ADVERTISING DAIRY PRODUCTS 307 



so what is offered here is merely suggestive. However, it is sub- 

 stantially the plan followed by one successful ad writer. 



1. Fix a purpose for the advertisement. Don't set out with 

 merely a hazy notion of what is to be accomplished; have a 

 clear-cut understanding on that score, or else the advertisement 

 is not likely to interest or convince any one. Whether it is to 

 sell something at once, or create good will for a product, or to 

 educate the public to its merits, or something else, determine 

 the purpose definitely. 



2. Determine the mode of appeal. Settle whether it is to be 

 to reason, to human interest or to both. Your ad writing will 

 be done more or less aimlessly unless you take this step. 



3. Select your talking points. Make a list of all the points 

 that may be urged in making your appeal. Study them care- 

 fully to make sure that they are worth while; cut out all that are 

 weak; combine some; rearrange them in order, according to 

 interest or importance, or logical sequence. 



4. Determine how much space is to be used. Unless the ad 

 writer knows whether he is to have 6 inches double column 

 space or 5 inches single column or a half page, he cannot prepare 

 his copy correctly. 



5. Outline this space on paper and locate the typographical 

 features of the advertisement. If an illustration is to be used, 

 sketch its exact outlines in the available space, or better, paste a 

 proof of it on the location that is best. Sketch out a location for 

 the trade-mark or trade name. Determine how much space the 

 headline should occupy and where. Then outline the space 

 that the body or text of the advertisement is to occupy and 

 estimate how many words of matter can be put into that space. 

 Your complete sketch should give you a good idea of what your 

 advertisement will look like in print. 



6. Write the copy to fit the space. Sometimes the headlines 

 may be written first, sometimes last. Choose the newsiest or 

 most important feature of your talking points, or the feature 

 with most attention-getting power, for your key line. Put it 

 into the fewest possible number of words. Write it and rewrite 

 it to make sure that it is effective. Write the text of the adver- 



