This illustrative feature is all important because it virtually

plays the part of the initial paragraph of the letter--it makes the

point of contact and gets the attention. It corresponds to the

illustrated headline of the advertisement. No rules can be laid down

for it as it is a matter for individual treatment.

Colors that create a proper condition of mind through psychological

effect must be taken into consideration in the attention-getting

feature of the folder. There are certain color schemes which are

known to create a particularly appropriate condition of mind. For

instance, where quick action is wanted, a flaring color is

effective. Where pure sales arguments count most in stating a

proposition, blacks and whites have been found the most adequate.

Soothing colors, such as soft browns and blues, have been found to

appeal to the senses and serve to insure additional interest through

a pleasant frame of mind.

The right impression once gained, the style of the reading matter

must make the most of it. Many have hesitated to use the postal or

folder because they fear for a certain loss, through lack of

dignity, where the proposition demands an especially high-class

approach. But to some folders, especially of the letter variety now

in use, no such criticism could possibly be offered. Really fine

samples of these letters bear outside illustrations from photographs

or the work of the best artists. Their appearance outside and inside

is given every possible attention to create the impression of

distinct value. An appeal to the senses, as in the use of pleasing

colors, is a feature of their make-up.

The personal letter inside is perfect in details of typography; it

is carefully filled in with prospect's or customer's name; care is

taken to see that the filling-in process matches the body of the

letter and a personal signature is appended to give a more intimate

appeal.

The cost of these folders, because of the high grade of reproduction

and the art work, runs considerably above the usual business-getting

letter of one-cent mailing. The lowest class of these folders cost

approximately the same as the usual letter under two-cent

mailing. Any addition of special art work increases their cost

proportionately, but the expense is frequently justified.

These illustrated letters depend upon their power of suggestion,

through graphic illustration and design, and upon the personal idea

of the letter used for getting business. Few enclosures, other than

the return card, or reminder card, for filing purposes, are used.

One physician, especially anxious of promoting a new remedy, sent

out mailing folders describing his remedy and offered an absolute

guarantee of results before payment. The return card enclosed with

this folder was engraved with the name and address of the physician

above and underneath his absolute guarantee. Because the campaign

was so unusual, it produced unexpectedly large returns.

Here, as in the usual business-getting letter, careful attention is

given to details. The importance of attracting attention in the

first paragraph by careful expression, followed by the creating of

desire in the mind of the customer or prospect and the adding of

conviction--and finally, the use of reason that compels action

cannot be emphasized too strongly.

A more appealing letter could scarcely be written than the

following, used in the cigarette campaign previously mentioned. The

outside of the folder carried an appropriate drawing by one of the

best American artists and the whole folder gave an impression of the

highest quality. Note the easy style, designed to catch the reader

as he first opens the folder and carry him along fascinated to the

end:

Dear Sir:

[Sidenote: Attention-getter; natural and effective. Explanation

clear, and a desire is created through promise.]

Turn back in your mind for one minute to the best Turkish cigarette

you ever smoked.

If you remember, it was not so much that the cigarette was fragrant,

or that it had a particular flavor, or aroma, or mildness, that

caused it to please you--it was the combination of all these

qualities that made it so delicious.

This means that the perfection of that cigarette was in the blend,

the combination of rare tobacco, each giving forth some one quality.

We have worked out a blend that produces a Tobacco Cigarette which

satisfies _our_ ideal at least.

We call the cigarette made of this brand PERESO. We make no secret

of the kind of tobacco used--the exact proportion and how to treat

the rare leaves is our secret.

To get a perfect aroma, we must take ---- Tobacco: young sprigs of

yellow so soft that the Turks call it "Golden Leaf."

We use ---- leaves for their flavor; they have marvelous fragrance

as well a delicate mildness.

[Sidenote: Giving conviction by details.]

To get each of these tidbits of Tobacco into perfect condition, so

that their qualities will be at their prime when blended, is our

profession. The PERESO cigarette is the result.

[Sidenote: Suggesting immediate action.]

Touch a match to a PERESO cigarette after luncheon today. You will

be delighted with its exquisite aroma, its fleeting fragrance and

delicate mildness.

[Sidenote: Strength in clincher lies in absolute guarantee.]

If it is not better than the best cigarette you have ever smoked,

allow us the privilege of returning the fifteen cents the package

cost you. The original box with the remaining cigarettes, when

handed to your dealer, will bring the refund.

Will you Join us in a PERESO cigarette today?

Very truly yours.

[Signature: Adams & Adams]

* * * * *

Enclosed in this folder next to the letter was a card bearing a

picture of the cigarettes in their box. At the bottom of the folder,

underneath the letter, was the phrase: "All good dealers--fifteen

cents a package."

With the mailing card, as with the letter, guarantees, free trial

offers and the like, help to strengthen the close of the

proposition, win the confidence and bring back the answer.

For example, a large watch company, wishing to appeal to a class of

customers who had previously been listed and whose financial

standing made its proposition secure, sent out folders signed by

department heads asking the privilege of mailing a watch for

examination and trial. The letter, which carefully described the

advantages of the watch over other watches sold at similar prices,

offered this trial without any cost to the prospect, only asking

that if the watch suited his needs a draft be mailed to the company.

The return card in this case contained an agreement by the firm to

hold the prospect in no way obligated to the company, except through

purchase. Before returning the card to the company, the prospect was

required to sign it, agreeing that, after a trial, either the watch

or the money should be sent in.

Before you enter upon the use of mailing cards, be sure you

understand the postal regulations regarding them. They are not

complicated, but more than one concern has prepared elaborate

folders only to be refused admittance to the mails because they did

not follow specifications as to size and weight.

Postal laws require that all cards marked "Post Cards" be uniform in

design and not less than three and three-fourths inches by four

inches and not more than three and nine-sixteenths inches by five

and nine-sixteenths inches in size. This means that all return

cards, whether enclosed or attached, must be within authorized sizes

to allow a first class postal rating.

Making It _Easy_ For the

PROSPECT to _Answer_

PART V--WRITING THE SALES LETTER--CHAPTER 21.

_The mere physical effort of hunting up pen and paper by which to

send in an order for_ SOMETHING HE REALLY WANTS, _deters many a

prospect from becoming a customer_.

_The man who sells goods by mail must overcome this natural inertia

by reducing the act of sending in an order or inquiry to its very

simplest terms--by making it so easy for him to reply that he acts

while the desire for the goods is still upon him. Here are Eighteen

Schemes for making it easy for the prospect to reply--and to reply

NOW_

* * * * *

There are few propositions so good that they will sell themselves. A

man may walk into a store with the deliberate intention of buying a

shirt, and if the clerk who waits on him is not a good salesman the

customer may just as deliberately walk out of the store and go to

the place across the street. Lack of attention, over-anxiety to make

a quick sale, want of tact on the part of the salesman--any one of a

dozen things may switch off the prospective customer although he

wants what you have for sale.

Even more likely is this to happen when you are trying to sell him

by mail. He probably cares little or nothing about your offer; it is

necessary to interest him in the limits of a page or two and

convince him that he should have the article described.

And even after his interest has been aroused and he is in a mood to

reply, either with an order or a request for further information, he

will be lost unless it is made easy for him to answer; unless it is

almost as easy to answer as it is not to answer. A man's interest

cools off rapidly; you must get his request for further information

or his order before he picks up the next piece of mail.

It is a daily experience to receive a letter or a circular that

interests you a little--just enough so you put the letter aside for

attention "until you have more time." Instead of being taken up

later, it is engulfed in the current of routine and quickly

forgotten. Had the offer riveted your attention strongly enough; had

the inducements to act been forceful; had the means for answering

been easy, you would probably have replied at once.

Make it so easy to answer that the prospect has no good reason for

delaying. Make him feel that it is to his interest in every way to

act AT ONCE. Do the hard work at your end of the line; exert

yourself to overcome his natural inertia and have the order blank,

or the coupon or the post card already for his signature. Don't rely

upon his enthusing himself over the proposition and then hunt up

paper, pencil and envelope; lay everything before him and follow the

argument and the persuasion with a clincher that is likely to get

the order.

In making it easy to answer, there are three important elements to

be observed. You must create the right mental attitude, following

argument and reason with a "do it now" appeal that the reader will

find it hard to get away from. Then the cost must be kept in the

background, centering attention on the goods, the guarantee, and the

free trial offer rather than upon the price. And finally, it is

desirable to simplify the actual process--the physical effort of

replying.

The whole effort is wasted if there is lacking that final appeal

that convinces a man he must act immediately. Your opening may

attract his attention; your arguments may convince him that he ought

to have your goods; reason may be backed by persuasion that actually

creates in him a desire for them, but unless there is a "do it this

very minute" hook, and an "easy to accept" offer, the effort of

interesting the prospect is wasted.

* * * * *

SCHEME 1--A SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED PERIOD

The most familiar form of inducement is a special price for a

limited period, but this must be handled skillfully or it closes the

gate against an effective follow-up. The time may be extended once,

but even that weakens the proposition unless very cleverly worded;

and to make a further cut in price prompts the prospect to wait for

a still further reduction.

* * * * *

BETTER LOOK AGAIN AND SEE IF YOU HAVE SIGNED YOUR NAME AND

WRITTEN YOUR TOWN AND STATE PLAINLY. WE GET LOTS OF ORDERS

EVERY YEAR THAT WE CAN'T FILL BECAUSE THE ADDRESS IS INCOMPLETE

OR ILLEGIBLE. IT IS BEST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE AND WRITE YOUR

NAME AND ADDRESS SO PLAINLY THAT THERE CAN BE NO POSSIBLE MISTAKE.

DID YOU?

YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE BETTER KEEP AN

THIS ORDER SHEET. YOU O R D E R S H E E T EXACT COPY OF THIS

CAN ORDER ANY OLD WAY ORDER FOR FUTURE

YOU LIKE. BUT USING THIS REFERENCE.

WILL SAVE US BOTH SOME

BOTHER

* * * * *

BE SURE TO ALWAYS SIGN THE MORE CAREFUL YOU ARE KEEP A COPY OF

YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. TO FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING THE ORDER AND IF

WE GET LOTS OF ORDERS BLANKS CAREFULLY AND YOU DO NOT HEAR

WITH NO SIGN OF NAME CLEARLY, THE MORE CERTAIN FROM US IN A

OR ADDRESS. IF YOUR WE ARE TO GET YOUR ORDER REASONABLE

SHIPPING STATION IS FILLED PROMPTLY AND LENGTH OF TIME,

DIFFERENT FROM YOUR CORRECTLY. WE'RE ALL LONG WRITE US AND

POST OFFICE BE SURE RANGE MIND READERS AND TELL US JUST

TO GIVE BOTH CAN GENERALLY PUZZLE OUT WHAT YOU ORDERED

HOW AN ORDER IS MEANT TO AND WHEN YOU

BE BUT IT TAKES LOTS OF ORDERED IT

GUESS WORK

VALUE OF ORDER $ |cents

DATE_______ ---------------------------|---

NAME____________________________ PAID BY P.O. MONEY ORDER |

STREET OR RURAL ROUTE___________ PAID BY EXP. MONEY ORDER |

POST OFFICE_____________________ PAID BY DRAFT |

COUNTY__________________________ PAID By CHECK |

SHIPPING STATION________________ PAID IN CURRENCY |

WHAT RAILROAD PREFERRED_________ PAID IN SILVER |

WHAT EXPRESS CO PREFERRED_______ PAID IN STAMPS |

TOTAL AMOUNT PAID |

MARK IN SQUARE WHICH WAY YOU WANT -------------------------------

THIS ORDER SENT___MAIL__EXPRESS PLEASE DON'T WRITE IN THIS SPACE

__FREIGHT OPENED BY_____BOOKED BY_____

O'K'D BY______TAGGED BY_____

SHALL WE USE OUR BEST JUDGMENT AS ROUTING_____________________

TO MANNER OF SHIPPING AND ROUTING?____

IF OUT OF VARIETY ORDERED HAVE WE

YOUR PERMISSION TO SUBSTITUTE EQUAL

OR BETTER ______ IN NEAREST VARIETY

------------------------------------------------------------------

BU|QTS|LBS|PTS|OZ|PKTS|NO|ARTICLES WANTED |VALUE

------------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________|$______|cents___

_________________________________________________|$______|cents___

_________________________________________________|$______|cents___

_________________________________________________|$______|cents___

* * * * *

_This order sheet simplifies ordering and assures accuracy. On the

reverse side are printed several special offers, to which reference

may readily be made. The sheet is made to fold up like an envelope

and when the gummed edges are pasted down enclosures are perfectly

safe_

* * * * *

On some propositions the time limit can be worked over and over

again on different occasions like special store sales. A large

publishing house selling an encyclopedia never varies the price but

it gets out special "Christmas" offers, "Withdrawal" sale offers,

"Special Summer" offers--anything for a reason to send out some new

advertising matter making a different appeal. And each proposition

is good only up to a certain time. The letters must be mailed and

postmarked before midnight of the last day, and this time limit

pulls the prospect over the dead center of indecision and gets his

order. The last day usually brings in more orders than any previous

week.

