Reply by MW/VA on 5/26/09 4:27pm
Msg #289930
You can get a free ad at YellowPages.com. IMO regular Yellow Page advertising is a waste.
In my area they keep pumping out phone books (because of all the advertising, obviously).
I know I am among the many that no longer use phone books at all (end of an era, I suppose). Google is the new information source.
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Reply by PAW on 5/26/09 5:23pm
Msg #289957
Phone book advertising is very dependent on a couple of things. (1) Location: In my area, the phone book is used a lot since most households here do not have computers or computer savvy users. (2) Services: If you're limiting your advertising to signing agent jobs, forget the Yellow Pages. If you are a mobile notary doing general notary work and the competition is minimal, then, imo, the YP ads is beneficial. Mine paid for itself in about 3 months. So I got 9 months of advertising for free.
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Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 5/26/09 10:32pm
Msg #290024
I agree with PAW
The phone book in the Inland Empire (CA) is used a lot because of the same reasons PAW mentioned.
I think I would have been okay if I had advertised in the actual yellow pages but what I committed to was a 12 month "online yellow page ad" at the cost of $85 per month.
Just a terrible advertising decision.
I knew I wasn't going to get any loan signings from it, but, hoped to get general notary work.
I think I get approximetely 1 call a month (if that).
People that are looking for a business don't click on the "Yellow Pages online" and look for a business; I think they just Google.
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Reply by ChristineHI on 5/26/09 5:47pm
Msg #289972
I am in the Yellow Pages online as well. I don't advertise in the actual phone book though. Honestly, I don't think the business it will attract is worth the high cost of the ad. Most of my personal business comes from my website that is number one in Google.
I thought about it though, but decided against it because I don't think it would be profitable.
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Reply by CNaylor on 5/26/09 8:22pm
Msg #290002
Yellow Pages Phonebook Advertising works for me
I'll agree if your looking for loan signing work... it's a no go. If your looking for general notary work, it will depend on your market, and your states fees. I'm in CA, I advertise in all of my local books. (AT&T, Verizon, Yellow Book (aka Clark). I you want a part time job, stick to the loans, if you want a full time job in this market... you need to advertise to the public at large somehow.
I ask (and track) every customer who contacts me how they found me. I'm dropping the Verizon, most expensive company, lowest response rate. The others at minimum break even. While breaking even might be a reason to drop them, it would discount the return and or referral work received from the original contact. What I can't quantify are repeat customers, and referrals who contact me, as I don't have a way to track back to the original contact.
What I have learned over they years is, you need to be the most eye catching add. Currently in one book, it's an in-column one color. A simple listing is useless. Yes, in-colum, and display adds costs more, but they always have "specials". I upgrade most years, and pay less than the year before. A good rep, will search these out for their clients, and work the system. They want paid too. I have one book locally that I started out with a 1" in-column add, I'm now a three column wide, 1 1/2" tall, full color add for about $5.00 more per month than I was 5 yrs ago when I started with them. (One small step each year...) My monthly phone book budget, 5 books, ~ 260.00. One call per month from each book is all I need to pay for them.
If my notary fee (before travel fees) were as low as some (many?) other states.... it might not pay off.
P.S. my minimum travel fee is $45.00. Sign one document, husband and wife, I make $65. How many notaries are making that for an entire loan package. (No one here supposedly.... but someone is taking those assignments.) They can gladly take the hours work, I'll take the 5 minute job and make the same from Yellow page phone calls).
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