I’ve been doing this job a long time. Whilst having a clear out of the loft at my mum’s house, I came across the above photo. This is my 17 year old self in a professional photo taken for an flyer I had printed to advertise my show. That was 30 years ago! While I may have changed a bit since then (!), it got me thinking how my advertising methods have changed since then too. Back then, of course, there was no internet and therefore no social media. The main form of advertising I used was the good, old Yellow Pages. Do you remember how you would walk into someone’s hallway and there would be a telephone table? And what was on it? A copy of the Phone Book and always The Yellow Pages.
The Yellow Pages was the first stop if you needed anything at all …. a builder, a hairdresser, a takeaway, a taxi, a magician! It was the guide to everything. Businesses always used to try to get their listing at the top so you would find AAA Builders for instance first in the list! As it was only printed once a year, you had to wait for updates so quite often you’d call a number and it would’ve changed or the owner would no longer be in business.
All that has changed with the internet. Now we can fit the entire Yellow Pages and more into our Smart Phones. All the information you need is available in a few clicks and its constantly being updated. We carry our smart phones around with us all the time so that information is always at our fingertips. Not so easy to carry a big yellow book around!
I used to run my ad in Yellow Pages every year and, although it was expensive to advertise there, the phone rang constantly. Now – although its easier to get your message out there – the competition is huge. You have to be on top of it the whole time – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Its a jungle and you have to keep moving with the times – which I suppose is why I’m writing this blog and posting it online.
Nowadays, I don’t know anyone who still uses the Yellow Pages and I do feel a bit nostalgic for it sometimes. Life was simpler back then. I think I must be getting old!