* * * * *

FILL OUT AND MAIL THIS COUPON

TO CHICAGO SUPPLY CO.

I AM INTERESTED IN ___________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

SEND ME FREE OF COST

MAMMOTH ILLUSTRATED CATALOG __

BOOK OF HOUSE AND BARN PLANTS __ STRUCTURAL STEEL NEWS __

HEATING AND PLUMBING GUIDE __ LINOLEUM BOOKLET __

BOOK ON ROOFING, SIDING, ETC. __ GASOLINE ENGINES __

CLOTHING FOR MEN AND BOYS __ LADIES' WEARING APPAREL__

SEWING MACHINE BOOK __ HARNESS AND VEHICLES __

PUT CROSS IN SQUARE OPPOSITE BOOKS YOU WISH

MY NAME__________________________________________

TOWN__________________________ STATE ____________

R.F.D.___________ BOX NO.________ ST. NO.________

* * * * *

_This coupon, used in advertisements and in printed matter, make

it extremely easy to send for information on special subjects_

* * * * *

SCHEME 2--THE LAST CHANCE TO BUY

If it is desired to come right back at a prospect, some such

paragraph as this is written:

"Only 46 sets left! The success of our special offer surpassed all

expectations. It will be necessary to issue another edition at once.

The style of binding will be changed but otherwise the two editions

will be the same. As we do not carry two styles on hand, we are

willing to let you have one of the 46 remaining sets at the SAME

TERMS although our special offer expired Saturday night."

* * * * *

And this appeal may pull even better than the first one--provided

the proposition is "on the square." It is hard to put sincerity into

a letter that is not based on an absolute truth. If "Only 46 sets

left" is merely a salesman's bluff when in fact there are hundreds

of sets on hand, the letter will have a hollow ring.

* * * * *

MAKING IT EASY TO ANSWER

CREATING DESIRE

TIME LIMIT

LIMITED NO. OF ARTICLES

CUT PRICE

SPECIAL TERMS

RESERVATION OF STOCK OR MACHINE

EVADING THE COST

FREE TRIAL OFFER

GUARANTEE

DEFERRED PAYMENTS

"SEND BILL"

NOT AN EXPENSE--AN INVESTMENT

ENCLOSURES

ORDER BLANKS

POST CARDS

MONEY ORDER APPLICATIONS

COIN CARDS

ADDRESSED ENVELOPE

* * * * *

Sincerity is the hardest thing in the world to imitate in a letter

and absolute confidence is the key-stone to all mailorder selling.

There are plenty of plausible reasons for making a time limit or a

special offer. A large publishing house, selling both magazines and

books by mail occasionally turns the trick by a human interest

appeal:

"I told the business manager that I believed I could bring our

August sales up to equal those of the other months.

"He laughed at me. Always before they have fallen off about twenty

per cent.

"But I am going to do it--if you'll help me."

* * * * *

Then the sales manager went on with a special offer; it was a

legitimate offer which made a real inducement that proved one of the

most successful the firm ever put out.

SCHEME 3--LOW PRICES DURING DULL SEASONS

In making a special price the prospect must be given some plausible

reason and sincere explanation for the reduction. A special

arrangement with the manufacturer, cleaning out of stock, an

introductory offer--some valid reason; and then state this reason in

a frank, business-like way, making the story interesting and showing

where it is to the advantage of both the prospect and yourself.

"Just to keep my men busy during the dull season I will make an

extra pair of trousers at the same price ordinarily charged for a

suit, on orders placed during July and August."

* * * * *

This offer sent out by a merchant tailor brought results, for he had

a good reason for doing an extra service--he wanted to keep his help

busied during the quiet months and the customer took advantage of

the inducement.

SCHEME 4--CUT PRICES IN EXCHANGE FOR NAMES

"If you will send us the names of your friends who might be

interested" and "if you will show it to your friends" are familiar

devices for they present a plausible excuse for cutting a price and

serve the double purpose of giving the manufacturer or merchant new

names for his mailing list. "A free sample if you send us your

dealer's name" is reasonably certain to call for an immediate reply

from most women, for they are always interested in samples.

Making a special introductory offer on some new device or appliance

is certainly a legitimate reason for cutting the price. It is an

inducement, moreover, that possesses a peculiar strength for a man

likes to be the first one in his vicinity or in his line of business

to adopt some improved method or system.

SCHEME 5--THE SPECIAL "INTRODUCTORY PRICE"

There can be no excuse for the carelessness that makes a "special

introductory price," and later in the same letter or in a follow-up

calls attention to the "many satisfied users in your section." Be

sure your reason is real--then it rings true and incites prompt

action like this offer:

The Wright Copy Holder sells the world over for $3.00. We are

certain, however, that once you see the holder actually increasing

the output of your own typist you will want to equip your entire

office with them. So, for a limited time only, we are going to make

you an introductory price of $2.25. Send to-day for one of these

holders and give it a thorough trial. Then any time within thirty

days, after you have watched the holder in actual use and seen it

pay for itself, in actual increased output, order as many more as

you want and we will supply them to you at the same introductory

price of $2.25 each. After that time we must ask the regular price.

* * * * *

This is convincing. The prospect feels that if the holder were not

all right it would not be sold on such terms, for the manufacturers

expect that the one holder will give such satisfaction that it will

lead to the sale of many more.

"Enclose $2.25 now in any convenient form and let the holder

demonstrate for itself what it can save you every day. Don't wait

until tomorrow--but send your order today--right now."

* * * * *

This is the closing paragraph and if you are at all interested in

copy holders it is likely you will place an order "NOW." And if you

don't and if the order is not placed within ten days, the offer may

be extended for two weeks and after that a "ten-day only" offer may

pull forth an order.

SCHEME 6--SPECIAL TERMS TO PREFERRED CUSTOMERS

A brokerage firm has found that a "Pre-public announcement special

offer to preferred clients only" in placing stocks and bonds is a

good puller. The recipient is flattered by being classed with the

"preferred clients" and is not unmindful of the opportunity of

getting in on the proposition before there is any public

announcement.

* * * * *

DATE _____________________

WILSON SAFETY RAZOR CO.

DEAR SIRS:--PLEASE SEND ONE STANDARD WILSON SAFETY RAZOR (PRICE

$3.00)

VERY TRULY YOURS.

(YOUR) NAME _______________________

STREET AND NO _____________________

CITY ______________ STATE _________

------------------------------------------------------------------

IF THE RAZOR IS TO BE SENT THROUGH YOUR DEALER FILL OUT BELOW

(DEALER'S) NAME ___________________

ADDRESS ___________________________

CITY ______________ STATE _________

IF YOU PREFER THAT WE SEND RAZOR DIRECT TO YOU, PLEASE ENCLOSE

REMITTANCE IN EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING FORMS CASH (REGISTERED

MAIL), MONEY ORDER, NY BANK DRAFT CHECK

THE WILSON SAFETY RAZOR CO OR THE DEALER WHO EXECUTES THIS ORDER

IN ACCEPTING THE $3.00 FOR THE SAFETY RAZOR AGREES WITH THE

PURCHASER THAT IT IS SOLD ON 30 DAYS TRIAL WITHOUT ANY OBLIGATION

OR LIABILITY FOR USE DURING THAT PERIOD. IF FOR ANY REASON THE

PURCHASER DESIRES TO RETURN IT WITHIN THAT PERIOD THE SELLER UPON

SHALL UPON RECEIPT THEREOF REFUND THE $3.00

THE WILSON SAFETY RAZOR CO.

* * * * *

_This form of post card provides for two methods of ordering--the

customer may take his choice_

* * * * *

In influencing prompt action the time element and the special price

are not the only "Act Now" inducements although they are the most

common. A man had written to a firm that makes marine engines for

prices but the first two or three letters had failed to call forth

any further correspondence. So the sales manager wrote a personal

letter in which the following paragraph appeared:

"In looking over our correspondence I notice that you are

particularly interested in a 2-horse power engine. I have an engine

of that size on hand that I think will interest you. We have just

received our exhibits from the Motor Boat Shows. Among these I

noticed a 2 H.P. engine and remembering your inquiry for this size

engine, it occurred to me that this would make you an ideal engine

for your boat."

* * * * *

This was cleverly worded, for although the company would contend

that the exhibits were taken from stock, the possible buyer would

feel confident that the engine exhibited at the show had been tested

and tried in every way. If he were in the market at all, this would

probably prove a magnet to draw an immediate reply--for it is always

easy to reply if one is sufficiently interested.

SCHEME 7--HOLDING GOODS IN RESERVE

This "holding one in reserve for you" has proved effective with a

typewriter company:

"The factory is working to the limit these days and we are behind

orders now. But we are going to hold the machine we have reserved

for you a few days longer. After that we may have to use it to fill

another order. Sign and send us the enclosed blank to-day and let

us place the machine where it will be of real service to you.

Remember it is covered by a guarantee that protects you against

disappointment. If you don't like it, simply return it and back

comes your money."

* * * * *

Bond brokers frequently use this same idea, writing to a customer

that a block of stock or a part of an issue of bonds had been

reserved for him as it represented just the particular kind of

investment that he always liked--and reasons follow showing how

desirable the investment really is.

In one form or another this scheme is widely used. When the order

justifies the expense, a night telegram is sometimes sent stating

that the machine can be held only one day more or something like

that. This only is possible on special goods that cannot be readily

duplicated.

In all these offers and schemes the price is kept carefully in the

background. Many firms never mention the price in the letter,

leaving that for the circular, folder or catalogue.

SCHEME 8--THE FREE TRIAL OFFER

Instead of the price being emphasized, it is the free trial offer or

the absolute guarantee that is held before the reader.

"Without even risking a cent you can use the Wilbur on your farm

free for 30 days. We will ship it to you, freight prepaid, with the

plain understanding that, should the Wilbur not come up to every

claim we make for it, we will take it off your hands, for we don't

want anyone to keep the Wilbur when he is not satisfied with it.

Thus, we agree to pay ALL charges and take ALL risk while you are

testing and trying the Wilbur for one whole month.

"You see, we have a great deal of confidence in the Wilbur or we

could not afford to make you this square and generous offer, which

leaves it entirely to you to say whether or not the Wilbur Fanning

Mill is a practical and money-making success. Since the 30 days'

free trial proposition puts you to no risk whatever, you should take

advantage of this opportunity and have a Wilbur shipped right away

on the free trial basis.

"To prove it, all you have to do is to fill in, sign and mail this

card. After 30 days you CAN return the machine if you are willing."

* * * * *

Not a word about price. All about the free trial and the fact that

you are to be the judge of the machine's value.

And not only the free trial but the absolute guarantee is

emphasized. "Your money back if not satisfactory" is the slogan of

every successful mail-order house. Frequently a facsimile of the

guarantee accompanies the letter; always it is emphasized.

SCHEME 9--THE "YOUR MONEY BACK" OFFER

A manufacturer of certain machines for shop use wastes little time

in describing the machine or telling what all it will do. The broad

assertion is made that after a month's use it would not be sold at

the price paid for it, and instead of arguing the case and

endeavoring to prove the statement, the company strives to make it

easy to place a trial order. Here are two of the three paragraphs

that make up one of its letters:

"To prove it, all you have to do is to fill in, sign and mail this

card. After 30 days you MAY return the machine if you want to.

"Try it out. Never mind what we might SAY about the uses your shop

men would be getting out of it--FIND OUT. It is easy. Just send the

card."

* * * * *

This is simplicity itself. The writer does not put us on the

defensive by trying to argue with us. We are to be the judge and he

compliments us by the inference that we "don't need to be told" but

can judge for ourselves as to whether it is worth keeping. The price

is held in the background and the actual ordering is nothing more

than to sign a post card. There is no reason at all why we should

delay; we could hardly turn the letter over to be filed without

feeling that we were blind to our best interest in not replying.

SCHEME 10--THE DISCOUNT FOR CASH

Publishers of a magazine angle for renewals without boldly snatching

for a man's pocketbook, by this presentation:

"Simply tell us _NOW_ to continue your subscription. Remit at your

convenience. Better still, wrap a $1.00 bill in this post card--and

mail to us today. We will send not only the twelve issues paid for,

but will--as a cash discount--extend your subscription an extra two

months."

* * * * *

Here the cost is brought in almost as an afterthought, yet in a way

that actually brings the cash with the renewal.

"Fill out the enclosed order and the goods will be shipped at once

and billed in the regular way."

* * * * *

The payment is not in sight--it hasn't yet turned the corner.

"Billed in the regular way" catches our order where we would

postpone action if it meant reaching down into our pockets and

buying a money order or writing out a check. The payment looks afar

off--and it will not seem so much if the account is paid along with

the rest of the bills at the first of the month.

SCHEME 11--THE FIRST INSTALLMENT AS A "DEPOSIT"

Where goods are sold on "easy terms" and a first payment required,

many correspondents refer to the remittance as a "deposit." In the

strong guarantee it is expressly stated that in case of

dissatisfaction, the "deposit" will be returned.

Even the deferring of the payment a few days helps to pull an order.

It is not that a man is niggardly or that he does not want the

article but it is the desire, rooted deep in human nature, to hold

onto money after it has been hard earned.

"To facilitate your prompt action, I am enclosing a convenient

postal card order. Our shipping department has had instructions to

honor this as readily as they would your check. There is no need to

send the customary initial payment in advance. Simply sign and mail

the enclosed card; when the file comes, pay the expressman the first

payment of $2.00."

* * * * *

Here the payment was very small and it was deferred only a few days,

but long enough to make it _seem easier_, and the orders were much

larger than when cash was required with the order.

SCHEME 12--SENDING GOODS FOR INSPECTION

"Take no risk" is the reassuring line in many advertisements and

letters. "Send no money--take no risk. We do not even ask you to

make a deposit until you are satisfied that you need the Verbest in

your business. Simply send the coupon today and the Verbest goes

forward at our risk."

Such offers pull best when simply worded and contain some such

phrase as "Without obligation on my part, you may send me." It gives

reassurance that there is no catch and inspires the confidence that

is the basis of the mail-order business.

Then there is the argument that the device or equipment will pay for

itself--a powerful leverage when rightly applied.

Here is the way the manufacturer of a certain machine keeps the cost

in the shadow:

"There is no red tape to go through. Simply sign the enclosed blank

and forward to-day with the first payment of $3.00. The Challenge

will go forward promptly. And the balance you can pay as the machine

pays for itself--at the rate of seventeen cents a day."

* * * * *

Simple, isn't it? You forget all about the cost. The paragraph is a

cleverly worded "Do it now" appeal and the cost is kept entirely in

the background.

SCHEME 13--THE EXPENSE VERSUS THE INVESTMENT ARGUMENT

A companion argument is that the device is not an expense but an

investment. Here there is no attempt to put the cost price in the

background but to justify the outlay as a sound investment--a

business proposition that is to be tested by the investment

standard. This is a strong argument with the shrewd business man who

figures the value of things not on the initial cost, but upon the

profits they will earn and the dividends they will pay.

The whole proposition must be shaped in such a way that it is easy

for the prospect to buy. He must want to buy--and the experienced

correspondent realizes that every word and phrase must be avoided

that is capable of being misconstrued. There are no details so small

that they do not have a bearing on the success of a campaign.

SCHEME 14--THE RETURN POSTAL FILLED IN FOR MAILING

And now that you have made clear your proposition and shown your

proof, now that you have led your prospect to the buying point, the

next step is to make him send you the order. And the only way to do

this is to follow the example of the good salesman: put the pen in

his hand, your finger on the dotted line, and slip the order blank

before him. The salesman does these things because he knows that he

might lose the sale if he asked his prospect to hunt up a pen, a

letterhead and some ink. He knows the value of making it easy to

buy. And in selling by mail you must do the same. Don't guide him on

to a decision to order and then leave him at sea as to how to do it.

Show him exactly what to do. It is easy enough simply to say, "Write

me a letter," or, "send me $2.00." The very man you want most to

sell may not know how to write a clearly worded order. Even if he

does, the fact that you ask him to go to the trouble of getting his

writing materials may serve to postpone the act and lose him the

desire to buy. So give him the order ready to sign, with as few

changes as possible required. And give him an addressed return

envelope to send it in. If no money is to be sent with the order,

put it on a post card. "Sign and mail the card" borders on the

extreme of simplicity in buying.

You cannot be too simple in your method of soliciting orders.

If your proposition will admit of saying, "Pin a dollar bill to this

letter and mail," say it. If more details are needed, make them

as simple as possible.

* * * * *

JOHNSON DYE ORDER AND COIN CARD

(BE SURE TO ADDRESS YOUR ENVELOPE VERY PLAINLY)

JOHNSON DYE COMPANY BOSTON, MASS.

SEND ME __ PACKAGES OF JOHNSON DYES, AT TEN CENTS EACH, AS

MARKED IN THE ORDER BLANK BELOW. I ENCLOSE IN THIS COIN ENVELOPE

BELOW, TOTAL

SIGN VERY PLAINLY _______ CENTS

NAME______________________________________

ADDRESS_________NUMBER, STREET, OR BOX, POST OFFICE, COUNTY, STATE

------------------------------------------------------------------

DON'T FAIL TO FILL OUT THIS [words behind HAS HE (ANY) JOHNSON

drawing of DYES FOR WOOL?_____

MY DEALER'S NAME_________ envelope] HAS HE (ANY) JOHNSON

DYES FOR COTTON?____

ADDRESS__________________ HAS HE THE JOHNSON

DYE COLORS ORDERED

WRITE PLAINLY BELOW? _____

------------------------- --------------------

JOHNSON DYES JOHNSON DYES

FOR WOOL FOR COTTON

_______LIGHT BLUE _______LIGHT BLUE

_______DARK BLUE [Envelope: PUT _______DARK BLUE

_______NAVY BLUE YOUR MONEY, COIN _______NAVY BLUE

_______BROWN OR BILL IN HERE] _______BROWN

_______SEAL BROWN _______SEAL BROWN

_______GREEN _______GREEN

_______DARK GREEN _______DARK GREEN

_______PINK _______PINK

_______SCARLET _______SCARLET

_______CRIMSON _______CRIMSON

_______CARDINAL RED _______CARDINAL RED

_______TURKEY RED _______TURKEY RED

_______GARNET _______GARNET

_______BLACK _______BLACK

_______PURPLE _______PURPLE

_______YELLOW _______YELLOW

_______ORANGE _______ORANGE

_______GRAY _______GRAY

* * * * *

_A manila enclosure that contains a small envelope suitable for

sending coins or bills. The directions not only cover all points on

the order but give the company information for its follow-up_

* * * * *

SCHEME 15--THE MONEY ORDER READY FOR SIGNATURE

If you want him to send a money order, help him to get it by

enclosing a money order application filled in except for his name.

Avoid the possibility of giving the order blank a legal appearance.

Simply have the order say, "Send me ----" and as little more as is

necessary. Show the prospect that there are no strings or jokers in

your blank. Make it so simple that there is no possibility of

misunderstanding its terms.

If the article is one that is sold in much th same way to every

purchaser, it is best to print the entire order, leaving only the

date line and the signature line blank. If the purchaser has to

choose between two styles of the article or between two quantities,

the order blank may be printed, so that the quantity not wanted may

be crossed out.

SCHEME 16--ORDERING BY MARKS

In dealing with an unlettered class of people, it is well to put a

footnote in very small type under optional lines or words and to

instruct the purchaser to "Cross out the style you do not want" or

"Put an X opposite the quantity ordered."

In case of articles that are sold for cash and also on the easy

payment plan, it is better to have two separate order blanks printed

on different colors of paper, one plainly headed "Cash Order Blank,"

and the other "Easy Payment Order Blank." Avoid the "Instalment

Plan." The name has lost standing of late; the wording "Easy Payment

Plan" is better and more suggestive.

SCHEME 17--THE COIN CARD

The coin-card method is a winner for sales under a dollar. The card,

with its open holes inviting the quarter or the fifty-cent piece,

and the order blank printed conveniently on the flap--captures much

loose money.

The post office department will furnish money order applications

with the name of the advertiser printed in the proper spaces. These

printed applications should be sent for the prospect's convenience

in cases where a money order is likely to be used. They insure that

the advertiser's name will come before postmaster's written in the

preferred form, and they also relieve much of the hesitancy and

embarrassment of the people that do not know how to make out an

application.

SCHEME 18--SENDING MONEY AT THE OTHER FELLOW'S RISK

One of the best schemes for easy ordering invited the reader to fold

a dollar bill in the letter "right now" and mail the letter at the

risk of the firm. That effective closing removed the tendency to

delay until a check or a money order could be secured. It took away

the fear of loss in the mails. It largely increased the returns of

the letter.

It is sometimes an excellent plan to suggest that the reader sign

and mail at once a postal card that is enclosed. If there is an inch

or two of space at the bottom of the letter, a blank order or

request may be written there that needs only a signature to make it

complete. In the closing paragraph, direct the reader to sign and

return the slip.

An addressed envelope should always be enclosed. It will not always

be used, but it will be used by most people, and it assures the

correct address and facilitates the handling of incoming mail.

