Toll-Free Vanity Numbers and Domain Names

So you’ve uncovered the perfect Vanity Number and now it’s yours.

What do you do first?

Put it on your business cards, letterhead and envelopes……yes envelopes……Is there some archiac business commandment that says “No Phone Numbers on Envelopes?“. I can’t tell you how many times I have received a check in the mail and I can’t figure out what it’s for. You know the drill, – you go to Google, type in the company name, surf for a half an hour because they are using some bizarre URL that doesn’t match the company name……..All you want to do is call them…QUICKLY….

So, go to whoever creates the graphics for your business papergoods and begin to explain to them that they need to put your new Vanity Number in a BIG font size, where everyone can see it.

They will rebel, in fact they will threaten to quit when you tell them that you also want them to dump the light grey font color and the 6 point type. They will whine and gnash their teeth about how ugly it looks. Hold your ground

To test if the you have the right placement and size, strap your Graphic Artist into their Prius, point them to the freeway at 4:30pm. Tell them they are 15 minutes late for a reallllllly important meeting. As they bob and weave to avoid traffic, pass them your cell phone and business card. Ask them to call the customer and tell them you will be 5 minute late. Then sit back with an air of superiority as they squint at the tiny font trying to find the tiny phone number. As they are busy memorizing 10 numbers while downshifting during ABS chatter, ask them if they think a TINY GREY 1-800-356-9377 is WAY easier to memorize than BIG BLACK 1-800-Flowers.

The moral of the story. Unless you are passing out our business cards to 14 year olds with 20/10 vision, do yourself a huge favor, MAKE YOUR VANITY NUMBER READABLE – and MEMORABLE. And don’t forget Pay Per Call……..It’s the future

Hey, I just want a phone number. Why would I want to share my use with some other competitor?.

Real Simple……remember when you could pickup waterfront property and a cute cabin for $25,000.

I don’t.

Now we are lucky to get “filtered” waterview property.

The same goes for 800#. They ain’t makin’ any more of them. And the people who own the good Vanity Numbers know it.

In life, it’s not about what you own, it is about what you control. Would you buy the Empire State Building for $800 Million if you could lease it for $99 a month?

That’s about what it costs for the average Toll Free Vanity Number per area code in the US.

It costs you * $0 * to include a Vanity Number in your advertising – you have a phone number in there anyway. But your old number is impossible for someone to memorize. In todays crazy, impulse driven world, would you remember 1-800-Contacts – or 1-800-266-8228……be honest. Is that worth $99 a month?

If you are concerned about spending money on someone elses number just remember, your agreement says you have unlimted rights to the number as long as you pay the bill. And you would pay your bill anyway, right? No one can take the number from you if you do.

Don’t forget to check with your local phone company to see if you can get a local vanity number. No one talks about these, but they cost no more than your regular phone number and work great. As long as 100% of your market is in your area code.

But then you probably would not be looking here if it was.