,,business ,,correspondence ,,volume ,i ,,how ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,business ,,letter3 #bd chapters on preparing to write the letter and finding the proper viewpoint2 how to open the letter1 present the proposition convincingly1 make an effective close2 how to acquire a forceful style and inject originality2 how to adapt selling appeal to different prospects and get orders by letter-- proved principles and practical schemes illustrated by extracts from #bag actual letters ,,contents ,,business ,,correspondence ,,volume ,i ,,part ,i ,preparing to ,write the ,letter ,,chapter #a3 ,what ,you ,can ,do ,with a ,postage ,stamp #b3 ,the ,advantages of ,doing ,business by ,letter #c3 ,gathering ,material and ,picking ,out ,talking ,points #d3 ,when ,you ,sit ,down to ,write ,,part ,,ii ,how to ,write the ,letter #e3 ,how to ,begin a ,business ,letter #f3 ,how to ,present ,your ,proposition #g3 ,how to ,bring the ,letter to a ,close ,,part ,,iii ,style--,making the ,letter ,readable #h3 ,style in ,letter ,writing--,and ,how to ,acquire ,it #i3 ,making the ,letter ,hang ,together #aj3 ,how to ,make ,letters ,original #aa3 ,making the ,form ,letter ,personal ,,part ,,iv ,the ,dress of a ,business ,letter #ab3 ,making ,letterheads and ,envelopes ,distinctive #ac3 ,the ,typographical ,make-up of ,business ,letters #ad3 ,getting a ,uniform ,policy and ,quality in ,letters #ae3 ,making ,letters ,uniform in ,appearance ,,part ,v ,writing the ,sales ,letter #af3 ,how to ,write the ,letter ,that ,will ,land the ,order #ag3 ,the ,letter ,that ,will ,bring ,an ,inquiry #ah3 ,how to ,close ,sales by ,letter #ai3 ,what to ,enclose ,with ,sales ,letters #bj3 ,bringing in ,new ,business by ,post ,card #ba3 ,making it ,easy for the ,prospect to ,answer ,,part ,,vi ,the ,appeal to ,different ,classes #bb3 ,how to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal to ,women #bc3 ,how to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal to ,men #bd3 ,how to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal to ,farmers ,what ,you ,can ,do ,with a ,,postage ,,stamp ,,part ,i--,,preparing ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #a ,last year #aiaj fifteen billion letters were handled by the post office--one hundred and fifty for every person4 ,just as a thousand years ago practically all trade was cash1 and now only seven per cent involves currency1 so nine-tenths of the business is done today by letter while even a few decades ago it was by personal word4 ,you can get your prospect1 turn him into a customer1 sell him goods1 settle complaints1 investigate credit standing1 collect your money--,,all ,,by ,,letter4 ,and often better than by word of mouth4 ,for1 when talking1 you speak to only one or two2 by letter you can talk to a hundred thousand in a sincere1 personal way4 ,so the letter is the ,,most ,,important ,,tool in modern business--good letter writing is the business man's ,,first ,,requirement4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a firm in ,chicago1 with a most interesting bit of inside history4 ,it is not a large firm4 ,ten years ago it consisted of one man4 ,today there are some three hundred employees1 but it is still a one-man business4 ,it has never employed a salesman on the road2 the head of the firm has never been out to call on any of his customers4 ,but here is a singular thing3 you may drop in to see a business man in ,syracuse or ,san ,francisco1 in ,jacksonville or ,walla ,walla1 and should you casually mention this man's name1 the chances are the other will reply3 ,oh1 yes4 ,i know him very well4 ,that is1 ,i've had several letters from him and ,i feel as though ,i know him4 ,sitting alone in his little office1 this man was one of the first to foresee1 ten years ago1 the real possibilities of the letter4 ,he saw that if he could write a man a thousand miles away the right kind of a letter he could do business with him as well as he could with the man in the next block4 ,so he began talking by mail to men whom he thought might buy his goods--talking to them in sane1 human1 you-and-me ,english4 ,through those letters he sold goods4 ,nor did he stop there4 ,in the same human way he collected the money for them4 ,he adjusted any complaints that arose4 ,he did everything that any business man could do with customers4 ,in five years he was talking not to a thousand men but to a million4 ,and today1 though not fifty men in the million have ever met him1 this man's personality has swept like a tidal wave across the country and left its impression in office1 store and factory--through letters--letters alone4 ,this instance is not cited because it marks the employment of a new medium1 but because it shows how the letter has become a universal implement of trade2 how a commonplace tool has been developed into a living business-builder4 ,the letter is today the greatest potential creator and transactor of business in the world4 ,but wide as its use is1 it still lies idle1 an undeveloped possibility1 in many a business house where it might be playing a powerful part4 ,the letter is a universal implement of business--that is what gives it such great possibilities4 ,it is the servant of every business1 regardless of its size or of its character4 ,it matters not what department may command its use--wherever there is a business in which men must communicate with each other1 the letter is found to be the first and most efficient medium4 ,analyze for a moment the departments of your own business4 ,see how many points there are at which you could use right letters to good advantage4 ,see if you have not been overlooking some opportunities that the letter1 at a small cost1 will help develop4 ,do you sell goods8 ,the letter is the greatest salesman known to modern business4 ,it will carry the story you have to tell wherever the mail goes4 ,it will create business and bring back orders a thousand miles to the very hand it left4 ,if you are a retailer1 the letter will enable you to talk your goods1 your store1 your service1 to every family in your town1 or it will go further and build a counter across the continent for you4 ,if you are a manufacturer or wholesaler selling to the trade1 the letter will find prospects and win customers for you in remote towns that salesmen cannot profitably reach4 ,but the letter is not only a direct salesman1 it is a supporter of every personal sales force4 ,judiciously centered upon a given territory1 letters pave the way for the salesman's coming2 they serve as his introduction4 ,after his call1 they keep reminding the prospect or customer of the house and its goods4 ,or1 trained by the sales manager upon his men1 letters keep them in touch with the house and key up their loyalty4 ,with regular and special letters1 the sales manager is able to extend his own enthusiasm to the farthest limits of his territory4 ,so in every phase of selling1 the letter makes it possible for you to keep your finger constantly upon the pulse of trade4 ,if you are a wholesaler or manufacturer1 letters enable you to keep your dealers in line4 ,if you are a retailer1 they offer you a medium through which to keep your customers in the proper mental attitude toward your store1 the subtle factor upon which retail credit so largely depends4 ,if you sell on instalments1 letters automatically follow up the accounts and maintain the inward flow of payments at a fraction of what any other system of collecting entails4 ,do you have occasion to investigate the credit of your customers8 ,the letter will quietly and quickly secure the information4 ,knowing the possible sources of the data you desire you can send forth half a dozen letters and a few days later have upon your desk a comprehensive report upon the worth and reliability of almost any concern or individual asking credit favors4 ,and the letter will get this information where a representative would often fail because it comes full-fledged in the frankness and dignity of your house4 ,does your business involve in any way the collecting of money8 ,letters today bring in ten dollars for every one that collectors receive on their monotonous round of homes and cashiers' cages4 ,without the collection letter the whole credit system would be toppling about our ears4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,letter ,,sells ,,goods ,,direct ,,to ,,consumers ,,to ,,dealers ,,to ,,agents ,,indirect ,,builds ,,up ,,lists ,,secures ,,names ,,eliminates ,,dead ,,wood ,,classifies ,,live ,,prospects ,,opens ,,up ,,new ,,territory ,,through ,,consumers ,,creates ,,demand ,,directs ,,trade ,,through ,,dealers ,,shows ,,possible ,,profit ,,introduces ,,new ,,lines ,,aid ,,to ,,salesmen ,,educates ,,trade ,,co-,,operation ,,introduces ,,backs ,,up ,,keeps ,,lined ,,up ,,aid ,,to ,,dealers ,,drums ,,up ,,trade ,,holds ,,customers ,,develops ,,new ,,business ,,handles ,,men ,,instruction ,,about ,,goods ,,about ,,territory ,,about ,,prospects ,,how ,,to ,,systemize ,,work ,,inspiration ,,ginger ,,tales ,,inspires ,,confidence ,,secures ,,co-,,operation ,,promotes ,,loyalty ,,collects ,,money ,,mercantile ,,acts - ,,retail ,,acts - ,,installment ,,acts - ,,petty ,,acts ,,persuasion ,,emphasize ,,house ,,policy ,,emphasize ,,advanttagae ,,of ,,goods ,,establishment ,,of ,,forced ,,collections ,,cost ,,of ,,forced ,,collections ,,cash-,,up ,,proposition ,,extension ,,of ,,accommodation ,,pressure ,,through ,,threats ,,of ,,suit ,,of ,,shutting ,,off ,,credit ,,of ,,writing ,,to ,,references ,,through ,,legal ,,avenues ,,through ,,legal ,,agencies ,,house ,,collection ,,bureaus ,,regular ,,collection ,,bureaus ,,through ,,attorneys ,,handles ,,long ,,range ,,customers ,,supplies ,,personal ,,contact ,,shows ,,interest ,,in ,,customer ,,wins ,,confidence ,,develops ,,re-,,order ,,schemes ,,builds ,,up ,,steady ,,trade ,,handles ,,complaints ,,adjusts ,,investigates ,,makes ,,capital ,,out ,,of ,,complaints ,,wins ,,back ,,customers ,,develops ,,prestige ,,gives ,,personality ,,to ,,business ,,builds ,,up ,,good ,,will ,,paves ,,way ,,for ,,new ,,customers ,the practical uses of the business letter are almost infinite3 selling goods1 with distant customers1 developing the prestige of the house--there is handling men1 adjusting complaints1 collecting money1 keeping in touch scarcely an activity of modern business that cannot be carried on by letter 99 99 99 99 99 ,do you find it necessary to adjust the complaint of a client or a customer8 ,a diplomatic letter at the first intimation of dissatisfaction will save many an order from cancellation4 ,it will soothe ruffled feelings1 wipe out imagined grievances and even lay the basis for firmer relations in the future4 ,so you may run the gamut of your own business or any other4 ,at every point that marks a transaction between concerns or individuals1 you will find some way in which the letter rightly used1 can play a profitable part4 ,there is a romance about the postage stamp as fascinating as any story--not the romance contained in sweet scented notes1 but the romance of big things accomplished2 organizations developed1 businesses built1 great commercial houses founded4 ,in #aijb a couple of men secured the agency for a firm manufacturing extracts and toilet preparations4 ,they organized an agency force through letters and within a year the manufacturers were swamped with business1 unable to fill the orders4 ,then the men added one or two other lines1 still operating from one small office4 ,soon a storage room was added2 then a packing and shipping room was necessary and additional warehouse facilities were needed4 ,space was rented in the next building2 a couple of rooms were secured across the street1 and one department was located over the river--wherever rooms could be found4 ,next the management decided to issue a regular mail-order catalogue and move to larger quarters where the business could be centered under one roof4 ,a floor in a new building was rented--a whole floor4 ,the employees thought it was extravagance2 the managers were dubious1 for when the business was gathered in from seven different parts of the city1 there was still much vacant floor space4 ,one year later it was again necessary to rent outside space4 ,the management then decided to erect a permanent home and today the business occupies two large buildings and the firm is known all over the country as one of the big factors of mail-order merchandising4 ,it has all been done by postage stamps4 ,when the financial world suddenly tightened up in #aijg a wholesale dry goods house found itself hard pressed for ready money4 ,the credit manager wrote to the customers and begged them to pay up at once4 ,but the retailers were scared and doggedly held onto their cash4 ,even the merchants who were well rated and whose bills were due1 played for time4 ,the house could not borrow the money it needed and almost in despair the president sat down and wrote a letter to his customers2 it was no routine collection letter1 but a heart-to-heart talk1 telling them that if they did not come to his rescue the business that he had spent thirty years in building would be wiped out and he would be left penniless because he could not collect his money4 ,he had the bookkeepers go through every important account and they found that there was hardly a customer who had not1 for one reason or another1 at some time asked for an extension of credit4 ,and to each customer the president dictated a personal paragraph1 reminding him of the time accommodation had been asked and granted4 ,then the appeal was made straight from the heart3 ,now1 when ,i need help1 not merely to tide me over a few weeks but to save me from ruin1 will you not strain a point1 put forth some special effort to help me out1 just as ,i helped you at such and such a time8 ,if we can collect #bj1jjj1 he had assured his associates1 ,i know we can borrow #bj1jjj1 and that will probably pull us through4 ,the third day after his letters went out several checks came in2 the fourth day the cashier banked over #bb1jjj2 within ten days #fh1jjj had come in1 several merchants paying up accounts that were not yet due2 a few even offered to help out the firm4 ,the business was saved--by postage stamps4 ,formality to the winds2 stereotyped phrases were forgotten2 traditional appeals were discarded and a plain talk1 man-to-man1 just as if the two were closeted together in an office brought hundreds of customers rushing to the assistance of the house with which they had been dealing4 ,sixty-eight thousand dollars collected within two weeks when money was almost invisible--and by letter4 ,truly there is romance in the postage stamp4 ,twenty-five years ago a station agent wrote to other agents along the line about a watch that he could sell them at a low price4 ,when an order came in he bought a watch1 sent it to the customer and used his profit to buy stamps for more letters4 ,after a while he put in each letter a folder advertising charms1 fobs and chains2 then rings1 cuff buttons and a general line of jewelry was added4 ,it soon became necessary to give up his position on the railroad and devote all his time to the business and one line after another was added to the stock he carried4 ,today the house that started in this way has customers in the farthermost parts of civilization2 it sells every conceivable product from toothpicks to automobiles and knockdown houses4 ,two thousand people do nothing but handle mail2 over #bb1jjj orders are received and filled every day2 #cf1jjj men and women are on the payroll4 ,it has all been done by mail4 ,postage stamps bring to the house every year business in excess of #fe1jjj1jjj4 ,one day the head correspondent in an old established wholesale house in the east had occasion to go through some files of ten and twelve years before4 ,he was at once struck with the number of names with which he was not familiar--former customers who were no longer buying from the house4 ,he put a couple of girls at work making a list of these old customers and checking them up in the mercantile directories to see how many were still in business4 ,then he sat down and wrote to them1 asking as a personal favor that they write and tell him why they no longer bought of the house2 whether its goods or service had not been satisfactory1 whether some complaint had not been adjusted4 ,there must be a reason1 would they not tell him personally just what it was8 ,eighty per cent of the men addressed replied to this personal appeal2 many had complaints that were straightened out2 others had drifted to other houses for no special reason4 ,the majority were worked back into the customer files4 ,three years later the accounting department checked up the orders received from these re-found customers4 ,the gross was over a million dollars4 ,the business all sprung from one letter4 ,yes1 there is romance in the postage stamp2 there is a latent power in it that few men realize--a power that will remove commercial mountains and erect industrial pyramids4 ,the ,,advantages ,of ,doing ,business ,by ,letter ,,part ,i--,,preparing ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #b ,letters have their limitations and their advantages4 ,the correspondent who is anxious to secure the best results should recognize the inherent weakness of a letter due to its lack of personality in order to reinforce these places4 ,equally essential is an understanding of the letter's great ,,natural ,,advantages so that the writer can turn them to account--make the most of them4 ,it possesses qualities the personal representative lacks and this chapter tells how to take advantage of them 99 99 99 99 99 ,while it is necessary to know how to write a strong letter1 it is likewise essential to understand both the limitations of letters and their advantages4 ,it is necessary1 on the one hand1 to take into account the handicaps that a letter has in competition with a personal solicitor4 ,offsetting this are many distinct advantages the letter has over the salesman4 ,to write a really effective letter1 a correspondent must thoroughly understand its carrying capacity4 ,a salesman often wins an audience and secures an order by the force of a dominating personality4 ,the letter can minimize this handicap by an attractive dress and force attention through the impression of quality4 ,the letter lacks the animation of a person but there can be an individuality about its appearance that will assure a respectful hearing for its message4 ,the personal representative can time his call1 knowing that under certain circumstances he may find his man in a favorable frame of mind1 or even at the door he may decide it is the part of diplomacy to withdraw and wait a more propitious hour4 ,the letter cannot back out of the prospect's office2 it cannot shape its canvass to meet the needs of the occasion or make capital out of the mood or the comments of the prospect4 ,the correspondent cannot afford to ignore these handicaps under which his letter enters the prospect's office4 ,rather1 he should keep these things constantly in mind in order to overcome the obstacles just as far as possible1 reinforcing the letter so it will be prepared for any situation it may encounter at its destination4 ,explanations must be so clear that questions are unnecessary2 objections must be anticipated and answered in advance2 the fact that the recipient is busy must be taken into account and the message made just as brief as possible2 the reader must be treated with respect and diplomatically brought around to see the relationship between his needs and your product4 ,but while the letter has these disadvantages1 it possesses qualities that the salesman lacks4 ,the letter1 once it lies open before the man to whom you wish to talk1 is your counterpart1 speaking in your words just as you would talk to him if you were in his office or in his home4 ,that is1 the right letter4 ,it reflects your personality and not that of some third person who may be working for a competitor next year4 ,the letter1 if clearly written1 will not misrepresent your proposition2 its desire for a commission or for increased sales will not lead it to make exaggerated statements or unauthorized promises4 ,the letter will reach the prospect just as it left your desk1 with the same amount of enthusiasm and freshness4 ,it will not be tired and sleepy because it had to catch a midnight train2 it will not be out of sorts because of the poor coffee and the cold potatoes served at the ,grand hotel for breakfast2 it will not be peeved because it lost a big sale across the street2 it will not be in a hurry to make the #aa3cj local2 it will not be discouraged because a competitor is making inroads into the territory4 ,you have the satisfaction of knowing that the letter is immune from these ills and weaknesses to which flesh is heir and will deliver your message faithfully1 promptly1 loyally4 ,it will not have to resort to clever devices to get past the glass door1 nor will it be told in frigid tones by the guard on watch to call some other day4 ,the courtesy of the mail will take your letter to the proper authority4 ,if it goes out in a dignified dress and presents its proposition concisely it is assured of a considerate hearing4 ,it will deliver its message just as readily to some ,garcia in the mountains of ,cuba as to the man in the next block4 ,the salesman who makes a dozen calls a day is doing good work2 letters can present your proposition to a hundred thousand prospects on the one forenoon4 ,they can cover the same territory a week later and call again and again just as often as you desire4 ,you cannot time the letter's call to the hour but you can make sure it reaches the prospect on the day of the week and the time of the month when he is most likely to give it consideration4 ,you know exactly the kind of canvass every letter is making2 you know that every call on the list is made4 ,the salesman must look well to his laurels if he hopes to compete successfully with the letter as a selling medium4 ,put the points of advantage in parallel columns and the letter has the best of it2 consider1 in addition1 the item of expense and it is no wonder letters are becoming a greater factor in business4 ,the country over1 there are comparatively few houses that appreciate the full possibilities of doing business by mail4 ,not many appreciate that certain basic principles underlie letter writing1 applicable alike to the beginner who is just struggling to get a foothold and to the great mail-order house with its tons of mail daily4 ,they are not mere theories2 they are fundamental principles that have been put to the test1 proved out in thousands of letters and on an infinite number of propositions4 ,the correspondent who is ambitious to do by mail what others do by person1 must understand these principles and how to apply them4 ,he must know the order and position of the essential elements2 he must take account of the letter's impersonal character and make the most of its natural advantages4 ,writing letters that pull is not intuition2 it is an art that anyone can acquire4 ,but this is the point3 it must be acquired4 ,it will not come to one without effort on his part4 ,fundamental principles must be understood2 ways of presenting a proposition must be studied1 various angles must be tried out2 the effectiveness of appeals must be tested2 new schemes for getting attention and arousing interest must be devised2 clear1 concise description and explanation must come from continual practice2 methods for getting the prospect to order now must be developed4 ,it is not a game of chance2 there is nothing mysterious about it--nothing impossible1 it is solely a matter of study1 hard work and the intelligent application of proved-up principles4 ,gathering ,,material ,and ,picking ,out ,,talking ,points ,,part ,i--,,preparing ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #c ,arguments--prices1 styles1 terms1 quality or whatever they may be--are effective only when used on the right prospect at the right time4 ,the correspondent who has some message of value to carry gathers together a mass of raw material--facts1 figures and specifications on which to base his arguments--and then he selects the particular talking points that will appeal to his prospect4 ,by systematic tests1 the relative values of various arguments may be determined almost to a scientific nicety4 ,how to gather and classify this material and how to determine what points are most effective is the subject in this chapter 99 99 99 99 99 ,an architect can sit down and design your house on paper1 showing its exact proportions1 the finish of every room1 the location of every door and window4 ,he can give specific instructions for building your house but before you can begin operations you have got to get together the brick and mortar and lumber--all the material used in its construction4 ,and so the correspondent-architect can point out the way to write a letter3 how to begin1 how to work up interest1 how to present argument1 how to introduce salesmanship1 how to work in a clincher and how to close1 but when you come to writing the letter that applies to your particular business you have first to gather the material4 ,and just as you select cement or brick or lumber according to the kind of house you want to build1 so the correspondent must gather the particular kind of material he wants for his letter1 classify it and arrange it so that the best can be quickly selected4 ,the old school of correspondents--and there are many graduates still in business--write solely from their own viewpoint4 ,their letters are focused on our goods1 our interests and our profits4 ,but the new school of letter writers keep their own interests in the background4 ,their sole aim is to focus on the viewpoint of the reader2 find the subjects in which he is interested1 learn the arguments that will appeal to him1 bear down on the persuasion that will induce him to act at once4 ,and so the successful correspondent should draw arguments and talking points from many sources2 from the house1 from the customer1 from competitors1 from the news of the day from his knowledge of human nature4 ,what shall ,i do first8 asked a new salesman of the general manager4 ,sell yourself1 was the laconic reply1 and every salesman and correspondent in the country could well afford to take this advice to heart4 ,sell yourself2 answer every objection that you can think of1 test out the proposition from every conceivable angle2 measure it by other similar products2 learn its points of weakness and of superiority1 know its possibilities and its limitations4 ,convince yourself2 sell yourself1 and then you will be able to sell others4 ,the first source of material for the correspondent is in the house itself4 ,his knowledge must run back to the source of raw materials3 the kinds of materials used1 where they come from1 the quality and the quantity required1 the difficulties in obtaining them1 the possibilities of a shortage1 all the problems of mining or gathering the raw material and getting it from its source to the plant--a vast storehouse of talking points4 ,then it is desirable to have a full knowledge of the processes of manufacture2 the method of handling work in the factory1 the labor saving appliances used1 the new processes that have been perfected1 the time required in turning out goods1 the delays that are liable to occur--these are all pertinent and may furnish the strongest kind of selling arguments4 ,and it is equally desirable to have inside knowledge of the methods in the sales department1 in the receiving room and the shipping room4 ,it is necessary for the correspondent to know the firm's facilities for handling orders2 when deliveries can be promised1 what delays are liable to occur1 how goods are packed1 the condition in which they are received by the customer1 the probable time required in reaching the customer4 ,another nearby source of information is the status of the customer's account2 whether he is slow pay or a man who always discounts his bills4 ,it is a very important fact for the correspondent to know whether the records show an increasing business or a business that barely holds its own4 ,then a most important source--by many considered the most valuable material of all--is the customer himself4 ,it may be laid down as a general proposition that the more the correspondent knows about the man to whom he is writing1 the better appeal he can make4 ,in the first place1 he wants to know the size and character of the customer's business4 ,he should know the customer's location1 not merely as a name that goes on the envelope1 but some pertinent facts regarding the state or section4 ,if he can find out something regarding a customer's standing and his competition1 it will help him to understand his problems4 ,fortunate is the correspondent who knows something regarding the personal peculiarities of the man to whom he is writing4 ,if he understands his hobbies1 his cherished ambition1 his home life1 he can shape his appeal in a more personal way4 ,it is comparatively easy to secure such information where salesmen are calling on the trade1 and many large houses insist upon their representatives' making out very complete reports1 giving a mass of detailed information that will be valuable to the correspondent4 ,then there is a third source of material1 scarcely less important than the study of the house and the customer1 and that is a study of the competitors--other firms who are in the same line of business and going after the same trade4 ,the broad-gauged correspondent never misses an opportunity to learn more about the goods of competing houses--the quality of their products1 the extent of their lines1 their facilities for handling orders1 the satisfaction that their goods are giving1 the terms on which they are sold and which managers are hustling and up to the minute in their methods4 ,the correspondent can also find information1 inspiration and suggestion from the advertising methods of other concerns--not competitors but firms in a similar line4 ,then there are various miscellaneous sources of information4 ,the majority of correspondents study diligently the advertisements in general periodicals2 new methods and ideas are seized upon and filed in the morgue for further reference4 ,where a house travels a number of men1 the sales department is an excellent place from which to draw talking points4 ,interviewing salesmen as they come in from trips and so getting direct information1 brings out talking points which are most helpful as are those secured by shorthand reports of salesmen's conventions4 ,many firms get convincing arguments by the use of detailed forms asking for reports on the product4 ,one follow-up writer gets valuable pointers from complaints which he terms reverse or left-handed talking points4 ,some correspondents become adept in coupling up the news of the day with their products4 ,a thousand and one different events may be given a twist to connect the reader's interest with the house products and supply a reason for buying now4 ,the fluctuation in prices of raw materials1 drought1 late seasons1 railway rates1 fires1 bumper crops1 political discussions1 new inventions1 scientific achievements--there is hardly a happening that the clever correspondent1 hard pressed for new talking points1 cannot work into a sales letter as a reason for interesting the reader in his goods4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,sources ,,of ,,material3 _/ #a4 ,,sources _/ #a4 ,,raw ,,materials -- #b4 ,,quality #c4 ,,supply #d4 ,,price _/ #a4 ,,capacity ,,of ,,plant ,,plant #b4 ,,new ,,equipment #b4 ,,processes ,,of -- #c4 ,,time ,,saving ,,manufacture ,,devices #d4 ,,improved ,,methods _/- #a4 ,,the ,,house------ _/ #a4 ,,methods ,,of ,,salesmen #c4 ,,knowledge ,,of -- #b4 ,,policy ,,of ,,departments ,,credit ,,dept4 #c4 ,,conditions ,,in ,,receiving ,,shipping ,,depts4 #d4 ,,knowledge ,,of ,,costs #e4 ,,status ,,of _/ #a4 ,,credit ,,customer',s -- ,,standing ,,account #b4 ,,growing ,,business _/ #a4 ,,old ,,letters #b4 ,,advertisements #f4 ,,documents -- #c4 ,,booklets1 ,,circulars1 ,,etc4 #d4 ,,testimonials _/ #a4 ,,acquaintances ,,of ,,officers #g4 ,,personnel ,,of -- #b4 ,,interests ,,firm ,,relations ,,of ,,officers _/ #a4 ,,character ,,or - #b4 ,,the ,,customers-- ,,kind ,,of ,,business #b4 ,,size ,,of ,,business #c4 ,,length ,,of ,,time ,,in ,,business ,,sources #d4 ,,location ,,local ,,of ,,conditions ,,material #e4 ,,competition #f4 ,,standing ,,with ,,customers #g4 ,,methods ,,policies #h4 ,,hobbies ,,personal ,,peculiarities _/ #a4 ,,quality _/ #a4 ,,goods -- #b4 ,,extent ,,of ,,lines #c4 ,,new ,,lines _/ #a4 ,,terms #b4 ,,policies -- #b4 ,,treatment ,,of ,,customers - #c4 ,,competitors---- _/ #a4 ,,size ,,of ,,plant #c4 ,,capacity -- #b4 ,,equipment #c4 ,,facilities ,,for ,,handling ,,order _/ #a4 ,,new ,,campaigns #d4 ,,methods -- #b4 ,,advertising #c4 ,,aggressiveness _/ #a4 ,,methods - #d4 ,,other ,,methods-- #b4 ,,advertising 7,,not ,,competitors7 #c4 ,,sales ,,campaigns _/ #a4 ,,methods _/ #a4 ,,supply ,,houses -- #b4 ,,capacity #b4 ,,general ,,market - #e4 ,,miscellaneous-- ,,conditions #c4 ,,current ,,events #d4 ,,advertising ,,in ,,general ,,magazines 99 99 99 99 99 ,gathering the information is apt to be wasted effort unless it is classified and kept where it is instantly available4 ,a notebook for ideas should always be at hand and men who write important sales letters should keep within reach scrapbooks1 folders or envelopes containing inspirational material to which they can readily refer4 ,the scrapbook1 a card index or some such method for classifying and filing material is indispensable4 ,two or three pages or cards may be devoted to each general subject1 such as raw material1 processes of manufacture1 methods of shipping1 uses1 improvements1 testimonials1 and so forth1 and give specific information that is manna for the correspondent4 ,the data may consist of notes he has written1 bits of conversation he has heard1 extracts from articles he has read1 advertisements of other concerns and circulars--material picked up from a thousand sources4 ,one versatile writer uses heavy manila sheets about the size of a letterhead and on these he pastes the catch-lines1 the unique phrases1 the forceful arguments1 the graphic descriptions and statistical information that he may want to use4 ,several sheets are filled with metaphors and figures of speech that he may want to use some time in illuminating a point4 ,these sheets are more bulky than paper but are easier to handle than a scrapbook1 and they can be set up in front of the writer while he is working4 ,another correspondent has an office that looks as if it had been decorated with a crazy quilt4 ,whenever he finds a word1 a sentence1 a paragraph or a page that he wants to keep he pins or pastes it on the wall4 ,i don't want any systematic classification of this stuff1 he explains1 for in looking for the particular word or point that ,i want1 ,i go over so many other words and points that ,i keep all the material fresh in my mind4 ,no good points are buried in some forgotten scrapbook2 ,i keep reading these things until they are as familiar to me as the alphabet4 ,it may be very desirable to keep booklets1 pamphlets and bulky matter that cannot