I'm putting together a business plan, and I'd like to have some info on advertising rates in Yellow Book (USA).

I called them up and asked for their rates. They said someone would call back. When someone returned my call they would not give out rates on the phone, but wanted to set up an appointment to discuss it.

I explained to them I wasn't ready to place an ad, and I just wanted some advertising cost numbers for a business plan.

Seems like a waste of my time and theirs to have a meeting about something this simple.

I can't find any rates on the internet either. What's up with this? Are they different for everybody?

Would any small business owners out there care to share with me what their Yellow Book ad rate is?

I hope the Yellow Book Ninjas don't sneak into my house and take me out for asking.

Thanks
--Dallas

They don't want to scare you off. Figure this: If it's worth it to them to have sitdown meeting with you over an ad, how much do you think their time is worth? Calculate that into what you think the ad will cost.

It will definitely be profitable for them.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dallas:
I'm putting together a business plan, and I'd like to have some info on advertising rates in Yellow Book (USA).

I called them up and asked for their rates. They said someone would call back. When someone returned my call they would not give out rates on the phone, but wanted to set up an appointment to discuss it.

I explained to them I wasn't ready to place an ad, and I just wanted some advertising cost numbers for a business plan.

Seems like a waste of my time and theirs to have a meeting about something this simple.

I can't find any rates on the internet either. What's up with this? Are they different for everybody?

Would any small business owners out there care to share with me what their Yellow Book ad rate is?

I hope the Yellow Book Ninjas don't sneak into my house and take me out for asking.

Thanks
--Dallas[/QUOTE]

When thinking about advertising in the phonebook, think expensive. REal expensive. Depending on size, color and duration of the add you can expect to pay anywhere from $500.00 for a lil itty bitty piece of unrecognizable space to around $3000.00 or more for half a page to full page. And thast just for space, that doesnt include graphics, ad design or anything else. THis has been my experience with phone books as far as rates go.
As far as why they want a sit down meeting is pretty simple. They got a ton of info to cover and just rough estimates are tough to guage by a phone conversation. Having been down this route it really is worth your time to visit with one of these guys. You'll learn alot about how they operate in phone book land. Now is a good time to negotiate some prices as well but get it in writing. even if your still in biz plan stage it's still a good idea to talk and get information with as many people as possible. Sit downs with people can be good as long as the exchange of information is flowing freely. Hope this helps.

I assume these are monthly rates.

Yeah, I can see where they are coming from. I get the feeling that someone is going to spend a good deal of time convincing me that advertising with them is the right choice. If they told me their rates up front I'd probably just write it off as way too costly.

Thanks for the replies.

--Dallas

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dallas:
I assume these are monthly rates.

Yeah, I can see where they are coming from. I get the feeling that someone is going to spend a good deal of time convincing me that advertising with them is the right choice. If they told me their rates up front I'd probably just write it off as way too costly.

Thanks for the replies.

--Dallas[/QUOTE]

NO the prices should carry you through to the next publishing of the book. Thats why it's good to sit down with em and find out. oh and i'm not a phonebook salesman incase u were wondering. just aguy who likes to know all the angles. and when ur in business for yourself it hels to know as many as you can.

I have a 1/2 inch ad in the local yellow pages with bold print and no pictures. This is in a city with a population of around 100,000 people (and only a 1 inch thick yellow pages). This total annual price is around $450. Adding extras will increase price.