Phone Books Are Outlawed!

Last month—to the day—I wrote about the demise of the Yellow Pages in “Goodbye Yellow Pages…FOREVER!“

Yesterday California lawmakers want to join Cleveland and Miami in outlawing the production and delivery of the white pages without the home owner actually requesting the book.

While I agree with the decision, I disagree with the reasoning. (Despite the fallacy the entire global warming hocus pocus has been proven to be, Californian politicians are more concerned with placating their bases rather than actually making a small business-friendly state.)

If the White Pages are outlawed today, how much longer will it take for the Yellow Pages to be outlawed? I think the Yellow Pages will be around for years and probably decades because consumers 45 and older still like them (or at least remember them nostalgically) and business owners still think “my daddy grew this business with his own sweat and tears and an ad in the Yellow Pages and that’s how I’m going to continue running the business” (right into the ground, there Scrappy.)

Consumers under 40 don’t use the White Pages or the Yellow Pages except as door stops, booster seats and computer monitor stands.

To be found today you need to optimize your internet marketing, which includes Google, Google Local, Google Maps, social media (yes, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, etc) as well as blogging (ain’t that what you’re looking at now?), the mystical SEO and the paid version of advertising, SEM / PPC.

You need to hire professional copywriters if writing isn’t your cup of tea to make sure you are being found on the internet and are then connecting with your prospects.

Like Home Depot says, you can do it. We can help. Give me a call.

If you need more help growing your sales, check out the following resources scattered around this site and a few others I operate, such as:

Good Selling,