be pasted into a book or onto separate sheets in manila folders4 ,this is the most convenient way for classifying and filing heavy material4 ,or large envelopes may be used for this purpose4 ,another favorite method of arrangement in filing talking points for reference is that of filing them in the order of their pulling power4 ,this1 in many propositions1 is considered the best method4 ,it is not possible1 out of a list of arguments to tell1 until after the try-out always1 which will pull and which will not4 ,those pulling best will be worked the most4 ,only as more extensive selling literature is called for will the weaker points be pressed into service4 ,no matter what system is used1 it must be a growing system2 it must be kept up to date by the addition of new material1 picked up in the course of the day's work4 ,much material is gathered and saved that is never used1 but the wise correspondent does not pass by an anecdote1 a good simile1 a clever appeal or forcible argument simply because he does not see at the moment how he can make use of it4 ,in all probability the time will come when that story or that figure of speech will just fit in to illustrate some point he is trying to make4 ,nor does the correspondent restrict his material to the subject in which he is directly interested1 for ideas spring from many sources and the advertisement of some firm in an entirely different line may give him a suggestion or an inspiration that will enable him to work up an original talking point4 ,and so it will be found that the sources of material are almost unlimited--limited in fact1 only by the ability of the writer to see the significance of a story1 a figure of speech or an item of news1 and connect it up with his particular proposition4 ,but gathering and classifying material available for arguments is only preliminary work4 ,a wide knowledge of human nature is necessary to select from these arguments those that will appeal to the particular prospect or class of prospects you are trying to reach4 ,when you sit down to write an important letter1 how do you pick out your talking points8 ,this question was put to a man whose letters have been largely responsible for an enormous mail-order business4 ,the first thing ,i do1 he replied1 is to wipe my pen and put the cork in the ink bottle4 ,his answer summarizes everything that can be said about selecting talking points3 before you start to write1 study the proposition1 picture in your mind the man to whom you are writing1 get his viewpoint1 pick out the arguments that will appeal to him and then write your letter to that individual4 ,the trouble with most letters is that they are not aimed carefully1 the writer does not try to find the range but blazes away in hopes that some of the shots will take effect4 ,there are a hundred things that might be said about this commodity that you want to market4 ,it requires a knowledge of human nature1 and of salesmanship to single out the particular arguments and the inducement that will carry most weight with the individual to whom you are writing4 ,for even if you are preparing a form letter it will be most effective if it is written directly at some individual who most nearly represents the conditions1 the circumstances and the needs of the class you are trying to reach4 ,only the new correspondent selects the arguments that are nearest at hand--the viewpoints that appeal to him4 ,the high score letter writers look to outside sources for their talking points4 ,one of the most fruitful sources of information is the men who have bought your goods4 ,the features that induced them to buy your product1 the things that they talk about are the very things that will induce others to buy that same product4 ,find out what pleases the man who is using your goods and you may be sure that this same feature will appeal to the prospect4 ,it is equally desirable to get information from the man who did not buy your machine--learn his reasons1 find out what objections he has against it2 where1 in his estimation1 it fell short of his requirements2 for it is reasonably certain that other prospects will raise the same objections and it is a test of good salesmanship to anticipate criticisms and present arguments that will forestall such objections4 ,in every office there should be valuable evidence in the files-- advertisements1 letters1 circulars1 folders and other publicity matter that has been used in past campaigns4 ,in the most progressive business houses1 every campaign is thoroughly tested out2 arguments1 schemes1 and talking points are proved up on test lists1 the law of averages enabling the correspondent to tell with mathematical accuracy the pulling power of every argument he has ever used4 ,the record of tests2 the letters that have fallen down and the letters that have pulled1 afford information that is invaluable in planning new campaigns4 ,the arguments and appeals that have proved successful in the past can be utilized over and over again on new lists or given a new setting and used on old lists4 ,the time has passed when a full volley is fired before the ammunition is tested and the range found4 ,the capable letter writer tests out his arguments and proves the strength of his talking points without wasting a big appropriation4 ,his letters are tested as accurately as the chemist in his laboratory tests the strength or purity of material that is submitted to him for analysis4 ,how letters are keyed and tested is the subject of another chapter4 ,no matter what kind of a letter you are writing1 keep this fact in mind3 never use an argument on the reader that does not appeal to you1 the writer4 ,know your subject2 know your goods from the source of the raw material to the delivery of the finished product4 ,and then in selling them1 pick out the arguments that will appeal to the reader2 look at the proposition through the eyes of the prospect2 sell yourself the order first and you will have found the talking points that will sell the prospect4 ,when ,you ,sit ,down ,to ,,write ,,part ,i--,,preparing ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #d ,the weakness of most letters is not due to ungrammatical sentences or to a poor style1 but to a wrong viewpoint3 the writer presents a proposition from his own viewpoint instead of that of the reader4 ,the correspondent has gone far towards success when he can ,,visualize his prospect1 see his environments1 his needs1 his ambitions1 and ,,approach the ,,prospect from ,,this ,,angle4 ,this chapter tells how to get the class idea2 how to see the man to whom you are writing and that equally important qualification1 how to get into the mood for writing--actual methods used by effective correspondents 99 99 99 99 99 ,when you call on another person or meet him in a business transaction you naturally have in mind a definite idea of what you want to accomplish4 ,that is1 if you expect to carry your point4 ,you know that this end cannot be reached except by a presentation which will put your proposition in such a favorable light1 or offer such an inducement1 or so mould the minds of others to your way of thinking that they will agree with you4 ,and so before you meet the other person you proceed to plan your campaign1 your talk1 your attitude to fit his personality and the conditions under which you expect to meet4 ,an advertising man in an eastern mining town was commissioned to write a series of letters to miners1 urging upon them the value of training in a night school about to be opened4 ,now he knew all about the courses the school would offer and he was strong on generalities as to the value of education4 ,but try as he would1 the letters refused to take shape4 ,then suddenly he asked himself1 ,what type of man am ,i really trying to reach8 ,and there lay the trouble4 ,he had never met a miner face to face in his life4 ,as soon as he realized this he reached for his hat and struck out for the nearest coal breaker4 ,he put in two solid days talking with miners1 getting a line on the average of intelligence1 their needs--the point of contact4 ,then he came back and with a vivid picture of his man in mind1 he produced a series of letters that glowed with enthusiasm and sold the course4 ,a number of years ago a printer owning a small shop in an ,ohio city set out to find a dryer that would enable him to handle his work faster and without the costly process of smut-sheeting4 ,he interested a local druggist who was something of a chemist and together they perfected a dryer that was quite satisfactory and the printer decided to market his product4 ,he wrote fifteen letters to acquaintances and sold eleven of them4 ,encouraged1 he got out one hundred letters and sold sixty-four orders4 ,on the strength of this showing1 his banker backed him for the cost of a hundred thousand letters and fifty-eight thousand orders were the result4 ,the banker was interested in a large land company and believing the printer must be a veritable wizard in writing letters1 made him an attractive offer to take charge of the advertising for the company's ,minnesota and ,canada lands4 ,the man sold his business1 accepted the position--and made a signal failure4 ,he appealed to the printers because he knew their problems--the things that lost them money1 the troubles that caused them sleepless nights--and in a letter that bristled with shop talk he went straight to the point1 told how he could help them out of at least one difficulty--and sold his product4 ,but when it came to selling western land he was out of his element4 ,he had never been a hundred miles away from his home town2 he had never owned a foot of real estate2 land hunger was to him nothing but a phrase2 the opportunities of a new country were to him academic arguments--they were not realities4 ,he lost his job4 ,discouraged but determined1 he moved to ,kansas where he started a small paper--and began to study the real estate business4 ,one question was forever on his lips3 ,why did you move out here8 ,and to prospective purchasers1 ,why do you want to buy ,kansas land8 ,what attracts you8 ,month after month he asked these questions of pioneers and immigrants4 ,he wanted their viewpoint1 the real motive that drove them westward4 ,then he took in a partner1 turned the paper over to him and devoted his time to the real estate business4 ,today he is at the head of a great land company and through his letters and his advertising matter he has sold hundreds of thousands of acres to people who have never seen the land4 ,but he tells them the things they want to know2 he uses the arguments that get under the skin4 ,he spent years in preparing to write his letters and bought and sold land with prospects face to face long before he attempted to deal with them by letter4 ,he talked and thought and studied for months before he dipped his pen into ink4 ,now before he starts a letter1 he calls to mind someone to whom he has sold a similar tract in the past2 he remembers how each argument was received2 what appeals struck home and then1 in his letter1 he talks to that man just as earnestly as if his future happiness depended upon making the one sale4 ,the preparation to write the letter should be two-fold3 knowing your product or proposition and knowing the man you want to reach4 ,you have got to see the proposition through the eyes of your prospect4 ,the printer sold his ink dryer because he looked at it from the angle of the buyer and later he sold real estate1 but not until he covered up his own interest and presented the proposition from the viewpoint of the prospect4 ,probably most successful letter writers1 when they sit down to write1 consciously or unconsciously run back over faces and characteristics of friends and acquaintances until they find someone who typifies the class they desire to reach4 ,when writing to women1 one man always directs his appeal to his mother or sister2 if trying to interest young men he turns his mind back to his own early desires and ambitions4 ,visualize your prospect4 ,fix firmly in your mind some one who represents the class you are trying to reach2 forget that there is any other prospect in the whole world2 concentrate your attention and selling talk on this one individual4 ,if you are going to write letters that pull1 says one successful correspondent1 you have got to be a regular spiritualist in order to materialize the person to whom you are writing2 bring him into your office and talk to him face to face4 ,the first firm ,i ever worked for1 he relates1 was ,andrew ,campbell ,son4 ,the senior ,campbell was a conservative old ,scotchman who had made a success in business by going cautiously and thoroughly into everything he took up4 ,the only thing that would appeal to him would be a proposition that could be presented logically and with the strongest kind of arguments to back it up4 ,the son1 on the other hand1 was thoroughly ,american2 ready to take a chance1 inclined to plunge and try out a new proposition because it was new or unique2 the novelty of a thing appealed to him and he was interested because it was out of the ordinary4 ,whenever ,i have an important letter to write1 ,i keep these two men in mind and ,i center all my efforts to convince them2 using practical1 commonsense arguments to convince the father1 and enough snappy 'try-it-for-yourself' talk to win the young man4 ,according to this correspondent1 every firm in a measure represents these two forces1 conservative and radical1 and the strongest letter is the one that makes an appeal to both elements4 ,a young man who had made a success in selling books by mail was offered double the salary to take charge of the publicity department of a mail-order clothing house4 ,he agreed to accept--two months later4 ,reluctantly the firm consented4 ,the firm saw or heard nothing from him until he reported for work4 ,he had been shrewd enough not to make the mistake of the printer who tried to sell land and so he went to a small town in northern ,iowa where a relative owned a clothing store and started in as a clerk4 ,after a month he jumped to another store in southern ,minnesota4 ,at each place--typical country towns--he studied the trade and when not waiting on customers busied himself near some other clerk so he could hear the conversation1 find out the things the farmers and small town men looked for in clothes and learn the talking points that actually sell the goods4 ,this man who had a position paying #f1jjj a year waiting for him spent two months at #i a week preparing to write4 ,a more conceited chap would have called it a waste of time1 but this man thought that he could well afford to spend eight weeks and sacrifice nearly a thousand dollars learning to write letters and advertisements that would sell clothes by mail4 ,at the end of the year he was given a raise that more than made up his loss4 ,nor is he content1 for every year he spends a few weeks behind the counter in some small town1 getting the viewpoint of the people with whom he deals1 finding a point of contact1 getting local color and becoming familiar with the manner of speech and the arguments that will get orders4 ,when he sits down to write a letter or an advertisement he has a vivid mental picture of the man he wants to interest2 he knows that man's process of thinking1 the thing that appeals to him1 the arguments that will reach right down to his pocket-book4 ,a man who sells automatic scales to grocers keeps before him the image of a small dealer in his home town4 ,the merchant had fallen into the rut1 the dust was getting thicker on his dingy counters and trade was slipping away to more modern stores4 ,mother used to send me on errands to that store when ,i was a boy1 relates the correspondent1 and ,i had been in touch with it for twenty years4 ,i knew the local conditions2 the growth of competition that was grinding out the dealer's life4 ,i determined to sell him and every week he received a letter from the house--he did not know of my connection with it--and each letter dealt with some particular problem that ,i knew he had to face4 ,i kept this up for six months without calling forth a response of any kind2 but after the twenty-sixth letter had gone out1 the manager came in one day with an order--and the cash accompanied it4 ,the dealer admitted that it was the first time he had ever bought anything of the kind by mail4 ,but ,i knew his problems1 and ,i connected them up with our scales in such a way that he had to buy4 ,those twenty-six letters form the basis for all my selling arguments1 for in every town in the country there are merchants in this same rut1 facing the same competition1 and they can be reached only by connecting their problems with our scales4 ,no matter what your line may be1 you have got to use some such method if you are going to make your letters pull the orders4 ,materialize your prospect2 overcome every objection and connect their problems with your products4 ,when you sit down to your desk to write a letter1 how do you get into the right mood8 ,some1 like mediums1 actually work themselves into a sort of trance before starting to write4 ,one man insists that he writes good letters only when he gets mad--which is his way of generating nervous energy4 ,others go about it very methodically and chart out the letter1 point by point4 ,they analyze the proposition and out of all the possible arguments and appeals1 carefully select those that their experience and judgment indicate will appeal strongest to the individual whom they are addressing4 ,on a sheet of paper one man jots down the arguments that may be used and by a process of elimination1 scratches off one after another until he has left only the ones most likely to reach his prospect4 ,many correspondents keep within easy reach a folder or scrapbook of particularly inspiring letters1 advertisements and other matter gathered from many sources4 ,one man declares that no matter how dull he may feel when he reaches the office in the morning he can read over a few pages in his scrapbook and gradually feel his mind clear2 his enthusiasm begins to rise and within a half hour he is keyed up to the writing mood4 ,a correspondent in a large mail-order house keeps a scrapbook of pictures--a portfolio of views of rural life and life in small towns4 ,he subscribes to the best farm papers and clips out pictures that are typical of rural life1 especially those that represent types and show activities of the farm1 the furnishings of the average farm house--anything that will make clearer the environment of the men and women who buy his goods4 ,when he sits down to write a letter he looks through this book until he finds some picture that typifies the man who needs the particular article he wants to sell and then he writes to that man1 keeping the picture before him1 trying to shape every sentence to impress such a person4 ,other correspondents are at a loss to understand the pulling power of his letters4 ,a sales manager in a typewriter house keeps the managers of a score of branch offices and several hundred salesmen gingered up by his weekly letters4 ,he prepares to write these letters by walking through the factory1 where he finds inspiration in the roar of machinery1 the activity of production1 the atmosphere of actual creative work4 ,there are many sources of inspiration4 ,study your temperament1 your work and your customers to find out under what conditions your production is the easiest and greatest4 ,it is neither necessary nor wise to write letters when energies and interest are at a low ebb1 when it is comparatively easy to stimulate the lagging enthusiasm and increase your power to write letters that bring results4 ,how ,to ,begin ,a ,,business ,letter ,,part ,,ii--,,how ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #e ,from its saluation to its signature a business letter must hold the interest of the reader or fail in its purpose4 ,the most important sentence in it is obviously the ,,first one1 for upon it depends whether the reader will dip further into the letter or discard it into the waste basket4 ,,in ,,that ,,first ,,sentence ,,the ,,writer ,,has ,,his ,,chance4 ,if he is really capable1 he will not only attract the reader's interest in that first sentence1 but put him into a receptive mood for the message that follows4 ,here are some sample ways of opening a business letter 99 99 99 99 99 ,no matter how large your tomorrow morning's mail1 it is probable that you will glance through the first paragraph of every letter you open4 ,if it catches your attention by reference to something in which you are interested1 or by a clever allusion or a striking head line or some original style1 it is probable you will read at least the next paragraph or two4 ,but if these paragraphs do not keep up your interest the letter will be passed by unfinished4 ,if you fail to give the letter a full reading the writer has only himself to blame4 ,he has not taken advantage of his opportunity to carry your interest along and develop it until he has driven his message home1 point by point4 ,in opening the letter the importance of the salutation must not be ignored4 ,if a form letter from some one who does not know ,mr4 ,brown1 personally1 starts out ,dear ,mr4 ,brown1 he is annoyed4 ,a man with self-respect resents familiarity from a total stranger--someone who has no interest in him except as a possible customer for his commodity4 ,if a clerk should address a customer in such a familiar manner it would be looked upon as an insult4 ,yet it is no uncommon thing to receive letters from strangers that start out with one of these salutations3 ,dear ,benson3 ,my dear ,mr4 ,benson3 ,respected ,friend3 ,dear ,brother3 ,while it is desirable to get close to the reader2 and you want to talk to him in a very frank manner and find a point of personal contact1 this assumption of friendship with a total stranger disgusts a man before he begins your letter4 ,you start out with a handicap that is hard to overcome1 and an examination of a large number of letters using such salutations are enough to create suspicion for all2 too often they introduce some questionable investment proposition or scheme that would never appeal to the hard-headed1 conservative business man4 ,dear ,sir or ,gentlemen is the accepted salutation1 at least until long correspondence and cordial relations justify a more intimate greeting4 ,the ideal opening1 of course1 strikes a happy medium between too great formality on the one hand and a cringing servility or undue familiarity on the other hand4 ,no one will dispute the statement that the reason so many selling campaigns fail is not because of a lack of merit in the propositions themselves but because they are not effectively presented4 ,for most business men read their letters in a receptive state of mind4 ,the letterhead may show that the message concerns a duplicating machine and the one to whom it is addressed may feel confident in his own mind that he does not want a duplicating machine4 ,at the same time he is willing to read the letter1 for it may give him some new idea1 some practical suggestion as to how such a device would be a good investment and make money for him4 ,he is anxious to learn how the machine may be related to his particular problems4 ,but it is not likely that he has time or sufficient interest to wade through a long letter starting out3 ,we take pleasure in sending you under separate cover catalogue of our latest models of ,print-,quicks1 and we are sure it will prove of interest to you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the man who has been sufficiently interested in an advertisement to send for a catalogue finds his interest cooling rapidly when he picks up a letter that starts out like this3 ,we have your valued inquiry of recent date1 and we take pleasure in acknowledging1 and so forth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,suppose the letter replying to his inquiry starts out in this style3 ,the picture on page #e of our catalogue is a pretty fair one1 but ,i wish you could see the desk itself4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the reader's attention is immediately gripped and he reaches for the catalogue to look at the picture on page five4 ,to get attention and arouse interest1 avoid long-spun introductions and hackneyed expressions4 ,rambling sentences and loose paragraphs have proved the graveyard for many excellent propositions4 ,time-worn expressions and weather-beaten phrases are poor conductors1 there1 is too much resistance-loss in the current of the reader's interest4 ,the best way to secure attention naturally depends upon the nature of the proposition and the class of men to whom the letter is written4 ,one of the most familiar methods is that known to correspondents as the mental shock4 ,the idea is to put at the top of the letter a ,stop6 ,look6 ,listen6 sign4 ,examples of this style are plentiful3 ,,this ,,means ,,money ,,to ,,you--,,big ,,money ,,let ,,me ,,pay ,,your ,,next ,,month',s ,,rent ,,read ,,it--,,on ,,our ,,word ,,it',s ,,worth ,,reading ,,stop ,,shoveling ,,your ,,money ,,into ,,the ,,furnace ,,now ,,listen6 ,i ,,want ,a ,,personal ,,word ,,with ,,you ,,cut ,,your ,,light ,,bill ,,in ,,half 99 99 99 99 99 ,such introductions have undoubtedly proved exceedingly effective at times1 but like many other good things1 the idea has been overworked4 ,the catch-line of itself sells no goods and to be effective it must be followed by trip-hammer arguments4 ,interest created in this way is hard to keep up4 ,the correspondent may use a catch-line1 just as the barker at a side show uses a megaphone--the noise attracts a crowd but it does not sell the tickets4 ,it is the spiel the barker gives that packs the tent4 ,and so the average man is not influenced so much by a bold catch-line in his letters as by the paragraphs that follow4 ,some correspondents even run a catch-line in red ink at the top of the page1 but these yellow journal scare-heads fall short with the average business proposition4 ,then attention may be secured1 not by a startling sentence but by the graphic way in which a proposition is stated4 ,here is an opening that starts out with a clear-cut swing3 ,if we were to offer you a hundred-dollar bill as a gift we take it for granted that you would be interested4 ,if1 then1 our goods will mean to you many times that sum every year isn't the proposition still more interesting8 ,do you not want us to demonstrate what we say8 ,are you not willing to invest a little of your time watching this demonstration8 99 99 99 99 99 ,this reference to a hundred-dollar bill creates a concrete image in the mind of the reader4 ,the letters that first used this attention-getter proved so effective that the idea has been worked over in many forms4 ,here is the effective way one correspondent starts out3 ,if this letter were printed on ten-dollar bills it could scarcely be more valuable to you than the offer it now contains4 ,you want money2 we want your business4 ,let's go into partnership4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a letter sent out by a manufacturer of printing presses3 ,if your press feeders always showed up on ,monday morning2 if they were never late1 never got tired1 never became careless1 never grumbled about working overtime1 you would increase the output of your plant1 have less trouble1 make more money--that is why you will be interested in the ,speedwell ,automatic feeding attachment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this paragraph summarizes many of the troubles of the employing printer4 ,it gets under his skin1 it is graphic1 depicting one of the greatest problems of his business and so he is certain to read the letter and learn more about the solution that it offers4 ,this same paragraph might also be used as a good illustration of that effective attention-getter1 the quick appeal to the problems that are of most concern to the reader4 ,the one great trouble with the majority of letters is that they start out with we and from first to last have a selfish viewpoint3 ,we have your valued inquiry of recent date and1 as per your request1 we take pleasure in enclosing herewith a copy of our latest catalogue1 and so forth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,don't begin by talking about yourself1 your company1 your business1 your growth1 your progress1 your improved machinery1 your increased circulation1 your newly invested capital4 ,the reader has not the faintest interest in you or your business until he can see some connection between it and his own welfare4 ,by itself it makes no play whatever to his attention2 it must first be coupled up with his problems and his needs4 ,begin by talking about him1 his company1 his business1 his progress1 his troubles1 his disappointments1 his needs1 his ambition4 ,that is where he lives day and night4 ,knock at that door and you will find him at home4 ,touch upon some vital need in his business-- some defect or tangle that is worrying him--some weak spot that he wants to remedy--some cherished ambition that haunts him--and you will have rung the bell of his interest4 ,a few openings that are designed to get the reader's attention and induce him to read farther1 are shown here3 ,your letter reached me at a very opportune time as ,i have been looking for a representative in your territory4 99 99 99 99 99 ,by using this code you can telegraph us for any special article you want and it will be delivered at your store the following morning4 ,this will enable you to compete with the large mail-order houses4 ,it will give you a service that will mean more business and satisfied customers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you can save the wages of one salesman in every department of your store4 ,just as you save money by using a typewriter1 addressograph1 adding machine1 cash register and other modern equipments1 so you can save it by installing a ,simplex4 99 99 99 99 99 ,don't you want to know how to add two thousand square feet of display to some department of your store in exchange for twenty feet of wall8 99 99 99 99 99 ,yes1 there is a mighty good opening in your territory for hustling salesmen4 ,you will receive a complete outfit by express so you can start at once4 99 99 99 99 99 ,keep the interest of the reader in mind4 ,no matter how busy he is1 he will find time to read your letter if you talk about his problems and his welfare4 ,some correspondents1 having taken only the first lesson in business letter writing1 over-shoot the mark with a lot of hot air that is all too apparent4 ,here is the opening paragraph from one of these writers3 ,by the concise and business-like character of your letter of inquiry we know that you would be very successful in the sale of our typewriters4 ,this personal and confidential circular letter is sent only to a few of our selected correspondents whom we believe can be placed as general agents4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as a matter of fact1 the gentleman to whom this letter was sent had written with a lead pencil on a post card asking for further particulars regarding propositions to salesmen4 ,it is a good illustration of the form letter gone wrong4 ,the inquirer had not written a concise and business-like letter and there was not the slightest reason why the firm should send him a personal and confidential proposition and if the proposition were really confidential1 it would not be printed in a circular letter4 ,here is the opening paragraph of a letter typical in its lack of originality and attention-getting qualities3 ,we are in receipt of yours of recent date and in reply wish to state that you will find under separate cover a copy of our latest catalogue1 illustrating and describing our ,wonder ,lighting ,system4 ,we are sure the information contained in this catalogue will be of interest to you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,not only is the paragraph devoid of interest-getting features1 but it is written from the wrong standpoint--we instead of you4 ,re-write the paragraph and the reader is certain to have his interest stimulated3 ,the catalogue is too large to enclose with this letter and so you will find it in another envelope4 ,you will find on page #d a complete description of the ,wonder ,system of ,lighting1 explaining just how it will cut down your light bill4 ,this system is adapted to use in stores1 factories1 public halls and homes--no matter what you want you will find it listed in this catalogue4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then it is possible to secure attention by some familiar allusion1 some reference to facts with which the reader is familiar3 ,in our fathers' day1 you know1 all fine tableware was hand forged--that meant quality but high cost4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the opening statement secures the assent of the reader even before he knows what the proposition is4 ,sometimes an allusion may be introduced that does not come home so pointedly to the reader but the originality of the idea appeals to him4 ,by its very cleverness he is led to read further4 ,here is the beginning of a letter sent out by an advertising man and commercial letter writer3 ,the ,prodigal ,son might have started home much sooner had he received an interesting letter about the fatted calf that awaited his coming4 ,the right sort of a letter would have attracted his attention1 aroused his interest1 created a desire and stimulated him to action4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then there is the opening that starts out with an appeal to human interest4 ,it is the one opening where the writer can talk about himself and still get attention and work up interest3 ,let me tell you how ,i got into the mail order business and made so much money out of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i wish ,i could have had the opportunity thirty years ago that you have today4 ,did ,i ever tell you how ,i started out8 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have been successful because ,i have confidence in other people4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was talking to ,mr4 ,phillips1 the president of our institution1 this morning1 and he told me that you had written to us concerning our correspondence course4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these personal touches bring the writer and reader close together and pave the way for a man-to-man talk4 ,then there is a way of getting attention by some novel idea1 something unusual in the typography of the letter1 some unusual idea4 ,one mail-order man puts these two lines written with a typewriter across the top of his letterheads3 ,,even ,,if ,,you ,,had ,,to ,,pay ,,to ,,secure ,a ,,copy ,,of ,,this ,,letter--,,or ,,had ,,to ,,take ,a ,,day ,,off ,,to ,,read ,,it--,,you ,,could ,,not ,,afford ,,to ,,fail ,,to ,,consider ,,it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,few men would receive a letter like that without taking the time to read it1 at least hurriedly1 and if the rest of the argument is presented with equal force the message is almost sure to be carried home4 ,another mail-order house sending out form letters under one-cent postage1 inserts this sentence directly under the date line1 to the right of the name and address3 ,leaving our letter unsealed for postal inspection is the best proof that our goods are exactly as represented4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the originality of the idea impresses one4 ,there is no danger that the letter will be shunted into the waste basket without a reading4 ,there are times when it is necessary to disarm the resentment of the reader in the very first paragraph1 as1 for instance1 when there has been a delay in replying to a letter4 ,an opening that is all too common reads3 ,i have been so extremely busy that your letter has not received my attention4 99 99 99 99 99 ,or the writer may be undiplomatic enough to say3 ,pardon delay4 ,i have been so much engaged with other matters that ,i have not found time to write you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the considerate correspondent is always careful that his opening does not rub the wrong way4 ,one writer starts out by saying3 ,you have certainly been very patient with me in the matter of your order and ,i wish to thank you for this4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here are the first five paragraphs of a two-page letter from an investment firm4 ,the length of the letter is greatly against it and the only hope the writer could have1 would be in getting the attention firmly in the opening paragraph3 ,my dear ,mr4 ,wilson3 ,i want to have a personal word with you to explain this matter4 ,i don't like to rush things2 ,i believe in taking my time4 ,i always try to do it4 ,i want you to do the same thing1 but there are exceptions to all rules3 sometimes we cannot do things just the way we want to and at the same time reap all the benefits4 ,here is the situation4 ,i went out to the ,,oil ,,fields ,,of ,,california and while there ,i ,,did ,,devote ,,plenty ,,and ,,ample ,,time ,,to ,,proper ,,investigation4 ,i went into the thing thoroughly4 ,i went there intending to ,,invest ,,my ,,own ,,money if ,i found things right4 ,my main object in leaving for ,california was to ,,investigate ,,for ,,my ,,clients1 but ,i would not advise my clients to invest ,,their money unless the situation was such that ,i would invest ,,my ,,own money4 ,that's where ,i stand--first1 last and all the time4 ,i don't go into the torrid deserts in the heat of the summer and stay there for weeks just for fun4 ,there is no fun or pleasure to it1 let me tell you4 ,it's hard work when one investigates properly1 and ,i surely did it right4 ,i guess you know that4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter is not lacking in style2 the writer knows how to put things forcibly1 but he takes up half a page of valuable space before he says anything vital to his subject4 ,see how much stronger his letter would have been had he started with the fifth paragraph1 following it with the fourth paragraph4 ,the great weakness in many letters is padding out the introduction with non-essential material4 ,it takes the writer too long to get down to his proposition4 ,here is a letter from a concern seeking to interest agents3 ,we are in receipt of your valued inquiry and we enclose herewith full information in regard to the ,e4 ,z4 ,washing ,compound and our terms to agents4 ,we shall be pleased to mail you a washing sample post-paid on receipt of four cents in two-cent stamps or a full size can for ten cents1 which amount you may subtract from your first order1 thus getting the sample free4 ,we would like to send you a sample without requiring any deposit but we have been so widely imposed upon by 'sample grafters' in the past that we can no longer afford to do this4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first paragraph is hackneyed and written from the standpoint of the writer rather than that of the reader4 ,the second paragraph is a joke4 ,seven lines1 lines that ought to be charged with magnetic1 interest-getting statements1 are devoted to explaining why ten cents' worth of samples are not sent free1 but that this investment will be deducted from the first order4 ,what is the use of saving a ten-cent sample if you lose the interest of a possible agent1 whose smallest sales would amount to several times this sum8 ,it is useless to spend time and thought in presenting your proposition and working in a clincher unless you get attention and stimulate the reader's interest in the beginning4 ,practically everyone will read your opening paragraph--whether he reads further will depend upon those first sentences4 ,do not deceive yourself by thinking that because your proposition is interesting to you1 it will naturally be interesting to others4 ,do not put all your thought on argument and inducements--the man to whom you are writing may never read that far4 ,lead up to your proposition from the reader's point of view2 couple up your goods with his needs2 show him where he will benefit and he will read your letter through to the postscript4 ,get his attention and arouse his interest--then you are ready to present your proposition4 ,how ,to ,present ,your ,,proposition ,,part ,,ii--,,how ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #f ,after attention has been secured1 you must lead quickly to your description and explanation2 visualize your product and introduce your proof1 following this up with arguments4 ,the art of the letter writer is found in his ability to lead the reader along1 paragraph by paragraph1 without a break in the ,,point of ,,contact that has been established4 ,then the proposition must be presented so clearly that there is no possibility of its being misunderstood1 and the product or the service must be coupled up with the ,,reader',s ,,needs ,how this can be done is described in this chapter 99 99 99 99 99 ,after you have attracted attention and stimulated the interest of the reader1 you have made a good beginning1 but only a beginning2 you then have the hard task of holding that interest1 explaining your proposition1 pointing out the superiority of the goods or the service that you are trying to sell and making an inducement that will bring in the orders4 ,your case is in court1 the jury has been drawn1 the judge is attentive and the opposing counsel is alert--it is up to you to prove your case4 ,good business letter1 consciously or unconsciously usually contains four elements3 description1 explanation1 argument and persuasion4 ,these factors may pass under different names1 but they are present and most correspondents will include two other elements--inducement and clincher4 ,in this chapter we will consider description1 explanation and argument as the vehicles one may use in carrying his message to the reader4 ,an essential part of all sales letters is a clear description of the article or goods--give the prospect a graphic idea of how the thing you are trying to sell him looks1 and this description should follow closely after the interest-getting introduction4 ,to describe an article graphically one has got to know it thoroughly3 the material of which it is made2 the processes of manufacture2 how it is sold and shipped--every detail about it4 ,there are two extremes to which correspondents frequently go4 ,one makes the description too technical1 using language and terms that are only partially understood by the reader4 ,he does not appreciate that the man to whom he is writing may not understand the technical or colloquial language that is so familiar to everyone in the house4 ,for instance1 if a man wants to install an electric fan in his office1 it would be the height of folly to write him a letter filled with technical descriptions about the quality of the fan1 the magnetic density of the iron that is used1 the quality of the insulation1 the kilowatts consumed--talking points that would be lost on the average business man4 ,the letter that would sell him would give specific1 but not technical information1 about how the speed of the fan is easily regulated1 that it needs to be oiled but once a year1 and costs so much a month to operate4 ,these are the things in which the prospective customer is interested4 ,then there is the correspondent whose descriptions are too vague2 too general--little more than bald assertions4 ,a letter from a vacuum cleaner manufacturing company trying to interest agents is filled with such statements as3 ,this is the best hand power machine ever manufactured1 ,it is the greatest seller ever produced1 ,it sells instantly upon demonstration4 ,no one believes such exaggerations as these4 ,near the end of the letter--where the writer should be putting in his clincher1 there is a little specific information stating that the device weighs only five pounds1 is made of good material and can be operated by a child4 ,if this paragraph had followed quickly after the introduction and had gone into further details1 the prospect might have been interested1 but it is probable that the majority of those who received the letter never read as far as the bottom of the second page4 ,if a man is sufficiently interested in a product to write for catalogue and information1 or if you have succeeded in getting his attention in the opening paragraph of a sales letter1 he is certain to read a description that is specific and definite4 ,the average man thinks of a work bench as a work bench and would be at a loss to describe one1 but he has a different conception after reading these paragraphs from a manufacturer's letter3 ,just a word so you will understand the superiority of our goods4 ,our benches are built principally of maple1 the very best ,michigan hard maple1 and we carry this timber in our yards in upwards of a million feet at a time4 ,it is piled up and allowed to air dry for at least two years before being used2 then the stock is kiln dried to make sure that the lumber is absolutely without moisture or sap1 and we know there can be no warping or opening of glue joints in the finished product4 ,our machinery is electrically driven1 securing an even drive to the belt1 thus getting the best work from all equipment--absolutely true cuts that give perfect joints to all work4 ,then1 as to glue3 ,some manufacturers contend that any glue that sticks will do4 ,we insist there should be no question about glue joints2 no 'perhaps' in our argument4 ,that's why we use only the best by test2 not merely sticking two pieces of wood together to try the joint quality1 but glue that is scientifically tested for tenacity1 viscosity1 absorption1 and for acid or coloring matter--in short1 every test that can be applied4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this description is neither too technical nor too general2 it carries conviction1 it is specific enough to appeal to a master carpenter1 and it is clear enough to be understood by the layman who never handled a saw or planer4 ,it may be laid down as a principle that long description should ordinarily be made in circulars1 folders or catalogues that are enclosed with the letter or sent in a separate envelope1 but sometimes it is desirable to emphasize certain points in the letter4 ,happy is the man who can eject enough originality into this description to make it easy reading4 ,the majority of correspondents1 in describing the parts of an automobile1 would say3 ,the celebrated ,imperial ,wheel ,bearings are used1 ,these do not need to be oiled oftener than once in six months4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a correspondent who knew how to throw light into dark places said3 ,imperial ,wheel ,bearings3 grease twice a year and forget4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this and forget is such a clever stroke that you are carried on through the rest of the letter1 and you are not bored with the figures and detailed description4 ,in a similar way a sales manager1 in writing the advertising matter for a motor cycle1 leads up to his description of the motor and its capacity by the brief statement3 ,no limit to speed but the law4 ,this is a friction clutch on the imagination that carries the reader's interest to the end4 ,one writer avoids bringing technical descriptions into his letters1 at the same time carrying conviction as to the quality of his goods3 ,this metal has been subjected to severe accelerated corrosion tests held in accordance with rigid specifications laid down by the ,american ,society for ,testing ,material1 and has proven to corrode much less than either charcoal iron1 wrought iron1 or steel sheet4 ,a complete record of these tests and results will be found on the enclosed sheet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then there are times when description may be almost entirely eliminated from the letter4 ,for instance1 if you are trying to sell a man a house and lot and he has been out to look at the place and has gone over it thoroughly1 there is little more that you can say in the way of description4 ,your letter must deal entirely with arguments as to why he should buy now--persuasion1 inducement4 ,or1 if you are trying to sell him the typewriter that he has been trying out in his office for a month1 description is unnecessary--the load your letter must carry is lightened4 ,and there are letters in which explanation is unnecessary4 ,if you are trying to get a man to order a suit of clothes by mail1 you will not explain the use of clothes but you will bear down heavily on the description of the material that you put into these particular garments and point out why it is to his advantage to order direct of the manufacturers4 ,but if you are presenting a new proposition1 it is necessary to explain its nature1 its workings1 its principles and appliances4 ,if you are trying to sell a fountain pen you will not waste valuable space in explaining to the reader what a fountain pen is good for and why he should have one1 but rather you will give the reasons for buying your particular pen in preference to others4 ,you will explain the self-filling feature and the new patent which prevents its leaking or clogging4 ,it is not always possible to separate description and explanation4 ,here is an illustration taken from a letter sent out by a mail-order shoe company3 ,i hope your delay in ordering is not the result of any lack of clear information about ,wearwells4 ,let me briefly mention some of the features of ,wearwell shoes that ,i believe warrant you in favoring us with your order3 7,a7 ,genuine custom style2 7,b7 ,highest grade material and workmanship2 7,c7 ,the best fit--thanks to our quarter-sized system--that it is possible to obtain in shoes2 7,d7 ,thorough foot comfort and long wear2 7,e7 ,our perfect mail-order service2 and 7,f7 ,the guaranteed ,,proof ,,of ,,quality given in the specification tag sent with every pair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is a concise summary of a longer description that had been given in a previous letter and it explains why the shoes will give satisfaction4 ,here is the paragraph by which the manufacturer of a time-recording device1 writing about the advantages of his system puts in explanation plus argument3 ,every employee keeps his own time and cannot question his own record4 ,all mechanism is hidden and locked4 ,nothing can be tampered with4 ,the clock cannot be stopped4 ,the record cannot be beaten4 ,this device fits into any cost system and gives an accurate record of what time every man puts on every job4 ,it serves the double purpose of furnishing you a correct time-on-job cost and prevents loafing4 ,it stops costly leaks and enables you to figure profit to the last penny4 99 99 99 99 99 ,explanation may run in one of many channels4 ,it may point out how the careful selection of raw material makes your product the best1 or how the unusual facilities of your factory or the skill of your workmen1 or the system of testing the parts assures the greatest value4 ,you might explain why the particular improvements and the patents on your machines make it better or give it greater capacity4 ,the description and the explanation must of necessity depend upon the character of the proposition1 but it may be laid down as a general principle that the prospect must be made to understand thoroughly just what the article is for1 how it is made1 how it looks1 how it is used1 and what its points of superiority are4 ,whenever possible1 the description and explanation in the letter should be reinforced by samples or illustrations that will give a more graphic idea of the product4 ,the prospect may be sufficiently familiar with the thing you are selling to relieve you of the necessity of describing and explaining1 although usually these supports are necessary for a selling campaign4 ,but it must be remembered that description and explanation alone do not make a strong appeal to the will4 ,they may arouse interest and excite desire but they do not carry conviction as argument does4 ,some letters are full of explanation and description but lack argument4 ,the repair man from the factory may give a good explanation of how a machine works1 but the chances are he would fall down in trying to sell the machine1 unless he understood how to reinforce his explanations with a salesman's ability to use argument and persuasion4 ,and so you must look well to your arguments1 and the arguments that actually pull the most orders consist of proofs--cold1 hard logic and facts that cannot be questioned4 ,as you hope for the verdict of the jury you must prove your case4 ,it is amazing how many correspondents fail to appreciate the necessity for arguments4 ,pages will be filled with assertions1 superlative adjectives1 boastful claims of superiority1 but not one sentence that offers proof of any statement1 not one logical reason why the reader should be interested4 ,we know you will make a mint of money if you put in our goods4 ,this is the largest and most complete line in the country4 ,our factory has doubled its capacity during the last three years4 ,our terms are the most liberal that have ever been offered4 ,you are missing the opportunity of your lifetime if you do not accept this proposition4 ,we hope to receive your order by return mail1 for you will never have such a wonderful opportunity again4 ,such sentences fill the pages of thousands of letters that are mailed every day4 ,our system of inspection with special micrometer gauges insures all parts being perfect--within one-thousandth of an inch of absolute accuracy4 ,this means1 too1 any time you want an extra part of your engine for replacement that you can get it and that it will fit4 ,if we charged you twice as much for the ,white engine1 we could not give you better material or workmanship4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now this is an argument that is worth while3 that the parts of the engine are so accurately ground that repairs can be made quickly1 and new parts will fit without a moment's trouble4 ,the last sentence of the paragraph is of course nothing but assertion1 but it is stated in a way that carries conviction4 ,many correspondents would have bluntly declared that this was the best engine ever manufactured1 or something of that kind1 and made no impression at all on the minds of the readers4 ,but the statement that the company could not make a better engine1 even if it charged twice as much1 sinks in4 ,proof of quality is always one of the strongest arguments that can be used4 ,a man wants to feel sure that he is given good value for his money1 it matters not whether he is buying a lead pencil or an automobile4 ,and next to argument of quality is the argument of price4 ,here are some striking paragraphs taken from the letter sent out by a firm manufacturing gummed labels and advertising stickers3 ,we would rather talk quality than price because no other concern prints better stickers than ours--but we can't help talking price because no other concern charges as little for them as we do4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is a strong statement but it is nothing more than a statement ,the writer1 however1 hastens to come forward with argument and proof3 ,you know we make a specialty of gummed labels--do nothing else4 ,we have special machinery designed by ourselves--machinery that may be used by no other concern4 ,this enables us to produce better stickers at a minimum expense4 ,all of our stickers are printed on the best stock1 and double gummed1 and1 by the way1 compare the gumming of our stickers with those put up by other concerns4 ,we have built up a business and reputation on stickers that stick and stay4 99 99 99 99 99 ,if you were in the market for labels you would not hesitate to send an order to that firm1 for the writer gives you satisfying reasons for the quality and the low price of his goods4 ,the argument in favor of its goods is presented clearly1 concisely1 convincingly4 ,the argument that will strike home to the merchant is one that points out his opportunity for gain4 ,here is the way a wholesale grocer presented his proposition on a new brand of coffee3 ,you put in this brand of coffee and we stand back of you and push sales4 ,our guarantee of quality goes with every pound we put out4 ,ask the opinion of all your customers4 ,if there is the least dissatisfaction1 refund them the price of their coffee and deduct it from our next bill4 ,so confident are we of the satisfaction that this coffee will give that we agree to take back at the end of six months all the remaining stock you have on hand--that is1 if you do not care to handle the brand longer4 ,you have probably never sold guaranteed coffee before4 ,you take no chances4 ,the profit is as large as on other brands1 and your customers will be impressed with the guarantee placed on every pound4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the guarantee and the offer of the free trial are possibly the two strongest arguments that can be used either with a dealer or in straight mail-order selling4 ,among the arguments that are most effective are testimonials and references to satisfied users4 ,if the writer can refer to some well-known firm or individual as a satisfied customer he strengthens his point4 ,when we showed this fixture to ,john ,wanamaker's man1 it took just about three minutes to close the deal for six of them4 ,since then they have ordered seventy-four more4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such references as this naturally inspire confidence in a proposition and extracts from letters may be used with great effect1 provided the name and address of the writer is given1 so that it will have every appearance of being genuine4 ,a solicitor of patents at ,washington works into his letters to prospective clients quotations from manufacturers3 ',we wish to be put in communication with the inventor of some useful novelty1 instrument or device1 who is looking for a way to market his invention4 ,we want to increase our business along new lines and manufacture under contract1 paying royalties to the patentee4 ',if your clients have any articles of merit that they want to market1 kindly communicate with us4 ,our business is the manufacture of patented articles under contract and we can undoubtedly serve many of your clients in a profitable manner4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,such extracts as these are intended to impress upon the inventor the desirability of placing his business with someone who has such a wide acquaintance and is in a position to put him in touch with manufacturers4 ,to send a list of references may also prove a most convincing argument1 especially if the writer can refer to some man or firm located near the one to whom he is writing4 ,a mutual acquaintance forms a sort of connecting link that is a pulling force even though the reference is never looked up4 ,in fact1 it is only on occasions that references of this kind are investigated1 for the mere naming of banks and prominent business men is sufficient to inspire confidence that the proposition is on the square4 ,after you have explained your proposition1 described your goods and pointed out to the prospect how it is to his advantage to possess these goods1 the time has come to make him an offer4 ,one of the pathetic sins of business letter writers is to work in the price too early in the letter--before the prospect is interested in the proposition4 ,the clever salesman always endeavors to work up one's interest to the highest possible pitch before price is mentioned at all4 ,many solicitors consider it so essential to keep the price in the background until near the end of the canvass that they artfully dodge the question1 ,what is the cost81 until they think the prospect is sufficiently interested not to shy when the figure is mentioned4 ,a letter from a company seeking to interest agents starts out awkwardly with a long paragraph3 ,we will be pleased to have you act as our salesman4 ,we need a representative in your city4 ,we know you will make a success4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then follows a second paragraph giving the selling price of a complete outfit although there has not been a line in the letter to warm up the reader1 to interest him in the proposition1 to point out how he can make money and show him where he will benefit by handling this particular line4 ,after this poor beginning the letter goes on with its explanation and argument1 but the message is lost--a message that might have borne fruit had the writer repressed his own selfish motives and pointed out how the reader would gain4 ,there is then plenty of time to refer to the cost of the outfit4 ,a letter from a manufacturing concern selling direct to the consumer starts out in this kill-interest fashion3 ,did you get our circular describing the merits of our celebrated ,wonderdown ,mattresses which cost1 full size1 #aj each8 99 99 99 99 99 ,an experienced correspondent would never commit such a blunder for he would not bring in the price until near the end of the letter2 or1 more likely1 the dollar mark would not appear in the letter at all4 ,it would be shown only in an enclosure--folder1 circular1 catalogue or price list4 ,so important is this point that many schemes have been devised for keeping the cost in the back-ground and this is one of the principal reasons why many concerns are emphasizing more and more the free trial and selling on instalments4 ,one manufacturing company makes a talking point out of the fact that the only condition on which it will sell a machine is to put it in a plant for a sixty-day trial2 then if it is found satisfactory the purchaser has his option of different methods of payments3 a discount for all cash or monthly instalments4 ,there are many propositions successfully handled by gradually working up interest to the point where price can be brought in1 then leading quickly to the inducement and the clincher4 ,in such a letter the price could not be ignored very well and the effect is lost unless it is brought in at the proper place1 directly following the argument4 ,like all rules1 there are exceptions to this4 ,sometimes where the reader is familiar with the proposition it may be a good policy to catch his attention by a special price offer at the very beginning of the letter4 ,this is frequently done in follow-up letters where it is reasonably certain that the preceding correspondence has practically exhausted explanation1 description and arguments4 ,the problem here is different and a special price may be the strongest talking point4 ,then1 of course1 there are letters that are intended merely to arouse the interest of the reader and induce him to write for prices and further information4 ,the purpose here is to stimulate the interest and induce the recipient to send in particulars regarding his needs and ask for terms4 ,after a man's interest has been this far stimulated it is comparatively easy to quote prices without frightening him away4 ,but in the majority of sales letters an offer must be made1 for price1 after all1 is the one thing that is1 to the reader1 of first importance4 ,most men want to know all about a proposition without the bother of further correspondence and so a specific offer should usually follow the arguments4 ,how ,to ,bring ,the ,letter ,to ,a ,,close ,,part ,,ii--,,how ,,to ,,write ,,the ,,letter--,,chapter #g ,,getting ,,attention1 explaining a proposition and presenting arguments and proofs are essentials in every letter1 but they merely lead up to the vital part--,,getting ,,action4 ,they must be closely followed by ,,persuasion1 ,,inducement and a ,,clincher4 ,the well written letter works up to a climax and the order should be secured while interest is at its height4 ,many correspondents stumble when they come to the close4 ,this chapter shows how to make a get-away-- how to hook the order1 or if the order is not secured--how to leave the way open to come back with a follow-up 99 99 99 99 99 ,nothing will take the place of arguments and logical reasons in selling an article or a service4 ,but most salesmen will bear out the statement that few orders would be taken unless persuasion and inducement are brought into play to get the prospect's name onto the dotted line4 ,persuasion alone sells few goods outside of the church fair but it helps out the arguments and proofs4 ,the collector's troubles come mainly from sales that are made by persuasion1 for the majority of men who are convinced by sound arguments and logical reasons to purchase a machine or a line of goods carry out their part of the bargain if they can4 ,there are a good many correspondents who are clever enough in presenting their proposition1 but display a most limited knowledge of human nature in using persuasions that rubs the prospect the wrong way4 ,why will you let a few dollars stand between you and success8 ,why waste your time1 wearing yourself out working for others8 ,why don't you throw off the conditions which bind you down to a small income8 ,why don't you shake off the shackles8 ,why don't you rise to the opportunity that is now presented to you8 99 99 99 99 99 ,such a letter is an insult to anyone who receives it1 for it really tells him that he is a mutt and does not know it4 ,compare the preceding paragraph with this forceful appeal3 ,remember1 the men now in positions you covet did not tumble into them by accident4 ,at one time they had nothing more to guide them than an opportunity exactly like this one4 ,someone pointed out to them the possibilities and they took the chance and gradually attained their present success4 ,have you the courage to make the start1 grasp an opportunity1 work out your destiny in this same way8 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is persuasion by pointing out what others have done4 ,it is the persuasion of example2 an appeal that is dignified and inspirational4 ,and here1 as in all other parts of the letter1 there is the tendency to make the appeal from the selfish standpoint--the profits that will accrue to the writer3 ,we strongly advise that you get a piece of this land at once4 ,it is bound to increase in value4 ,you can't lose4 ,won't you cast your lot with us now8 ,it is your last opportunity to get a piece of this valuable land at this extremely low price4 ,take our word for it and make your decision now before it is too late4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a manufacturer of folding machines got away from this attitude and cleverly combined persuasion and inducement in an offer made to newspaper publishers during the month of ,october3 ,you want to try this folder thoroughly before you buy it and no better test can be given than during the holiday season when heavy advertising necessitates large editions4 ,now1 if you will put in one of these folders right away and use it every week1 we will extend our usual sixty-day terms to ,january #aeth4 ,this will enable you to test it out thoroughly and1 furthermore1 you will not have to make the first payment until you have opportunity to make collections for the ,december advertising4 ,this proposition must be accepted before ,oct4 #cast4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such an inducement is timely and doubly effective on this account4 ,the appeal reaches the newspaper man at the season of the year when he is busiest2 just the time when he most needs a folder1 and the manufacturer provides for the first payment at the time of year when the average publisher has the largest bank account4 ,occasionally the most effective persuasion is a ginger talk1 a regular ,come on1 boys1 letter that furnishes the dynamic force necessary to get some men started3 ,there is no better time to start in this business than right now4 ,people always spend money freely just before the holidays--get in the game and get your share of this loose coin4 ,remember1 we ship the day the order comes in4 ,send us your order this afternoon and the goods will be at your door day after tomorrow4 ,you can have several hundred dollars in the bank by this time next week4 ,why not8 ,all you need to do is to make the decision now4 ,unless you are blind or pretty well crippled up1 you needn't expect that people will come around and drop good money into your hat4 ,but they will loosen up if you go out after them with a good proposition such as this--and provided you get to them before the other fellow4 ,the whole thing is to get started4 ,get in motion6 ,get busy6 ,if you don't want to take time to write1 telegraph at our expense4 ,it doesn't make much difference how you start1 the thing is to start4 ,are you with us8 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 there really is nothing in these two paragraphs except a little ginger1 and a good deal of slang1 but this may prove the most effective stimulant to a man's energy1 the kind of persuasion to get him in motion4 ,one thing to be constantly guarded against is exaggeration--laying it on too thick4 ,concerns selling goods on the instalment basis through agents who are paid on commission1 find their hardest problem is to collect money where the proposition was painted in too glowing colors4 ,the representative1 thinking only of his commission on the sale1 puts the proposition too strong1 makes the inducement so alluring that the goods do not measure up to the salesman's claims4 ,then the correspondent should be careful not to put the inducement so strong that it will attract out of curiosity rather than out of actual intent4 ,many clever advertisements pull a large number of inquiries but few sales are made4 ,it is a waste of time and money to use an inducement that does not stimulate an actual interest4 ,many a mailing list is choked with deadwood--names that represent curiosity seekers and the company loses on both hands1 for it costs money to get those names on the list and it costs more money to get them off the list4 ,the correspondent should never attempt to persuade a man by assuming an injured attitude4 ,because a man answers an advertisement or writes for information1 does not put him under the slightest obligation to purchase the goods and he cannot be shamed into parting with his money by such a paragraph as this3 ,do you think you have treated us fairly in not replying to our letters8 ,we have written to you time and again just as courteously as we know how2 we have asked you to let us know whether or not you are interested2 we have tried to be perfectly fair and square with you2 and yet you have not done us the common courtesy of replying4 ,do you think this is treating us just right8 ,don't you think you ought to write us1 and if you are not intending to buy1 to let us know the reason8 99 99 99 99 99 ,if the recipient reads that far down into his letter1 it will only serve to make him mad4 ,no matter what inducement the company may make him later1 it is not probable that it can overcome the prejudice that such an insulting paragraph will have created4 ,some of the correspondence schools understand how to work in persuasion cleverly and effectively4 ,here is a paragraph that is dignified and persuasive3 ,remember also that this is the best time of the entire year to get good positions1 as wholesalers and manufacturers all over the country will put on thousands of new men for the coming season4 ,we are receiving inquiries right along from the best firms in the country who ask us to provide them with competent salesmen4 ,we have supplied them with so many good men that they always look to us when additional help is required1 and just now the demand is so great that we can guarantee you a position if you start the course this month4 99 99 99 99 99 ,persuasion plays a small part in selling general commodities1 such as machinery1 equipment1 supplies1 and the articles of every-day business1 but correspondence courses1 insurance1 banking1 building and loan propositions and various investment schemes can be pushed and developed by an intelligent use of this appeal4 ,merged with the persuasion or closely following it should be some inducement to move the reader to buy now4 ,description1 explanation1 argument and even persuasion are not enough to get the order4 ,a specific inducement is necessary4 ,there are many things that we intend to buy sometime1 articles in which we have become interested1 but letters about them have been tucked away in a pigeon-hole until we have more time4 ,it is likely that everyone of those letters would have been answered had they contained specific inducements that convinced us it would be a mistake to delay4 ,in some form or another1 gain is the essence of all inducements1 for gain is the dynamic force to all our business movements4 ,the most familiar form of inducement is the special price1 or special terms that are good if accepted within ten days4 ,the inducement of free trial and free samples are becoming more widely used every day4 ,the most effective letters are those that work in the inducement so artfully that the reader feels he is missing something if he does not answer4 ,the skillful correspondent does not tell him bluntly that he will miss the opportunity of a life time if he does not accept a proposition2 he merely suggests it in a way that makes a much more powerful impression4 ,here is the way a correspondence school uses inducements in letters to prospective students in its mechanical drawing course4 ,after telling the prospect about the purchase of a number of drawing outfits it follows with this paragraph3 ,it was necessary to place this large order in order to secure the sets at the lowest possible figure4 ,knowing that this number will exceed our weekly sales1 we have decided to offer these extra sets to some of the ambitious young men who have been writing to us4 ,if you will fill out the enclosed scholarship blank and mail at once we will send you one of these handsome sets ,,free1 express prepaid4 ,but this offer must be accepted before the last of the month4 ,at the rate the scholarship blanks are now coming in1 it is more than likely that the available sets will be exhausted before ,november #ast4 ,it is necessary therefore that you send us your application at once4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is not necessary to offer something for nothing in your inducement4 ,in fact1 a good reason is usually a better order getter than a good premium4 ,make the man want your proposition--that is the secret of the good sales letter4 ,if a man really wants your product he is going to get it sooner or later1 and the selling letters that score the biggest results are those that create desire2 following argument and reason with an inducement that persuades a man to part with his hard-earned money and buy your goods4 ,it is a never-ending surprise--the number of correspondents who cleverly attract the interest of a reader1 present their proposition forcibly and convincingly1 following with arguments and inducements that persuade him to buy1 and then1 just as he is ready to reach for his check book1 turn heel and leave him with the assurance that they will be pleased to give him further information when they could have had his order by laying the contract before him and saying1 ,sign here4 ,there are plenty of good starters who are poor finishers4 ,they get attention but don't get the order4 ,they are winded at the finish2 they stumble at the climax where they should be strongest1 and the interest which they worked so hard to stimulate oozes away4 ,they fail because they do not know how to close4 ,as you hope for results1 do not overlook the summary and the climax4 ,do not forget to insert a hook that will land the order4 ,time1 energy and money are alike wasted in creating desire if you fail to crystallize it in action4 ,steer your letter away from the hold-over file as dexterously as you steer it away from the waste basket4 ,it is not enough to make your prospect want to order1 you must make it easy for him to order by enclosing order blanks1 return envelopes1 instructions and other literature that will strengthen your arguments and whet his desire2 and more than that1 you must reach a real climax in your letters--tell the prospect what to do and how to do it4 ,the climax is not a part distinct from the parts that have gone before4 ,persuasion and inducement are but elements of the climax1 working the prospect up to the point where you can insert a paragraph telling him to sign and mail today4 ,how foolish to work up the interest and then let the reader down with such a paragraph as this3 ,thanking you for your inquiry and hoping to be favored with your order1 and assuring you it will be fully appreciated and receive our careful attention1 we are4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such a paragraph pulls few orders4 ,compare the foregoing with the one that fairly galvanizes the reader into immediate action3 ,send us a #b4jj bill now4 ,if you are not convinced that this file is the best #b4jj investment ever made1 we will refund your money for the mere asking4 ,send today1 while you have it in mind4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a paragraph not unlike the close of dozens of letters that you read every week3 ,trusting that we may hear from you in the near future and hoping we will have the pleasure of numbering you among our customers1 we are1 99 99 99 99 99 ,such a close invites delay in answering4 ,it is an order killer2 it smothers interest1 it delays action4 ,but here is a close that is likely to bring the order if the desire has been created4 ,simply wrap a #a4jj bill in this letter and send to us at our risk4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a writer who does not understand the psychology of suggestion writes this unfortunate closing paragraph3 ,will you not advise us at an early date whether or not you are interested in our proposition8 ,as you have not replied to our previous letters1 we begin to fear that you do not intend to avail yourself of this wonderful opportunity1 and we would be very glad to have you write us if this is a fact4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how foolish to help along one's indifference by the suggestion that he is not interested4 ,just as long as you spend postage on a prospect treat him as a probable customer4 ,assume that he is interested2 take it for granted that there is some reason why he has not replied and present new arguments1 new persuasion1 new inducements for ordering now4 ,a firm handling a line very similar to that of the firm which sent out the letter quoted above1 always maintains the attitude that the prospect is going to order some time and its close fairly bristles with do it now hooks3 ,step right over to the telegraph office and send us your order by telegraph at our expense4 ,with this business1 every day's delay means loss of dollars to you4 ,stop the leak6 ,save the dollars6 ,order today6 99 99 99 99 99 ,another unfortunate ending is a groveling servility in which the writer comes on his knees1 as it were1 begging for the privilege of presenting his proposition again at some future time4 ,here are the two last paragraphs of a three-paragraph letter sent out by an engraving company--an old established1 substantial concern that has no reason to apologize for soliciting business1 no reason for meeting other concerns on any basis except that of equality3 ,should you not be in the market at the present time for anything in our line of work1 we would esteem it a great favor to us if you would file this letter and let us hear from you when needing anything in the way of engraving4 ,if you will let us know when you are ready for something in this line we will deem it a privilege to send a representative to call on you4 ,trusting we have not made ourselves forward in this matter and hoping that we may hear from you1 we are1 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is a safe prediction that this letter was written by a new sales manager who will soon be looking for another job4 ,such an apologetic note1 with such a lack of selling talk1 such a street beggar attitude could never escape the waste basket4 ,the salesman who starts out by saying1 ,you wouldn't be interested in this book1 would you8 takes no orders4 ,the letter that comes apologizing and excusing itself before it gets our attention1 and1 if it gets our attention1 then lets down just as we are ready to sign an order1 is headed straight for the car wheel plant4 ,avoid in the closing paragraph1 as far as possible1 the participial phrases such as ,thanking you1 ,hoping to be favored1 ,assuring you of our desire1 and so forth4 ,say instead1 ,we thank you1 ,it is a pleasure to assure you1 or ,may ,i not hear from you by return mail8 ,such a paragraph is almost inevitably an anti-climax2 it affords too much of a let-down to the proposition4 ,one of the essentials to the clinching of an order is the enclosures such as order blanks and return envelopes--subjects that are sufficiently important to call for separate chapters4 ,the essential thing to remember in working up to the climax is to make it a climax2 to keep up the reader's interest1 to insert a hook that will get the man's order before his desire has time to cool off4 ,your proposition is not a fireless cooker that will keep his interest warm for a long time after the heat of your letter has been removed--and it will be just that much harder to warm him up the second time4 ,insert the hook that will get the order ,,now1 for there will never be quite such a favorable time again4 ,,style ,in ,letter ,writing-- ,and ,how ,to ,acquire ,it ,,part ,,iii--,,style--,,making ,,the ,,letter ,,readable--,,chapter #h ,,specific ,,statements and ,,concrete ,,facts are the substance of a business letter4 ,but whether that letter is read or not1 or whether those statements and facts are ,,forceful and ,,effective1 is dependent upon the manner in which they are presented to the reader--upon the style4 ,what style is1 and how it may be acquired and put to practical use in business correspondence1 is described in this chapter 99 99 99 99 99 ,letter writing is a craft--selecting and arranging words in sentences to convey a thought clearly and concisely4 ,while letters take the place of spoken language1 they lack the animation and the personal magnetism of the speaker--a handicap that must be overcome by finding words and arranging them in sentences in such a way that they will attract attention quickly1 explain a proposition fully1 make a distinct impression upon the reader and move him to reply4 ,out of the millions of messages that daily choke the mails1 only a small per cent rise above the dead level of colorless1 anemic correspondence4 ,the great majority of business letters are not forcible2 they are not productive4 ,they have no style4 ,the meat is served without a dressing4 ,the letters bulge with solid facts1 stale statements and indigestible arguments--the relishes are lacking4 ,either the writers do not realize that effectiveness comes only with an attractive style or they do not know how a crisp and invigorating style can be cultivated4 ,style has nothing to do with the subject matter of a letter4 ,its only concern is in the language used--in the words and sentences which describe1 explain and persuade1 and there is no subject so commonplace1 no proposition so prosaic that the letter cannot be made readable and interesting when a stylist takes up his pen4 ,in choosing words the average writer looks at them instead of into them1 and just as there are messages between the lines of a letter1 just so are there half-revealed1 half-suggested thoughts between the letters of words--the suggestiveness to which ,hawthorne referred as the unaccountable spell that lurks in a syllable4 ,there is character and personality in words1 and ,shakespeare left a message to twentieth-century correspondents when he advised them to find the eager words--faint words--tired words--weak words--strong words--sick words--successful words4 ,the ten-talent business writer is the man who knows these words1 recognizes their possibilities and their limitations and chooses them with the skill of an artist in mixing the colors for his canvas4 ,to be clear1 to be forceful1 to be attractive--these are the essentials of style4 ,to secure these elements1 the writer must make use of carefully selected words and apt figures of speech4 ,neglect them and a letter is lost in the mass2 its identity is lacking1 it fails to grip attention or carry home the idea one wishes to convey4 ,an insipid style1 is responsible for much of the ineffectiveness in business letters4 ,few men will take the time to decipher a proposition that is obscured by ambiguous words and involved phrases4 ,unless it is obviously to a man's advantage to read such a letter it is dropped into the waste basket1 taking with it the message that might have found an interested prospect if it had been expressed clearly1 logically1 forcibly4 ,the first essential for style is clearness--make your meaning plain4 ,look to the individual words2 use them in the simplest way-- distinctive words to give exactness of meaning and familiar words to give strength4 ,words are the private soldiers under the command of the writer and for ease of management he wants small words--a long word is out of place1 unwieldy1 awkward4 ,the high-sounding words that are dragged in by main force for the sake of effect weigh down the letter1 make it logy4 ,the reader may be impressed by the language but not by the thought4 ,he reads the words and misses the message4 ,avoid long1 unfamiliar words4 ,clothe your thoughts in words that no one can mistake--the kind of language that men use in the office and on the street4 ,do not make the reader work to see your point2 he is busy1 he has other things to do--it is your proposition and it is to your interest to put in that extra work1 those additional minutes that will make the letter easily understood4 ,it is too much to expect the reader to exert himself to dig out your meaning and then enthuse himself over your proposition4 ,the men who write pulling letters weigh carefully every sentence1 not only pruning away every unessential word but using words of ,anglo-,saxon origin wherever possible rather than words of ,latin derivation4 ,indicate your selection was written as the catch line for a letter in an important selling campaign1 but the head correspondent with unerring decision re-wrote it--,take your choice--a simpler1 stronger statement4 ,the meaning goes straight to the reader's mind without an effort on his part4 ,we are unable to discern started out the new correspondent in answering a complaint4 ,we cannot see was the revision written in by the master correspondent--short1 concise1 to the point4 ,with your kind permission ,i should like to say in reply to your favor--such expressions are found in letters every day--thousands of them4 ,the reader is tired before the subject matter is reached4 ,the correspondent who is thinking about the one to whom he is writing starts out briefly and to the point by saying1 ,this is in reply to your letter1 or1 ,thank you for calling our attention to1 and so forth4 ,the reader is impressed that the writer means business4 ,the attitude is not antagonistic2 it commands attention4 ,letters are unnaturally burdened with long words and stilted phrases1 while in conversation one's thoughts seek expression through lines of least resistance--familiar words and short sentences4 ,but in writing1 these same thoughts go stumbling over long words and groping through involved phrases4 ,proverbs are sentences that have lived because they express a thought briefly in short1 familiar words4 ,slang becomes popular because of the wealth of meaning expressed in a few words1 and many of these sayings gradually work their way into respectability-- reluctantly admitted into the sanctuary of literature because of their strength1 clearness1 adaptability4 ,while short words are necessary for force and vigor1 it may be very desirable at times to use longer and less familiar words to bring out the finer shade of meaning4 ,a subtle distinction cannot be ignored simply because one word is shorter than another4 ,donate and give are frequently used as synonyms1 but give should not be used because it is a short word when donate expresses the meaning more accurately4 ,as a usual thing1 home is preferable to residence1 but there are times when the longer word should be used4 ,declare and state1 thoroughfare and street--there are thousands of illustrations on this point1 and while the short1 ,anglo-,saxon word is always preferable1 it should not be used when a longer word expresses more accurately the thought which the writer wishes to convey4 ,many letter writers think that these rules are all right for college professors1 journalists and authors1 but impractical for the every-day business correspondent4 ,some of the most successful companies in the country1 however1 have recognized the importance of these very points and have adopted strict rules that give strength and character to the letters that are sent out4 ,for example1 here is a paragraph taken from the book of instructions issued by a large manufacturing concern in the middle west3 ,don't use a long or big word where a short one will do as well or better4 ,for example3 ',begin' is better than 'commence'2 'home' or 'house' better than 'residence'2 'buy' better than 'purchase'2 'live' better than 'reside'2 'at once' better than 'immediately'2 'give' better than 'donate'2 'start' or 'begin' better than 'inaugurate4' ,the selection of words is not the only thing that the writer must consider4 ,the placing of words to secure emphasis is no less important4 ,the strength of a statement may depend upon the adroitness with which the words are used4 ,not only to do one thing well but to do that one thing best--this has been our aim and our accomplishment4 ,in this sentence1 taken from a letter1 emphasis is laid upon the word best by its position4 ,the manufacturer has two strong arguments to use on the dealer2 one is the quality of the goods--so they will give satisfaction to the customer--and the other is the appearance of the goods so they will attract the customer4 ,this is the sentence used by a clever writer3 ,we charge you for the service quality--we give you the appearance quality4 ,the strength comes from the construction of the sentence throwing emphasis on charge and give4 ,durability--that is our talking point4 ,other machines are cheaper if you consider only initial cost2 no other machine is more economical when its durability1 its length of service is considered4 ,here the unusual position of the word durability1 thrown at the beginning of the sentence1 gives an emphasis that could not be obtained in any other way4 ,and so the stylist considers not only the words he uses but he places them in the most strategic position in the sentence--the beginning4 ,in the building of a climax this order of words is reversed since the purpose is to work up from the weakest to the strongest word or phrase4 ,the description1 sweet1 pure and sanitary1 gives emphasis to the sanitary feature because it comes last and lingers longest in the mind4 ,after the study of words1 their meaning and position1 the writer must look to completed sentences1 and the man who succeeds in selling goods by mail recognizes first of all the force of concise statements4 ,you can pay more but you can't buy more4 ,this statement strikes home with the force of a blow4 ,we couldn't improve the powder so we improved the box4 ,there is nothing but assertion in this sentence1 but it carries conviction4 ,not a word is out of place4 ,every word does duty4 ,the idea is expressed concisely1 forcibly4 ,the simplicity of the sentence is more effective than pages of prosaic argument4 ,here is a sentence taken from a letter of a correspondence school3 ,assuming that you are in search of valuable information that may increase your earning capacity by a more complete knowledge of any subject in which you may be interested1 we desire to state most emphatically that your wages increase with your intelligence4 ,this is not only ungrammatical1 it is uninteresting4 ,contrast it with the sentence taken from a letter from another correspondence school3 ,you earn more as you learn more4 ,it is short1 emphatic1 thought producing4 ,the idea is clearly etched into your mind4 ,short sentences are plain and forceful1 but when used exclusively1 they become tiresome and monotonous4 ,a short sentence is frequently most striking when preceding or following a long sentence--it gives variation of style4 ,following a long sentence it comes as a quick1 trip-hammer blow that is always effective4 ,and there are times when the proposition cannot be brought out clearly by short sentences4 ,then the long sentence comes to the rescue for it permits of comparisons and climaxes that short sentences cannot give4 ,illustration3 ,unique enclosures catch the eye and insure a reading of the letter4 ,here are shown two facsimile bonds--one1 an investment bond and the other a guarantee bond2 a sample of the diploma issued by a correspondence school and a #ae4jj certificate to apply on a course4 ,the axe-blade booklet carries the message of a wholesale hardware house1 and the coupon1 when filled out1 calls for a free sample of toilet preparation4 ,illustration3 ,neither printed descriptions nor pictures are as effective as actual samples of the product advertised4 ,here are shown different methods of sending samples of dress goods1 shirtings and cloth for other purposes4 ,at the right are some pieces of wood showing different varnishes and wall decorations1 and at the bottom are veneers that show different furniture finishes2 the various colored pieces of leather are likewise used by furniture houses in showing the styles of upholstering4 ,it is the long1 rambling sentences that topple a letter over onto the waste basket toboggan4 ,but the sentence with a climax1 working up interest step by step1 is indispensable4 ,by eye test1 by mechanical test1 by erasure test and by strength test1 ,orchard ,hill ,bond makes good its reputation as the best bond on the market for commercial use4 ,there is nothing tiresome about such a sentence4 ,there is no difficulty in following the writer's thought4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,letter ,,the ,,vehicle ,,words ,,short ,,saxon ,,specific ,,individual ,,phrases ,,vivid ,,natural ,,figures ,,idioms ,,sentences ,,clear ,,forceful ,,climatic ,,polished ,,paragraphs ,,short ,,uniform ,,logical ,,orderly ,,the ,,load ,,ideas ,,graphic ,,technical ,,clear ,,complete ,,statements ,,facts ,,proofs ,,references ,,testimony ,,explanations ,,specific ,,technical ,,clear ,,complete ,,arguments ,,logical ,,climatic ,,conclusive ,,convincing ,there are two elements in every letter3 the thought and the language in which that thought is expressed4 ,the words1 phrases1 sentences and paragraphs are the vehicle which carries the load--explanations1 arguments1 appeal4 ,neither can be neglected if the letter is to pull 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is another sentence showing the force to be attained through the use of a long sentence3 ,just as the physician may read medicine1 just as the lawyer may read law1 just so may a man now read business--the science of the game which enables some men to succeed where hosts of others fail2 it is no longer enveloped in mystery and in darkness4 ,there is no danger of the reader's becoming confused in the meaning and he is more deeply impressed because his interest has been gained by the gradual unfolding of the idea back of the sentence1 the leading up to the important thought4 ,and after the choice of words1 the placing of words and the construction of a sentence comes that other essential element of style--the use of figures of speech1 the illustrating of one's thought by some apt allusion4 ,comparison adds force by giving the reader a mental picture of the unknown1 by suggestions of similarity to familiar things4 ,the language of the street1 our conversational language1 secures its color and expressiveness through figures of speech--the clever simile and the apt metaphor light up a sentence and lift it out of the commonplace4 ,don't hold yourself down1 ,don't be bottled up1 ,don't keep your nose on the grindstone--these are the forceful figures used in the letters of a correspondence school4 ,the most ignorant boy knows that the writer did not mean to be taken literally4 ,such figures are great factors in business letters because they make the meaning clear4 ,here is the attention-getting first sentence of another letter3 ,don't lull yourself to sleep with the talk that well enough should be let alone when practical salary-raising1 profit-boosting help is within your reach4 ,the sentence is made up of figures2 you do not literally lull yourself to sleep with talk1 you don't really boost profits1 you don't actually reach out and grasp the help the letter offers4 ,the figures merely suggest ideas1 but they are vivid4 ,a sales manager writes to the boys on the road regarding a contest or a spurt for records3 ,come on1 boys4 ,this is the last turn round the track4 ,the track was heavy at the start but if none of you break on the home stretch you are bound to come under the wire with a good record4 ,the salesman will read this sort of a letter and be inspired by its enthusiasm1 when the letter would be given no more than a hurried glance if it said what it really means3 ,get busy6 ,keep on the job6 ,send in more orders4 ,by framing your ideas in artistic figures of speech you bring out their colors1 their lines1 their fullest meanings--and more than that1 you know your letters will be read4 ,but in the attempt to add grace and attractiveness by some familiar allusion1 one must not overlook the importance of facts--cold1 plainly stated facts1 which are often the shortest1 most convincing argument4 ,in the letter of an advertising concern is this plain statement3 ,last year our business was #b1dce1hic ahead of the year before4 ,no figure of speech1 no touch of the stylist could make such a profound impression as this brief1 concise statement of fact4 ,the average correspondent will agree that these are all essential elements of style--his problem is practical3 how can he find the right words2 how can he learn to put his proposition more clearly2 how think up figures of speech that will light up the thought or illustrate the proportion4 ,to some men an original style and the ability to write convincingly is a birthright4 ,others have to depend less on inspiration and more on hard work4 ,one man carries a note book in which he jots down1 for future use1 phrases1 words and comparisons that he comes across while reading his morning paper on the way down town1 while going through his correspondence1 while listening to callers1 while talking with friends at lunch1 while attending some social affair--wherever he is1 his eyes and ears are always alert to catch a good phrase1 an unusual expression or a new figure of speech4 ,at his first opportunity a notation is made in the ever-handy memorandum book4 ,another man systematically reads articles by ,elbert ,hubbard1 ,alfred ,henry ,lewis1 ,samuel ,blythe and other writers whose trenchant pens replenish his storage with similes1 metaphors and crisp expressions4 ,the head of a mail-order sales department of a large publishing house keeps a scrapbook in which he pastes words1 phrases1 striking sentences and comparisons clipped from letters1 advertisements1 booklets1 circulars1 and other printed matter4 ,each month he scans the advertisements in a dozen magazines and with a blue pencil checks every expression that he thinks may some time be available or offer a suggestion4 ,it is but a few minutes' work for a girl to clip and paste in these passages and his scrapbooks are an inexhaustible mine of ideas and suggestions4 ,another man1 after outlining his ideas1 dictates a letter and then goes over it sentence by sentence and word by word4 ,with a dictionary and book of synonyms he tries to strengthen each word2 he rearranges the words1 writes and rewrites the sentences1 eliminating some1 reinforcing others and devising new ones until he has developed his idea with the precision of an artist at work on a drawing4 ,the average correspondent1 handling a large number of letters daily1 has little time to develop ideas for each letter in this way1 but by keeping before him a list of new words and phrases and figures of speech1 they soon become a part of his stock in trade4 ,then there are other letters to write--big selling letters that are to be sent out by the thousands and letters that answer serious complaints1 letters that call for diplomacy1 tact1 and above all1 clearness and force4 ,on these important letters the correspondent can well afford to spend time and thought and labor4 ,a day or several days may be devoted to one letter1 but the thoughts that are turned over--the ideas that are considered1 the sentences that are written and discarded1 the figures that are tried out--are not wasted1 but are available for future use2 and by this process the writer's style is strengthened4 ,he acquires clearness1 force1 simplicity and attractiveness--the elements that will insure the reading of his letters4 ,and one thing that every correspondent can do is to send to the scrap-heap all the shelf-worn words and hand-me-down expressions such as1 ,we beg to acknowledge1 ,we beg to state2 ,replying to your esteemed favor2 the same2 the aforesaid2 ,we take great pleasure in acknowledging1 and so on4 ,they are old1 wind-broken1 incapable of carrying a big message4 ,and the participial phrases should be eliminated1 such as3 ,hoping to hear from you2 ,trusting we will be favored2 ,awaiting your reply1 and so on1 at the close of the letter4 ,say instead1 ,i hope to hear from you2 or1 ,i trust we will receive your order2 or1 ,may we not hear from you8 ,interest the man quickly2 put snap and sparkle in your letters4 ,give him clear and concise statements or use similes and metaphors in your sentences--figures of speech that will turn a spot-light on your thoughts4 ,pick out your words and put them into their places with the infinite care of a craftsman1 but do not become artificial4 ,use every-day1 hard-working words and familiar illustrations that have the strength to carry your message without stumbling before they reach their goal4 ,making ,the ,letter ,,hang ,,together ,,part ,,iii--,,style--,,making ,,the ,,letter ,,readable--,,chapter #i ,the letter writer looks to words1 phrases and sentences to make the little impressions on the reader as he goes along4 ,the letter as a whole also has to make a ,,single ,,impression--clear-cut and unmistakable4 ,the correspondent must use this combination shot-gun and rifle4 ,to get this single rifle-shot effect a letter has to contain those elements of style that ,,hold ,,it ,,together2 there must be a definite idea behind the letter2 the message must have a unity of thought2 it must be logically presented2 it must have a continuity that carries the reader along without a break1 and a climax that works him up and closes at the height of his enthusiasm 99 99 99 99 99 ,thinking is not easy for anyone4 ,and it is too much to expect the average business man to analyze a proposition in which he is not interested4 ,his thoughts tend to move in the course of least resistance4 ,if you want him to buy your goods or pay your bill or hire you1 present your arguments in a way that will require no great mental exertion on his part to follow you4 ,a single idea behind the letter is the first requisite for giving it the hang-together quality and the punch that gets results4 ,the idea cannot be conveyed to the reader unless it is presented logically4 ,he won't get a single general impression from what you are saying to him unless there is unity of thought in the composition4 ,he cannot follow the argument unless it has continuity2 sequence of thought4 ,and1 finally no logic or style will work him up to enthusiasm unless it ends with a strong climax4 ,these five principles--the idea behind1 logic1 unity of thought1 continuity1 climax--are the forces that holds the letter together and that gives it momentum4 ,because these principles are laid down in text books does not mean that they are arbitrary rules or academic theories4 ,they are based on the actual experiences of men ever since they began to talk and write4 ,essay or sermon2 oration or treatise2 advertisement or letter2 all forms of communication most easily accomplish their purpose of bringing the other man around to your way of thinking1 if these proved principles of writing are followed4 ,merely observing them will not necessarily make a letter pull1 but violating them is certain to weaken it4 ,you cannot hit a target with a rifle unless you have one shot in the barrel4 ,the idea behind the letter is the bullet in the gun4 ,to hit your prospect you must have a message--a single1 definite1 clearly-put message4 ,that is the idea behind the letter4 ,look at the letter on page #fa4 ,it gets nowhere4 ,because the writer did not have this clear1 definite idea of what he wanted to impress upon his prospect4 ,not one reader in ten would have the shallowest dent made in his attention by this letter1 as he would have had if the writer had started out1 for instance1 with one idea of impressing upon the reader the facilities of his establishment and the large number of satisfied customers for whom it does work4 ,with this dominant idea in mind1 a correspondent has got to explain it and argue it so logically that the reader is convinced4 ,here is a letter from a manufacturer of gasoline engines3 ,dear ,sir3 ,i understand you are in the market for a gasoline engine and as ours is the most reliable engine made we want to call your attention to it4 ,it has every modern improvement and we sell it on easy terms4 ,the inventor of this machine is in personal charge of our factory and he is constantly making little improvements4 ,he will tell you just what kind of an engine you need and we will be glad to quote you prices if you will call on us or write us1 telling us what you need4 ,hoping to hear from you1 we are1 ,yours truly1 ,signature3 ,,the ,,madewell ,,engine ,,co4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter is illogical1 disjointed and lacking in that dominant idea that carries conviction4 ,yet the writer had material at hand for a strong1 logical selling letter4 ,to have interested the prospect he should have told something specific about his engine4 ,here is the letter1 rewritten with due regard to the demands of unity1 sequence1 logic and climax3 ,dear ,sir3 ,a friend told me yesterday that you want a gas engine for irrigating1 so ,i am sending you bulletin ,b4 ,do you notice that all its parts are in plain view and easy to get at8 ,mr4 ,wilbur1 who invented this engine1 had a good many years of practical experience installing gasoline engines before he started to manufacture his own1 and he knows what it means to tighten up a nut or some other part without having to send to the factory for a special man with a special wrench to do the work4 ,sparkers sometimes get gummed up4 ,to take the ,wilbur sparker out you simply remove two nuts and out comes the sparker complete1 and you cannot get it back the wrong way4 ,it isn't much of a job to wipe the point off with a rag1 is it8 ,and the governor6 ,just the same type of throttling governor that is used on the highest grade of steam engine1 allowing you to speed her up or slow her down while the engine is running4 ,that's mighty handy4 ,few engines are built like this4 ,it costs a good deal of extra money but it does give a lot of extra satisfaction4 ,nothing shoddy about the equipment described in the bulletin1 is there8 ,no4 ,we don't make these supplies ourselves1 but we do watch out and see that the other fellow gives us the best in the market because ,,we ,,guarantee ,,it4 ,this sounds very nice on paper1 you think4 ,well1 we have over four thousand customers in ,kansas4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,o4 ,clifford1 who lives not so far from you1 has used a ,wilbur for three years4 ,ask him what he has to say about it4 ,then you will want to know just what such an engine will cost you1 and you will be tickled to death when you know how much money we can really save you4 ,i don't mean that we will furnish you with a cheap machine at a high price1 but a really high-grade machine at a low price4 ,i await with much interest your reply telling us what you want4 ,very truly yours1 ,signature3 ,l4 ,w4 ,hamilton 99 99 99 99 99 ,the commonest cause of a lack of punch in a letter is the temptation to get away from the main idea--unity of thought4 ,this is what a mail-order house writes3 ,this is the largest catalogue of the kind ever issued1 it will pay you to deal with our house4 ,every machine is put together by hand and tested1 and we will ship the day your order is received4 ,an examination of the catalogue will prove our claim that we carry the largest stock of goods in our line4 ,should our goods appeal to you1 we shall be glad to add you to our list of customers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is neither unity nor logic in a letter like this1 although there is the suggestion of several good ideas4 ,the fact that the house issues the largest catalogue of its kind might be so explained to me that it would convince me that here is the place ,i ought to buy4 ,or1 the fact that every machine is tested and put together by hand1 if followed to a logical conclusion1 would prove to me that ,i could rely on the quality of these goods4 ,but when the writer doesn't stick to one subject for more than half a sentence1 my attention will not cling to it and my mind is not convinced by a mere statement without proof4 ,unity does not necessarily mean that the whole letter must be devoted to one point4 ,a paragraph and even a sentence must have this quality of unity as much as the entire letter4 ,and the paragraphs1 each unified in itself1 may bring out one point after another that will still allow the letter to retain its hang-together4 ,in the letter quoted1 not even the individual sentence retained unity4 ,this writer might have presented all his points and maintained the unity of his letter1 had he brought out and simplified one point in each paragraph3 ,first3 ,the size of the catalogue as an indication of the large stock carried by the house and the convenience afforded in buying4 ,second3 ,the quality of the machines2 the care exercised in their assembling2 the guarantee of the test1 and the assurance that this gives the far-away purchaser4 ,third3 ,promptness in filling orders2 what this means to the buyer and how the house is organized to give service4 ,fourth3 ,the desire to enroll new customers2 not based solely on the selfish desires of the house1 but on the idea that the more customers they can get1 the bigger the business will grow1 which will result in better facilities for the house and better service for each customer4 ,and now1 giving a unified paragraph to each of the ideas1 not eliminating subordinate thoughts entirely1 but keeping them subordinate and making them illuminate the central thought--would build up a unified1 logical letter4 ,in the arrangement of these successive ideas and paragraphs1 the third element in the form is illustrated--continuity of thought4 ,put a jog or a jar in the path of your letter and you take the chance of breaking the reader's attention4 ,that is fatal4 ,so write a letter that the reader will easily and1 therefore1 unconsciously and almost perforce1 follow from the first word to the last--then your message reaches him4 ,how to secure this continuity depends on the subject and on the prospect4 ,appealing to the average man1 association of thoughts furnishes the surest medium for continuity4 ,if you lead a man from one point to another point that he has been accustomed to associating with the first point1 then he will follow you without a break in his thought4 ,from this follows the well-known principle that when you are presenting a new proposition1 start your prospect's thoughts on a point that he knows1 which is related to your proposition1 for the transition is easiest from a known to a related unknown4 ,an insurance company's letter furnishes a good example of continuity of ideas and the gradual increasing strength in each paragraph3 ,if you have had no sickness1 and consequently1 have never felt the humiliation of calling on strangers for sick benefits--even though it were only a temporary embarrassment--you are a fortunate man4 ,health is always an uncertain quantity--you have no assurance that next week or next month you will not be flat on your back--down and out as far as selling goods is concerned4 ,and sickness not only means a loss of time but an extra expense in the way of hospital and doctor bills4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the next paragraph the idea is further strengthened2 a new thought is presented with additional force3 ,if there is one man on earth who needs protection by insurance against sickness it is you4 ,there are two thousand one hundred and fifty ailments covering just such diseases as you1 as a traveling man1 expose yourself to every day4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these are specific facts1 therefore decidedly forceful4 ,then1 while interest is at its height1 another paragraph presents a specific offer3 ,we will protect you at an extremely low annual cost4 ,we guarantee that the rate will not exceed #i4jj a year--that's less than two and a half cents a day4 ,think of it--by paying an amount so small that you will never miss it1 you will secure benefits on over two thousand sicknesses--any one of which you may contract tomorrow4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is the logical presentation of subject matter by paragraphs1 leading up from an interest-getting general statement to a specific proposition4 ,break this continuity of ideas by a space filler or an inconsequential argument and the reader loses interest that it will be hard to regain4 ,make this the test of each paragraph3 if it does not illuminate the central thought1 fit into the argument at that point1 or add to the interest of the reader1 eliminate it or bring it into conformity with the idea behind the letter4 ,and there must be an actual continuity of thought from paragraph to paragraph4 ,merely inserting a catch-word or a conjunctive does not build a logical bridge4 ,the letter from another insurance agent might have been saved if this test had been applied1 for it was well written except where the writer forgot himself long enough to insert an irrelevant paragraph about his personal interest3 ,we are desirous of adding your name to our roll of membership because we believe that every man should be protected by insurance and because we believe this is the best policy offered4 ,we are endeavoring to set a new record this month and are especially anxious to get your application right away4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the continuity of thought is broken4 ,the preceding paragraphs have been working up the reader's interest in casualty insurance by pointing out the dangers to which he is exposed1 the humiliating position in which it will place him and his family to be the recipients of charity in case of sickness or accident1 and so on4 ,then the writer short-circuits the reader's interest by a paragraph of generalities which call attention to his desire for profits-- things in which the prospect is not interested4 ,most propositions can be developed in different ways1 along different angles4 ,the problem of the correspondent is to determine upon the way that will prove easiest for the reader to follow4 ,he may have his path smoothed for him if he understands how facts1 ideas and arguments will cohere in the reader's mind4 ,it is much easier to follow a proposition if it is developed along some definite channel2 if it follows the law of continuity1 the law of similarity2 of association or contrast1 or of cause and effect4 ,some epigrammatic thinker once said1 ,when you get through1 stop6 ,this applies to letter writing as well as to speech4 ,but don't stop a letter on the down grade4 ,stop after you have given your hardest punch4 ,this is what rhetoricians call the climax4 ,a letter constructed along these principles of style will almost inevitably have a climax4 ,if there is an idea behind the letter1 if it is carried out logically1 if the letter sticks to this one idea1 if the argument is carried along step by step1 proceeding from the general statement to the specific1 from the attention-getting first sentence to the inducement1 then you are working up your reader's interest to the point where with one final application of your entire idea to his own individual case1 you have accomplished your climax1 just as was done in the re-written letter about gasoline engines4 ,a letter from a firm manufacturing a duplicating machine starts out by calling attention to the difficulty the personal salesmen has in getting an audience with the busy executive4 ,the second paragraph shows how his time and your money is wasted in call-backs and in bench warming while the solicitor waits for an opportunity to be heard4 ,the third paragraph tells how over-anxious the salesman is to close a sale when a few minutes is granted--and usually fails1 at least the first time4 ,the fourth paragraph shows how this costly process of selling can be reduced by using the mails2 then follow a couple of specific paragraphs telling about the advantage of the company's machine4 ,a paragraph on the saving on five thousand circulars that would pay for the machine brings the proposition home to the reader and then1 with interest at the height1 the last paragraph--the climax--urges the reader to fill out a post card to secure the additional information regarding capacity1 quality of work and cost4 ,logic1 unity1 sequence1 climax--each does its part in carrying the load4 ,the principles of style and form in letter writing do not reach their highest pulling power as long as the correspondent handles them like strange tools4 ,the principles must1 of course1 first be learned and consciously applied4 ,but to give your letter the touch of sincerity and of spontaneity2 to give it the grip that holds and the hook that pulls1 these principles must become a part of yourself4 ,they must appear in your letters1 not because you have consciously put them in but because your thinking and your writing possesses them4 ,how ,to ,make ,letters ,,original ,,part ,,iii--,,style--,,making ,,the ,,letter ,,readable--,,chapter #aj ,the average business letter is machine-made4 ,it is full of time-worn phrases1 hackneyed expressions and commonplace observations that fail to jolt the reader out of the rut of the conventional correspondence to which he is accustomed3 consequently it does not make an impression upon him4 ,but occasionally a letter comes along that gets under the skin1 that ,,stands ,,out from the rest because it has human interest2 because it is original in its statements2 because it departs from the prescribed hum-drum routine2 because1 in short1 it reflects a live1 breathing human being and not a mere set of rules 99 99 99 99 99 ,study the letters the janitor carries out in your waste-basket-- they lack the red blood of originality4 ,except for one here and one there they are stereotyped1 conventional1 long1 uninteresting1 tiresome4 ,they have no individuality2 they are poor representatives of an alert1 magnetic personality4 ,yet there is no legerdemain about writing a good letter2 it is neither a matter of luck nor of genius4 ,putting in the originality that will make it pull is not a secret art locked up in the mental storerooms of a few successful writers2 it is purely a question of study and the application of definite principles4 ,a lawyer is successful only in proportion to the understanding he has of the law--the study he puts on his cases2 a physician's success depends upon his careful consideration of every symptom and his knowledge of the effect of every drug or treatment that he may prescribe4 ,and it is no different with correspondents4 ,they cannot write letters that will pulsate with a vital message unless they study their proposition in detail1 visualize the individuals to whom they are writing1 consider the language they use1 the method of presenting their arguments1 their inducements--there is no point from the salutation to the signature that is beneath consideration4 ,you cannot write letters that pull without hard study any more than the doctor can cure his patients or the lawyer win his cases without brain work4 ,so many letters are insipid because the correspondents do not have time or do not appreciate the necessity for taking time to consider the viewpoint of their readers or for studying out new methods of presenting their proposition4 ,yet the same respect that would be given to a salesman may be secured for a letter4 ,any one of four attitudes will secure this attention4 ,first of all1 there may be a personal touch and an originality of thought or expression that commands immediate attention2 in the second place1 one can make use of the man-to-man appeal2 then there is the always-forceful1 never-to-be-forgotten you element2 and finally1 there are news items which are nearly always interest-getters4 ,by any one of these appeals1 or better1 by a combination of appeals1 a letter can be given an individuality1 a vitality1 that will make it rise above the underbrush of ordinary business correspondence4 ,to begin with1 vapid words and stereotyped expressions should be eliminated1 for many a good message has become mired in stagnant language4 ,so many correspondents1 looking for the easiest road to travel1 fall into the rut that has been worn wide and deep by the multitudes passing that way4 ,the trouble is not the inability of writers to acquire a good style or express themselves forcibly2 the trouble is mental inertia--too little analytical thought is given to the subject matter and too little serious effort is made to find an original approach4 ,most business letters are cold1 impersonal1 indifferent3 ,our fall catalogue which is sent to you under separate cover2 ,we take pleasure in advising you that2 ,we are confident that our goods will give you entire satisfaction1 and so on--hackneyed expressions without end--no personality--no originality--no vitality4 ,the correspondent who has learned how to sell goods by mail uses none of these run-down-at-the-heel expressions4 ,he interests the reader by direct1 personal statements3 ,here is the catalogue in which you are interested2 ,satisfaction8 ,absolute6 ,we guarantee it4 ,we urge you not to keep one of our suits unless it is absolutely perfect2 ,how did you find that sample of tobacco8 ,no great mental exertion is required for such introductions1 yet they have a personal touch1 and while they might be used over and over again they strike the reader as being original1 addressed to him personally4 ,everyone is familiar with the conventional letter sent out by investment concerns3 ,in response to your inquiry1 we take pleasure in sending you herewith a booklet descriptive of the ,white ,cloud ,investment ,company4 ,cut and dried--there is nothing that jars us out of our indifference2 nothing to tempt us to read the proposition that follows4 ,here is a letter that is certain to interest the reader because it approaches him with an original idea3 ,you will receive a copy of the ,pacific ,coast ,gold ,book under separate cover4 ,don't look for a literary product because that's not its purpose4 ,its object is to give you the actual facts and specific figures in reference to the gold-mining industry4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a correspondence school that has got past the stage where it writes1 ,we beg to call attention to our catalogue which is mailed under separate cover1 injects originality into its letter in this way3 ,take the booklet we have mailed you and examine the side notes on ,drawing for ,profit and ,art ,training that apply to you individually and then go back over them carefully4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the reader1 even though he may have had nothing more than the most casual interest is certain to finish that letter4 ,here is the way a paper manufacturer puts convincing argument into his letter1 making it original and personal3 ,take the sheet of paper on which this letter is written and apply to it every test you have ever heard of for proving quality4 ,you will find it contains not a single trace of wood pulp or fillers but is strong1 tough1 long-fiber linen4 ,take your pen and write a few words on it4 ,you will find the point glides so smoothly that writing is a pleasure4 ,then erase a word or two and write them again--do it twice1 three or four times--repeated erasures1 and still you will find the ink does not blot or spread in the least4 ,this proves the hard body and carefully prepared finish4 99 99 99 99 99 ,even if a person felt sure that this same letter went to ten-thousand other men1 there would be an individuality about it1 a vividness that makes the strongest kind of appeal4 ,in a town in central ,indiana two merchants suffered losses from fire4 ,a few days later1 one sent out this announcement to his customers3 ,we beg to announce that temporary quarters have been secured at #daa ,main ,street1 where we will be glad to see you and will endeavor to handle your orders promptly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the second firm wrote to its customers3 ,dear ,mr4 ,brown3 ,yes1 it was a bad fire but it will not cripple the business4 ,our biggest asset is not the merchandise in the store but the good-will of our customers--something that fires cannot damage4 ,our store does not look attractive4 ,it won't until repairs are made and new decorations are in1 but the bargains are certainly attractive--low prices to move the stock and make room for the new goods that have been ordered4 ,everything has gone on the bargain tables2 some of the goods slightly damaged by water1 but many of the suits have nothing the matter with them except a little odor of smoke that will disappear in a couple of days4 ,come in and look at these goods4 ,see the original price mark--you can have them at just one-half the amount4 ,very truly yours1 ,signature3 ,smith and ,deene #hb 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is originality2 emphasis is laid on good will in a way that will strengthen this asset4 ,the merchant put a personal element into the letter2 gave it an original appeal that made it not only a clever bit of advertising1 but proclaimed him a live-wire business man4 ,here is the letter sent out by a store fixture manufacturer3 ,if one of your salesmen should double his sales slips tomorrow you would watch to see how he did it4 ,if he kept up this pace you would be willing to double his wages1 wouldn't you8 ,he would double his sales if he could display all his goods to every customer4 ,that's the very thing which the ,derwin ,display ,fixture does--it shows all the goods for your salesman1 yet you don't have to pay him a higher salary4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a merchant cannot read this letter without stopping to think about it4 ,the appeal strikes home4 ,he may have read a hundred advertisements of the ,derwin fixture1 but this reaches him because of the originality of expression1 the different twist that is given to the argument4 ,there are no hackneyed expressions1 no involved phrases1 no unfamiliar words1 no selfish motives4 ,and then comes the man-to-man attitude1 the letter in which the writer wins the reader's confidence by talking about you and me4 ,a western firm handling building materials of all kinds entered the mail-order field4 ,one cannot conceive a harder line of goods to sell by mail1 but this firm has succeeded by putting this man-to-man attitude into its letters3 ,if you could sit at my desk for an hour--if you might listen a few minutes to the little intimate things that men and women tell me-- their hopes1 their plans for the home that will protect their families--their little secret schemes to make saved-up money stretch out over the building cost2 if you could hear and see these sides of our business you would understand why we give our customers more than mere quality merchandise4 ,we plan for you and give expert advice along with the material4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is nothing cold or distant in this letter2 it does not flavor of a soulless corporation4 ,it is intimate1 it is so personal that we feel we are acquainted with the writer4 ,we would not need an introduction--and what is more1 we trust him1 believe in him4 ,make the man feel that you and he are friends4 ,write to the average college or university for a catalogue and it will be sent promptly with a stereotyped letter3 ,we are pleased to comply with your request1 and so forth4 ,but a little school in central ,iowa makes the prospective student feel a personal interest in the school and in its officers by this letter3 ,my dear ,sir3 ,the catalogue was mailed to you this morning4 ,we have tried to make it complete and ,i believe it covers every important point4 ,but ,i wish you could talk with me personally for half an hour--,i wish you might go over our institution with me that ,i might point out to you the splendid equipment1 the convenient arrangement1 the attractive rooms1 the ideal surroundings and the homelike places for room and board4 ,won't you drop me a line and let me know what you think about our school8 ,tell me what courses you are interested in and let me know if ,i cannot be of some personal assistance to you in making your plans4 ,i hope to see you about the middle of ,september when our fall term opens4 ,very cordially yours1 ,signature3 ,wallace ,e4 ,lee ,president4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter1 signed by the president of the institution1 is a heart-to-heart talk that induces many students to attend that school in preference to larger1 better-equipped colleges4 ,a large suit house manufacturing women's garments uses this paragraph in a letter in response to a request for a catalogue3 ,and now as you look through this book we wish we could be privileged to sit there with you as you turn its pages4 ,we would like to read aloud to you every word printed on pages #d1 #e and #f4 ,will you turn to those pages1 please8 ,sometimes we think the story told there of the making of a suit is the most interesting thing ever written about clothes--but then1 we think ,columbia suits are the most wonderful garments in the world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter creates a feeling of intimacy1 of confidence in the writer1 that no formal arguments1 logical reasons or special inducements could ever secure4 ,important as these two attitudes are--the personal appeal and the man-to-man appeal--they can be strengthened manifold by making use of that other essential1 the you element in letters4 ,the mistake of so many writers is that they think of their interests in the transaction rather than the interests of the men to whom they are writing4 ,it is we this and we that4 ,yet this we habit is a violation of the first rule of business correspondence4 ,we are very desirous of receiving an order from you4 ,of course2 the reader knows that4 ,why call his attention to so evident a fact and give emphasis to the profit that you are going to make on the deal8 ,to get his interest1 show him where he will gain through this proposition--precious little he cares how anxious you are to make a sale4 ,mr4 ,station ,agent-- ,brother ,railroader3 ,as soon as you have told the fellow at the ticket window that the noon train is due at twelve o'clock and satisfied the young lady that her telegram will be sent at once and ,o4,s4'd the way freight and explained to the ,grand ,mogul at the other end of the wire what delayed 'em1 ,i'd like to chat with you just a minute4 ,it's about a book--to tell the truth1 just between you and me1 ,i don't suppose it's a bit better book than you could write yourself if you had time4 ,i simply wrote it because ,i'm an old railroad man and telegrapher myself and had time to write it4 ,the title of the book is ,at ,finnegan's ,cigar ,store1 and the hero of the fourteen little stories which the booklet contains is ,mr ,station ,agent4 ,the first story in the book1 ,how ,finnegan ,bought ,himself a ,diamond1 is worth the price of that ten-cent cigar you're smoking1 and that's all the book will cost you4 ,i know you'll like it--,i liked it myself4 ,i'm so sure of it ,i am enclosing a ten-cent coin card for you to use in ordering it4 ,a dime in the card and postage stamp on the letter will bring you the book by first mail4 ,nuff said4 #gc ,e4 ,n4 ,,richardson4 ,p4 ,s4--,i am enclosing another card for your night operator1 if you have one--,i'd hate to have him feel that ,i had slighted him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter1 sent out under a one-cent stamp to #hj1jjj agents1 pulled #bb1jjj replies with the money4 ,the writer did not address them individually1 but he knew how to flag the interest of a station agent--by working in familiar allusions he at once found the point of contact and made the letter so personal that it pulled enormous results 99 99 99 99 99 ,no other appeal is so direct1 so effective1 as that which is summed up in the words you1 your business1 your profits1 your welfare4 ,it costs you too much to sell crockery1 but your selling expense can be cut down by utilizing your space to better advantage2 ,your easiest profits are those you make by saving expense2 ,did you ever figure up the time that is wasted in your mailing department by sealing and stamping one letter at a time8-- these are the letters that will be read through4 ,keep before the reader his interest4 ,show him how your proposition would benefit him4 ,this letter was sent to lady customers by a mail-order house3 ,dear ,madam3 ,you want a dress that does not sag--that does not grow draggy and dowdy8 ,then you want to make it of ,linette--the new dress goods4 ,you have seen the beautiful new look and rich luster charm of a high-priced fabric4 ,you can find this same quality in ,linette at only thirty-nine cents a yard1 and then--just think--it will stay in your dress through wearing1 washing and wetting1 and you will be surprised to see how easily dresses made of it may be washed and ironed and what long service the material will give4 ,very truly yours4 ,signature3 ,anderson ,anderson 99 99 99 99 99 ,in this letter there is not the faintest suggestion of the profits that the writer hopes to make by the sale4 ,a man is going to listen just as long as you talk about him2 a woman will keep on reading your letter as long as you talk about her4 ,shout ,you and whisper me and your letter will carry home1 straight to the heart of the reader4 ,a capitalized ,,you is often inserted in letters to give emphasis to this attitude4 ,here is a letter from a clothing concern3 ,dear ,madam1 ,remember this--when we make your suit we make it for ,,you just as much as if you were here in our work roomed and1 furthermore1 we guarantee that it will fit ,,you just a perfectly as if you bought it of an individual tailor4 ,we guarantee this perfection or we will refund your money at once without question1 and pay the express charges both ways4 ,we have tried hard to make this style-book interesting and beautiful to you and full of advantage for ,,you4 ,your friends will ask ,who made your suit8 and we want you to be proud that it is ,,your suit and that ,,we made it4 ,yours very truly1 ,signature3 ,adams ,adams 99 99 99 99 99 ,and there is yet another quality that is frequently most valuable to the correspondent in making his letter personal4 ,it is the element of news value4 ,news interests him especially when it is information about his business1 his customers1 his territory1 his goods1 his propositions4 ,not only does the news interest appeal to the dealer because of its practical value to him1 but it impresses him by your up-to-the-minuteness and it gives a dynamic force to your letters4 ,tell a man a bit of news that affects his pocket book and you have his interest4 ,offer to save him money and he will listen to your every word1 and clever correspondents in manufacturing and wholesale establishments are always on the alert to find some selling value in the news of the day4 ,one correspondent finds in the opening of lake navigation an excuse for writing a sales letter4 ,if the season opens unusually early he points out to the retailer just how it may affect his business1 and if the season opens late he gives this fact a news value that makes it of prime interest to the dealer4 ,a shortage of some crop1 a drought1 a rainy season1 a strike1 a revolution or industrial disturbances in some distant country--these factors may have a far-reaching effect on certain commodities1 and the shrewd sales manager makes it a point to tip off the firm's customers1 giving them some practical advance information that may mean many dollars to them and his letter makes the reader feel that the house has his interests at heart4 ,another news feature may be found in some event that can be connected with the firm's product4 ,here is the way a manufacturer of stock food hitches his argument onto a bit of news3 ,no doubt you have read in your farm paper about the ,poland ,china that took first prize at the ,iowa ,state ,fair last week4 ,you will be interested to know that this hog was raised and fattened on ,johnson's stock food4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the way a manufacturer of window screens makes capital out of a new product3 ,throw away that old1 rusty1 stationary fly screen that you used last season4 ,you won't need it any more because you can substitute an adjustable one in its place4 ,how many times when you twisted and jerked at the old stationary screen did you wish for a really convenient one8 ,the sort of screen you wanted is one which works on rollers from top to bottom so that it will open and close as easily and conveniently as the window itself4 ,that's just the way the ,ideal screen is made4 ,it offers those advantages4 ,it was placed on the market only a few months ago yet it is so practical and convenient that already we have been compelled to double the capacity of our factory to handle the growing business4 ,all the wood work is made to harmonize with the finish of your rooms4 ,send the measure of your window and the colors you want and get a screen absolutely free for a week's trial4 ,if you are not perfectly satisfied at the end of that time that it's the most convenient screen you ever used1 you need send no money but merely return the screen at our expense4 ,the ,ideal screen is new2 it is improved2 it is the screen of tomorrow4 ,are you looking for that kind8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the news element may have its origin in some new feature1 some attachment or patent that is of interest to the prospect4 ,a manufacturer of furniture uses this approach effectively3 ,the head of my designing department4 ,mr4 ,conrad1 has just laid on my desk a wonderful design for something entirely new in a dining room table4 ,this proposed table is so unique1 so new1 so different from anything ever seen before1 ,i am having the printer strike off some rough proofs of this designer's drawing1 one of which ,i am sending you under separate cover4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter is manifestly a today product4 ,it wins attention because it is so up to date1 and a new article may possess the interest-compelling feature that will lead to an order4 ,then there are the letters that tell of the purchase of goods4 ,a retailer puts news value into his letter when he writes that he has purchased the entire stock of the bankrupt ,brown ,brown at thirty-eight cents on the dollar and that the goods are to be placed on sale the following ,monday morning at prices that will make it a rare sales event4 ,this is putting into the letter news value that interests the customer4 ,it is original because it is something that could not have been written a week before and cannot be written by anyone else4 ,then there are other elements of news of wide interest--the opening of a new branch office1 the increase of facilities by the enlargement of a factory1 the perfecting of goods by some new process of manufacture or the putting on the market of some new brand or line4 ,these things may affect the dealer in a very material way and the news value is played up in the most convincing style4 ,the correspondent can bear down heavily on the better service that is provided or the larger line of commodities that is offered4 ,search through the catalogue of possibilities1 and there is no other talking point that it seized upon more joyfully by the correspondent1 for