you that it's often a big waste of money. Forget the sales pitch the rep tosses at you. The fact is, few people use the YP anymore.

HOWEVER... search engines and directory services do use the information for their websites.

It's always wise to get a business phone line and take advantage of the free listing...because that will translate online, too... and will increase your web presence in connection with your other online efforts. Even if all you do is forward your business line to your cell, that can pay off. Just don't pay for all the extras, because you'll find yourself in a mess. And in some areas, like Los Angeles... you have to advertise in multiple regions just to reach people a few miles away... even in the same area code. I've been managing one contract that was at a cost of well over $12K a year for a tiny little 2-inch ad. We didn't feel like it was paying for itself, so we pulled out as each regional book came up for renewal. We never noticed a drop in business, even though our rep insisted it would kill us.

Through that, though, we discovered where the work really was coming from and instantly found ourselves with a lot of extra funds to concentrate on those sources. And it worked.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 2/6/09 1:01am
Msg #276718

I've had an ad running the last two years and I'm debating dropping it. I did get some calls, but most of them are just for one or two signatures, and don't want to pay a travel fee. I figure I did just slightly better than break even. Also, as Marian alluded to, I'm right near the edge of a territory, so to cover the full radius where it's close enough to makes sense for me to work, I'd need to put ads in more than one book/zone.