FROM SALESLETTER TO CATALOG 



39 



strongly advocated by John Watson, who is a recognized 

 authority on nursery advertising. Don't, of course, expect 

 to find people flocking to your nursery immediately after 

 your first issue of a bulletin appears; but, just as continual 

 dripping wears away the stone, so will your repeated 

 editions bring the customers to your door. 



The mention of the catalog as nursery advertising 

 has purposely been left till last in this discussion, as it 

 really does not come under the head of advertising; at 

 least, not the average nursery catalog. There are, to be 

 sure, notable examples of catalogs that really sell, 

 but the. average catalog is simply an encyclopedia of 

 plants and does little to actually sell to any but the ex- 

 perienced plant buyer. 



The reason for this is plain. The catalog has too long 

 been written from the nurseryman's point of view. What 

 do the manufacturers of motor cars give us in their ads 

 and their literature — lists containing quantities of cars 

 that they have on hand, and the number of bolts of a 

 certain size in their cars ? They do not. They appeal 

 to us along the lines of comfort, security, power, etc. 

 The garage man is interested in those other features, to 

 be sure, just as a landscape gardener w^ould be interested 

 in the stock you carry. Following this line of thought, it 

 must be obvious that in appealing to our prospects we 

 must proceed along the lines of the value of planting, and 

 the beauty and satisfaction it affords, instead of sending 

 out lists of the bolts and nuts of our trade. 



Do not think from this that the catalog has no value. 

 It has. Prospects often wish to have the descriptions 

 and pictures of the shrubs that you suggest, and prices 

 must be made known. But surely the catalog, unless 

 built along constructive lines, is not the piece of literature 

 with which to head an advertising campaign. 



