·         You pay by the month instead of one large payment.
Disadvantages of Yellow Pages advertising: 

·         You must commit to an entire year of advertising.  

·         You are immediately placed with a group of your competitors, making it easy for the prospect to comparison shop.  

·         Some classifications are so cluttered with advertising that your ad becomes buried and ineffective.  

·         It is only effective when a prospect looks you up in the correct classification, assuming the prospect knows what classification to look for in the first place.  

How can I determine if Yellow Pages advertising will benefit my business?  

Probably the easiest way to determine whether or not Yellow Pages advertising is effective for your particular business is to look in the Yellow Pages under your business category and observe the types of ads that your competitors are taking out. If you see a lot of ads (and especially big and expensive ads), you can assume that these businesses are making this type of investment because it has paid off for them. If you don't have any competitors in your particular market, refer to the Yellow Pages in another community close by or in another geographic area similar in make up to yours. 

What exactly is specialty advertising?  

Specialty advertising basically consists of giveaways - the pencils, pens, buttons, calendars, and refrigerator magnets you see everyday - are called specialty advertising in the trade. Chances are, you have some specialty advertising items right at your desk. Businesses imprint their name on items and give them away (or sometimes sell them at very low cost) in order that: