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•^ Profitable Lumber Advertising -^ 



MEDIUMS 



Editor's Note 



This is the fifth of a series of articles on how to write lumber advertising, the first being a general article on the 

 subject, the second on "Writing Copy," the third on "Points About Writing Copy," and the fourth on "Borders, 

 Headings and Layouts." The sixth and last, covering "General Points for Advertisers," will appear in the next issue. 



Medium Hardwood Record 



Contract I Year Size of Space '4 Page 

 Date of Contract Jan. 1913 



IssueH 



Feb. 25tb 



Mar. lOtl: 



Mar. 25th 



Apr. 10th 



Name of 

 "Ad" 



Qtd. Oali 



Qtd. Oak 



Plain Oak 



Poplar 



Gum 



• ieneriil 

 ■Ad" 



-So. o£ 

 Inquiries 



No. 

 Follow-ups 



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///// 



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Advertising men still tell the story of the value of reaching the 

 buyer by use of the right paper. It seems there was a certain 

 wealthy investor or capitalist who put his money in good schemes 

 or investments. He was a skillful financier and it was difficult to 

 approach him. The story tells that a certain dealer had a large 

 number of bonds in a far-off company. These bonds were perfectly 

 good, but the proposition was so lengthy and full of detail that it 

 would take a long time to tell the story about it. With so much 

 explanation, every effort to get the old fellow to close proved 

 unsuccessful, because the old man would tire when the solicitors 

 got half v\'ay through. Finally he wouldn 't see any of the repre- 

 sentatives. The concern knew that if it could get him to listen to 

 the entire story it could sell to him a good many if not all of the 

 bonds on this issue. One of those real live advertising solicitors 

 dropped into that bond 

 office one day and the 

 concern asked him to 

 make some suggestions 

 for reaching the old fel- 

 low. His question, after 

 hearing the story, was, 

 "What paper does he 

 read going home at 

 night?" Like a flash 

 they all got his meaning. 

 This advertising man then 

 posted himself at the en- 

 trance of the old fellow's 

 building and saw him, de- 

 parting, get the Evening 

 Post, if the writer remem- 

 bers rightly. To make 

 sure, on inquiry to the 

 news dealer he found 

 that the Post was his 

 nightly paper. A few 

 days later a half page 

 was devoted to telling the story of those bonds, and addressed 

 individually to this one buyer. Besides getting a call for these 

 bonds from the old fellow, a number were sold to other people. 

 ■Advertising accomplished the results by use of the right paper. 



The same principle applies in the selection of papers for all 

 kinds of advertising. You want to reach the possible buyers, and 

 the selection of the mediums is an all-important task. You 

 wouldn't advertise an eleven hundred dollar piano in a paper that 

 went only to poor people, for instance. Neither would it be a 

 good medium for advertising an automobile. The writer knows 

 for a fact that many campaign failures are the direct results of 

 using the wrong mediums, yet the copy was sales-producing stuff. 

 There is one lumber trade periodical whose circulation is mostly 

 among the sawmills in the South — it has very few consumers on 

 the circulation list. Yet this paper carries a good deal of 

 "consumer- written" advertisements, and it is no wonder that but 

 few inquiries reach the advertiser as a result of his copy. It can 

 almost be likened to "sending coals to Newcastle" — the principle 

 is the same. And, as another example, it's like sending a sales- 

 man to sell oak to a mill that is manufacturing that very kind 

 of lumber. Therefore, the selection of the medium should have 

 the very best consideration. If a paper goes to a distinct class 

 of people or trade it will have little waste circulation — such as 

 all furniture manufacturers (no retailers, dealers, wholesalers, 

 etc.). In other words, it is said to have "class circulation." 



—28— 



Price S (?) Issued Twice Monthly 



Copy Should Be in 4tb and 18th 



No. 

 Orders 



Remarks 



// 



///// / 



Finally closed by Smith, western 

 salesman 



Salesmen — Smith, Jones and 

 H. E. S. (Phone) 



.Tones (Long Distance Phone) 



The value of the space is determined by the circulation. For 

 instance, j'ou could pay twice the amount for space in the latter 

 kind of a paper (if you wanted to reach all the furniture manu- 

 facturers) than for a paper that reached only a few manufac- 

 turers. The other is worth more because it reaches more possible 

 buyers. No "waste circulation" in that case — practically every 

 man is a prospective buyer. For example. Hardwood Record 

 reaches piano, trim, furniture and various other lines of manu- 

 facture and all consumers of lumber, as well as wholesalers. It 

 also has a good mill circulation. You can pick any of the above 

 classes and the rate charged is fair and just. 



Now you'll ask how you are going to tell which paper pays 

 best — the one that brings in the most inquiries — when you are 

 using several papers and advertising only one item. That's simple. 

 . In nine cases out of ten, 



a man answering an ad- 

 vertisement puts it right 

 in front of him and fol- 

 lows closely the name, 

 address, etc. He does not 

 as a rule, however, take 

 the trouble to make men- 

 tion of the magazine or 

 paper in which that par- 

 ticular advertisement ap- 

 pears, and so other means 

 must be taken to identify 

 each inquiry as it comes 

 in. Means of determin- 

 ing this is called the 

 "key system." Lumber- 

 men or other manufac- 

 turers would not take the 

 trouble to "cut out the 

 coupon and mail it" (such 

 as is done in the maga- 

 zines and weeklies), which 

 makes it necessary to use the address or initial scheme. In run- 

 ning a number of advertisements at the same time, the person who 

 opens your mail should have instructions to keep all the envelopes 

 that contained the inquiries, so that when an inquiry comes in 

 addressed to "John Smith, Dearborn Street, Chicago," you should 

 take your check sheet (described hereinafter) and credit a point 

 to the proper paper. If an inquiry comes in addressed to the 

 keyed address in Hardwood Record, it should be credited to 

 IIABDWOOD Record, and so on. By keeping these records accu- 

 rately — and after you once start them it only takes a minute or 

 two a day to keep them up — you will soon know the mediums or 

 papers that it pays you to have your advertising in. By the 

 same method, when you change your advertisement each issue, 

 you can tell in any one paper the advertisement that is pulling 

 the best results. When you find an advertisement pulling well or 

 with especially fine results, analyze and see why it is strong. 

 When you get at the secret, write your other advertisements along 

 the same idea. 



The key sheet or record should be regularly kept. It gives you 

 all the information at a glance. At the end of, say, six months 

 you can figure out your cost-per-inquiry and cost-per-orders that 

 you get as a result of the advertising. Even if a salesman gets 

 an order from ao advertisement-produced inquiry, it should be 

 credited to advertising. The sample key sheet is the one the 

 writer has always used and thinks one of the best in use. It 



