Get to know YLLBB

Our journey began about 2 years ago, a coffee & chat between 2 local mums, whose friendship turned into a fabulous working partnership. 

With 5 kids between us we were never short of things to do, but often talked about the struggle to find what we needed to be able to embrace everything local. So a glass of Prosecco sealed the partnership and it was then that YLLBB was born! 

Our shared passion to create a simple, memorable & handy keepsake book to share the knowledge of businesses it can take years to find out about. Kept in the kitchen, bookshelf or prime spot on your coffee table, YLLBB can be part of every home. Discovering hidden gems, like when you have a coffee & chat with friends & share those that only you know about! Now we can proudly say we bring this to you in your own handy little black book, with every edition. 

We provide the perfect link between business & people, giving an opportunity for businesses to visually communicate with their community, together, inspiring & attracting our readers to support & use local whenever possible, benefiting everyone. 

Whether you are an established or new business, it’s important to keep engaged and remind people what you do & offer, YLLBB is the perfect solution. 

As much as we know nothing can replace the value of print & this is the back bone to our business, we have also launched a digital directory, YLLBB Business Hub, having a Print & Digital presence offers The Complete Local Marketing Package. 

We are excited for our Spring/Summer Edition & to launch later this year in more towns, continuing to share our passion for connecting communities together.

Behind The Scenes

Following on from who we are and how YLLBB started, we want to give you an insight into how an edition is created from start to finish, including our partners at Gladstone Design and 4Print.

Lisa & Alison - YLLBB
Like many small businesses, we have no set working hours, we work around the clock (& the kids) so that we can be available to you when you need us.

Each and every client is important to us, we are very personable and committed to get to know you and your business, our aim is to build a long-term working partnership. We want your business to grow alongside ours and for you to get value from our services.

We are constantly in touch with new and existing clients, we love nothing more than hearing your plans and assisting you to make them happen. No day is the same, but we know there is never enough hours! From answering your emails, calls, interacting on Social Media, assisting you with your advert ideas and bringing that together, liaising constantly with our designer Katie on pagination, format and making each edition visually impactful, and of course always focusing on our own business plan. We are constantly brainstorming to how we can make YLLBB bigger and better for all our clients and readers, we cut no corners and will not compromise on the final product in any way, we always strive to the highest standard and produce a quality and memorable YOUR LOCAL LITTLE BLACK BOOK.

We have a relatively short window in between each edition, we always have a sigh of relief (and a prosecco) as we hit the print button, however before we know it the process commences again! From the moment you join us to we go to print its quite an intensive period of time, we are dealing with about 100 clients per edition and we do our utmost to ensure the process is as easy as possible for you. From the moment you approve your advert we then work behind the scenes with our partners Katie & John to make the magic happen….

Katie - Gladstone Design 
It’s a great pleasure to work alongside Lisa & Alison, creating their branding and distinctive house style across Print and Digital platforms.

For each edition we begin with a creative meeting to discuss ideas and changes to the overall format, at this point we have a constant stream of contact to ensure we get the best design. My timeframe is only a matter of weeks to pull together illustrations, adverts, editorial features and pagination, however hard we try there is always a last-minute flurry and adrenaline kicks in!

We finesse the pagination, ensuring the flow looks visually appealing throughout, slicing in our larger adverts, editorial pieces and engaging, appealing, relevant content. This ensures the Directory is visually pleasing, has pace and gives necessary pauses and clarity to the reader.

Once the pages have come together, then the final proving begins – this is a timely and intense exercise, lots of caffeine required! 

Once we have passed this stage, we then create the digital version and updated visuals for the YLLBB website, so that everyone can access your adverts on the go! Phew!

When the latest edition is put to bed, all that remains is to await the satisfying thud of the YLLBB Directory on our doormat so we can proudly add it to the display of work in our office.

 John - 4Print 
The print process starts a couple of months in advance. Our first step is contacting Royal Mail and booking the desired distribution slot, to ensure there are no competing items scheduled. Once the design work is received from Katie, we run high resolution proofs for Lisa & Alison to do a final check, nail biting times! The paper we order well in advance, we always purchase the same grade and quality of paper for consistency. Over to the print pressing machines, always a great sight to see YLLBB going through the press! Once the final sheet has gone through and all is binded and boxed, all 31,500 copies are loaded onto pallets and set off on their way to Royal Mail. After that it is just a case of waiting for it to arrive on doorsteps…