About

Yellow Page Sage and Yellow Page Smarts belong to Off the Page Press.
Beginning with The Business Card Book  I have explored how the “body language” of words on the page sends subliminal but influential signals to the reader. The Yellow Pages is a real-world laboratory where many such subtle messages influence the customer’s trust and buying behavior.

Introducing Myself—Dr. Lynella Grant
I’m the author of Yellow Page Smarts. Here’s what prompted me to write Yellow Page Smarts, and why you can trust my advice about Yellow Page Advertising. In the interest of fair disclosure, I’ll admit to being an attorney, psychologist, and entrepreneur. All those skills were relevant for my education in the Yellow Pages.

After completing my extensive research for The Business Card Book, I actually was a Yellow Page Consultant for US West (now Qwest), one of the Baby Bells, which covers a 14-state region. As an authorized Yellow Page consultant, I represented advertisers and advised them on how to improve their ad for the next year’s directory (considering what they could afford or wanted to pay).

My Life as a Yellow Page Consultant (not a Rep)
Since I didn’t work for the Directory, my recommendations were solely based on what would work best for my clients. That level of hands-on experience taught me how truly confusing the options and pricing structures can be. It also made me find out what a business has to do to get the best possible ad. As a consultant, I was given all the rates, etc., but still found dealing with the intricacies of the system tricky. It’s complicated—probably more complicated than it needs to be. And that kind of access would have been impossible for the business owner. No wonder the public can’t get a handle on what they’re paying for.I collaborated with an experienced graphic designer (who’d spent seven years preparing Yellow Page ads as a Directory employee). Combining her expertise with mine, we’d improve our client’s copy and layouts—within the guidelines the directory imposed.

In most cases our clients paid substantially less. Yet they didn’t sacrifice visibility or compromise their ability to attract callers. In fact, their influence was enhanced. And to the best of my knowledge, not one of our clients later went back to their former ads. Much of the advice we provided clients for a fee is included in Yellow Page Smarts or on this Web site.