LET'S
IMPROVE ON THE 'PHONE BOOK'!
The
best way into any business venture is often to identify a
business
need - and then go about filling it.
That's just
what
this business opportunity is - a burning need for your
services!
You
are sure to agree that your local telephone directory or
'Yellow
Pages' is an essential aid for just about everyone.
But,
it has one major drawback. Quite simply,
these
directories
cover vast areas - often several hundred square
miles. So, any given product or service advertised
in them
may
be far too far away from most potential customers for
that
ad to work properly.
What
is needed is a strictly local telephone directory. A
directory
that advertises local goods and services to local
people
- not those living 30, 40 or 50 miles away.
The main
directory
publishers are not really interested in this.
And,
although
there have been a few attempts, few have undertaken
the
provision of a proper local 'phone directory'.
That's
your opportunity to corner the market.
Simply publish
a
directory on a strictly local basis.
You'll make money
from
providing effective advertising to local businesses.
And,
you'll have the prestige of providing a valuable public
service
too. Two great benefits in just one
business!
HOW
TO GET ADVERTISING
Obviously
an essential when producing your own advertisers is
to
get advertising. People who will pay to
get customers
through
your publication. Apart from providing
the substance
of
your directory, they will also provide your income.
The
idea of publishing 'trade' directories is certainly not
new. And, there have been a number of 'dubious'
directories
who
have taken the advertisers money in return for poor
service
- or even no directory at all. Having
said this,
most
businesses have a need for a really effective means of
local
advertising - something different to the press.
So, if
you
undertake to provide an effective and honest directory
you
should not be short of customers.
To
be successful in your directory - and gain the confidence
of
would be advertisers, always set up and trade in the most
professional
way possible. Do everything you promise
and
always
give good value for money. After all,
you want to
repeat
your directory year after year - and giving a good
service
is the only way of doing this.
Most
areas should not be short of plenty of potential
advertisers. Just about any local business is good -
whether
it
be a shop, a tradesman, a local service or whatever. In
fact,
looking in the existing 'Yellow Pages' and newspapers
will
give you plenty of potential customers.
Of course, you
won't
need a full directory to start. You can
be quite
successful
in your first year with just 20-40 advertisers.
The
very best way to get advertising patronage is to approach
potential
customers in person. Get freelance sales
help with
this
if it is not your ideal sort of work! At
all times be
sure
to explain the value of a local advertising scheme - and
the
honesty of your business. Some customers
might have been
involved
in failed advertising schemes in the past - you must
do
better and reassure them.
One
good tip is not to ask for a penny until you are ready to
print
and distribute the directory. You won't
need money
anyway
if you pre-arrange to obtain credit!
When
you get a firm order for advertising then co-operate
carefully
to produce an effective advertisement for the
business. Using freelance copywriting help will
impress.
The
best way of selling space is in small blocks only a
matter
of centimetres deep. This gives good
value - and also
means
your directory is cheap to print.
You
are free to get as many advertisers as you are able. The
more
you get the more you earn. Several
hundred would lead
to
a runaway success. But, considerable
profits can be
derived
from just a handful!
PROOF
OF POTENTIAL
The
great thing about this business is that you can actually
see
what your income could be!
For
example, a popular local telephone directory charges œ100
per
unit of space (some advertisers take 2 or more!) Each
directory
they produce attracts about 30-35 advertisers.
So,
it's
not hard to see a possible take of œ3,500 mount up.
Overheads,
including the cost of printing and distribution
are
minimal - 20% of the proceeds at the most!
Even
better, this figure can be repeated on an annual basis.
And,
you might decide to operate all over your region. What
if
you published 7, 8 or more directories all over your
county?
Of
course, you might not charge as much, get as many
advertisers
or operate that many directories. But,
even a
fraction
of the amount makes a considerable income for a
still
mainly part time venture!
HOW
TO PUBLISH A TELEPHONE DIRECTORY
Now
back to reality! After you have obtained
advertisers for
your
project and banked your revenue you have to get down to
providing
the service you have promised. It is
very
important
that you do this to the best of your ability to
ensure
customer satisfaction - and ensure people ask to
advertise
next year.
Your
first step should be to decide the form and format of
your
directory. Almost without doubt a book
type format is
not
the best - and it can be expensive. The
best thing to do
is
publish your directory on a card. This
would probably be
A5
or quartro size and be printed on both sides.
Allocate a
block
for each of your advertisers.
The
main benefits of a card is that your advertisers will
always
'show', unlike a book. And, the card
format will
often
be placed by the telephone where it will be used and be
effective. Contact a printer specialist in that type of
work. It is also a good idea if you have the card
encapsulated
in plastic film. Looks much more
professional
and
lasts longer.
Do
pay attention to a professional design of the directory
card. This makes it stand out - and makes it work
even if
other
people publish similar cards in the area.
It might be
a
good idea to consult a professional artist or designer.
The
card should most certainly be very bold and attractive.
Make
sure your advertisers squares are given all the best
spots. It might be a good idea to leave some space
for a map
showing
where the advertisers are located locally.
