Bear in mind I know nothing much about this, just offering some thoughts.

If there ain't many studios in your town, maybe there's no demand. But you're running the studio so there must be some demand. Do you think the demand is high enough to recoup the expenses through extra bookings? Over a whole year? Including bands who decide you are cool and keep coming back?

You can work out how many extra hours/songs you would need based on your pricing, in order to pay it off. Are you likely to get that many extra people in through the doors?

And maybe your ad would make you seem a little more "businessy" than just a guy with a basement and a website (which some people might think you are, even if you're not).

Like all things audio... it depends...

If you were in a major market where there were 30 or 40 other studios listed... then yeah.

If you're wide open to the public and don't mind every 12 year old kid in a 50 mile radius calling you to ask if you can make them the next big star... go for it. (oh... and at all hours of the day and night, too.)

If you've got really good insurance and a security system from hell, then go for it.

Otherwise, IMHO, yellow pages advertising is a complete waste of money in this business.

For me, and a lot of other studio owners, word of mouth and professional associations are where the bulk of your income comes from. If that's the case, then you don't even need to worry about having your number listed in the book, much less listed in the yellow pages... much less an ad in the yellow pages.

We just got rid of our yellow pages advert. It was NOT bringing us any business, it was expensive and we did get the phone calls from the loonies at all hours of the day and night but none of them turned into real money making jobs. Most were from kids or groups of kids wanting to record or from someone wanting their son or daughter to sing a song for their grandparents so they could send them a musical remembrance. Since we are a mastering and video production company it was pretty funny when someone called that had NO idea of what they were asking for.

The best advertising is still word of mouth. We have tried direct mail, ads in the newspapers, radio and TV spots and the one that brings in the most clients is still word of mouth. One thing that has helped recently is the web. We have a good web presence and in the past two years that has gotten us a lot of good clients.

YMMV and FWIW

As a silly aside, this is what works best in churches. We used to do leaflet drops: yeah, some folk come along for Christmas... but much more have come along through word of mouth, and their own curiousity. They tend to be the ones that stick around too.

Do musicians even use the yellow pages? Most just call information at best. So it's a good idea to have a phone listed. But not many will be looking though the ads.

Advertising in local trade magazines, or entertainment magazines (even underground mags) is a much better way to attract the kind of clients that you want. You can also change these ads from month to month to test out different ad campaigns to see which works best. Once you list an ad in the phone book, you're stuck with it for a full year.

Your best bet is internet advertising via a web site. I presume you are already a little bit computer-savvy. Create a web site and pay $12.95 a month to a hosting company. Look into buying ad space on others web sites like the ones in the margins and banner of this page. That way you can target only your demographic. I'm sure there are some music stores in your market that have web sites.

My day job is in the golf industry, and we've been blowing $8-$16k a year on Yellow Pages advertising just because that's the way it's always been done. Last year I cut back significantly, and saw no decrease in business that was not weather or recession related. Next year I'm scaling back to just the basic listings.

For my business, it's WOM,WOM,WOM! Golfers tell other golfers where the best place to go is. I would think the same would hold true for any very specialized business like a recording studio.

uhh, what are the yellowpages?

:)

Telephone directory. Basically a [large] yellow book of phone numbers, ads, and such.

http://www.Yell.com etc

Great idea, until you next use it AFTER using a internet search engine.

Couldn't agree more. I haven't had a landline in years, and almost never check the yellowpages.

I built a site a few months ago, and have gotten 300 unique visitors in the past month. Granted, some are from this site, and many probably have little to no interest in doing business, but it's getting me out there.

If your target buyers are under the ago of forty there is almost no benefit at all to running a yellow page ad. People under that age rely predominately on the internet to locate a business based on a search. Web presence is important but don't sell having a landline short, if someone is referred to your business, and recalls the name, say Joe's Garage, the ability to look it up can be good. A simple business phone gets you a one line in the yellow pages at no added cost in most places, which also will put on the net in another place. Networking is also a good idea, local band venues, etc. meet and greet.

good stuff gents. Tom I live about an hour and a half west of you in Toledo. Had no idea.

Hey guys check this site out. just built it. Tell me what you think criticism is welcome unless its about my mom. http://www.studio33recording.net

studio33 wrote: good stuff gents. Tom I live about an hour and a half west of you in Toledo. Had no idea.

Hey guys check this site out. just built it. Tell me what you think criticism is welcome unless its about my mom. http://www.studio33recording.net

Nice studio and nice site. If you are ever over this way give me a call and we can get together.

Will do Tom

Nice job on the site. Go back and spell check it and just make sure the phrasing remains professional as well as cool. "acustic"

"1-Homemade Omnidirectional Condenser Mic
1-Homemade Reamp Box"

I'd recommend a change of wording to "custom." Also, I don't know that I'd list the numbers of mic's. I'm not sure it's relevant for a web presence.

"Renissance" (sp)

"arrangement" should be arranging or arranger

----

You asked for it:
Generally, I feel you have a good website. You need to go over it with a fresh eye and a copy of the
Strunk & White Manual of Style. Commas and hyphens allow you emphasis of the syllables and phrasing you want to accentuate. I'd like to see more pictures of groups in your studio proper room. If I'm looking for a studio I don't care much about some graffiti ridden "club" even if it's a release party-unless it is some icon of the regional music scene.

These are just my quick first thoughts. Again, I think the basic site is good-far better than my own for sure.

Good luck.

Just to pick more nits on what basically is a good (but obviously "homemade") web site:

1. The spacing on phrases where you include your logo is awkward.

2. The pictures are not professional quality. Some come off well (e.g. the logo) but others (e.g. tracking room and control room) are not very well lit and look grainy. If you know what you are doing with photography, rent some lighting equipment and get a better camera. If not, hire a photographer.

3. +1 on John's comments on copy editing.

If I were you, I would get some quotes from professional web designers whose work you admire. You have a good basic design going. You don't necessarily want a complete redesign - just some tweaks.

thanks guys I do suck at spelling from tyme to tyme. Also agree on the pics did them myself. great thought about putting custom instead of home made.

I for one like the background image of the mics and black background behind the individual page content.
Clean, modern, and professional looking.