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Taking out an advert in the Yellow Pages can be a very effective way of letting people know about your business and what you offer, but in between sitting down to think about it and finally writing the cheque and sending your design off, something often goes missing. Call it purpose, or focus, but a lot of people lose it when they're considering Yellow Pages advertising.

The primary purpose of your advert - and this is critically important - isn't to sell something or get people to visit your shop. No, the primary objective is to get your prospects to call you.

With this in mind, you can put together an advert which will encourage people not only to call you, but call you ahead of the competition.

• All good adverts start with a dynamic attention-grabbing headline - NOT your business name or logo. Remember, people don't care who you are, they care about what you can do for them. The headline is the lure that instantly communicates your primary advantage over all others.
• Nothing can turn a mediocre Yellow Pages advert into a great one better than a picture. It can, in some instances, be even more of an attention-grabber than the headline. But avoid going overboard - the bigger the picture, the less selling space you have.
• Include benefits, benefits, benefits. Maybe YOU know what's in it for your prospects, but don't forget to tell them. 100% money-back guarantee! We'll do it right, or you get it free. Delivered same day ... guaranteed!
• Finally, make a specific call to action. Tell the reader to pick up the phone and call now, or tell them how they'll benefit from calling this minute.

If you follow these tips, then your investment should pay off. Make sure you track its success by always asking where your new customers heard about you.

The UK Small Business Marketing Bible contains hundreds more tips and tactics for boosting your sales using proven marketing strategies that work no matter what product or service you sell.

On 1 October the minimum wage is going to be increased from £4.50 to £4.85 an hour. For employees aged between 18 and 21, it's going to rise to £4.10 an hour and for 16 and 17 year olds it will be £3 an hour.

Very simple, but as usual, there are some snags in there to catch the unwary. When you're calculating the minimum wage, some pay and benefit packages can be included and others need to be left out, but it's not always obvious how to deal with them.

Incentives, bonuses and performance-related pay are all counted as part of an employee's basic wage, but overtime is not. And you can't include benefits in kind like meals or uniforms as part of a basic wage.

The minimum wage applies to nearly everyone - homeworkers, agency workers, commission workers, part-time workers, casual workers and pieceworkers are all entitled to it. But if you send out some of your work to a self-employed contractor - say an editor or an upholsterer working elsewhere - you will probably treat the work as a single job regardless of the amount of time it takes and the minimum wage won't apply.

Cutting through the confusion, the Inland Revenue offers a useful guide to all aspects of the minimum wage at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/nmw/nmw_abou.htm, but if you don't find what you're looking for there you could also try calling the National Minimum Wage Information Line on 0845 845 0360.

And finally, you can visit our own site at http://www.ukredtapebuster.com. It has hundreds of guides to the laws affecting small businesses, alerts that tell you when the law's about to change, frequently asked questions and practical scenarios that you can relate to your own everyday business experience.

Sometimes, you've got ten things on the boil at the same time, and even if you're out and about you need to stay in touch with people by e-mail, or check out a website to remind yourself of a phone number.

This is where Wi-Fi can come in handy. Wi-Fi allows you to connect your laptop or pocket computer to the Internet if you're on the train, in a hotel, a Starbucks or even sitting on a bench in central London. Prices have fallen steadily for the service, and it's now well worth checking out if you regularly spend time out of the office.

Here's how you can get hooked up:

• First of all, you'll need a wireless LAN card. Some laptops come equipped with these already, but if you need to install one make sure it matches the commonly-used standard (mention the magic number 802.11 when you go shopping).
• Next, you should decide whether you want to connect by monthly subscription through a Wi-Fi service provider, or if you want to buy connection time as and when you need it from various hotspots now available in shops, coffee shops and on certain trains. Try the latter to start with if you're not sure how useful Wi-Fi will be to you.
• Wi-fi isn't available everywhere, so you should make sure your provider offers coverage, or if there are hotspots available in the places you want to be. ZDNet has a handy map of providers and hotspots at http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/wifimap, or try http://www.wi-fizone.org/zoneFinder.asp to search by location.
• Finally, open your Internet browser, log in at your provider's website, and start surfing. Wi-Fi is broadband, which means you will get a fast connection, but it does occasionally slow down depending on where you are.

If you want to find out more about Wi-Fi in general, check out the Wireless LAN Association at http://www.wlana.org.

a. reducing overhead costs
b. not rewarding all your employees equally
c. the amount of money you pay out in interest on a loan
d. the cost allocated for the decline in the value of equipment over time

Answer at the end of Bulletin.

Bogus invoices are being sent to website domain name holders claiming that their domains are about to expire. The sums demanded far exceed the genuine charges to renew a domain name levied by Nominet, the UK's Internet registry organisation. The rogue firm goes by the name of 'Domain Registry Services', and is targeting small businesses which often assume that the invoices are legitimate. Another scam, this time run by a firm calling itself 'UK Internet Registry Ltd', sends invoices claiming that the .com version of your .co.uk domain name is unregistered and offers to sell you it in return for a high fee. Nominet is advising small businesses to be wary of these and similar scams, and to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if in doubt.

Read up on Nominet's advice at:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/News/NewsStories/StatementOnUkInternetRegistryLtd.html

Worth a visit

This new offering from the Government is pretty useful, as it provides one-stop information about all the Government's ongoing and closed consultations, as well as tips and advice on how you can participate and information about how the consultation process actually works.

Check it out at:
http://www.consultations.gov.uk

PC World has published a review of the 15 best inkjet printers available on the market, assessing them in terms of quality, speed and ink costs, including several new mobile models designed for business users on the move.

Check out the results at:
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,116571,00.asp

The Creative Showcase celebrates the best in online advertising and marketing. Awards are granted monthly, and visiting the website regularly can help you keep up-to-date with the latest trends and innovative e-marketing campaigns. You can view a gallery of previous winners and runners-up, and best of all, you can enter your own stuff for free. Website banners, viral marketing campaigns, pop-up ads, e-mails and microsites are all eligible for consideration, and winning or being highly commended could generate valuable publicity.

Get full details at:
http://www.creativeshowcase.net/en/1/home.mxs

Worth a read