Another
popular
idea is to give some local service information - e.g.
the
numbers of Bus and Railway Stations, Councils, and
Hospitals,
etc. Always use coloured card - and
ideally
coloured
ink for a really strong impact.
You
might wish to experiment with several designs to see
which
looks best. Then, you can proceed to
have the cards
printed. Have this done all at the same time to get
the very
best
price. The number you have printed
depends on your area
-
and the number you have promised customers.
Always stick
to
it. What you charge is up to you, but
aim to give good
value. For example, the local publisher charging
œ100 per
square
guaranteed a minimum distribution of 30,000 cards.
However
you tackle preparation of your cards, always take it
very
seriously. This is vital if you are to
build a large
and
profitable business over coming years.
DOING
THE DISTRIBUTION
With
the cards printed all that remains is to get them out to
the
public. As you would expect it is vital
this is done
correctly. If mistakes are made your advertisers will
get
very
little response - and it is unlikely they will want to
advertise
with you in future years. If they get a
good
response
you will get lots of future business.
There
is sufficient profit in this business for you to give
all
the distribution work to a specialist leaflet
distribution
company. They will deliver your leaflet
for a
fixed
price per thousand. Be sure to give them
your exact
requirements. And, test that deliveries have been made in
the
correct places as there are some dubious operators.
However,
distribution is such a simple process that there is
no
reason why you should not handle it yourself.
The best
things
to do is employ part time distributors to deliver the
leaflets
for you. Housewives and students are
ideal for this
type
of work. Advertise for their services
locally and pay
on
a 'per leaflet dropped' basis.
You
will need to carefully supervise your distributors to
ensure
leaflets go just where you want them, nowhere else,
and
that there is no wasteful duplication.
Remember
that
your advertisers may also be the recipients of your
cards,
making it very important to handle this properly!
The
general rule should be that all premises in the given
area
should receive a telephone directory card.
Though you
have
no way of knowing if they actually have a telephone.
The
largest category of recipients will be private households
-
do all the 'out of the way' houses as well as the 'easy'
large
estates. Apart from this all business
premises should
receive
a card - shops, offices, factories, etc.
Here your
cards
can reach a large number of potential customers and
increase
the overall impact of the distribution.
Also
try and think of any different or novel ways of
distributing
your cards. You might be able to leave a
small
supply
in local libraries or community centres.
Or, those
advertisers
with shops would probably be pleased to place a
supply
on display. Any way you can think of to
maximise the
potential
number of readers is a good idea.
When
distributing never forget that your sole aim is to get
more
business for your advertisers. Some
advertising firms
forget
this and see such a scheme only as a 'fast money
earner'. But, quite simply, the more and more new
customers
you
generate for your advertiser the more pleased they will
be. That can only lead to increased income and
prestige for
you.
MAKING
THE MOST OF YOUR BUSINESS
There
is little doubt that this opportunity can lead to an
excellent
sideline business. Just one telephone
directory,
produced
in the area you know best can be most successful -
even
though competition may exist from other directories.
Advertising
that really works is always a much sought after
commodity. And, many businesses have not found that
illusive
type
yet! Of course, once you are set up for
the publishing
and
distribution of information it makes good business sense
to
make full use of your resources. You
will find it easy to
go
into this type of publishing in a big way - and there is
certainly
full time potential!
The
obvious choice is of course to expand the areas you
operate
in as already discussed. Just as the
'Yellow Pages'
operates
over various zones you could do the same!
Work over
whatever
area you like - there could be hundreds in any
region.
This
idea offers potential for exploitation on all agency
basis. Advertise for agents in all parts of the
country to
arrange
local telephone directories in their own areas.
They
arrange
all advertising and distribution - you just do the
necessary
preparation of the card. Then, share
profits on a
commission
basis and both parties do well. Maybe
make your
directory
a national name?
There
are all sorts of opportunities for publishing
information
on a directory basis. This is
particularly easy
to
do, offers good advertising potential.
And, directories
are
always the fastest selling type of publication.
You
might consider publishing a trade directory - and accept
advertising
nationwide from companies within a certain trade.
Or,
you might consider a county-wide directory on a certain
theme
which would certainly be easier to use than a stack of
telephone
directories.
Why
not consider something along the lines of a 'County
Entertainments
Directory'. On a similar theme why not a
'Stamp
Collectors Directory' or a 'Catering Traders
Directory'. There are plenty of possibilities.
A
different idea is to consider publishing some newsletter or
bulletin
- but aim it at a particular trade or interest.
You
could
both sell advertising and subscriptions.
Copy the
success
of the 'free' newspapers in your own information
publishing
business.
FINAL
TIPS
Information
is perhaps something that can be the basis of any
successful
business. People will always pay to
receive
information
- or transmit it to people they want to receive
it. Publishing has long been a desirable
operation.
One
great thing about selling information is that it can be
constantly
improved and renewed. Just because
someone else
already
publishes a telephone directory does not mean you are
excluded. If you can do it better, locally at first,
you can
succeed!
Quite
simply, it's a need - and if you can satisfy it, you
can
take the credit!
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