Small display ads tend to get lost. But a boxed listing in the basic listings column, believe it or not, is much less likely to be overlooked.

?Should I pay extra for color?
While some Yellow Pages directories are now offering spot or even full process color, don’t pay a nickel extra for it. Because the Yellow Pages are printed on yellow paper, the additional color doesn’t give the same boost to an ad as it would on white stock. Even process color ads printed on glossy stock seem out of place in this utilitarian medium.

?Yellow Pages ads seem expensive. How can I maximize the results?
You pay for the Yellow Pages every minute of the day, every day of the year, all year long. You will lose a lot of calls if you are only open during regular business hours—especially if you are in a service business. To counter this, and offset your ad expenses, set up a professional answering service during your off hours.

A good answering service will answer your phone in your name, sound professional, and allow you to pull in customers even when you are closed for business. You may want to have the answering service call you at home or beep you if the call is particularly important—an emergency towing request or emergency lock-out situation, for instance.

If you are feeling really, really cheap, just get an answering machine. But expect a lot of hang-ups that a good answering service might have converted into a sales opportunity.

?Since the largest ads are placed first, isn’t it important to take out a large ad?

No. If you haven’t done a lot of Yellow Pages advertising you should be more concerned with staying in business and making money. Get some Yellow Pages experience under your belt before you go hog wild. The first ads in any classification aren’t the only ones that get results. A lot of individual as well as business consumers avoid calling companies that are advertised through large ad spaces because they feel that the products or services being offered are priced higher—perhaps to support higher advertising expenditures!

?How can I be sure that my phone line won’t be busy, without using call waiting or getting an expensive switchboard?

The phone company can provide you additional phone lines that do what is called “hunting.” This means that you advertise only one phone number, but if that line is already in use the second incoming call will be automatically switched over to your unlisted phone line or lines.