How To Write Letters That

_Appeal_ To WOMEN

PART VI--THE APPEAL TO DIFFERENT CLASSES--CHAPTER 22

_The two-page letter which a man would toss into the waste basket

unread may be read by a woman with increasing interest at each

paragraph. The average woman does not have a large correspondence;

her mail is not so heavy but what she_ FINDS TIME TO READ EVERY

LETTER THAT APPEALS TO HER EVEN SLIGHTLY. _The printed heading may

show a letter to be from a cloak company. She doesn't really need a

new coat--and anyhow she could hardly afford it this fall--but she

would just like to see what the styles are going to be like--and it

doesn't cost anything to send for samples. Yet if the writer of the

letter is skilled and understands the subtle workings of a woman's

mind_, THE CLOAK IS HALF SOLD BY THE TIME SHE FILLS OUT THE POSTAL

CARD. _This chapter tells why_

* * * * *

The more personal a letter is made the more successful it will

prove. Several large mail-order houses, handling thousands of

letters every day, are gradually abandoning the use of form letters,

making every communication personal. The additional expense is of

course great but the increased business apparently justifies the new

policy.

The carelessness that sends out to women form letters beginning

"Dear Sir" has squandered many an advertising appropriation. A man

might not notice such a mistake or he might charitably blame it onto

a stupid mailing clerk, but a woman--never.

The mail-order houses with progressive methods not only guard

against inexcusable blunders and tactless letters but they are

studying the classes and the individuals with whom they are dealing.

A mail may bring in two letters--one, from a farmer, laboriously

scrawled on a bit of wrapping paper; the other, from a lady in town,

written on the finest stationery. Both may request catalogues and

the same printed matter will be sent to each, but only the amateur

correspondent would use the same form letter in reply.

The book agent who rattles off to every prospect the set speech

which the house furnished him with his prospectus either throws up

the work as a "poor proposition" or changes his tactics, and the

form letter that tries to wing all classes of individuals is most

likely to miss all.

In making an appeal to women, the first thing to be considered is

the stationery. Good quality of paper is a sound investment. Saving

money by use of cheap stationery is not economy for it prejudices

the individual against the sender before the letter is ever opened.

Firms that cater to women of the better class follow out the current

styles in writing paper. The "proper" size and shape of sheet and

envelope immediately make a favorable impression. Various tints may

be used to good effect and, instead of a flaring lithographed

letterhead, the firm's monogram may be stamped in the upper

left-hand corner. The return card on the envelope should not be

printed on the face but on the reverse flap. Such a letter is

suggestive of social atmosphere; it is complimentary to the lady.

In beginning the letter it should strike at some vulnerable spot in

feminine nature--but it must be so skillfully expressed that the

motive is not apparent. If the line is anything that can be shown by

sample, manage to work into the very beginning of the letter the

fact that samples will be mailed free upon request. Women never tire

of looking at samples; they pull thousands of orders that could

never have been landed with printed descriptions or illustrations. A

most successful house selling suits and cloaks has proved

conclusively that nothing will catch the attention of a woman so

quickly as an offer of free samples or some reference to style and

economy in woman's dress. It urges upon its correspondents the

desirability of getting in this appeal in the very first sentence.

Letters from this house begin with some pointed reference: "Becoming

styles, we know, are what you want, together with quality and the

greatest economy." Or, "You know we guarantee you a perfect-fitting

suit, of the prettiest materials in the market--whatever you may

select."

This letter has the personal signature of the sales manager:

Dear Madam:

I have been intending to write you ever since you sent for your

REPUBLIC Style Book, but I have been so busy in connection with our

new building as to hardly find time.

But you are no doubt now wondering just why, out of the many, many

thousand requests for the REPUBLIC Style Book, I should be so

particularly interested in yours. And so I am going to tell you

frankly my reason.

It is this: In your community there is only a very small number of

all the ladies who wear REPUBLIC Suits, and they ALL should wear

them--and WOULD wear them if they could but be made to know the real

beauty of our suits. I want to show them just how beautiful a

REPUBLIC Suit can be.

So I ask you, would you like to have made for you this season, the

most beautiful suit you ever had?

Would you like now, a suit more stylish, better fitting, more

becoming, better made--MORE PERFECT--than any other suit you have

had?

If this interests you at all, then I am ready personally to see to

it for you.

A suit that is different from the ones worn by your acquaintances is

what I am now speaking of; not different because made of some

unusual material, or in some over-stylish design, but different

because BETTER. It is the difference of QUALITY, of genius in its

cutting, that I want your friends and neighbors to see and admire in

your suit.

Now I am going to say to you very frankly that I have a reason for

wanting to make your suit attract the admiration of your friends. I

wish your suit to convince THEM that they, too, should have their

suits made by the REPUBLIC.

Would you care to have me tell you just how I propose to put this

unusual grace and style into your suit? First, everything depends

upon the LINES of a suit--if its lines are beautiful, the suit is

beautiful. Now we have at the REPUBLIC a chief designer, who is a

genius in putting the greatest beauty and grace into the lines of

his models.

We say he is a genius, because a man can be a genius in designing

just as a musician or any exceptionally skillful man may be said to

be a genius. And when a highly trained cutter and an expert tailor

make up one of this man's designs, the result is a suit that stands

apart from all others, by reason of the attractiveness there always

is in grace and style and beauty.

Such is the suit I offer to have made for you.

But there is to be no increased cost to you for this special

service. The price of every REPUBLIC Made-to-Measure Suit is plainly

stated under its description in our Style Book. That is all you'll

have to pay.

If you wish you can have a dressmaker take your measurements and we

will pay her for her trouble, as explained on the enclosed

Dressmaker's Certificate. Please read this certificate.

"Now, what am I to do?" you ask. Simply send your order to me

personally. Just say, "Make my suit as you agree in your letter."

Now if you wish other samples or information, write to me personally

and I will take care of it for you. But, the sooner you get your

order to me the better.

Please consider that we, at the REPUBLIC, will always be glad to be

of service to you. I, especially, will be pleased to have the

opportunity of making you a suit of which you can be proud and of

which we will be glad to have you say, "This is a REPUBLIC Suit."

Shall I hear from you soon?

Yours very respectfully,

[Signature: G. L. Lawrence]

* * * * *

This letter was sent out on very tasty tinted stationery. It was

written by someone who understood the subtle processes of the

feminine mind. In the first place the lady is flattered because the

sales manager himself writes to her and offers to give her order his

personal attention. Surely an opportunity to secure the very best

suit the house can turn out!

"It is the difference of _QUALITY_, of genius in its cutting, that I

want your friends and neighbors to see and admire in your suit." No

fulsome flattery here; it is so delicately introduced that it

appears entirely incidental, but the shaft strikes home. There is

just enough left unsaid to stir the imagination. The logic and the

matter-of-fact argument that would appeal to the man gives way to

suggestion and persuasion and the necessity for prompt action is

tactfully inserted at the proper place.

In another letter from the same house the prospect was impressed by

the great care used in making up garments:

"In order that your measurements may be taken exactly right, we send

you with this letter a 'Republic' Tape Measure. This is the same

kind that our cutters use and it is entirely accurate.

"We send this tape measure to you because we want to avoid the least

possibility of variation in your measurements. We want to make your

suit perfect, and we will personally see to every detail of its

making."

* * * * *

No battery of arguments and proofs could make the same appeal to the

woman as the tape line sent in this way. The suggestion is more

powerful with a woman when skillfully handled than statements,

assertions and arguments. Compare the subtle appeal in the above to

the paragraphs taken from a letter sent out by a house that was

trying to enter the mail-order field:

"We want you to read our booklet carefully for it explains our

methods of doing business fully. We are very particular about

filling orders and know you will be pleased with any suit you may

buy from us.

"Our financial standing should convince you that if anything is not

right we will make it so. We guarantee satisfaction and solicit a

trial order."

* * * * *

In the first place, the average woman would know nothing about the

financial standing of the house. It is evident that the man who

wrote the letter had been handling the correspondence with dealers

and firms that necessarily keep posted on the rating of

manufacturers. And the way the proposition is stated that "if

anything is not right we will make it so" suggests that possibly the

suit might not be satisfactory.

But while women are susceptible to flattery there is danger of

bungling, of making the effort so conscious that it is offensive.

"Your natural beauty will be enhanced by one of our suits for our

cutter understands how to set off a woman's form and features so she

is admired wherever she goes." The average woman is disgusted and

reads no further.

* * * * *

HOW DIFFERENT ARGUMENTS APPEAL TO WOMEN

Style _Foremost consideration_

Price _Secondary consideration_

Quality _Slight_

Exclusiveness _Valuable_

Service _Minor importance_

Sentiment _Effective_

Flattery _Expedient_

Testimonials _Impressive_

Reputation _Desirable_

* * * * *

Mere cleverness in expression will fall wide of the mark and

facetiousness should be strictly avoided. It is better to depend on

a very ordinary letter which will have little effect on the reader

one way or the other than to offend her by too obvious flattery or

an apparent attempt to make capital from a feminine weakness.

Arouse her curiosity--the curiosity of woman is proverbial, and a

general store at Nettleton, Mississippi, found a "Cousin Elsie"

letter, mailed at Atlanta, Georgia, to be the most effective

advertising it ever sent out, for it aroused the greatest curiosity

among the women of Nettleton. Here is a letter just as it was sent

out, the name of the recipient filled in on the typewriter:

My Dear Cousin:--

I know you will be surprised to get this letter. I spent such a

delightful Winter in California and wished so often that my dear

Nettleton kin could be with me.

On my return trip, I met the Wilson Piano Co's Manager. He told me

the Nettleton Supply Co. was giving away one of its $400.00 pianos

this year in advertising. I do hope that some of my ambitious

Cousins will get to work and get it. It will certainly be worth

working for.

Then what do you think? The first thing when I came to the office

this morning, I made an invoice of the Millinery that the Nettleton

Supply Co's buyer had bought of our house and I was certainly

surprised to know that such beautiful stuff is sold in a small town

like Nettleton. Our salesman said that this is one of the nicest

bills that he has sold this season.

I met the buyer and talked with her about all of you and promised to

attend the Spring opening. I know it will be one of the best the

house has had, as it will have so much pretty stuff to show.

I will have only a day or two and I want to ask you and all my

Cousins to meet me at this opening. I am anxious to see you and this

will be a good opportunity for us to meet. Don't fail to meet me.

I have lots of work to do and must bring this letter to a close.

With a heart full of love for all the dear old Nettleton folks and

an extra lot for you, from,

Your Cousin,

Elsie.

P.S.--Don't fail to come to the opening. I will be there if

possible. Miss Smiley will let you know when to come. Buy a pair of

Peters' shoes this Spring; you will never regret it.

* * * * *

Such letters could not be used very often but occasionally they are

immensely effective. "Mrs. Elliott's troubles and how they were

cured" have become famous in some parts of the country. Written in

long hand, they bore every resemblance to a social letter from a

lady to some old neighbor and told how many of her housekeeping

troubles had been ended by using a certain kind of furniture polish.

The letters were written in such a chatty style that they were read

through and passed around to other members of the family.

My dear:

I know you will be surprised to hear from me and I may as well

confess that I am not altogether disinterested in writing you at

this time but I am glad to say that the duty imposed upon me is a

pleasure as well.

You know some time ago after I had painted my floors, I wrote the

company whose paint I used and they put my experiences in the form

of a little booklet entitled "Mrs. Elliot's Troubles."

* * * * *

_This is the first page of a facsimile hand-written letter that

proved highly successful as it appealed to feminine curiosity and

insured careful reading_

* * * * *

The appeal to women must hover around her love of style and her

desire for economy. Bring in either subject deftly at the beginning

of a letter and she will be an interested reader of all the sales

talk that follows.

