Friday, April 30, 2004

YELLOW PAGE ADVERTISING FOR LAWYERS

According to the Yellow Pages Publishers Association’s estimates for 2000, lawyer-advertising expenditures in domestic printed Yellow Pages were estimated at $809 million. The “attorneys” category is the highest revenue category for Yellow Page directory publishers.

But to be successful, a firm’s Yellow Page ad must be well thought out, command attention, convey a single focus, be eye-captivating, differentiate itself, look professional and address the need of the audience. Remember, if someone is searching for a lawyer in the Yellow Pages, he/she already needs an attorney. It’s much different than trying to advertise something a consumer might want but is not particularly in the market to buy. An excellent guide to creating winning Yellow Page ads is, Effective Yellow Pages Advertising for Lawyers, by Kerry Randall, published by the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association.

As both an attorney and a legal marketer, I can tell you that I've had great success particularly with YellowBook in the Pennsylvania region. The are the largest independent yellow page publisher in the world and my family law firm with which I practiced and advertised has been able to track a 1000% return on our investment.

And it's not the size or location of the ad that necessarily matters, it's the quality of the content and how well that ad differentiates your firm from all the others. It's not about saying "Call Us if You've Been Injured in an Accident" anymore! Think niche! Think experience! Think consumer! Think personal! And you don't have a great headshot, then don't include it in the ad.