a news item1 an actual occurrence or some new development that enables him to write forceful1 interest-impelling letters1 for the item itself is sufficient to interest the dealer or the consumer4 ,all that is required of the correspondent is to make the most of his opportunity1 seize upon this news element and mount it in a setting of arguments and persuasion that will result in new business1 more orders1 greater prestige4 ,making ,the ,form ,letter ,,personal ,,part ,,iii--,,style--,,making ,,the ,,letter ,,readable--,,chapter #aa ,over ,,one-,,half of all the form letters sent out are thrown into the waste basket unopened4 ,a bare ,,one-,,third are partly read and discarded while only ,,one-,,sixth of them--approximately #ae per cent--are read through4 ,this wasteful ratio is principally due to the carelessness or ignorance of the firms that send them out-- ignorance of the little touches that make all the difference between a personal and a form letter4 ,yet an increase of a mere one per cent in the number of form letters that are ,,read means a difference of hundreds--perhaps thousands of dollars to the sender4 ,this article is based on the experiences of a house that sends out over a million form letters annually 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are three ways by which you can deliver a message to one of your customers3 you can see him personally1 you can telegraph or telephone him1 or you can write him a letter4 ,after you have delivered the message you may decide you would like to deliver the same message to #beb other customers4 ,to see each customer personally1 to telegraph or telephone each one1 or to write each a personal letter1 would prove slow and expensive4 ,so you send the same letter to all your customers1 since you wish to tell them all the same story4 ,but you do not laboriously write all these letters on the typewriter2 instead1 you print them on some kind of duplicating machine4 ,but it is not enough to print the body of the letter and send it out1 for you know from your own point of view that the average man does not give a proposition presented to him in a circular letter1 the same attention he gives to it when presented by a personal appeal4 ,and so little plans and schemes are devised to make the letter look like a personally dictated message1 not for the purpose of deceiving the reader1 but to make your proposition more intimate4 ,this form of presentation is merely a means to an end2 just because a letter is duplicated a thousand times does not make the proposition any the less applicable to the reader4 ,it may touch his needs just as positively as if he were the sole recipient4 ,the reason the letter that one knows to be simply a circular fails to grip his attention1 is because it fails to get close to him--it does not look personal4 ,so1 if form letters are to escape the waste basket--if they are to win the prospect's attention and convince him--they must have all the ear-marks of a personally dictated communication4 ,if a proposition is worth sending out it is worthy of a good dress and careful handling4 ,all the principles of making the individual letter a personal message hold good with the form letter1 except that greater pains must be taken to make each letter look personal4 ,nothing should be put into the letter to a dozen or a thousand men that does not apply to each one individually4 ,from the mechanical standpoint1 there are five parts to a letter3 superscription1 body of the letter1 signature1 enclosures and envelope4 ,in each of these five parts there are opportunities for original touches that make letters more than mere circulars4 ,the superscription and the way it is inserted in a form letter is the most important feature in making it personal4 ,no semblance of a regularly dictated letter can be given unless the date1 name and address are filled in1 and if this is not done carefully it is far better to open your letter with ,dear ,sir1 and thus acknowledge that it is a circular4 ,to the left1 and in exact alignment with the paragraphs in the body of the letter1 should appear the name and address of the reader4 ,if this superscription appears a fraction of an inch to either side of the margin the fill-in is evident4 ,the style of type and the shade of the typewriter ribbons used in filling-in must match with absolute accuracy4 ,this is vital and yet the most common error in form letters is imperfect alignment and conspicuously different colors of ink4 ,to secure an exact match between the filled-in name and address and the body of the letter1 it is necessary to use ink on the duplicating machine which matches your typewriter ribbon4 ,the ink used on the duplicating machine can be mixed to correspond with the color of the ribbons4 ,long experience has shown that violet or purple shades of ink are best for form letters1 for these colors are the easiest to duplicate4 ,black and blue are very difficult to handle because of the great variety of undertones which are put into these inks4 ,duplicating machines which print through a ribbon give variable shades and the typist in filling in must watch carefully to see that her typewriter ribbons match the impressions made in the body of the letter1 especially where the form letters are printed several months in advance and exposed to changing conditions4 ,in departments where the stenographers fill in only a few letters a day1 a piece of a fill-in ribbon is attached to the end of the regular ribbon and used for this purpose4 ,for speed and better work1 typists who do nothing but fill in form letters1 overlay their work--that is1 before one sheet is taken out of the machine another is started in4 ,a scheme which is slower but gives accuracy1 is to work backward on the name and address1 writing the ,gentlemen or ,dear ,madam first1 beginning flush with the margin4 ,the town or city is next written1 beginning on the paragraph or established margin line and then the name and the date are filled in4 ,guides may be secured so that all sheets will be fed into the machine at one place1 thus assuring an exact margin4 ,too much emphasis cannot be laid on the necessity of doing this fill-in work carefully1 or not at all4 ,if letters are printed by means of some duplicating machine which prints through a ribbon1 care must be taken that the first run from the fresh ribbon is filled in on the typewriter with an equally fresh typewriter ribbon4 ,later when the machine ribbon is worn1 giving a lighter impression1 an older ribbon is used on the typewriters4 ,this fill-in work is difficult1 and even when done properly many firms adopt all kinds of little schemes to help out the personal appearance4 ,separating the superscription from the body of the letter so that the immediate contrast is not so great1 accomplishes this purpose4 ,one familiar scheme is to print the shipping or sales terms of the company across the letterhead so that the first paragraph comes beneath the printed matter and the filled-in superscription above4 ,then if there is a slight difference in shades of ink it is not so apparent4 ,the same care must1 however1 be taken with the alignment4 ,mr4 ,l4 ,b4 ,burtis1 #ajcd ,elm ,ave41 ,ravenswood1 ,ill41 ,dear ,sir3 ,in reply to your letter of ,july #c;d ,i take pleasure in enclosing the free book asked for4 ,all that ,i ask is that you read the book-- no longer letter is necessary4 ,everything ,i could say to you in this letter about my chest is in my book4 ,i wrote every word of it so when you read it1 ,i wish you would take it as a personal message from me4 ,we deliver this chest to ,ravenswood at the price quoted in the book4 ,this is all ,i am going to say4 ,when you have selected the chest you wish1 simply check it on the enclosed post card1 and mail to me4 ,promptly upon its receipt the chest will go to you subject to your approval4 ,i shall be looking for your post card4 ,very truly yours1 ,,old ,,english ,,chest ,,company4 99 99 99 99 99 ,new ,york1 ,july #g1 #aiaj1 ,mr4 ,l4 ,b4 ,burtis1 #ajcd ,elm ,ave41 ,ravenswood1 ,ill4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i enclose with pleasure the free book you asked for in your letter of ,july #crd4 ,all that ,i ask is that you read the book--no longer letter is necessary4 ,everything ,i could say to you in this letter about my chest is in my book4 ,i wrote every word of it so when you read it1 ,i wish you would take it as a personal message from me4 ,tho prices quoted you in this book include freight prepaid to ,ravenswood4 ,this is all ,i am going to say4 ,when you have selected the chest you wish1 simply check it on the enclosed post card1 and mail to me4 ,promptly upon its receipt the chest will go to you subject to your approval4 ,i shall be looking for your post card4 ,very truly yours1 ,,old ,,english ,,chest ,,company ,signature3 ,edward ,brown1 ,pres4 ,dict ,,eb-,,ers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the wrong and right way of handling form letters4 ,in the first letter the type of the fill-in does not match and the lines are out of alignment4 ,wide white space at both sides of the date ,july #c;d and the town1 ,ravenswood1 calls attention to the poor fill-in4 ,the second letter shows the same fill-ins coming at the end of paragraphs4 ,the second letter has a date line1 personal signature and initials of dictator and stenographer--little touches that add to the personality of the letter 99 99 99 99 99 ,a similar scheme is to write the first paragraph or sentence in red ink4 ,this is a somewhat expensive process1 however1 for the letter must be run through the duplicating machine twice and skill is required to secure an exact register4 ,now that two-colored typewriter ribbons are in such general use the name and address and date are printed in red1 eliminating the necessity of matching the ink of the body of the letter4 ,this is an effective attention-getter1 but unless carefully printed the impersonality is apparent4 ,in certain kinds of communications where the more formal customs of social correspondence are sometimes employed1 the letter is often opened with the salutation1 ,my dear ,sir4 ,the full name and address is then written in the lower left corner1 in alignment with the paragraphs of the body of the letter4 ,some businesses1 presenting a proposition to a limited number of persons1 write the entire first paragraph4 ,it is usually short and of course should be made pointedly personal4 ,typing the name and address onto the form letter is another familiar scheme to make it more personal4 ,use of a body fill-in is always effective4 ,but the right way to do this is to phrase the letter so that the name1 or date1 or word1 to be inserted1 comes at the beginning or end of the paragraph1 preferably at the end4 ,otherwise the fill-in may be too short for the space allowed and the result is farcical4 ,here is an all too common mistake3 ,you may be sure1 ,mr4 ,hall1 that this machine is just as represented4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the advantage of having the fill-in at the end of the paragraph is because names vary so much in length that they seldom just fill the space that is left and when there is a long blank space1 as in the sentence given above1 the scheme is anything but effective4 ,a manufacturer of automobiles1 writing old customers who might wish to exchange their machines for newer models1 added a real personal touch by filling in the serial number of each machine at the end of a line4 ,another individual touch was added in this way3 ,you will be interested to know that we have recently sold one of our machines to a near neighbor of yours1 ,mr4 ,henry ,c4 ,smith of ,rock ,creek4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this sentence was so phrased that the neighbor's name came at the end of a line and could be easily filled in4 ,a furniture manufacturer works in a personal touch by closing a paragraph of his letter with this sentence3 ,you can find our liberal offer to ship freight pre-paid to ,rogers ,park on page #c of the catalogue4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the name of the town and page number of the catalogue came at the end of the sentence4 ,another manufacturer opened his letter with this sentence3 ,on ,april #b1 we received your inquiry4 ,in this case1 ,on ,april #b1 was filled in at the beginning of the sentence4 ,both schemes give the one-man attitude4 ,a personal touch in the body of the letter indicates an individual communication--as it really is4 ,there are four ways for making the body of the letter look like a regularly typewritten message3 it may be typewritten1 printed on a printing press1 printed through a ribbon or printed by means of a stenciled waxed paper4 ,firms sending out only a few form letters typewrite them so that no effort is necessary to give an individual touch4 ,but the letter printed from typewriter type by means of an ordinary printing press is obviously nothing more than an ordinary circular4 ,filling in the name and address by a typewriter is absolutely useless4 ,it is usually advisable to print form letters by means of some duplicating process which prints through a ribbon4 ,where a stencil is used1 the waxed paper is put in the typewriter and the letter is written on it without a ribbon4 ,here the stenciled letter replaces the usual type1 and the impression secured can seldom be detected from a typewritten letter4 ,a stencil can be made more quickly than type for the same letter can be set4 ,then the exact touch of the typist is reproduced on the duplicated letters through the stencil4 ,no stenographer can write a letter without making some words heavier than others1 the distribution of the ink is not the same throughout1 so absolute uniformity in the printed letter is not advisable4 ,in printing the body of the letter select some process which gives the appearance of typewriting and then match the fill-in4 ,one merchant secured an effective matching of fill-in and body by printing the form with a poorly-inked ribbon on the duplicating machine and then filling in the name and address with a typewriter ribbon that had been well used4 ,while the general appearance of the letter was marred by this scheme1 the impression was that of a letter written on a poor typewriter and it was effective4 ,the business man1 the clerk and the farmer--everyone visited by the postman--is becoming more and more familiar with letters4 ,the day has passed when anyone is deceived by a carelessly handled form letter4 ,unless a firm feels justified in spending the time and money to fill in the letter very carefully1 it is much better to send it out frankly as a circular4 ,nor is this always a weakness1 for a clever touch can be added that introduces the personal elements4 ,one mail-order house sent out a large mailing with this typewritten notice in the upper left corner of the letterhead3 ,you must pardon me for not filling in your name and address at the beginning of this letter1 but the truth is ,i must get off fifty thousand letters tonight1 and ,i have not the necessary stenographic force to fill in the name and address on each individual letter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in spite of the fact that each man was frankly told that #di1iii other persons were receiving the same letter1 the appeal was as personal as an individual message4 ,another writer opened his communication in this way3 ,this letter is to ,,you4 and it is just as personal as ,if ,i had sat down and pounded it off on the typewriter myself1 and ,i am sure that you1 as a business man1 appreciate that this is a personal message to you1 even if ,i am writing a hundred thousand others at the same time4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter struck a popular and responsive chord1 for each reader took it to himself as a frank1 honest appeal1 from a frank1 honest business man4 ,it was a direct personal communication because each reader felt that although it was duplicated a thousand times it nevertheless contained a live message4 ,but the care that some writers take to make the form letter look personal1 is the very thing that kills it4 ,they make the letter too perfect4 ,to avoid this result1 leave an imperfect word1 here and there1 throughout the body of the letter4 ,watch the setting up of the type to be sure the lines are not spaced out like a printed page4 ,many correspondents imitate the common mistakes of the typewritten letter from the mechanical standpoint and in the language4 ,time spent in correcting these errors with pen and ink is usually considered a paying investment4 ,the tympan of the duplicating machine is sometimes made uneven so that the impression of a typewriter is still further carried out4 ,some duplicating machines advertise that their type print loose for this very purpose4 ,a favorite scheme with firms where letter presses are used is to blur the letter slightly after it has been filled in and signed4 ,a word ,,xxx'd out as by a typewriter lends an impression of the personal message1 as does also the wrong spelling of a word1 corrected by pen and ink4 ,but fully as vital to the individuality of the letter is the manner in which it is closed4 ,the signature of the form letter is a subject that deserves as careful consideration as the superscription and the body of the letter4 ,the actual typewritten letter to ,henry ,brown is signed with pen and ink4 ,even where the name of the company also appears at the end of the letter1 the personal signature in ink is desirable4 ,and when you write all the ,henry ,browns on your mailing list1 you should apply the pen-and-ink signature to every letter4 ,that is the only effective way4 ,it is not so essential that the signature should be applied by the writer personally4 ,often a girl writes the signature1 saving the time of a busy department head4 ,many firms use a rubber facsimile stamp for applying the signature1 but it is not as effective1 for it is seldom that the stamped name does not stand out as a mechanical signature4 ,one concern adds the name of the company at the bottom of the letter and has a clerk mark initials underneath with pen and ink4 ,the form letter has a heavy load which carries a row of hieroglyphics at the bottom of the page--the ,x-,y-,z1 the #d1 #h1 #f1 the ,dictated ,,wml-,,or and the twenty and one other key numbers and symbols common to the form letters of many houses4 ,when a man receives such a letter1 he is impressed by the mass of tangled mechanical operations the message has undergone2 on its face he has the story of its mechanical make-up and its virility is lost1 absolutely4 ,then consider the various notes1 stamped in a frankly mechanical manner at the bottom of the letter1 such as1 ,dictated1 but not read1 ,signed in the absence of ,mr4 ,so-and-,so4 ,to the average man who finds one of these notes on the letter1 there is the impression of a slap in the face4 ,he does not like to be reminded that he may converse with the stenographer in the absence of the president4 ,when a letter says ,not read he feels that the message was not of sufficient importance to warrant the personal attention of the writer4 ,eliminate all such notes from the form letter4 ,sometimes a postscript may suggest a note of personality4 ,for instance1 one firm writes underneath the signature3 ,i want you to look especially at the new model on page #cg of the catalogue4 ,this is effective if done with pen and ink1 but if printed or stamped1 it gives no additional tone of individuality to the letter4 ,one manufacturer had a postscript written on an extra slip of paper which he pasted to the corner of the sheet4 ,another concern writes out on a piece of white paper the blue-penciled postscript3 ,i'll send you this three-tool garden kit free 7express prepaid7 if your order for the patent roller reaches me before the #eth4 ,this is made into a zinc etching and printed in blue so perfectly that the postscript appears to have been applied with a blue pencil4 ,still another postscript scheme is to write the form letter so that it just fills the first page1 then to dictate and sign a paragraph for a second page--a most effective plan4 ,then you must consider the enclosure that often goes with the letter4 ,this frequently stamps it a circular4 ,if you are offering a special discount or introductory sale price1 for instance1 it would be ridiculous to say in your letter1 ,this is a special price ,i am quoting to you1 when the reader finds the same price printed on the circular4 ,print the regular price1 and then blot out the figures with a rubber stamp and insert the special price with pen and ink1 or with a stamp4 ,if you offer a special discount it is best to say so frankly3 ,i am making this special discount to a selected list of a few of our old friends4 ,and in order that you may be sure of this discount ,i am enclosing the discount card which will entitle you to the special prices4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,a series of letterheads that illustrate various uses of the product and so not only vary the appearance of successive letters but afford good advertising4 ,illustration3 ,for different departments1 to handle different classes of correspondence or simply to vary their follow-up1 varying letterheads are used4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the discount card should be filled-in with the name of the person written and stamped with a serial numbering machine4 ,the date the special offer expires should also be stamped on the circular4 ,in making a special offer to a limited number of persons1 the enclosure describing it and the return order blank should not be too elaborate or carefully prepared4 ,it is more effective to make them inexpensive and give a careless appearance4 ,aim to carry the impression that with a hundred or so you could not afford to do it better4 ,do not let an opportunity pass to give the enclosure the same personal touch that you aim at in the letter4 ,some houses even sign the reader's name to the card4 ,a pencil or pen mark over some particular feature of the enclosure is another way to suggest personal attention4 ,refer to the enclosure in a way that indicates individual attention4 ,a correspondence school takes off the weight of the overload of enclosures by inserting this paragraph3 ,so in order that you may properly understand our proposition ,i am enclosing these circulars and application blanks4 ,it is impossible to tell one whole story in a single letter1 or even a series of letters4 ,to make them perfectly plain ,i have asked my stenographer to number them with a pen1 and ,i will refer to them in this letter in that order4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a manufacturer who has succeeded in the mail-order business turns down a page in his catalogue1 and refers to it in this way3 ,i have turned down the corner of a page--#ci--;in my catalogue that ,i particularly want you to read4 ,on this page you will find pictured and described the best value in a single-seated carriage ever offered to the public4 ,turn to this page now and see if you can afford not to investigate this proposition further4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a successful campaign prepared by a wholesale house consisted simply of a letter and a cheap-looking yellow circular1 across the top of which had been printed with a typewriter duplicating machine this heading3 ,there is no time to prepare an elaborate circular--the time limit set on this offer is too short4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this idea was further strengthened by additional typewritten notes on the top and sides of the circular4 ,the special offer and order blank appeared in typewriter type on the back of the circular4 ,another scheme which pulled results for a tailor was this typewritten postscript3 ,the enclosed is a circular letter4 ,if ,i sent it to you without this personal note1 ,i fear you would be too busy to give it the attention it deserves4 ,so ,i ask you now--in justice to your interests--to read this circular as carefully as if ,i had put the whole thing in a personal letter to you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is an easy matter to enclose a few typewritten names1 so a paper manufacturer says in his answer to an inquiry3 ,i'm sending you a list of the printers in your immediate vicinity from whom you can secure our bond papers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a land concern refers to an enclosed list in this way3 ,so you can investigate for yourself just what our proposition will do for you1 ,i am having my stenographer make up a list of a few purchasers in your vicinity from whom you can secure first hand facts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,another concern typewrites the note ,personal ,matter on the enclosed return envelope to give added individuality to it4 ,thus the return envelope contributes to the general impression of the one-man message4 ,but whether it is the superscription1 the body of the letter1 the closing or the enclosure1 there is one general principle that must be followed3 first consider how you would handle the individual letter1 then make the form letter similar4 ,make the form letter talk as though it were intended for one man4 ,keep this rule in mind and your form letters will pull4 ,making ,letterheads and ,envelopes ,,distinctive ,,part ,,iv--,,the ,,dress ,,of ,a ,,business ,,letter--,,chapter #ab ,the dress of a business letter reflects the character and the standing of a house no less than the dress of its personal representative4 ,the quality of the paper1 the kind of printing or engraving1 the mechanical make-up--all these things contribute to the ,,impression a letter makes upon the recipient even ,,before ,,the ,,message ,,is ,,read4 ,many letters come to nothing because their dress is unattractive1 cheap1 slovenly2 and so progressive business men are learning to select their stationery with care to insure for it both tone and dignity4 ,the kind of paper to select--the size1 the tint and the quality--is described and explained in the following chapter 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first impression created by a business letter is based upon its outward appearance--upon its mechanical make-up1 the quality of its paper1 the grade of its printing or engraving2 upon the superficial qualities that are apparent at a glance4 ,the externals do not necessarily reflect the quality of the message within the letter4 ,but the experienced business man1 who is trained to make his estimate quickly1 gets an impression of some kind--good1 bad or indifferent--of every letter that comes before him1 even before a word of that letter is read4 ,in other words1 the general appearance of the letter is the first appeal that it makes to the average man4 ,the nearer that appearance conforms to the appearance of the letters from reputable concerns with which he is familiar1 the more favorably he is impressed with it4 ,the farther its appearance departs from the established and approved standards1 the more forcibly will that letter force itself upon his attention4 ,but whether the recipient is favorably or unfavorably impressed by this prominence depends upon the skill and ingenuity with which the letter is made up mechanically4 ,generally speaking1 business correspondence paper may be classified as follows3 ,first3 ,the conventional stationery1 that conforms to the established rules and the principal variation of which is in the quality of its paper and printing4 ,second3 ,the individualistic stationery1 that departs from the usual styles and is good to the extent that it meets the unusual requirements for which it is designed4 ,third3 ,the eccentric stationery1 which is usually merely a fanciful violation of the conventions for the purpose of being conspicuous4 ,of these three types of business stationery1 the first is essentially practical and sane2 the second is forceful if it does not violate the fundamental rules of color and design1 and if it has a peculiarly apt application2 while the third is almost invariably in as poor taste as eccentricity in dress4 ,the first consideration in the preparation of business stationery is the paper1 or stock4 ,the quality of this stock1 like the quality of material of a suit of clothes1 largely determines the taste1 if not the resources of the owner4 ,important messages may be written on cheap stationery2 big men with big plans are sometimes clad in shoddy garments4 ,but ninety-nine out of a hundred are not1 and the hundredth man1 who does not conform to the accepted order of things1 is taking an unnecessary business risk of being wrongly classified4 ,after a man has delivered his message1 the quality of his clothes is not an important item4 ,after a letter has been read1 the quality of its paper is insignificant4 ,but as the man is seen before he is heard1 and the letter before it is read1 it is good business to make both dress and stationery conform to approved styles4 ,for instance1 the average financial institution1 such as a bank or trust company1 takes every precaution to create an impression of strength and security4 ,the heavy architecture of its building1 the massive steel bars1 its uniformed attendants the richness of its furnishings1 all tend to insure a sense of reliability4 ,does it use cheap stationery8 ,on the contrary1 it uses rich1 heavy bond4 ,the quality of its paper conforms to the dignity and wealth of the institution2 indeed1 so long has the public been trained to expect good letter paper from such concerns that it would be apt to mistrust1 perhaps unconsciously1 the house that resorted to cheap grades of stationery which is almost invariably associated with cheap concerns or with mere form letters issued in large quantities4 ,stationery should be representative of the business from which it comes4 ,the impression created by a well-dressed man1 as well as of a well-dressed letter1 is seldom analyzed2 the first glance is generally sufficient to establish that impression4 ,a letter soliciting an investment of money1 if printed on cheap stock1 may create such a tawdry impression as to be discarded instantly by the average business man1 although the letter may come from an entirely reliable house and contain an excellent business proposition on good1 substantial paper4 ,for this reason1 the letter that departs from the usual standards must assume unnecessary risks of being thrown away unread4 ,to discriminate at a glance between important and inconsequential business letters1 is what most men have been trained to do4 ,it is not exaggeration to claim that the success of many business letters often depends upon the paper4 ,the difference between the letter of an obscure country merchant or lawyer1 and that of his well-known correspondent in the city1 lies often in its mechanical appearance4 ,the one1 who is not trained to observe what he considers trifling items1 uses paper that is cheap and easily available2 the other1 experienced in the details that tend to increase the dignity of the house1 selects his stationery with care from a wider assortment4 ,ninety-nine times out of a hundred the two letters may be identified at a distance4 ,the message of one letter may be just as important as the other2 but one is properly and the other is improperly clothed4 ,what the firm thinks about business stationery is not so important as what the recipients think4 ,do not buy good stock because it pleases the house1 but because it influences the man to whom the house writes4 ,first impressions are usually strongest and the first impression produced by a letter comes from the paper upon which it is written4 ,some men seem to feel superior to creating a good impression4 ,they do not want to stoop so low as to go to the best hotel4 ,they will not buy a hat or an umbrella that can help them get business4 ,their general idea is to bang their way into the market and succeed in their shirt sleeves1 as it were1 and on the strength of the goods4 ,of course1 if a man has time to succeed in his shirt sleeves1 there is no objection to it4 ,the idea of having as one's address the best hotel1 or in writing one's business on the best paper1 is not that a man could not succeed in his shirt sleeves1 if he set out to1 but that he has not time4 ,he gets little things out of the way and proceeds to business4 ,the quality of the paper must be largely influenced by the purpose1 as well as by the quantity of the letters to be written4 ,a firm that sends out hundreds of thousands of form letters to sell a small retail article in the rural districts1 will not use an expensive stock2 it will use a cheaper quality of paper4 ,if the form letter goes to business or professional men in the city1 the quality of the paper will be determined accordingly4 ,in every instance1 stock should be selected which will meet the expectations of the recipient4 ,the fact that the recipient knows a form letter as such1 largely nullifies its influence4 ,a business man who sends out a large number of form letters a year claims that when he gets a reply beginning1 ,in response to your form letter1 he knows that the effect of that letter is absolutely lost on a large percentage of this list who seldom or never bother to read such communications4 ,and one of the distinguishing marks of such a letter is the poor quality of its paper4 ,different grades of stationery may be used for the various departments4 ,for inter-house or inter-department correspondence1 an inexpensive paper is desirable4 ,for many purposes1 indeed1 a low-priced stock is entirely permissible4 ,but the higher the quality of paper1 the more exclusive and personal that letter becomes1 until1 in the cases of executive heads of corporations1 the stock used is of the best4 ,one well-known corporation regularly uses six different grades of paper for its letters2 one grade is engraved upon a thin bond of excellent quality and used by the president of the company when writing in his official capacity2 another grade is engraved upon a good quality of linen paper and is used by the other officers1 sales managers and heads of office departments when writing official letters to outside parties2 when writing to officers or employees of their own concern1 the same letterhead1 lithographed on a less expensive grade of paper1 is used2 ,a fourth grade of bond paper is used by officers and department heads for their semi-official correspondence4 ,the sixth grade is used only for personal letters of a social nature2 it is of a high quality of linen stock1 tinted4 ,thus1 the size1 shape and quality of the paper and letterhead in each instance is made to conform to the best business and social usages4 ,for business correspondence1 custom allows but little leeway in the choice of paper4 ,for print shops1 advertising concerns1 ink manufacturers1 engravers1 or paper manufacturers1 stationery offers an opportunity to exploit their taste or products in an effective and legitimate manner4 ,for most houses1 however1 a plain bond1 linen1 or the vellums and hand-made papers that are coming into favor1 furnish the best letter paper4 ,colors on correspondence paper are seldom used to good effect2 the results are frequently glaring and cheap4 ,when in doubt as to what tint to use in the paper stock1 use white1 which is always in good taste4 ,tinted stock is occasionally used to good advantage as a firm color4 ,in such cases all the correspondence of that house has a uniform tint1 which thus acquires an advertising value in attracting attention to itself among a mass of other letters4 ,aside from this occasional and often doubtful advertising value1 tinted stock tends toward the eccentric except in the cases of paper dealers1 publishers1 or printers who have a purpose in displaying typographical effects4 ,many concerns use paper of various tints1 each of which identifies the particular department from which it comes4 ,thus1 white paper may mark the letters from the executive department1 blue from the selling department1 and brown from the manufacturing department4 ,but1 even in such cases1 the colors are used ordinarily only for inter-house or inter-department communications4 ,the sheet should be of standard size2 that is the letter sheet should be folded to fit exactly into the envelope that is used4 ,only such paper stock should be selected as can hold ink readily4 ,never select a stock that is not entirely serviceable on a typewriting machine4 ,never sacrifice the practical to the eccentric in business stationery4 ,an inferior quality of stationery is sometimes accepted by the shrewd observer either as a deliberate act to economize or as an indication of poor taste or indifference4 ,a man who gets an estimate1 for example1 written on cheap paper1 may be led to believe that the man who skimps on letter paper is apt to skimp on his work4 ,so long as the paper represents the sender1 just so long will the sender be judged by it4 ,from a semi-business or social standpoint1 stationery often plays an important role2 many instances are recorded where a man's private note paper has been the means of eliminating his name from select1 social lists4 ,the lady who1 in writing to an employment office for a butler1 used her private stationery with the remark1 that is one more way of giving them to understand what sort of a butler ,i want1 knew the effect produced by proper letter paper4 ,in other words1 the stationery of a business house--the size1 the proportions1 the tint1 the quality of its correspondence-paper-- offers the first of the several opportunities for the correspondent to put the recipient into a receptive state of mind toward the communication4 ,it is an item that the shrewd correspondent does not ignore1 because it offers him an opportunity--and the first opportunity--to score4 ,the ,typographical ,make-,up ,of ,,business ,,letters ,,part ,,iv--,,the ,,dress ,,of ,a ,,business ,,letter--,,chapter #ac ,all business houses recognize the necessity for having printed letterheads and envelopes1 but the variety of designs and styles are infinite4 ,nothing1 not even the paper1 affords such an index to the character of the individual or firm as the typography of the envelope and letterhead4 ,an impression1 favorable or otherwise1 is created ,,before ,,the ,,letter ,,is ,,read4 ,this chapter describes the methods of printing1 engraving and lithographing2 the advantages of each process1 and the difference in prices2 the proper placing of date1 name and address1 the width of margins1 spacing between lines--little points that contribute to the appearance of the letter and give it tone 99 99 99 99 99 ,the feature of a business letter that invariably commands the first conscious attention of the recipient is the name--printed or written--of the firm or individual from whom the letter comes4 ,except when the correspondent intentionally omits this information for the purpose of inducing the recipient to notice a circular letter that he might otherwise ignore1 the name and address of the sender is printed on the envelope4 ,this is done for two reasons3 it brings the name of the correspondent before the recipient immediately upon receipt of the letter2 it tends to secure favorable attention1 and it enables the post office authorities to return letters to the senders in case of non-delivery because of removals1 death1 wrong address or other causes4 ,in either case1 the interests of the correspondent are best served by printing this information in the upper left corner of the face of the envelope4 ,it is this side of the envelope that bears the address and the stamp1 and consequently the only side1 under ordinary circumstances1 that receives attention from either the postal officials or the recipient4 ,when the sender's name is printed in this position1 it is brought prominently to the attention of the recipient as the letter is placed before him4 ,but even a more practical reason for putting this data in the upper left corner is that such a location on the envelope permits the post office rubber stamp1 ,return to ,sender1 to be affixed1 in case of need1 without the confusion and annoyance that is caused when this address is printed on the back of the envelope1 as is sometimes done4 ,as a rule1 the printed matter that appears on the envelope should consist merely of the name and address of the sender in plain1 legible letters4 ,in no case should the address be ambiguous4 ,however many branch offices the firm may have1 the use of more than one address on the envelope is apt to be confusing and may result in a communication's being returned to an office other than that from which it comes4 ,to avoid this1 only one address should be printed on the envelope1 and that should be the address to which the correspondence is to be returned by the postal authorities in case of non-delivery to the addressee4 ,the trade mark or other similar distinctive imprint of a firm may properly be used on the envelope1 but only in cases where it will not tend to confuse or crowd the essential wording4 ,the name of the person to whom the letter is to be returned is of considerable more practical value to the postman than a unique design with which the envelope may be adorned4 ,the letterhead offers wider opportunities for an array of data4 ,pictures of offices1 buildings and factories1 trade marks1 lists of branch offices1 cable codes and the names of officers and executive heads may be used1 but too much reading matter leads to confusion4 ,the tendency today is toward simplicity4 ,the name and address of the firm1 and the particular department or branch office from which the communication comes1 is regarded as sufficient by many houses4 ,the day of the letterhead gay with birds-eye views of the plant and much extraneous information seems to be passing1 and money that was once spent in elaborate designs and plates is now put into the quality of the letter paper--and quality is usually marked by dignified simplicity and directness4 ,letterheads may be mechanically produced by several different processes that range widely in costs4 ,the principal methods of printing letterheads are3 ,first3 ,from type4 ,second3 ,from zinc or half-tone plates made from drawings--generally designated as photo-engraving4 ,third3 ,from plates engraved on copper or steel4 ,fourth3 ,from lithograph plates1 engraved on stone4 ,fifth3 ,from photogravure or similar engraved plates4 ,generally speaking1 letterheads printed from type are the cheapest4 ,the costs of type composition for an ordinary letterhead will vary from fifty cents to four or five dollars1 dependent upon the amount of work4 ,the printing ranges in cost from one dollar a thousand sheets for one color to several times that amount1 dependent upon the quality of ink and paper1 and upon local conditions4 ,many concerns are discarding letterheads printed from type1 as more individuality can be shown in some form of engraved or lithographed work4 ,good results may often be secured from line cuts or zinc plates-- which cost from five to ten cents a square inch1 with a minimum charge ranging from fifty cents to a dollar--made from pen-and-ink drawings4 ,good and distinctive lettering may often be secured in this way1 where type matter does not offer the same opportunities4 ,the cost of printing from zinc plates is practically the same as the cost of printing from type4 ,if the drawings are made in water color1 wash or oil1 or if they contain fine crayon or pencil shadings1 the reproductions must be made from half-tone plates4 ,these cost from twelve cents to twenty cents a square inch1 with a minimum rate that usually is equivalent to the cost of ten square inches4 ,half-tones1 however1 can be printed only on an enamel or other smooth-surface paper1 and cannot be used satisfactorily on a rough-surface paper as can zinc plates4 ,copper or steel engravings are made from designs furnished either by the engraver or by some other designer4 ,for simple engraved lettering such as is customarily used on business stationery1 the cost of a copper plate is about ten cents a letter4 ,for elaborate designs the costs increase proportionately4 ,steel plates1 which are more durable1 cost about sixty per cent more4 ,printing from such plates is considerably more expensive than the two processes previously described4 ,engraved letterheads cost from six dollars upward a thousand for the printing1 while the envelopes cost approximately two dollars and fifty cents a thousand4 ,the envelopes are usually printed from steel dies1 which cost about ten cents a letter4 ,for large orders of stationery1 exceeding #bj1jjj sheets1 lithography offers economies in price and other advantages that render it more practical than metal engraving4 ,the design is engraved upon stone and printed from the stone block4 ,while the initial costs of lithography are high1 ranging from #be4jj to #ajj4jj for the engraving 7with an average cost of about #ej4jj71 the price of printing is so moderate as to make this form of production popular among extensive users of business paper4 ,lithography gives a smooth1 uniform and permanent impression on the paper1 and permits of an indeterminate run4 ,the cost of printing from lithographic plates is practically the same as from steel or copper plates4 ,the savings effected in large orders is in the cost of the plates1 for copper and steel must be renewed as they become worn down4 ,the photogravure process is costly both in the plate-making and in the printing4 ,while it gives a rich and uniform impression on the letter paper1 and is highly valuable for reproducing pictures and ornate designs1 it is adaptable only for special purposes and is not generally regarded as suitable for commercial work4 ,a photogravure plate costs from seventy-five cents to one dollar and twenty-five cents a square inch1 or about #ab4jj to #ej4jj for a letterhead4 ,the printing costs about the same as for other engraved stationery4 ,with other processes1 somewhat similar in the market1 this method of printing letterheads has not yet won extensive favor4 ,it is now almost universally recognized that a letter should be written on one side of the sheet only4 ,a copy should be kept of every communication that leaves the office4 ,either a carbon copy may be made at the time the letter is written--six good copies can be made simultaneously on the average typewriter1 although one is usually sufficient--or a letter-press copy can be made from the sheet after it is signed4 ,both forms have been accepted by the courts as legal copies of correspondence4 ,such copies are usually filed alphabetically either by the name of the company or individual to whom the letter is addressed4 ,letter-press copies must necessarily be filed chronologically1 even when separate books for each letter of the alphabet are maintained4 ,in either case the search through the files for a letter copy is facilitated by placing the name1 address and date of a letter at the top4 ,for the same reason the date of a letter should be placed in the upper right corner of the page2 the recipient must know when the communication is sent2 it may have a bearing on other communications4 ,the name and address of the addressee1 similar to the address on the envelope1 should in all cases be placed1 as the formal salutation1 in the upper left corner of the sheet1 whether the correspondent be greeted ,dear ,sir or ,gentlemen4 ,not only does this establish at once the exact individual for whom the communication is intended but it facilitates the filing of the correspondence1 both by the recipient and by the sender4 ,the margins of a business letter1 owing to the limitations of the typewriter1 are usually variable4 ,the space occupied by the letterhead must1 of course1 determine the margin at the top of the sheet4 ,theoretically1 the margins at the left and right should be exactly the same size2 practically1 however1 the typewriter lines will vary in length and cause an uneven edge on the right side4 ,in printing1 the use of many-sized spaces not only between words but at times1 between the letters themselves rectifies these variations1 but the typewriter does not permit this4 ,the more even the right margin is and the more uniform it is to the left margin1 the better the effect4 ,the margins should be about one and a half inches in width4 ,the margin at the bottom should not be less than the side margins4 ,should it be smaller1 the page will appear cramped for space as the reading matter will be really running over into the margin--a typographical defect that is as noticeable on typewritten as on printed pages4 ,the spacing between the lines and between the paragraphs of a business letter may vary to suit the tastes of the individual1 although considerations of a practical nature tend to establish a few general principles4 ,both for purposes of convenience and of economy1 a letter should be as compact as possible1 both in words and in mechanical production4 ,it should not take up two sheets if the message can be written on one without undue crowding4 ,hence most business letters are single spaced2 that is1 only one space on the typewriter separates the lines4 ,even when a letter is short1 it is advisable for purposes of uniformity1 to use single spaces only4 ,the first line of each paragraph is usually indented from five to fifteen points on the machine4 ,each business house should establish exactly what this indentation shall be in order to secure uniformity in its correspondence4 ,instead of indenting the first line1 some concerns designate the paragraphs merely by separating them by double spacings1 beginning the first line flush with the left margin4 ,the best practice1 however1 seems to embody both of these methods1 but the average business letter usually has its paragraphs separated by double spacing and indenting the first line4 ,the address on the envelope1 to which the salutation at the top of the letter should correspond1 either exactly or in slightly condensed form1 may be properly typewritten in various ways4 ,the style that is most observed1 however1 and which has the stamp of general approval1 provides for an indentation of about five points on each line of the address4 ,between the lines the spacings may be either single or double but the latter is preferable4 ,greater spacing tends to separate the address too much to allow it to be read quickly4 ,another approved1 though less popular form of address does not indent the lines at all4 ,any radical departure from these forms should be made cautiously1 especially if the various items of the address are separated from each other4 ,the address1 like a paragraph1 is generally read as a unit--as a single1 distinct idea4 ,the closer the address conforms to the generally accepted forms1 the more readily are the envelopes handled by the postoffice and the less danger of delay4 ,getting a ,,uniform ,policy and ,quality in ,letters ,,part ,,iv--,,the ,,dress ,,of ,a ,,business ,,letter--,,chapter #ad ,every correspondent naturally reflects his own personality in his letters4 ,his distinguishing characteristics1 good1 bad and indifferent1 inevitably tend to find expression in his correspondence--,,unless ,,those ,,tendencies ,,are ,,guided4 ,that is exactly what the modern business house does4 ,it directs the work of its correspondents by means of general and specific rules as well as by instruction in the policies of the house until ail of its letters are uniform in quality and bear the stamp of a consistent personality--the personality of the house 99 99 99 99 99 ,a number of years ago1 the president of a company manufacturing carriages felt that he was not getting adequate results for the money he was spending in the mail sales department4 ,one day he called a meeting of all his correspondents and asked each man what arguments he used in writing to prospects4 ,he discovered that eight correspondents were using eight different lines of talk4 ,one emphasized this feature of the carriage1 a second based his argument on another feature1 and no two correspondents were reaching prospects from the same angle or making use of the same arguments4 ,here are eight different approaches1 said the president4 ,it is certain that one of these must be more effective than the other seven4 ,they can't all be best4 ,it is up to us to test them out and determine which one is best and then we will all use it4 ,when the proposition was presented in this way1 it was so elementary that everyone wondered why it had not been thought of before4 ,a series of tests followed with the different arguments and presentations and by a process of elimination the company proved conclusively which was the strongest approach4 ,then all of the correspondents used it in the first letter and the second strongest argument was used in the second letter1 and so on through the follow-up4 ,it was no longer left for each man to develop his arguments and his selling talk according to his own ideas4 ,through tests1 consultation and discussion1 every point was considered and all the correspondence was on the same level4 ,by adopting a uniform policy the efficiency of the sales department was increased1 the quality of the letters was raised and the work was handled more expeditiously and more economically4 ,one cannot write to all his customers and prospects2 that is why it is necessary to have correspondents in the various departments4 ,it is an easy matter to adopt rules and establish policies that will make their letters of a much higher standard and give them greater efficiency than if each went his own way without rule or regulation to guide him4 ,every correspondent represents the house in a dignified manner and handles the subjects intrusted to his care in a way that will reflect the best thought and the most successful methods of the house4 ,not everyone can be developed into a master correspondent but it is possible to establish a policy and enforce rules that will give quality and at least a fair measure of salesmanship to all letters4 ,many businesses have grown so rapidly and the heads have been so absorbed in the problems of production and extending markets that little time or thought has been given to the work of the correspondents4 ,and so it happens that in many concerns the correspondence is handled according to the whims1 the theories and the personality of the various men who are in charge of the different departments4 ,but there are other concerns that have recognized the desirability of giving individuality to all the mail that bears a house message4 ,they have found that the quality can be keyed up and the letters1 even though they may be written in a dozen different departments1 all have the family resemblance and bear evidence of good parentage4 ,and it may be certain that when all the letters from a house impart this tone1 this atmosphere of quality and distinction1 it is not because of chance4 ,it is not because the correspondents all happen to use a similar policy4 ,such letters imply a deliberate1 persistent1 intelligent effort to keep the correspondence from falling below a fixed level4 ,such a policy represents one of the finer products of the process of systematically developing all the factors in modern business--the stamping of a strong individuality upon all of the correspondence of a large organization4 ,to secure this uniformity in policy and in quality1 it is necessary to adopt a set of clear1 comprehensive rules and to impress upon the correspondents the full significance of the standing1 the character and the traditions of the house4 ,there are certain tendencies on the part of some correspondents that can be overcome by a general rule4 ,for instance1 there are the correspondents who try to be funny in their letters4 ,attempts at humor should be forbidden for the day has gone when the salesman can get orders by telling a funny story4 ,another correspondent may deal too largely in technicalities in his letters1 using words and phrases that are not understood4 ,then there is the correspondent who has an air of superiority in his letters and writes with impudence and his letters suggest a condescension on his part to explain a proposition2 or the complaint department may have a man who grants an allowance or makes an adjustment but puts a sting into his letter that makes the reader wish he had never patronized the house4 ,all such tendencies may be eradicated by a set of rules giving specific instruction on how to handle every point that comes up and the attitude that is to be assumed in answering complaints1 collecting accounts1 making sales1 and so forth4 ,and in order to have the letters reflect the house1 rules have been adopted in some cases that cover every conceivable point from a broad policy in handling arguments to a specific rule regarding the use of commas4 ,for instance1 it is no longer left to the discretion of the correspondent to start his letter ,john ,smith4 ,a rule provides that all letters shall begin ,mr4 ,john ,smith4 ,for the sake of dignity1 a western mail-order house decided to use ,dear ,sir and ,dear ,madam in the first three letters that went to a customer4 ,but on the third and succeeding letters this house uses the salutation ,dear ,mr4 ,smith or ,dear ,mrs4 ,smith4 ,this is a matter of policy1 a rule that will keep the letters up to a fixed standard4 99 99 99 99 99 ,page from ,one ,firm's ,book of ,rules3 ,in a long letter1 or where two or more subjects are treated1 each subject must be introduced with an appropriate subhead4 ,all letters1 long or short1 must carry a general subject head between the address and the first paragraph4 ,this general head and the subheads must be in capitals1 underscored with a single line1 and as nearly as possible in the middle of the sheet from right to left4 ,carefully avoid even the appearance of sarcasm4 ,be wary of adjectives1 particularly superlatives4 ,very1 great1 tremendous1 excellent1 etc41 have marred many an otherwise strong phrase and have propped needlessly many a good word1 all-sufficient of itself4 ,never use the first personal pronoun ,i when writing as ,blank ,company4 ,we is the proper pronoun4 ,where a personal reference is necessary1 the writer may be used2 but even this should be avoided wherever possible4 ,don't forget that certain small words are in the language for a purpose4 ,and1 a1 the1 are important1 and their elimination often makes a letter bald1 curt1 and distinctly inelegant4 ,carefully avoid such words and stock phrases as beg to acknowledge1 beg to inquire1 beg to advise1 etc4 ,do not beg at all4 ,do not say kindly for please4 ,do not say ,enclosed herewith4 ,herewith is superfluous4 ,do not reply to a letter2 answer it4 ,you answer a letter and reply to an argument4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in determining a uniformity in policy and quality1 the rules may be grouped in three classes3 those which determine the attitude of the writer2 those that relate to the handling of subject matter2 and then there are specific rules1 such as the style of paper1 the salutation1 the subscription1 signature1 and so forth4 ,the attitude and policy of the house must be determined according to the nature of the business and the ideas of the management4 ,the same rules will not apply to all houses but this does not lessen the desirability of an established policy4 ,for instance1 one large corporation1 selling entirely to dealers and to large contractors1 forbids the use of the first person singular4 ,under no consideration is the correspondent permitted to say ,i4 ,and if a personal reference is absolutely necessary1 he must refer to the writer4 ,the rule is to say we and the correspondents are urged to avoid this personal pronoun1 using the name of the company1 as1 ,it has always been the practice of the ,workwell ,company1 and so on4 ,most mail-order houses1 on the other hand1 get just as far away from this formal attitude as possible4 ,here it is the policy to get up close to the reader by a you-and-me attitude4 ,some mail-order houses have letters written in the name of the company1 signed by the writer as department manager1 sales manager1 or other officer4 ,then there are other houses that omit the company name entirely in order to get away from the soulless corporation idea as much as possible1 and letters to a customer are always signed by the same individual to get a personal relationship that is considered a most valuable asset4 ,this does not mean merely the matter of the signature1 but the entire attitude of the letter4 ,address your reply to me personally is the spirit of these firms--a policy that has been adopted after tests have demonstrated that it is the one appeal most effective with the average mail-order customer4 ,a large concern aims to make its points stand out more clearly by having the arguments presented in a one1 two1 three order1 and each paragraph is introduced with a subject printed in capitals at the beginning of the first line1 such as ,location1 ,terms1 ,guarantee4 ,this company1 dealing in lands1 usually finds it necessary to write rather lengthy letters and the subject heads serve as guide-posts and tend to concentrate attention4 ,one firm has barred all superlative adjectives1 not merely to guard against exaggeration but because the superlative degree lacks conviction4 ,the statement that ,this is the best collar ever made is not believed1 but to say that it is a fine collar or a good collar for it is five-ply1 and so forth1 rings true4 ,it is a better selling talk and so the superlative is not permitted4 ,then there are other general policies that concerns have adopted1 such as a rule that the price of articles cannot be mentioned in a letter4 ,a printed enclosure gives this information and reference may be made to it1 but the dollar mark does not appear in the letter itself4 ,this policy has been adopted to emphasize upon readers the fact that the company quotes but one price to all1 and it makes an effective selling talk out of the point that special discounts and inside prices are never given4 ,as confidence is always the first essential in building up a mail-order business1 this policy has done much towards increasing the standing and reputation of the houses using it4 ,and then come certain specific instructions covering a multitude of details4 ,for instance1 the style of paper is a matter that progressive business houses no longer ignore4 ,the policy of the house may be revealed in the envelope and letter paper before one has had time to read even the date line4 ,some firms provide different grades of stationery for different departments1 the sales letters going out in a much finer dress than letters from other departments4 ,the style to use is largely a matter of personal taste and preference4 ,the significant thing is not in the kind that is used by certain companies but the fact that progressive business houses now appreciate the necessity for a uniformity in stationery and in the manner of handling it4 ,harmony of color is especially desirable--the tint of the paper1 the color of the lithographing1 embossing or printing1 the color of the typewriter ribbon used and the color of the ink used in signing4 ,none of these points are too small to be considered in the progressive business houses today4 ,the closing is no less important than the opening and most rule books relieve the correspondent of all responsibility in deciding on what subscription to use or how to sign the letter4 ,for instance1 he is told that the house policy is to close with ,yours truly and that the name of the company is written with the typewriter followed by the signature of the writer and his title1 such as ,president1 or ,sales ,manager4 ,a publishing house in the east for years clung to the established policy of having all letters go out in the name of the president4 ,but it was finally decided by the executive committee that this policy tended to belittle the house1 for it was obvious that no institution of any size could have all its mail handled directly from the president's office4 ,it was argued that if the president's name were used only occasionally1 greater prestige would be given to the letters that actually came from his office1 and thereafter letters were signed by different department heads as ,manager of ,sales1 ,advertising ,manager1 ,managing ,editor1 ,manager of ,collection ,department1 and so forth4 ,and just so one could go through the book of rules of any business house and find a good reason for every policy that has been adopted4 ,for while it is desirable to have a family resemblance which is possible only through established rules1 and while letters written under specific instructions have added dignity and character1 yet there is back of each rule some additional significance1 the force of some tested argument1 the psychological effect of some timely suggestion4 ,no longer do large manufacturing and mercantile houses send out their salesmen and allow each one to push his line as he sees best4 ,many concerns require the salesmen to take a regular course of training to learn thoroughly the house attitude1 and they are given instructions on the best way to present arguments and overcome objections--just so the men who sell by letter are now instructed in the best methods for getting results4 ,the best way to secure a uniform policy is a practical question4 ,some houses employ a correspondent expert to spend a few weeks in the correspondence department just the same as an expert auditor is employed to systematize the accounting department4 ,in other houses the book of rules is a matter of evolution1 the gradual adding of new points as they come up and as policies are tried out1 a process of elimination determining those that should be adopted4 ,in some concerns the correspondents have regular meetings to discuss their problems and to decide upon the best methods of meeting the situations that arise in their work4 ,they read letters that have pulled1 analyze the arguments and in this way try to raise the quality of their written messages4 ,while it must be admitted that some men have a natural faculty of expressing themselves clearly and forcibly1 the fact remains that letter writing is an art that may be acquired4 ,it necessitates a capacity to understand the reader's attitude2 it requires careful study and analysis of talking points1 arguments and methods of presentation1 but there is no copyright on good letters and any house can secure a high standard and be assured that distant customers are handled tactfully and skilfully if a uniform policy is worked out and systematically applied4 ,making ,letters ,,uniform ,in ,appearance ,,part ,,iv--,,the ,,dress ,,of ,a ,,business ,,letter--,,chapter #ae ,business stationery should reflect the house that sends it out but unless specific rules are adopted there will be a lack of uniformity in arrangement1 in style1 in spelling1 infolding--all the little mechanical details that contribute to an impression of ,,character and ,,individuality4 ,definite instructions should be given to correspondents and stenographers so that letters1 although written in a dozen different departments1 will have a uniformity in appearance4 ,what a book of instructions should contain and how rules can be adopted is described in this chapter 99 99 99 99 99 ,just as progressive business houses now aim to have their correspondence uniform in policy and quality1 so too1 they aim at uniformity in letter appearance--the mechanical production4 ,it is obvious that if the letters sent out by a house are to have character1 one style must be adopted and definite rules must be formulated for the guidance of the stenographers4 ,the authorities differ on many points such as the use of capital letters1 abbreviations1 the use of figures1 and so forth1 and it is not to be expected that stenographers1 trained at different schools and working in different departments1 could produce uniformity unless they all follow specific instructions4 ,and so the more progressive firms have adopted a fixed style and codified certain rules for the guidance of stenographers and typists4 ,in the writing of a letter there are so many points that are entirely a matter of personal taste that a comprehensive rule book touches an almost infinite number of subjects1 ranging from an important question of house policy to the proper way of folding the sheet on which the letter is written4 ,it is not the purpose of this chapter to give a summary of the rules for punctuation and capitalization or to pass judgment on questions of style1 but to emphasize the necessity for uniformity in all correspondence that a house sends out1 and to call attention to a few of the more common errors that are inexcusable4 ,as far as the impression created by an individual letter is concerned1 it really makes very little difference whether the paragraphs are indented or begin flush with the line margin4 ,but it is important that all the letters sent out by a house follow the same style4 ,a stenographer should not be permitted to use the abbreviation ,co4 in one part of her letter and spell out the word company in the following paragraph4 ,in formulating the rules1 two things should be kept in mind-- clearness1 to make the meaning of the writer plain2 and a pleasing appearance that will make a favorable impression upon the reader4 ,the sole purpose of punctuation marks is to help convey a thought so clearly that it cannot be misunderstood and experienced writers learn to use the proper marks almost intuitively4 ,the rules are applied unconsciously4 ,many correspondents in dictating designate the beginning and the close of each sentence but others leave this to the intelligence of the stenographer1 and there is no better rule for those to whom such matters are left than to be liberal in the use of periods4 ,avoid long1 involved sentences4 ,there is little danger of misunderstanding in short sentences4 ,most of the rules can be made hard and fast--a simple regulation to do this or to avoid that4 ,they should begin with the date line4 ,instructions should be given as to the place for the date line3 whether it should be written on one or two lines and whether the month should be expressed in figures or should be spelled out1 and whether the year should be printed in full or abbreviated4 ,there is a growing tendency to use figures1 such as #aj-ae-aj1 and supplementary letters1 such as rd1 th1 and so forth1 are being eliminated4 ,some firms are placing the date at the bottom of the letter at the left hand margin1 although for convenience in making a quick reference the date line at the top of the letter is much to be preferred4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,page