Several mail-order houses have trained women to handle this part of

their correspondence for they are more apt in the use of feminine

expressions. Let a man try to describe some article as "perfectly

splendid," or "really sweet" and he will stumble over it before he

gets to the end of the sentence. Yet when these same hackneyed

phrases are brought in naturally by a woman who "feels just that

way" about the garment she is describing, they will take hold of the

reader in a way that is beyond the understanding of the masculine

mind.

In the appeal to women there is more in this tinge of off-hand

refinement, the atmosphere, the enthusiasm shown and in the little

personal touches, than in formidable arguments and logical reasons.

What is triviality to a man is frequently the clinching statement

with a woman. And so a fixed set of rules can not be formulated for

writing letters to women. Instead of a hard and fast rule, the

correspondent must have in mind the ideas and the features that

naturally appeal to the feminine mind and use them judiciously.

Dear Madam:

This mail is bringing to you a copy of our new catalogue, describing

our complete line of Hawkeye Kitchen Cabinets.

The catalogue will tell you how you can do your kitchen work in half

the usual time.

It will tell you how to save your strength, time, and energy--how to

relieve yourself of the burden of kitchen drudgery.

Aren't these things worth looking into?

Just try counting the unnecessary steps you take in preparing your

next meal. Calculate the time you lose in looking for articles that

should be at your fingers' ends but are not.

Imagine, if you can, what it would save you if you could do away

with your pantry, kitchen table, and cupboard and get all the

articles needed in the preparation of a meal in one complete

well-ordered piece of furniture that could be placed between the

range and sink, so you could reach almost from one to the other.

Think of the steps it would save you.

Imagine a piece of furniture containing special places for

everything--from the egg beater to the largest kitchen utensil--a

piece of furniture that would arrange your provisions and utensils

in such a systematic way that you could (in the dark) find almost

anything you wanted.

If you can draw in your mind a picture of such a piece of furniture,

you will have some idea of what a Buckeye Kitchen Cabinet is like.

How, don't you want one of these automatic servants? Don't you think

you need it?

If so, send for one NOW. Don't put it off a single day. You have

been without it too long already.

It doesn't cost much to get a Hawkeye. If you don't care to pay

cash, you can buy on such easy payments that you will never miss

the money--only five cents a day for a few months. You would think

nothing of paying five cents a day street-car fare to keep from

walking a few blocks in the pure air and sunshine, yet you are

walking miles in your kitchen when one streetcar fare a day for a

few months would do away with it.

Send your order right along and use the Cabinet thirty days. If it

doesn't do what we say it will, or if you do not consider that it is

more than worth the money, send it back at our expense and we will

refund whatever you have paid. That's fair, isn't it?

We pay freight on all-cash orders

Yours truly,

[Signature: Adams & Adams]

* * * * *

_This letter is written in an easy, natural style, which is aided by

the short paragraphs. The appeal to the imagination is skillful, and

the homely illustration of the car-fare well chosen. The closing is

in keeping with the general quality of the letter and was

undoubtedly effective. This letter is a longer one than the man

would read about a kitchen cabinet, but there are not too many

details for women readers_

* * * * *

All women, for instance, are influenced by what other women do, and

there is no other touch more productive of sales than the reference

to what some other customer has ordered, or what comments she has

made. Both in educational campaigns and in writing to regular

customers on some specific proposition it is a good policy to work

in some reference to a recent sale:

"One of our very good customers from your neighborhood writes us

that her new suit (Style 3587) has caused her more perfectly

delightful compliments than she ever had before."

* * * * *

Such testimonials are to be found in every mail-order house that has

attained even a moderate success, for women who are pleased are

given to writing letters profuse in their expressions of

appreciation.

At times it is desirable to quote a whole letter, withholding, of

course, the name of the writer. The most convincing letters to use

are those that tell about first orders, or how some friend induced

the writer to send in a trial order, or how she came to be a

customer of the mail-order house. These personalities add a touch of

human interest, they create an atmosphere that is real, they mean

much to a woman.

Quoted letters are especially effective in getting a first order

after a woman has become sufficiently interested to write in for a

catalogue. Here is one lifted from a letter sent out by the general

manager of a suit house:

Dear Mr. Wardwell:

You ask me to tell you how I came to send you my first order.

I think I had written for your Style Book three seasons. Each time I

found many garments I liked. I found waists and dresses and skirts

that were much prettier than the ones I could get elsewhere. And

yet, some way or other, while I longed for these very garments, I

did not order them. I think it was simply because I never had

ordered by mail.

One day when looking through your Style Book the thought came to me:

"If you want this dress, why don't you stop hesitating and wondering

and sit down right now and order it?"

And I did--and ever since I have bought my suits, dresses, waists,

almost everything, from you.

* * * * *

Testimonial letters from prominent women, wives of distinguished

men and others whose names are widely known, are always

effective. A number of years ago Mrs. Frances Cleveland, wife of

the ex-president, wrote to a furniture factory for a cedar chest.

The order was in Mrs. Cleveland's own handwriting and the letter

was at once photographed and a facsimile enclosed with all the

letters and advertising matter sent out by the furniture house.

Such things have an influence on the feminine mind that the

skilled correspondent never overlooks.

The reason that so many letters fail to pull is because the

correspondents are not salesmen; they are unable to put actual

selling talk into a letter. For after you have aroused a woman's

curiosity and appealed to her love of style and her desire to

economize, there has got to be some genuine, strong selling talk to

get the order.

The difference is brought out by a large Chicago mail-order house

which cites the customer who inquired about a certain ready made

skirt in a 34-inch length which could not be supplied as the regular

measurements run from 37 to 43. A correspondent thinking only of the

number of letters that can be answered in a day simply wrote, "We

are very sorry we cannot supply the skirt you mention in the length

you desire, because this garment is not made regularly in shorter

lengths than 37 inches. Regretting our inability to serve you," and

so forth.

The letter inspector threw out the letter and dictated another:

"We cannot furnish skirt, catalogue number H4982, in a 34-inch

length, but we can supply it in a 37-inch length; this is the

shortest length in which it is regularly made. You can have it

altered to a 34-inch length at a small expense, and as the skirt is

an unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value, the price

being only $7.65, we trust you will favor us with your order."

* * * * *

This is letter-writing plus salesmanship. The correspondent did not

spill over in his eagerness to get the order; he did not describe

the skirt as the finest to be had nor insist that it was the most

wonderful bargain in the catalogue. Rather he told her it was an

"unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value." It was so

simply told and so naturally that it carried conviction. It refers

to style and to economy--two things that appeal to every woman.

Letters personally signed by the "Expert Corsetiere" of a large

wholesale house were mailed to a selected list of lady customers in

cities where the Diana corsets were handled:

Dear Madam;

Here's an incident that proves how important corsets are in wearing

the new straight, hipless gowns.

Mrs. Thompson, who is stouter than the new styles require, tried on

a princess gown in a department store. The gown itself was

beautiful, but it was most unbecoming and did not fit at all, tho it

was the right size for her.

Mrs. Thompson was about to give up in despair saying, "I can't wear

the new styles"--when a saleswoman suggested that she be fitted with

a Diana Corset in the model made for stout figures.

The result was that the princess gown took the lines of the corset

and fitted Mrs. Thompson perfectly. In fact the original lines of

the gown were brought out to better advantage.

This only goes to prove that with a good corset any gown will drape

right and take the lines of the corset.

You'll find it easy to wear the new long straight style gowns if you

wear a Diana corset in the model made for your style of figure.

The Dianas are made after the same models as the most expensive

French corsets costing $10 to $25. Yet $1 to $5 buys a Diana.

The Diana is not heavy and uncomfortable as so many of the new

corsets are this year. The fabrics from which they are made are

light and comfortable. At the same time, so closely meshed and

firmly woven that with reasonable wear every Diana corset is

guaranteed to keep its good shape and style or you will receive a

new corset without charge.

The Diana dealer, whose card is enclosed, invites you to call and

see these new corsets.

Will you go in to see the Diana today?

Very truly yours,

[Signature: Grace La Fountain]

* * * * *

The letter is in a chatty style that assures its being read. It does

not say, "We have just the corset for you stout women"--but that is

what it means. It interests and appeals especially to the stout

women without reminding them offensively that they are too heavy to

wear the styles in vogue.

The National Cloak Company has studied the methods that take firm

hold on the women and finds it necessary to bear down heavily on the

guarantee of satisfaction. Many women are inclined to be skeptical

and hesitate long before sending money to an unknown house. So the

National uses a guarantee tag insuring customers against

dissatisfaction, sending these tags out with the goods. It assures

the return of money if the order is not all right in every way and

further agrees to pay all the express charges. Free reference is

made to this tag in the company's letters and it gives a certain

concreteness to the guarantee feature. This tag makes its own

argument, proves its own case.

Business men generally take it for granted that satisfaction goes

with the goods; their experience enables them to size up a

proposition quickly and if there is any flaw in the advertisements

or the company's methods, they pass it by. But women, not so

familiar with business affairs, must be approached from a different

angle. Little points must be explained and guarantees must be

strongly emphasized. The formal letter which appeals to a man by

going straight to the point would, by its very conciseness, offend

the vanity of a woman.

The successful correspondent never overlooks the susceptibility of a

woman to flattery--but it must be the suggestion of flattery, the

implied compliment, rather than the too obvious compliment.

"The handsomest gown money will buy can't make you look well unless

your corset is the correct shape."

* * * * *

This is the opening sentence in a letter advertising a particular

corset. The lady is gracefully complimented by the intimation that

she wears handsome gowns, yet there is not the slightest suggestion

that the reference was dragged in as a part of the selling scheme.

Instead of insinuating that she must buy cheaply, let it be hinted

that she is actuated by the very laudable motive of economy. "You

would scarcely believe that such delicious coffee could be sold at

20 cents--unless you happen to know that the flavor of coffee

depends largely upon the blending." Here the low price is emphasized

but there is no hint of forced economy; rather it suggests that the

best quality can be obtained without paying a high price.

"You can offer your most particular guest a cup of Regal coffee and

know she has never tasted a more delicious flavor and fragrance."

* * * * *

This is the beginning of a letter that successfully introduced a new

coffee. Here is a tactful compliment--the taking for granted that

the recipient entertains guests of some importance--guests who are

particular and will notice her coffee. There are few things that the

average woman is more concerned about than that her guests will be

pleased with her refreshments. The suggestion that she herself would

enjoy or even that her family would enjoy this coffee does not make

such direct appeal to a woman as this assurance that it will please

her particular guests.

The house that uses the same kind of letter on men and women will

never score such big results as the firm that understands the

different processes of thinking and the different methods of making

the appeal. With the man it is reason, logic, argument; with the

woman it is suggestion, flattery, persuasion. The correspondent who

aims to establish a large mail-order trade with women must study

their whims, their prejudices, their weaknesses and their

characteristics before he can make an appeal that brings in the

orders and makes permanent customers of trial buyers.

It is the little things--this subtle insight into feminine nature

that marks the successful selling letter to the woman. They are not

things that can be set down and numbered in a text book; they are

qualities of mind that must be understood and delicately handled.

Rightly used they are more powerful than irrefutable arguments and

indisputable facts.

