Brownbook.net’s New Listing Customization Features Widen Gap with Traditional Online Directory

Nov. 28, 2008 - PRLog -- Florida, USA / London, United Kingdom / Montreal, Canada: The free global online directory that anyone can edit, Brownbook.net, released today cutting edge new features that allow businesses, for the first time ever, to fully customize the way their business listings appear on screen.

Brownbook.net was already the first directory to move away from traditional ‘pigeon hole’ categorization in favor of tags (keywords) alone. Now, with its full listing customization offering, it has entered a class of its own within the online directory and local search arenas.

The new customization tools have been included as part of the enhanced listing fee – costing a negligible £11 or $22 per year.

“At last, all business listings don’t have to look the same!” says Marc Lyne, COO of Brownbook.net. “With Brownbook.net, through the use of rich media - like videos, images (such as your company logo), text descriptions and even embedded widgets in your listing - you can easily show the individuality and uniqueness of your business and make it stand out, helping to convert prospects into customers. You can even drag and drop page elements to change the layout of your listing to create the look and feel you want it to have, and the inbuilt wysiwyg text editor allows a choice of fonts, sizes, colours, and table layouts. All this for a negligible cost! Other directories can charge hundreds of dollars a year for nothing more than a sterile box listing that looks identical to everyone else’s with a fraction of the functionality that Brownbook offers.”

A video demonstration, by Marc, of how to use Brownbook's new customization features can be seen here:

http://blog.brownbook.net/2008/11/27/how-to-customize-you...

Brownbook’s new customization features allow users to:

drag and drop page elements to change the layout of their page
add photos, videos, logos, marketing information and more
add external widgets, such as news feeds or a “MeeboMe” messenger widget that enables users to respond in real-time to sales enquiries
re-use Brownbook features (like the listing’s Map or Reviews) as “Bidgets” (Business Widgets) elsewhere, such as on their own website or blog

Examples of a customized page that includes a full complement of both rich media and widgets:
http://www.brownbook.net/business/186/nauteriors-fitted-b....
http://www.brownbook.net/business/31008544/sjk-products-ltd

Example of a blog that is re-using Brownbook Bidgets (Map and the Reviews Bidgets):
http://miracledrywash.blogspot.com.

“The release of Brownbook’s customization features gives users an extremely powerful new marketing tool, all for a negligible annual fee, introducing a new era for the online directory business,” concludes Marc.

What the analysts are saying about Brownbook.net
Wikinomics – The co-author’s take on Brownbook’s user earnings, helping people earn and make money from home by doing what comes naturally http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/30/wikinomics-in-action-brownbooknet-gets-prosumers-invested-for-life/
Kelsey Group - The yellow pages industry’s most influential analyst firm discusses how Brownbook.net is doing things very differently to the traditional directory model http://blog.kelseygroup.com/index.php/2008/07/31/brownbook-following-different-path-to-iyp-success/
InfoCommerce - Is Brown the new Yellow? Discusses how Brownbook.net is providing businesses with a unique rich marketing opportunity whilst simultaneously challenging the traditional directory companies http://www.infocommercegroup.com/blog/2008/02/is-brown-new-yellow.html
Intruders.TV - Brownbook CEO Dave Ingram sharing his vision of the future of local business directories that are powered by low cost web solutions vs. traditional high cost telemarketing http://uk.intruders.tv/Dave-Ingram-of-brownbook-net-the-open-business-directory_a447.html

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Warren
Brownbook.net
Brownbook Limited
London Road
Sayers Common
West Sussex
BH6 9HS

+44 (0)208 1235 466
sarah@brownbook.net
http://www.brownbook.net

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About Brownbook.net
Founded in 2008, Brownbook.net is the world’s largest user-contributed keyword-based (rather than category-based) local business directory, with over 27 million businesses already listed in 230 countries. Any business is entitled to a free listing that includes their business name, address, contact telephone numbers, e-mail, website, VoIP, Instant Messenger and tags. Businesses can choose to pay a small annual fee (£11 or $22) to enhance their listing allowing the addition of photos, videos, widgets, detailed marketing information, and full customization, as well as priority in search results. Built upon the foundations of wiki-principles and collaborative production, transparency and openness between users, low- or no-cost services for businesses, totally self-service processes, and rewarding users, Brownbook.net aims to be THE global business directory.
http://www.brownbook.net
http://blog.brownbook.net
http://blog.brownbook.net/press