240 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
not have the time to do this yourself, then follow the sug¬ 
gestion given further on in this paper. 
As a matter of fact, such business cards are a relic of 
the days of nightmare advertising when space was bought 
for no other apparent reason than to gratify the desire of 
the advertiser to see his name in print, and to afford him 
the comfortable sense of having done his duty. To such 
advertisers, it seems the fact never occurs that the space 
represents just so much white paper, and that what he 
chooses to put into that space is the thing that brings or 
fails to bring the orders. Around the word “advertis¬ 
ing,” many nurserymen spin a veil of mystery. They 
overlook, or are unconscious of the fact, that advertising 
is salesmanship on paper, or else they dare the advertise¬ 
ment to produce results. 
The Publisher’s Position 
Nursery advertising borders on technical advertising, 
and the time will soon come when publishers of mediums 
largely used by nurserymen will refuse to accept these 
business cards, just as the publishers of trade papers 
have refused, or rather have required their patrons to use 
advertisements that have a better chance to produce than 
do mere business cards. 
Publishers to be successful must make a profit in their 
business the same as you, and they cannot make a profit 
when their advertisers fail to obtain satisfactory returns 
from the space they buy. A few nursery firms have felt 
the value of better copy and have passed beyond the 
period when their advertising, as compared to the total 
of all advertising, could be likened to a small frog in a 
very large pond. They are putting real meat into the 
space they use and attractiveness into their layouts. 
Before the time arrives when publishers will insist 
upon their nursery patrons making the best possible use 
of the white space they buy, it is now high time that the 
nurserymen beat them to it. How can this be done? 
The answer is the solution to the problem of cheaper and 
more productive advertising. 
Salesmanship on Paper 
Advertising has come to be a business in itself, and a 
big business, but it is essentially a branch of the sales 
department, as it must serve as the “scout” that goes out 
and rounds up the trade and drives it your way. In 
other words advertising is nothing more than a selling 
force. If you would employ it most effectively you will 
couple it up to your present selling plan or revise your 
selling methods to connect with your advertising scheme. 
Advertising is coming more and more closely to the period 
in its development where well defined rules, even “laws” 
are being developed. And because of its close approach 
to a profession, there is little more reason why the av¬ 
erage advertiser should attempt the preparation and plac¬ 
ing of his own copy than there is for him to attempt argu¬ 
ing his own case in court, or prescribing the medicine to 
he given to a sick man. 
The Skilled Copy Writer 
It is the business of the professional advertising man to 
write advertisements, and in the majority of instances, it 
would be better for the nurseryman to let some profes¬ 
sional advertisement writer prepare and place his copy, 
rather than to attempt doing it himself. Such work can 
be done better by men who make it their business than it 
can by the inexperienced outsider. And, as I view the 
situation, it seems to me to be far easier to lessen the cost 
and increase the productiveness of advertising by letting 
the skilled copy writer prepare the advertisement than to 
attempt it yourself. 
The one great drawback that all advertising men meet 
in their efforts to interest advertisers into employing bet¬ 
ter advertising methods, is the feeling on the part of the 
advertiser that on account of his close familiarity with his 
business, he is the only one that can tell others about his 
product. 
Don’t fool yourself by this opinion. It is true that you 
know more about your business than an outsider. But 
right there is your weakness when it comes to preparing 
sales appealing advertising copy. As a matter of fact, 
you are too close to your own business to get a true per¬ 
spective, and to see your real market or your real sales 
opportunity. There are advertising agencies in many 
of our cities who know more about the advertising pos¬ 
sibilities of the nursery business than do most of the 
members of this association. And, since they are not 
connected with the trade, they are not prejudiced by the 
little practices and petty jealousies that exist. They stand 
on the mountain top where they get the broader view of 
situation. 
Advertising of the present day is the work of the 
specialist, and one individual cannot at the same time be 
a specialist in salesmanship, office and field management 
and advertising. Therefore, I would say, that since ad¬ 
vertising requires special qualifications and training, it is 
far better for the average nurseryman to turn this sort of 
work over to the specialist who will work in closest har¬ 
mony with you. Then, let that specialist prepare the ad¬ 
vertising, the catalogue, the sales letters and circulars, 
and work in co-operation with your sales department. 
This plan, it seems to me, is very much more certain 
to lessen the cost of the advertising and increase its pro¬ 
ductiveness than where the average nurseryman pre¬ 
pares and places his own copy. Time does not permit 
amplifying upon this conclusion and of supplying exam¬ 
ples from the experiences of advertisers who have done 
so. Consequently I can only recommend that you give 
this plan a trial. 
All advertising to be successful must be backed up and 
supported by the right kind of stock. The customer 
must be supplied with exactly the kind of stock de¬ 
scribed in your advertising matter; he must be supplied 
quickly and his order must arrive in first class condition. 
In other words, your advertisement must be truthful and 
must be backed up with good stock and real service. 
These are “big” little things that go a long, long ways in 
making advertising cost less and produce more, for in the 
language of an old proverb, a “pleased customer is the 
best advertisement.” 
The Government Crop Report of June 1st gives a fore¬ 
cast of 72,200,000 barrels of apples against a final es¬ 
timate of last year’s crop of 76.670,000 barrels. 
Peaches 42,400,000 bushels; against the final estimate 
of last year of 64,21° AAA buAieJs. 