How To Write Letters That

_Appeal_ to MEN

PART VI--THE APPEAL TO DIFFERENT CLASSES--CHAPTER 23

_ONE-HALF of the form letters sent out to men are thrown away

unread. A bare_ ONE-THIRD _are partly read before discarded, while

only_ ONE-SIXTH _of them--approximately 15 per cent--are read

through. The reason why such a large proportion is ineffective is

this: the letter-writer, through ignorance or carelessness, does not

strike the notes that appeal to every man. Here are some of the

subtle ways by which correspondents have forced the attention of_

MEN _by appealing to traits distinctly masculine_

* * * * *

If you received a dozen letters in your mail this morning it is

probable that there were just twelve different angles to the appeals

that were made. For most correspondents are not thinking about the

man they are writing to but are concerned solely with thoughts about

the propositions they have in hand--and that is why the great bulk

of the letters that are opened in the morning pause at the desk only

momentarily before continuing their way to the furnace room. It is

the exceptional correspondent who stops to analyze his letters,

looking at them from every viewpoint, and then tests out his

conclusions, trying one appeal after another until he evolves

certain principles that pull letter writing out of the class of

uncertainties and enable him to depend upon definite returns.

For there are appeals that are practically universal. Appeal to a

man's ambition and you have his interest: larger income, better

position, some honor or recognition--touch these and no matter how

busy, he will find time to read your message.

You've got to have more money.

Your salary, without income, is not enough. The man who depends upon

_salary alone_ to make him rich--well-to-do--or even comfortable, is

making the mistake of his life. For the minute you stop working, the

money stops coming in. Lose a day and you lose a day's pay--while

expenses go right on.

Don't you think it's time you got Nature to work for you? A dollar

put into a peach orchard will work for you days, nights and Sundays.

It never stops to sleep or eat but keeps on growing--growing-- _from

the very minute you put your money in_.

Think of the difference between a dollar invested with us and

increasing and yielding day by day and the dollar which you use to

purchase a few moments idle diversion or pleasure. The latter is

lost forever--the dollar put to earning with us earns forever.

* * * * *

"More money." That appeal strikes home. One glance at the letter and

a man is interested. He may not have money to invest but the other

letters will remain unopened until he finds out whether there is not

some plan or scheme that will actually mean more money to him.

The correspondence schools recognized the force of this appeal and

developed it so systematically that it might be called the standard

correspondence school argument.

Here is one of the best pulling arguments:

Pay-day--what does it mean to you?

Does your money "go 'round?" Or does it fail to stop all the gaps

made by last week's or month's bills?

Last week--according to actual, certified reports on file in our

office--A. B. C. men got their salary raised as a direct result of

becoming more proficient from studying A. B. C. courses.

Don't you think it's time that salary raise was coming _your way_?

* * * * *

The same product--a correspondence course--may use the line of

appeal peculiarly appropriate to men--that of responsibility. Such a

letter leads out:

If your expenses were doubled tomorrow could you meet them--without

running heavily in debt?

If you had to have more money on which to live--to support those

dependent upon you--could you make it?

You could if you had the training afforded by our course; it has

doubled other men's salaries, it can do the same for you.

* * * * *

Next to the appeal to ambition in strength is this appeal to

responsibility. This is the burden of the arguments used by

insurance companies, savings banks and various investment companies.

An insurance company marketing a particularly strong investment

policy, and which follows the plan of writing to the prospect direct

from the home office, finds that such a letter as this pulls:

Our Agent, Mr. Blank, no doubt has presented to you a majority of

the many advantages of a ---- policy in the ----. But we want you to

have in writing, and signed by an officer of the company, what we

regard as _the_ main reason you should be with us.

No civilized man can evade responsibility. Should anything happen to

you, you are responsible for that loss--to your business--your

family--your friends. Is your responsibility great enough--without

the protection of the Regal Company--to "make good" your own loss?

* * * * *

But the kind of appeal to make is only one phase of the problem. Of

equal importance is the manner of making that appeal.

On first glance it would be thought that the products which appeal

specifically and exclusively to men would be marketed by talking

points which have specifically and exclusively the masculine appeal.

But such is not the case. Men's clothes, as an instance, are

marketed on the talking points, "need for suitable dress,"

"quality," "style," and similar arguments. These arguments are not

the ones appealing merely to men; women are just as much interested

in need of suitable dress and the quality and style of the garment

worn as are the members of the opposite sex. But the general talking

point may be extended, or rather restricted, so as to make an appeal

to men along the lines of their exclusive experience:

Clothes are the outward index of the inner man.

The business man who dresses so as to show his inherent neatness and

orderliness has just that much advantage over his less careful

competitors.

The employee who meets the responsibilities and niceties of good

business dress shows to his sharp-eyed employer that he is a man who

is liable to meet the niceties and responsibilities of a better

position.

More than once has both business and advancement hinged on

appearance. And good appearance never handicaps--never holds a man

back.

* * * * *

HOW DIFFERENT ARGUMENTS APPEAL TO MEN

Price _Foremost_

Sentiment _Useless_

Style _Slight_

Quality _Important_

Flattery _Doubtful_

Exclusiveness _Seldom_

Testimonials _Effective_

Reputation _Reassuring_

Service _Essential_

* * * * *

This presentation is good "man copy" for it is based on that

universal attribute--the desire to "get on" in business and as an

employee. This letter has the right kind of appeal, rightly

presented. Compare that letter with the one sent out by a tailor to

the professional men of his city:

Dear Sir:

I hope you will excuse the liberty I am taking in addressing you

personally, but as it is on a matter that affects you very much and

also your profession, I hope you will overlook the familiarity.

As a physician you realize the importance of having good clothes and

also of having them kept in good order, both from a social as well

as a professional standpoint.

Being situated in your immediate neighborhood and having my store

open a greater part of the day, I am sure the proximity will be a

great convenience to you.

I have had twenty-seven years' experience in making clothes and

cleaning, pressing and repairing them. I do not think you need

question my ability to do your work satisfactorily as I have made

clothes for some of the most fastidious and aristocratic people in

the world.

Sixteen years in London, England, making clothes for Lords, Dukes

and other titled people should entitle me to your consideration.

Perhaps you may have some lady friends who need garments remodelled,

cleaned, pressed or repaired, who would be glad to know of my shop.

I assure you I will attend to all orders promptly and do your work

as you want it.

Yours very truly.

[Signature: M. B. Andrews]

* * * * *

_This letter begins with an apology and there is no inducement to

patronize the tailor except his unbacked assertion that he made

clothes for "titled people" for sixteen years_

* * * * *

He starts out with an apology and his sentences are involved. His

boast about the work he has done for titled nobility abroad

indicates that he is a snob--the whole letter lacks conviction.

Sometimes a man-to-man appeal may have the heart interest that

strikes a responsive chord.

Dear Mr. Smith:

[Sidenote: A statement that every man agrees with. Good

description.]

An extra pair of dressy, well-made trousers is something every man

can use--no matter how many suits he has. Here is an opportunity to

get a pair at exceedingly moderate cost.

[Sidenote: Effective method of dealing with a real bargain.]

You know how we make trousers--what substantial, well-selected

patterns we carry; how carefully we cut, so as to get perfect fit in

the crotch and around the waist; how we whip in a piece of silk

around the upper edge of the waist; put in a strip to protect

against wear at the front and back of the leg at the bottom; and sew

on buttons so that they won't pull off.

[Sidenote: Sending of samples greatly increases power of letter.]

Our season is winding up with a lot of patterns on hand containing

just enough for one pair or two pairs of "Burnham-made" trousers.

See the enclosed sample. There's a good variety in dark patterns and

a few light patterns, not a one sold regularly at less than $6.50

and some sold as high as $7.50.

[Sidenote: This consideration for the old customer is sure to have a

good effect.]

These remnants won't go into the windows until Saturday morning. We

are notifying you, as a regular customer, that as long as these

remnants last you can get a pair of trousers from any piece for

$5.50, or two pairs at the same time from the same measure for

$10--workmanship just the same as if you paid the regular price.

[Sidenote: The last half of the closing sentence has much subtle

power.]

This is a REAL bargain, and we hope to see you before the best of

the patterns are picked out.

Truly yours,

THE BURNHAM COMPANY

* * * * *

_Here is a letter sent out by a rival tailor. It grips attention

in the first sentence and carries conviction. It prompts immediate

action and every sentence carries an appeal. Unlike the preceding

letter, it does not talk about the writer but about the goods he has

for sale--the bargains he offers_

* * * * *

The manager and owner of a business which was in immediate need of

money had tried out different sales letters with but fair success.

His product sold to men; it would stand up under trial; the

difficulty lay entirely in awakening interest in a highly

competitive product.

As there seemed scarcely a chance that the business might be made

to live, the manager decided to take the public into his

confidence--partly, perhaps, as extenuation for the failure he saw

ahead. So he led out with a sales letter beginning with this appeal:

Suppose you had put every cent of money--every bit of your wide

experience--every ounce of energy--into a business wouldn't you

want to see it go--live?

And if you _knew_--positively _knew_--that you had the test product

of its kind in the world--wouldn't it spur you to still greater

efforts--if you knew that there was danger of failure simply because

the public was not prompt enough in responding?

You, like hundreds and thousands of others, have had it in mind to

buy of me _sometime_. It is vital to the life of my business that

you make that _sometime_ NOW!

* * * * *

The pulling power of this letter was phenomenal; not only did

thirty-five per cent of the list order, but twelve per cent in

addition answered, stating that their orders could be depended upon

later. In addition, there were scattering letters of encouragement

and comment, making the total result a marker in the era of

solicitation by mail.

What made this particular letter pull, when dozens of other letters,

written by the same man to the same list on the same proposition,

had attained only mediocre results?

The last letter made a distinctive appeal--to men--and particularly

to men in business. For, since the time of "playing store," every

man has met, in its many varied guises, the wolf of Failure--and

once a fellow business man is in the same plight, the man who loves

fairness will do his part to help out.

That these talking points that appeal to men are efficient is proved

by such cases as just cited; once the man-to-man appeal is actually

brought out, the response is immediate.

While such appeals occasionally make a ten-strike, the average

correspondent must rely upon logic and "reasons why" in making his

appeal to men.

The ability to reason from cause to effect, omitting none of the

intermediate or connecting steps, has long been held to be a

substantial part of the masculine mind. Orators have found that

logic--conviction--may have little or no effect on a feminine

audience and yet prove the surest means of convincing an audience of

men. School teachers early note that the feminine portion of the

school lean towards grammar--which is imitative and illogical--while

the boys are generally best in mathematics, which is a hard and fast

"rule" study.

Similarly in business, the average man is used to "working with his

pencil," and will follow a logical demonstration to the close, where

a woman would not give it a passing glance.

One of the latest selling campaigns, marketing town lots in various

new towns between St. Paul and the Pacific Coast, appeals to the

logical note in the masculine mind, and grants a concession in a

follow-up, even before it is asked for. This makes a particularly

strong appeal to the man who has begun to think about the

proposition and who senses that, somehow, it is not quite logical.

We have a letter from a man who, like you, read our advertisement

and sent for more information, including a copy of our contract, and

he wrote as follows:

"I don't like the forfeiture clause in your contract. Under it, if a

man paid you $950, and then lost his job and couldn't pay any more,

you would have the right to gobble up all of his money and keep the

lots too. You wouldn't dare to make a contract with me under which

as soon as I had paid you $300 you would deed to me the first lot

mentioned in my contract--the lot at -----,--and then with each $100

paid in on the contract, deed me the next lot named in my contract.

If you would do this, I would take your contract in a minute,

because I would have some land for my money I paid in, if I had to

quit before I paid you the full $1,000."

We took this man at his word, and have since thought that possibly

there were others who regarded our contract as being too severe.

