...and hear a word from our sponsor.
Within this post are the proofs (shouldn't it be "prooves"?) from my very first Yellow Book Yellow Pages ads.
In the past I have stayed away from advertising in the Yellow Pages. For most folks in my business the ads seem to generate only the low-paying, family birthday parties and not the higher-paying corporate & theatre market shows that I strive to get. Therefore the relatively high cost for such an ad (and they CAN be quite expensive) hasn't been worth the expenditure. Sure, the occasional birthday party does pay the bills to some extent and I do offer a very affordable show for exactly these shows, but if you have the loftier goals you shouldn't put all your eggs into the wrong basket.
Why the change this time around?
Being a new member of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has its privileges . Specifically, a $1000 voucher for an ad in the Greater Las Vegas edition of the Yellow Book. Now it becomes well worth trying. Since I am still quite new here and clearly NOT working full-time as an entertainer (yet!), any work is appreciated. Plus, with a fairly LOW-COST upgrade I made to the existing voucher I could better place the ad within the book AND get a second ad in another section. So I not only spend considerably less than I would have for a much smaller ad, but I get it out to more people and increase the potential of being hired by the better-paying clients. Essentially I am spending less than I would have for one tiny ad, when I am actually getting two big ones in the bigger book, and two different categories. Sometimes it it worth moving from "FREE" to "NOT FREE".
You can't place an ad in the Vegas Yellow Pages under the heading "Entertainers". Why? Because a nice comedian juggler like myself would be completely lost in the seemingly hundreds of pages worth of strippers and escorts. Seriously...check it out next time you're out here. I also wasn't going to place an ad in the "Magicians" category since I am not primarily a magician and that ad might attract some really cheap shows.
After careful consideration I chose two very specific listings. The first was the"Party Planning Service" category. The ads that were in there already reflected more of the types of clients I not only market to and work for, but seemed to be the place where an ad for a juggling comedian would stand out and attract some attention from potential clients. Good chance for more corporate shows and the like with this, the more artistic and certainly more visible ad.
Next, I chose the "Entertainment - Family" category. Knowing there would be rather a lot of the family shows asking anyway I chose to put a less aggressive, but equally informative ad there. That way some of the folks in the wealthier neighborhoods like Anthem or Summerlin can find me as well as the even more local places. If a show doesn't pay well (and everyone knows I am not all that expensive to begin with) I have some great people I can refer and keep my name in good graces with the community.
I'll be keeping track of just how effective these ads are and hopeful that I'll see a need to renew for next year. I don't believe I'll be in the online version of the Yellow Book, but I already have a killer website that gets a lot of attention and, of course, this blog manages to get the word out. ;)
Labels: Andy Martello Comedian, Andy Martello Corporate Entertainer, Andy Martello Library Performer, Andy Martello Variety Entertainer, Plate-Spinning, The Last Great Plate-Spinner
