| HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR
OWN TELEPHONE DIRECTORY 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 you 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. 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 offices, factories, etc. Here your cards can reach a large number of potential customers and increase the overall impact of the distribution. Page 6 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. Page 4 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, Page 5 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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