If this was the reason that you did not invest with us, we ask you

to examine the enclosed proof sheet, from the printer, of our new

contract, and write us not only if it suits you, but if you can

think of any other way to make it any more fair and equitable.

* * * * *

The illustration given is particularly good because it is

anticipatory--nips an objection that may be just forming in the mind

of the prospect.

Dear Sir:

We sent you a sample of our Royal Mixture tobacco in response to

your request some time ago. We are anxious to know what you think

about it.

This is the best tobacco on the market today at the price, and as we

know you would not have asked for a free sample unless you intended

to buy more if you liked the sample, we hope to receive your order

by return mail.

Very truly,

[Signature: Morton and Morton]

* * * * *

_A flat, insipid letter entirely without order-pulling force. The

attempt to, twist the request for a free sample into an obligation

to place an order strokes a man's intentions the wrong way_

* * * * *

Dear Sir:

Well, how did you find the tobacco?

I'm anxious to learn your opinion of Boyal Mixture, now that you've

burned a bit of it in your pipe.

I believe in this tobacco, and back it up with a guarantee that

removes all risk so far as the customer is concerned. I refund money

without argument if you are not satisfied.

Royal Mixture is not intended for smokers who are satisfied with any

old stuff that will burn and give off smoke. It is used by people

who want nothing but the best and know it when they get it. It's the

perfection of pipe tobacco.

Men who smoke my Mixture for a month can't come down to common

mixtures again. It spoils the taste for cheap tobacco. Smoke a dozen

pipes of it and you'll wonder how you ever got any comfort out of

ordinary smoking tobacco.

Royal Mixture is skillfully blended from clean, ripe leaves of the

very best tobacco grown. It is neither too strong nor too mild--it

is precisely what a knowing pipe smoker likes: fragrant, satisfying,

delightful to nerves, nostrils and palate.

There's a glorious, natural aroma about Royal Mixture which appeals

to a gentleman's nostrils most favorably. Particular pipe smokers

praise it in the highest terms, and prove the sincerity of their

praise by ordering it from month to month.

Shall I number you among the "regulars?" Remember, you can't buy

Royal Mixture from the retail shops. It goes direct from packer to

purchaser and reaches you in perfect condition.

The cost is so small, and as you take not a particle of risk but can

secure full refund of money if dissatisfied, why hesitate to order?

The responsibility is entirely upon me.

Every day you delay ordering means a distinct loss to you of greater

pipe pleasure than you have ever experienced.

Won't you sit down now, while the matter is right before you, fill

enclosed blank and mail me your order TODAY--THIS MINUTE?

Yours very truly,

[Signature: L. W. Hamilton]

* * * * *

_Here is the letter rewritten, explaining why this tobacco is

superior. The appeal is cleverly worded to flatter the recipient

into believing he is one of those who know and demand something a

little better than common. The cost is kept in the background by the

guarantee of satisfaction and the clincher prompts immediate action_

* * * * *

Appeals to men can be peppered with technical description and still

interest and get results. The sales manager of a house selling

cameras by mail says, in speaking of this principle:

"We found it necessary to use an entirely different series of

letters in selling our cameras to men and to women. Generally

speaking, men are interested in technical descriptions of the parts

of the camera; women look at a camera from the esthetic side--as a

means to an end.

"In writing a sales letter to a man, I take up, for instance, the

lens. This I describe in semi-technical terms, stating why this

particular lens or combination of lenses will do the best work. Then

follows a description of the shutter--and so on through the

principal parts until, if the prospect be seriously interested, I

have demonstrated, first, that the camera will do the best work,

and, second, that it is good value for the money.

"In writing a letter, under the same conditions, to a woman, I put

all technical description in an enclosure or accompanying folder and

write a personal note playing up the fact that in after years it

will be very pleasant to have pictures of self, family, baby, and

friends.

"These two appeals are the opposite poles of selling--the one logic

and conviction, the other sentiment and persuasion."

Logic and conviction, in fact, are the keynotes to selling men by

mail. Men fear being "worked." On those occasions when they have

been "worked," it has generally been through sentiment--through the

arts of persuasion rather than a clearly-demonstrated conviction

that the proposition was right. As a consequence, persuasion alone,

without a mass of figures and solid arguments, does not convince a

man.

A land company uses a novel method of conviction along this line,

aiming to get the prospect to furnish his own figures. The idea is,

that these figures, prepared by the prospect himself, and the

accuracy of which he himself vouches, will work conviction.

The letter reads in part:

Suppose, ten years ago, you had paid down, say $10 on a piece of

cheap land.

Then from time to time you had paid in say $10 per month on the same

land. Had you been able to buy then as you can buy from us now, your

land would have been secured to you on your first payment.

Now figure out what you would have paid in at $10 per month in ten

years. Now, remembering that well-selected land doubles in value

once, at least, every five years, what would you be worth now, from

your $10-a-month investment?

* * * * *

The letter proved the best puller of a series of try-outs sent to

professional men and men on salaries.

Every man has, as a by-product of his every-day experience, certain

more or less clearly defined impressions. With some men these are

still in a sort of hazy formation; with others these vague ideas are

almost a cult. The letter-writer who can tap one of these lines of

thought gets results in a flash. Such letter takes a basis of facts

common to most men, blends them in the letter written, so as to form

fixedly from the _prospect's own ideas and experiences_, a firm

conviction that what the writer is saying is absolute truth. A

single sentence that does not ring true to a man's experience is an

obstacle over which the message will not carry.

A company selling land in the west, sent out a five-page letter--

enough to smother whatever interest might have been attracted by the

advertisement. Here is the third paragraph from the letter:

"As you were attracted by this investment opportunity after reading

the straight facts regarding it, I have come to believe in your

judgment as a careful and prudent person who recognizes the value of

a good, permanent, promising investment."

* * * * *

That's enough! It is barely possible that the first few paragraphs

might arouse the reader's interest enough to glance through the five

pages, but this crude attempt to flatter him is such palpable "bunk"

that he is convinced there is not the sincerity back of the letter

to make it worth his while--and five pages more are headed for the

car-wheel plant.

The "man appeal" is one that draws strongly from man experience.

Ambition, responsibility, logical arguments, reasons why--these are

the things that the correspondent keeps constantly before him. They

all have root in experiences, habits of thought and customs which

distinguish men; they are more exclusively masculine attributes that

play an important part in the make-up of letters that rivet the

attention of busy business men.

How To Write Letters That

_Appeal_ to FARMERS

PART VI--THE APPEAL TO DIFFERENT CLASSES--CHAPTER 24

_The farmer is a producer of necessities, hence he is a shrewd judge

of what necessities are. More, he has always in mind a list of

necessities that he intends to purchase--when he "can afford it."

For this reason the letter that sells goods to him must either

stimulate him to an immediate purchase of an article on his "want

list," or to displace a necessity that is already there with

something_ MORE _necessary. So the letter that sells goods to him

must appeal to his needs--and give him detailed specifications to

think about_

* * * * *

"Does it appeal to the farmer's need," is the overhead question

which is back of all advertising directed at the man living on a

farm. It is not necessary to go into proofs; the reasons are

apparent.

"All other things being equal," says the chief correspondent for one

of the big mail-order houses, "the surest sale is the item that the

farmer patron feels he must have. Even after making money enough to

be classed well-to-do, the farmer persists in his acquired mental

habit--he tests every 'offer' put up to him by his need for it--or

rather whether he can get along without it. This predisposition on

the part of the audience to which the letter is addressed is to be

borne in mind constantly--that the farmer thinks in terms of

necessities."

So the mail-order firm shapes its appeal to the farmer, emphasizing

the need of the merchandise it is offering, and at the same time it

bears down heavily on the advantages of buying direct.

And while the easiest way to reach the farmer's purse is by

appealing to his needs--the practical value of the article or goods

advertised--the correspondent must keep constantly in mind the

particular manner in which the appeal can best be made. The brief,

concise statement that wins the approval of the busy business man

would slide off the farmer's mind without arousing the slightest

interest. The farmer has more time to think over a proposition--as

he milks or hitches up, as he plows or drives to town, there is

opportunity to turn a plan over and over in his mind. Give him

plenty to think about.

The farmer's mail is not so heavy but what he has time to read a

long letter if it interests him, and so the successful correspondent

fills two or three pages, sometimes five or six, and gives the

recipient arguments and reasons to ponder over during his long hours

in the field. One of the most successful men in the mail-order

business sometimes sends out a seven-page letter, filled with

talking points. "It will save you money"--"I want you to compare the

Challenge with other machines"--"Shafting of high carbon

steel"--"Gearings set in phosphorus bronze bushings"--"Thirty days'

free trial"--"Try it with your money in your own pocket"--"$25,000

guaranty bond"--point after point like these are brought out and

frequently repeated for emphasis.

The head of the English department in the university would be pained

at the lack of literary quality, but it is a farmer's letter and it

follows the grooves of the brain in the man who is going to read its

seven pages. And after all, the writer is not conducting a

correspondence course in rhetoric; he is selling implements and is

not going to chance losing an order because his proposition is not

made perfectly clear--because it shoots over the head of the reader.

And the correspondent not only tries to make his proposition clear

but he tries to get up close to the recipient in a friendly way. The

farmer is awed by formalities and so the writer who really appeals

to him talks about "You and Me." "You do that and I will do this--

then we will both be satisfied." One successful letter-salesman

seldom fails to ask some direct question about the weather, the

crops, the general outlook, but he knows how to put it so that it

does not sound perfunctory and frequently the farmer will reply to

this question without even referring to the goods that the house had

written about. Never mind! This letter is answered as promptly and

carefully as if it had been an inquiry forecasting a large order.

* * * * *

HOW DIFFERENT ARGUMENTS APPEAL TO FARMERS

Price _Paramount_

Quality _Essential_

Style _Unimportant_

Sentiment _Lacking_

Flattery _Useless_

Exclusiveness _Ineffective_

Testimonials _Reassuring_

Reputation _Valuable_

Utility _Vital_

Service _Appreciated_

* * * * *

Such attention helps to win the confidence of the farmer and the

knowing correspondent never loses sight of the fact that the farmer

is, from bitter experience, suspicious especially of propositions

emanating from concerns that are new to him. After one or two

satisfactory dealings with a house he places absolute faith in it

but every legitimate mail-order concern is handicapped by the fact

that unscrupulous firms are continually lying in wait for the

unwary: the man with the county rights for a patent churn and his

brother who leaves a fanning mill with a farmer to demonstrate and

takes a receipt which turns up at the bank as a promissory note are

teaching the farmers to be guarded. Many of them can spot a gold

brick scheme as soon as it is presented. Therefore the correspondent

has to keep before him the fact that the farmer is always wary; his

letters must be so worded that no obscure phrase will arouse

suspicion; no proposition will admit of two interpretations.

So the guarantee and the free trial offer are essential features in

letters that sell the farmer. In hundreds of letters from

manufacturers of goods that are sold by mail to the farmer, nearly

every one throws into prominence the guarantee and the free trial

offer with money refunded if the purchase does not prove

satisfactory.

A manufacturer of farm implements puts this guarantee into the first

person effectively.

Such a letter carries conviction; you are impressed by the fact that

40,000 farmers consider this spreader the best; the offer of

comparison and demonstration seems conclusive that a comparison is

not necessary; you feel that the man who bought a different kind of

spreader must have acted hastily without investigating the merits of

this particular machine.

The farmer is usually open to conviction but he has to be "shown."

