Comments on: Judy’s Book: Self-Serve Doesn’t Work, Other Lessons

By: The Local Onliner » Exec Changes at Insider Pages, Merchant Circle

The Local Onliner » Exec Changes at Insider Pages, Merchant Circle — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 21:18:15 +0000

[...] The rest of the category, however, has been challenged by a paucity of local and national advertising. Last month, Judy’s Book refocused on shopper deals, perhaps the first step in throwing in the towel. [...]

By: Malcolm Lewis

Malcolm Lewis — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 20:19:31 +0000

I agree with with Andy’s comment that self-service doesn’t work. It’s something local publishers (newspaper and TV) always ask for – somehow believing that local businesses will sign up in droves. I’m sure there have been some sporadic success with self-service (aka self-administration) but we are a long way from mass adoption at the local level.

If you agree that local search is (at least partially) yellow pages pages online, then it follows that you have to reach advertisers the same way print yellow page publishers have always reached local business – getting up close and personal.

We find that local publishers want their piece of the $15B+ yellow pages market but are often unwilling to make the same investment in content, sales and marketing required in the past to build print YP businesses.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:16:56 +0000

Andy’s posts actually served as a prologue to a major site change, where deals are as important as reviews. See a letter to Judy’s Book readers explaining the changes here:

http://blog.judysbook.com/weblog/2006/10/whats_new_at_ju.html

By: Link bucket: : Small Initiatives - Sensible Internet Design

Link bucket: : Small Initiatives - Sensible Internet Design — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:49:21 +0000

[...] Peter Krasilovsky points out a nugget for local search strategists: the co-founder of Judy’s Book, Andy Sack, bluntly informing all of us pretenders that self-service advertising doesn’t work in the small- to medium-enterprise arena. Feet on the street are crucial, he says. [...]

By: In the Trenches of Local « Screenwerk

In the Trenches of Local « Screenwerk — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:52:50 +0000

[...] To that end, Peter Krasilovsky posted a link to a blog entry by Andy Sack, CEO of Judysbook, cataloging the challenges the site has had. It’s worth a read — especially for all the people who think local sucks and they can do better. [...]