After he has had successful dealings with a house for several years

he readily accepts its assurance that something is just as good at a

less price than what he would buy of a retailer, but he can most

easily be won over by strong "why" copy. An educational campaign is

almost always necessary for the farmer who has never bought goods by

mail; to pull him out of the rut of established custom it is

necessary to present facts and figures to convince him that the

direct-to-the-consumer method is to his advantage.

To get this to the eye and mind in a striking way is the first

requisite.

A Cincinnati firm selling buggies uses a comparative table at the

bottom of the first sheet of the first follow-up, as follows:

* * * * *

COST OF RETAIL PLAN COST OF OUR PLAN

Actual factory cost of buggy.. $43.00 Factory cost..... $43.00

Factory selling expense....... 4.00 Selling expense.. 4.00

Salesmen's expense............ 4.50 Our profit....... 6.75

Factory profit................ 7.00 OUR SELLING -----

Retailer's selling expense.... 5.00 PRICE............ $53.75

Retailer's profit............. 15.00

-----

DEALER'S SELLING PRICE $78.50

* * * * *

This makes the prospect stop and think if not stop and figure.

Another carriage manufacturing company uses a somewhat similar

method of comparison but introduces it at a different point. Between

the first and second pages of a three-page follow-up, a sheet in

facsimile handwriting is introduced forming a marked comparison,

mechanically, to the typewriting preceding and following it:

* * * * * *

Problems of Dollars and Cents saving easily solved.

Retail Dealer's plan of figuring selling price.

Actual factory cost of buggy.................... $46.25

Expense and salary, traveling salesman, about 10% 4.50

Jobber's profit--at least 15% .................. 7.00

Retail dealer's profit (figured very low)....... 20.00

Losses from bad debts........................... 2.50

-----

RETAIL DEALER'S SELLING PRICE................... $80.25

My Plan of Figuring Selling Price.

Actual factory cost of buggy.................... $46.25

Expense and salary of traveling salesman........ nothing

Jobber's profit................................. nothing

Retail dealer's profit.......................... nothing

Losses from bad debts........................... nothing

My _one small gross_ profit................ 8.50

-----

MY SELLING PRICE................................ $54.75

* * * * *

This "saving sheet" can not fail to attract greater attention by

means of its form and place of introduction than though it were

typewritten and in regular order.

Right-out-from-the-shoulder arguments and facts may also be used to

good advantage in handling competition. What the farmer wants is to

know whether the other goods are as represented; whether the

proposition has any holes in it. If the seller can give him facts

that prove his product better than others, honestly and fairly, it

does not boost the competitor but helps to sell his own goods.

A cream separator manufacturer claiming a simple machine now

presents in his catalogue illustrations of the parts of other

machines used in the actual separation of the cream from the milk.

This comparison shows that his machine has fewer parts and

consequently will stay in repair longer and clean easier--two

important talking points.

Where a competing firm enters the field with a cheap quality of

goods that would react against the trade, it is sometimes policy to

put the facts before the prospective buyers.

This was done by a Winnipeg manufacturer of metal culverts after the

following plan:

"Last May a firm manufacturing metal goods attempted to enter the

culvert field in Western Canada. We sent out a letter to every

Councilor in Manitoba and Saskatchewan showing the weakness of its

culverts. It looks as though our letter settled all chance of

selling the kind of culvert it was making, for it immediately quit

the campaign for business. We do not think a single culvert was

sold.

"The same company is again making an effort to enter the field, and

we would be pleased to see it get a nice business If it sold a good

culvert, but as long as it sells anything like the one now

advertised we shall most vigorously oppose it because we are certain

the culverts will not give satisfaction, and that will mean

purchasers will be very much disappointed, and will have a tendency,

as a result, to be opposed to all metal culverts; their

disappointment will be so great that it will react against our

company.

"Look at the illustration in the magazines of the nestable

culvert--a man is pinching the metal on the lower section of the

culvert back upon itself. There are very few machine shops in the

country in which the heavy metal we use could be bent. At any rate,

to bend back our metal, you would require a machine shop wherever

you were doing your road work. Take a sledge hammer the next time

you see one of our culverts and prove to yourself the task that

would be before you to bend our culverts. You simply could not do

it."

* * * * *

The farmer who receives such a letter, if not entirely convinced, is

at least reasonably certain to make an investigation before placing

an order with the firm selling culverts that can be bent by hand.

And it is probably a good thing for the mail-order business that

such efforts are being made to protect the public against inferior

goods.

Experience has shown that while offers to the farmer must be clear

cut, the chances of pulling an order are increased if he is given a

number of options as to price, plan of payment and different kinds

of items open to purchase. He does not like to be restricted to one

particular item, or one arbitrary form of payment. This fact was

long ago recognized by the large catalogue houses, for they aim to

offer several kinds and sizes under every item listed. It has been

found that where both the number of items and options in a line is

doubled or otherwise substantially increased, that the percentage of

sales immediately increases.

A company in Canton, Ohio, putting out a line of sprayers, offers on

the back of its order sheet four sprayers of different prices and

four forms of making payment for each sprayer. This gives the

prospect sixteen options--one of which will look best to him, when

he sends in his order.

This information is printed on the back of the order sheet, where it

can not get separated from it and where it will have a "last

appeal."

The mail-order houses have been vieing with each other in trying to

find unique appeals to the farmer. To this end profit-sharing plans

and various premium schemes have been introduced, in some cases with

phenomenal results.

While the farmer is no different from the ordinary public in wanting

to get his money's worth he is open to conviction through smaller

devices than is his city brother. And the "novelty device" appeals

to him strongly.

An Ohio company putting out buggies as a main product, adds an

insurance policy as a clincher. The purchaser is himself insured for

one hundred dollars payable to his heirs in case of his death; the

buggy carries an indemnity--not to exceed fifty dollars--covering

accidents along the line of breakage or damage in accidents or

smash-ups. This insurance, under the policy given, is kept in force

a year.

This extra not only acts as a sales argument but a basis for a talk

like this:

"The S. & W. pleasure vehicles have been tested by insurance company

officials. They have been proved practically unbreakable, the

material and durability surprising the insurance officials.

Insurance is not issued on sickly persons, weak buildings nor on

inferior vehicles. It is because our vehicles are so well made that

insurance is permitted."

* * * * *

This makes a convincing talking point, particularly to the man who

is not familiar with accident indemnity, and to the young man who is

about to buy a "rig" in which he may attempt to demonstrate that no

other man can pass him on the road.

When it comes to framing up a campaign there are many points, minor

in themselves, but each having its significance, that it is well to

consider. It frequently happens that not enough attention is paid to

the stationery that is used for farmers, but all these things have

their influence in prejudicing the recipient for or against a new

house.

"It is a good rule in writing the farmer to diversify your

stationery," says a mail-order man who has sold a wide range of

specialties. "The reason for this lies in the fact that when a

farmer has been drummed about so much he may grow resentful at the

persistence. We aim, not only to present the proposition very

differently each time, but we use different size envelopes,

different letterheads and markedly different enclosures in each

follow-up.

"Particularly along rural routes, where the men folks are in the

field when the carrier comes, I aim to change envelopes and

letterheads. I never want the housewife to be able to say to the man

of the house when he asks what mail came, that 'There's another

letter from the firm that's trying to sell you a cream separator'."

To make ordering easier and to get the farmer to "act now" a coupon

or an enclosed postal card, good for a limited number of days is

widely used. This makes it easier to send for catalogue or a free

trial or whatever is advertised. It is a spur to action and results

in adding to the mailing list, names of many persons who might never

respond if they had to wait until they found pen or pencil and

paper--and a convenient opportunity.

A rebate check is another popular scheme for inducing the customer

to order. An old mail-order house calls attention in the first form

letter sent out with a catalogue to the fact that accompanying it is

a check for one dollar to apply on the first order.

This order is made out in the form of a personal check, filled in

with the prospect's name. It is, to all intents and purposes, a

personal check, only payable in goods instead of cash.

Similar use of the check method of exciting interest is also used by

a Detroit incubator manufacturer, who finds that many who have

resisted other appeals answer to the chance to convert a check into

a saving.

This same firm also adds as a clincher an offer to pay the freight

on certain lines of goods, so that the catalogue price becomes

actual cost instead of cost plus freight charges. Such inducements

come home to the farmer; anything on the "something-for-nothing"

order appeals to him.

Aside from the nature of the proposition and the way it is

presented, there is the all-important element of seasonableness. The

man who has always lived in the city might understand the general

principles of mail-order selling and have a good proposition, but

his success would be indifferent unless he understood the meaning of

timeliness in reaching the farmer. If your letter or advertisement

catches the eye of the farmer he will in all probability put it away

in the shoe box back of the chimney until ready to buy; it would be

almost impossible to train enough guns on him during the rush season

to force his interest. It is a common experience with mail-order

houses to receive replies to letters or advertisements six months or

a year after they are sent out--sometimes years afterwards. The

message was timely; it wormed its way into the farmer's "mental want

list" and blossomed forth when he felt that he could afford the

article.

Only a carefully kept record-of-returns sheet or book will show when

sales can best be made on a particular item, and the shrewd manager

will test out different items at different seasons before launching

a big campaign which may be ill-timed.

"The winter months are the best time for comprehensive information

to soak in--but the letter generally is not the place for this. Put

personality in the letter--specifications in the circular." This is

the advice of an experienced correspondent whose length of service

enables him to speak authoritatively.

"A winter letter may be long, verbose and full of interesting

information; the farmer will read it carefully. This is the time to

get in specifications, estimates, complicated diagrams and long

arguments which require study. Letters for the work months need to

be short and snappy, both to insure reading and to act on a tired

mind."

And then finally the proposition must be made so plain that there is

no possibility of its being misinterpreted. What a city man who is a

wide reader gets at a glance, the ordinary farm owner or farmer's

boy--often with only a rudimentary knowledge of English--must study

over.

"So needful is the observance of this principle in our business,"

says this manager, "that our sales letters have come to be almost a

formula. First we state our proposition. We then proceed to take up

each element of the offer and make it as plain and plausible as

possible."

In this case the elements are:

1. The thing offered.

2. Time of trial.

3. Freight paid.

4. Return privilege.

"All the letter is a plain exposition of 1, 2, 3, 4--the preceding

paragraphs are summarized and connected. For instance, after the

item offered has been treated and the length of trial made clear,

the two are summarized thus:

"The _separator_ we offer is not only the best that money can buy

but it is _just what you need_--no wonder we are willing to give you

30 days in which to try it.

"But what about freight?"

"Just this."

* * * * *

"Then we explain freight paid and return privilege. This gives a

continuous and increasing summary straight through the letter, which

closes with a recapitulation of the proposition.

"The aim of putting several summaries of the proposition in all

sales matter is so that there can be no possible mistake about the

proposition, for thousands of propositions are turned down by people

on farms simply because the reader does not quite understand

everything."

The farmer is in constant dread of "being caught" and there is

little likelihood of his taking advantage of any offer that is not

absolutely clear in his mind. The letter writer must realize what a

point this is with the average farmer. What a city man does he can

keep to himself; if he buys a gold brick he gets rid of it and

forgets the transaction just as quickly as possible. But what the

farmer does is neighborhood gossip. If one of those "slick city

fellers" sells him something he can't use, every one knows it.

Make the proposition clear--so clear that every one in the family

can understand it, for usually purchases are talked over for days

before an order is finally sent out. Take into account the farmer's

suspicious nature and bear down heavily on the utility of the

article. There is no hidden mystery in reaching the rural prospects

but they must be handled with discretion and with an understanding

of the prejudices, characteristics and viewpoints of the farmer.