of ,instructions to ,stenographers3 ,city and date must be written about three spaces below the lowest printed matter on letterhead1 as follows3 ,chicago1 date single space below1 regulated so that it will precede and extend beyond ,chicago an equal distance1 the end of date being in line with margin of body of letter2 spell the month in full1 followed by the date in figures1 after which use comma2 add year in figures and end with period4 ,commence letter by addressing customer1 then double space and follow with city and state 7do not give street address7 except where window envelope is to be used2 double space and address as ,dear ,sir or ,madam4 ,also double space between this salutation and first paragraph4 ,paragraphs must begin ten points from margin on a line with city4 ,use single space1 with double space between paragraphs4 ,in closing use the phrase ,yours very truly and sign ,the ,wilson-,graham ,company4 ,have correspondent's and stenographer's initials on line with margin on left hand side of sheet4 ,margins must be regulated by length of letter to be written1 using your judgment in this respect4 ,the half size letterhead should be used for very short letters4 ,envelopes must be addressed double space1 with beginning of name1 street address1 city and state on marginal line1 as per sample attached4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the points that are suggested here1 however1 are entirely a matter of taste4 ,there is no court of last resort to which appeal can be made as to the better method4 ,each house must use its own judgment4 ,the important thing is to secure uniformity4 ,rules should govern the name of the addressee1 whether it should be prefaced by such titles as ,mr4 or ,messrs4 ,the form of the salutation1 the size of the margin1 the spacing between lines and between paragraphs1 the indentation of paragraphs1 if any--all of these points should be covered by rules4 ,the subscription1 the placing of the dictator's and the stenographer's initials are all proper subjects for the instruction book4 ,the use of capital letters is a disputed question with writers1 printers and proofreaders4 ,but there is a growing tendency to use the small letters wherever possible4 ,one large firm in the east has this rule3 ,when in doubt regarding the use of a capital letter1 don't4 ,use a small letter4 ,a great many business houses1 for the sake of emphasis1 capitalize the names of their own products4 ,for instance3 ,in this ,catalogue you will find listed a very complete line of ,countershafts1 ,magnetos1 ,induction ,coils1 ,lubricators1 ,mufflers1 ,spark ,coils1 and a complete line of automobile accessories4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is no rule that justifies such capitalization but it is a common practice in business correspondence4 ,there are some correspondents who write a word or a sentence in capital letters for emphasis4 ,occasionally this may be done to advantage but the tendency is to overwork the scheme4 ,at best it is a lazy man's way of trying to secure emphasis without the mental exertion of thinking up some figure of speech or some original expression that will give force to his thought4 ,the rule book should help out the stenographer in the use of numbers and prices4 ,usage and a practical viewpoint both commend the use of figures for expressing sums of money4 ,twelve hundred dollars may be understood but it takes longer to write and does not make such a sharp image in the mind of the reader as #a1bjj4 ,a common rule for figures is to spell out numbers under one hundred and to use numerals for larger amounts4 ,the use of abbreviations should be restricted and an inflexible rule should be never to use a man's initials or abbreviate his given name if he spells it out4 ,if you find by a letterhead that the one to whom you are writing spells out the name of his state it is wise to follow the trail4 ,the errors in punctuation found in business correspondence are of infinite variety1 although a surprising number of stenographers make similar errors in using hyphens for dashes and in misplacing quotation marks4 ,here is a common error3 ,a model ,no4 #h1--the one we exhibited at the ,business ,show last week1--has been sold to a customer in ,new ,zealand4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is no excuse for the comma used in connection with the dash and yet this construction is found in letters every day4 ,unfortunately most typewriters do not have a dash and so the hyphen is used1 but stenographers should be instructed to use two or1 better yet1 three hyphens without spacing 7---71 rather than a single hyphen as is so frequently seen4 ,here is a sentence in which the girl was versatile enough to combine two styles in one sentence3 ,the auto---although it was completely overhauled a few days ago---could not be started4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the first place1 the single hyphen gives the appearance of a compound word1 and placing a space on each side is scarcely less objectionable4 ,insist upon two or three hyphens without spaces when a dash is wanted4 ,quotation marks are another stumbling block4 ,there is no occasion to put the name of well-known books1 magazines1 and newspapers in quotation marks4 ,if you refer to ,harper's ,monthly the reader will get your meaning just as well without the quotation marks4 ,many stenographers in writing a sentence that ends with a quoted word place the quotation mark first and the period or question mark following1 as3 ,johnson's last words to me were3 ,i will accept your terms4 99 99 99 99 99 ,put the period inside the fence where it belongs4 ,this is a rule that is violated more often than it is observed1 the confusion coming from an occasional exception where a punctuation mark has nothing to do with the quotation1 as in the sentence3 ,may we not send you a trial order of our ,x ,brand8 99 99 99 99 99 ,here it is plain that the question mark should follow the quotation mark4 ,there is no excuse for the frequent misplacing of these marks1 for the quoted part of a sentence invariably shows the proper position for each mark4 ,a chapter could be filled with errors to be avoided--only a few of the most common ones are mentioned here4 ,this reference to them may suggest to the heads of correspondence departments the range of points to be covered in a rule book4 ,some rule books go further and devote pages to faulty diction that must be avoided and print lists of words that should not be used and words that are preferred4 ,the folding of the typewritten page usually comes in for a rule and instructions are generally given regarding corrections--whether the pen can be used at all or if letters must be rewritten4 ,with these rules laid down for the guidance of the stenographer1 her mind is left free for other things that will contribute to her usefulness4 ,it is no reflection on their knowledge of correct ,english to say that the majority of correspondents1 working under high pressure1 make mistakes that the stenographer must catch4 ,it is extremely easy in dictating to mix up the tenses of verbs and to make other slips which most letter writers look to their stenographers to correct4 ,it should be a hard and fast rule that an ungrammatical letter must never be sent out under any circumstances4 ,some correspondents not only look to the stenographer to edit their copy but to come back for a new dictation if the meaning of a letter is not perfectly clear4 ,the thought is that if the stenographer does not understand it1 there is danger of its being misinterpreted by the one to whom it is addressed4 ,many rule books include a list of trade terms and phrases that the most expert stenographer may never have met with in their previous work4 ,legal terms are especially difficult to take down until a girl has become familiar with the unknown ,latin words4 ,this may also be said of technical terms1 mechanical terms1 architectural and building terms1 and so forth4 ,it is a saving of time and annoyance in many offices to have a list of frequently used words that the new stenographer can study before she attempts to take dictations4 ,it is not likely that any two business houses could adopt the same rules throughout4 ,but this does not lessen the desirability of having specific instructions covering all these points1 for without uniformity1 the letters will not have the character1 the dignity and the individuality that is desired by every concern4 ,how to ,write the ,letter ,that ,will ,,land the ,order ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #af ,selling goods is considered the biggest problem in the business world4 ,hard as it is to close a deal with the prospect right before you1 it is infinitely harder to get his order when he is miles away and you must depend upon a type-written sheet to interest him in your proposition sufficiently to buy your goods4 ,methods that have succeeded are described in this chapter and samples of order-bringing letters are given 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter that is sent out unaided to make its own approach1 open its own canvass and either complete a sale or pave the way to a sale may be called the original sales letter4 ,there has been no inquiry1 no preliminary introduction of any kind4 ,the letter is simply the substitute for the salesman who voluntarily seeks out his own prospect1 presents his proposition and tries to land an order4 ,such a letter undertakes a big task4 ,it has a more difficult mission than the personal salesman1 for it cannot alter its canvass on the spot to suit the prospect's mood4 ,it must have its plan complete before it goes into the mail4 ,it must be calculated to grip the attention1 impel a reading1 prompt a favorable decision and get back1 in the return envelope1 an order or at least a request for further information4 ,the letter that can do that1 a letter so clever and so convincing that it makes a man a thousand miles away put his hand into his pocket1 take out his hard earned cash and buy a money order2 or makes the shrewd man at the desk take up his pen1 write a check and send it for the goods you have to sell1 is a better employee than your star salesman because it gets the order at a fraction of the cost4 ,and the man who can write the letter that will do that is a power in the business world--his capacity is practically unlimited4 ,original sales letters are of two kinds3 those that endeavor to perform the complete operation and secure the order and those that are intended merely as the first of a follow-up series or campaign4 ,which to use will depend upon the nature and cost of your proposition4 ,a simple1 low-priced article may be sold with a single letter--the margin of profit may not warrant more than that4 ,on an expensive1 complicated article you cannot hope to do more in the initial letter than win your prospect's interest1 or possibly start him toward the dealer who sells your goods4 ,consider first the former4 ,you are to write a single letter and make it an attention-getting1 interest-winning1 complete1 convincing1 order-bringing medium4 ,there is no better way to do this than to put yourself in the position of the salesman who must do all these things in a single interview4 ,you really must do more than the salesman1 but this is the best way to get in your own mind the proper attitude toward your prospect4 ,say to yourself1 ,i am now going into this man's office4 ,he does not know me and does not know ,i am coming4 ,this is the only chance ,i have to see him and ,i shall probably never see him again4 ,i must concentrate all my knowledge of my proposition on this one selling talk and must tell him everything ,i can about it that will make him want to buy4 ,i must say it in such a way that he will clearly understand2 ,i must give him a good reason for buying today and ,i must make it easy for him to do so4 ,then picture yourself in his office1 seated beside his desk and proceed to talk to him4 ,above all1 keep in mind that you are talking to one man4 ,no matter if your letter is to go to ten thousand people1 each letter is individual4 ,remember1 it goes to one person4 ,so when you write it1 aim directly at one person4 ,and see him in your mind's eye4 ,get as clear an idea as you can of the class your letter is going to and then picture the average man in that class4 ,the best way is to pick out some friend or acquaintance who most nearly represents the class you want to reach and write the letter to him4 ,you'll be surprised how much easier it is when you have a definite person in mind4 ,and your letter will then be sure to have that much desired personal touch4 ,of prime importance in this single sales letter is the close1 the clincher4 ,your one big purpose is to get the order1 and no matter how clever you may be three-fourths of the way through1 if the letter falls short of clinching the order in the end1 it may as well not have been written at all4 ,here is an excellent example of one of these complete letters4 ,note particularly the summing up1 the guarantee offer and how easy the writer makes it to order3 ,,how ,,to ,,get ,a ,,position ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,hold ,,it ,is the title of a little book that business men and editors say is the most sensible and helpful thing ever printed on its subject ,contains the boiled-down experience of years4 ,written by an expert correspondent and high-salaried writer of business literature who has hunted positions for himself1 who has been all along the road up to places where he1 in turn1 has advertised for employees1 read their letters1 interviewed and engaged them--who is now with a company employing #bgjj of both sexes and all grades from the #c a week office boy to a #ge a week specialist4 ,,how ,,to ,,get ,a ,,position ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,hold ,,it treats of what one should be able to do before expecting to find a good position2 takes up the matter of changes2 advises how long to hold the old position2 tells what kind of a new position to try for2 explains the various ways of getting positions2 suggests how the aid of prominent people can be enlisted2 shows the kind of endorsements that count2 teaches how to write letters of application that ,,command attention2 gives hints on preparing for the interview and on how to make the best impression2 tells what should be done when you are selected for a position and take up your duties2 deals with the question of salary before and after the engagement2 with the bugbear of experience2 the matter of hours2 and gives pages of horse-sense on a dozen other important topics4 ,the clear instructions for writing strong letters of application1 and the model letters shown1 are alone worth the price of the book4 ,not one in a hundred--even among the well- educated--can write a letter of application that convinces4 ,how many of yours fail8 ,the engagement usually depends on the interview2 and the interview cannot1 as a rule1 be obtained without the impressive letter4 ,consequently1 the letter is of tremendous importance4 ,if you carry out the suggestions set down in plain language in this little book1 you can hardly fail to land a position4 ,and ,i am offering the book for twenty-five cents a copy4 ,just think of it6 ,the principles and plans outlined in its pages have been the means of securing high-salaried positions for its author and for others1 and this valuable information is yours for the price of five car rides4 ,this is my offer3 ,send me a #be-;cent piece in the enclosed coin-card1 or twenty-five cents in stamps1 and ,i'll mail you a copy of ,,how ,,to ,,get ,a ,,position ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,hold ,,it4 ,if1 after reading the book1 you do not feel it is worth many times its cost1 just tell me so and return the copy in good condition4 ,i'll send your money back without any quibbling4 ,could any offer be fairer8 ,order today--now4 ,next week there may come to your notice an opening that may be the chance of a lifetime--when my little book will be worth its weight in gold4 ,besides1 it tells how to create openings when none are advertised4 ,you need not write me a letter4 ,just write your full name and address on the back of this sheet and wrap your stamps up in it1 or put your name and address on the coin-card after you have enclosed the #be-;cent piece4 ,i'll understand4 ,write plainly4 ,i am selling the book so cheaply that ,i cannot afford to have any copies go astray in the mails4 ,yours truly1 ,signature3 ,charles ,black 99 99 99 99 99 ,now as to the other kind of original sales letter--the one that is merely the first of a series of three or more letters skillfully planned to build up interest until the climax1 the purchasing point is reached4 ,this letter is really a combination of the two kinds4 ,if you can land the order with the first letter1 you want to1 of course4 ,but you know you can expect to do this only in a small percentage of cases4 ,so while you must put into the initial letter enough information to make your proposition clear and must give at least one good reason for buying1 you must keep good convincing sales talk in reserve for the succeeding letters4 ,and you must plan this first letter so that the re-enforcements to follow will logically support your introduction4 ,this can best be illustrated by a clever first letter from a very successful series4 ,the manufacturer of a #e fireless cooker planned a letter campaign to induce hardware dealers and department stores to buy a stock of his product4 ,the first sales letter of the series scored strongly on one or two points and at the same time paved the way for the second letter3 ,dear ,sir3 ,are you ready for the woman who wants a fireless cooker but can't pay ten or fifteen dollars8 ,the aggressive advertising done by the manufacturers of fireless cookers and the immense amount of reading matter published in women's magazines about the fireless method of cooking has stirred up a big demand4 ,but just figure out how many of your customers can't afford to pay #aj1 #ab or #ae4 ,think of the sales that could be made with a thoroughly reliable cooker at #e--one that you could feel safe in standing back of4 ,it's here6 ,we had the #ae-;idea1 and we worked out the prettiest cooker you ever saw at any price4 ,but we got together one day and figured out that the big market was for a low-priced cooker that every woman could buy4 ,how to get a ,jenkins-quality cooker1 one that a retailer would be proud to sell1 down to the retail price of #e was the question4 ,but we figured our manufacturing up into the tens of thousands1 and the enclosed folder tells about the result4 ,our advertising next month in the ,woman's ,home ,companion1 ,ladies' ,home ,journal1 ,ladies' ,world1 ,good ,housekeeping1 ,everybody's1 ,cosmopolitan and ,mc,clures will do big things for you if you have the ,jenkins #e ,fireless ,cooker in your window4 ,we have a good sized stock on hand but they won't last long the way orders are coming in from far-sighted retailers4 ,how would a dozen do as a starter for you8 ,yours truly1 ,signature3 ,black ,black 99 99 99 99 99 ,a letter of this kind should be effective because it gives enough information to make a sale in case the reader is an unusually good prospect1 and at the same time it lays a good foundation for the second letter4 ,are you willing to make more money on soap8 ,yes1 we suppose you are carrying many soaps1 but when a distinctive soap is advertised as thoroughly as we are advertising ,,wesinod1 it actually creates new trade1 and of course you aren't sorry to see new faces in the store4 ,,wesinod ,,soap has the curative and beneficial effects of ,resinol ,ointment1 which is now used so extensively by the medical profession4 ,,wesinod ,,soap is more than a cleanser3 it is a restorer1 preserver and beautifier of the skin1 and as such is attracting the favorable attention of women4 ,enclosed is a reproduction of our advertisement in the magazines this month and a list of the magazines in which the copy appears4 ,we are educating #aj1jjj1jjj readers to feel the need of ,,wesinod ,,soap4 ,a supply of our liberal samples and a trial order to be used in a window display will show you the possibilities4 ,may we send samples and a trial gross8 ,yours for more soap money1 ,,wesinod ,,soap ,,company 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is a strong selling letter that interests the reader1 disarms his natural objection to adding an additional line of soap and presents briefly convincing reasons for stocking with ,wesinod4 ,while this letter is intended to get the order1 it effectively paves the way for further correspondence 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is unnecessary to take up here the elements that should go into the sales letter--attention1 interest1 argument1 proof1 persuasion1 inducement and the clincher4 ,but it is well to emphasize three points that are especially important in the original letter in the series3 confidence1 price and the close4 ,you may be sure1 that unless you win the confidence of your prospect from the start1 your whole campaign is going to be a waste of time1 paper and postage4 ,distrust and prejudice1 once started1 are hard things to overcome by mail1 particularly when you are a concern or individual unknown to the man to whom you are writing4 ,dear ,sir3 '',if your magazine pulls as well as the ,blank ,monthly ,i will give you a twelve-page contract4'' ,that remark wasn't meant for our ears1 but one of our solicitors couldn't help overhearing it4 ,it was made by a prominent advertiser1 too4 ,we wish we could give his name1 but when we asked permission to quote he smiled and said he'd rather not4 ,so1 we'll have to refer you to our advertising pages4 ,but the remark speaks pretty well for the ,blank ,monthly1 doesn't it8 ,it's not surprising1 though4 ,the ,blank ,monthly goes into #aea1jjj homes4 ,it is taken and read by the best class of technical1 scientific and mechanically inclined men1 representing one of the choicest classes of buyers in ,america4 ,our subscribers are great buyers of things by mail4 ,dozens of our advertisers have proved it4 ,they don't sell shoddy or cheap goods1 either4 ,that's why we believe your advertising will pay in the ,blank ,monthly4 ,if we didn't believe it1 we shouldn't solicit your business4 ,try your copy in the ,june issue1 which goes to press on ,april #bg-- last form ,may #f4 ,if you send copy ,,today1 you will be sure to get in4 ,very truly yours1 ,signature3 ,m4 ,o4 ,williams 99 99 99 99 99 ,the quoted language gives the opening of this letter an interesting look4 ,the first three paragraphs are strong4 ,the fourth paragraph is merely assertive1 and is weak4 ,a fact or two from some advertiser's experience would be much better 99 99 99 99 99 ,and so with this in mind1 be careful of the tone of your letter4 ,be earnest1 make reasonable statements1 appeal to the intelligence or the experience of the reader and deal with specific facts rather than with mere assertions or claims4 ,there is no inspiration to confidence in the time-worn claims of strongest1 best1 and purest4 ,tell the facts4 ,instead of saying that an article is useful in a dozen different ways1 mention some of the ways4 ,when you declare that the cylinder of your mine pump is the best in the world1 you are not likely to be believed2 the statement slips off the mind like the proverbial water from a duck's back4 ,but when you say that the cylinder is made of close-grained iron thick enough to be rebored1 if necessary1 you have created a picture that does not call for doubt4 ,but watch out that you don't start an argument4 ,brander ,mathews gives us a great thought when he says that controversy is not persuasion4 ,don't write a letter that makes the reader feel that he is being argued into something4 ,give him facts and suggestions that he can't resist2 let him feel that he has convinced himself4 ,this paragraph fails of its purpose1 simply because it argues4 ,you can almost picture the writer as being peevish because his letters haven't pulled3 ,this stock is absolutely the safest and most staple you could buy4 ,it will positively pay regular dividends4 ,we stand back of these statements4 ,you must admit1 therefore1 that it is a good buy for you4 ,so why do you hesitate about buying a block of it8 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the other hand1 this appeals to the investor because it has genuine proof in it3 ,no stockholder of ours has lost a dollar through fluctuation in the price of the stock1 though we have been doing business for fifteen years4 ,our stock has been readily salable at all times4 ,no dividend period has ever been missed4 ,the quarterly dividend has never been less than #b-a_/b per cent4 ,during the depression of #aijg-aijh our stock maintained itself at #dj per cent above par when other industrial stocks were dropping to par or below4 ,surely1 here is an investment worth your investigation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,telling specific facts helps to produce conviction as well as to create confidence4 ,not every one is a genius in the handling of words1 but every writer of a letter that is to bristle with conviction must use his imagination4 ,he must put himself mentally in the place of the typical customer he is addressing and use the arguments and facts that would convince him4 ,the writer should try to see himself enjoying the foods or service--picture his satisfaction4 ,then he has a better chance of reproducing his picture in the mind of the reader4 ,for instance1 read this paragraph of idle assertions3 ,buy our hams once and you will buy them always4 ,all of our meat is from young hogs1 and is not tough1 but is high-grade4 ,nothing but corn-fed stock is used4 ,we guarantee the quality4 ,we use good sugar in curing our hams1 the best quality of saltpeter and some salt4 ,the result is a natural flavor that can't be beat4 ,we challenge competition4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now contrast it with this real description of the same product1 calculated to create confidence in the trademark it bears3 ,this mark certifies that the hog came from good stock1 that it was corn-fed in order that it might be firm and sweet--that it was a barrow hog1 so that the meat would be full-flavored and juicy--that it was a young hog1 making the ham thin-skinned and tender--well-conditioned and fat1 insuring the lean of the ham to be tasty and nutritious4 ,the mark certifies that the ham was cured in a liquor nearly good enough to drink1 made of granulated sugar1 pure saltpeter and only a very little salt2 this brings out all the fine1 rich1 natural flavor of the carefully selected meat1 and preserves it without 'salty pickling4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,note how much more graphic the second paragraph is than the first1 and every statement is backed up by a logical reason4 ,the testimony of other people1 especially of those in positions of authority and those who would not be suspected of bias1 has much convincing power4 ,there is nothing in the contention that testimonials are out of date4 ,they constitute the strongest kind of support4 ,but get testimonials that really say something4 ,the man who writes and says that he got out of the book he bought from you an idea that enabled him to make a profit of #ej the first week1 says a thousand times more than the man who writes and merely says that he was pleased with his purchase4 ,let price come in the letter just about where it would come in an oral canvass4 ,the skillful salesman of high-priced shirts doesn't talk about the #c price until he has shown the shirt and impressed the customer4 ,if price is the big thing--is lower than the reader is likely to imagine it would be--it may be made the leading point and introduced at the outset1 but unless it is an attraction1 it should be held back until strong description has prepared the reader for the price4 ,the method of payment and delivery must be treated effectively in the closing paragraphs4 ,the following plans all have their use3 ,offer to send on free trial for ten days or longer2 ,offer to send for free examination1 payment to be made to express agent when examination has shown article to be satisfactory2 ,offer to send on small payment1 the small payment to be a guarantee against trifling1 balance payable on examination2 ,offer to sell on easy-payment plan2 ,offer to sell for cash but with strong refunding guarantee2 ,offer to supply article through local dealer on reader's authorization4 ,with such an authorization1 the advertiser has a good opening to stock the retailer4 ,the price feature offers one of the best opportunities to give the letter real inducement4 ,if the price is in any sense a special price1 make it clear that it is4 ,sometimes you can hang your whole letter on this one element4 ,reduced price1 if the reduction is set forth logically1 is a strong feature4 ,one publisher uses it in this fashion3 ,we have just #adf sets of these books to sell at #ah4ej4 ,when the new edition is in1 it will be impossible to get a set at less than #be4 ,the old edition is just as good as the new1 but we are entirely out of circular matter describing the green cloth binding1 and as we don't want to print a new lot of circulars just to sell #adf sets1 we make this unusual offer4 ,now is your chance4 99 99 99 99 99 ,advance in price is almost as strong4 ,it's a lever to quick action3 ,on the #ast of ,october the rate of the ,,messenger will go up to one dollar a line4 ,if you place your order before the thirtieth of this month you can buy space to be used any time before ,january #a next at seventy-five cents a line4 ,after the thirtieth1 positively no orders will be accepted at less than one dollar a line4 ,as a matter of fact our circulation entitles us to a dollar a line right now4 ,don't let this letter be covered up on your desk4 ,attend to this matter now1 or instruct your advertising agent to reserve space for you1 and get a big bargain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,price1 in this case is1 in fact1 a part of the close4 ,it spurs the reader to order now4 ,setting a time limit1 in which a proposal holds good1 is also a strong closer4 ,a large book publisher finds it effective to make a discount offer good if accepted within a certain number of days4 ,guarantee offers are strong4 ,don't content yourself with the old absolutely guaranteed expression4 ,be definite4 ,order this buggy1 and if1 at the end of a month1 you are not entirely satisfied that it is the biggest buggy value you ever had for the money1 just write me1 and ,i'll take the buggy back without quibbling4 ,could any offer be fairer8 ,i make it because ,i've sold #bdf of these buggies since ,january1 and so far no man has asked for his money back4 ,the sum-up is as important a part of the sales letter as it is of the lawyer's speech or brief4 ,it should concentrate the whole strength of the letter at the close1 as1 for instance3 ,so you see that though our machine is apparently high-priced it is really cheaper by the year than another machine4 ,our offer of a free trial right in your own plant gives you absolute protection4 ,it is quite natural1 of course1 for us to be desirous of getting your order1 but we do not see how you can1 from your own point of view1 afford not to put the ,bismarck in your factory4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and finally1 help the prospect buy4 ,the sales letter designed to bring the order must provide an easy method of ordering4 ,in the first place1 a great many people do not understand how to order4 ,to others1 making out an order is a task that is likely to be postponed4 ,by making it easy for the reader to fill out a blank with a stroke or two of the pen1 while the effect of the letter is strong1 a great many orders will be secured that would otherwise be lost4 ,it should be axiomatic that if a letter is expected to pull business through the mails it must place before the recipient every facility for making it easy and agreeable to reply and reply ,,now4 ,how this can best be done will be taken up more fully in a separate chapter on ,making ,it ,easy to ,answer4 ,one thing to remember particularly in the case of the original sales letter is that if possible it should have a definite scheme behind it4 ,a reason for the offer1 a reason for the letter itself4 ,a safe-deposit vault was well advertised by sending out letters that contained a special pass to the vault with the name of the reader filled in4 ,of course the letter gave a pressing invitation to call and allow the custodian to show the vault's interesting features4 ,still another clever letter soliciting rentals of safe-deposit boxes proposed that in case the reader now had a box elsewhere1 they would take the lease off his hands4 ,in reality they merely gave him free rental until his other lease expired1 but the scheme was cleverly planned4 ,a buggy maker wrote enclosing duplicate specifications of a buggy he had just had made for his own personal use1 and suggested that he would have another made for the reader exactly like it and turned under the same careful supervision4 ,letters that give the reader something or offer to give him something have similar effect4 ,the letter about a new facial cream will command extra attention because of the small sample of the cream enclosed4 ,in fact1 one cold cream company finds it an effective plan to send a sample and a sales letter to druggists' mailing lists or to names taken from telephone books1 telling the reader in the final paragraph that the cream can be purchased at the local drug store4 ,a letter offering a sample can of a high-grade coffee for the name of the reader's favorite grocer will bring a good response and afford the advertiser a strong hold on the grocer4 ,a favorite method of securing savings depositors is to send a good savings letter that offers a free home-savings bank or a vest-pocket saver4 ,even calendars may be given out more effectively by sending a letter and telling the reader that a good calendar has been saved for him and asking him to call at the office4 ,a striking paragraph of a real estate dealer's soliciting letter is one that asserts that the dealer has a client with the cash who wants just about such a house as the reader of the letter owns4 ,a real estate dealer1 whose specialty is farms1 has this telling sentence in his original letter3 ,somewhere there is a man who will buy your farm at a good price2 ,i should like to find that man for you4 ,there is hardly a product or a proposition that does not offer opportunity to put some scheme behind the letter4 ,and such a plan doubles the appeal of the original sales letter4 ,but once more1 remember1 not to put all your ammunition into the first letter4 ,be prepared to come back in your second and third letters1 not simply with varied repetitions1 but with more reasons for buying4 ,make your first letter as strong as you can1 but at the same time--pave the way4 ,the ,letter ,that ,will ,,bring an ,inquiry ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #ag ,comparatively few propositions can be sold in the first letter2 in most campaigns it is enough to stimulate a man's interest and get him to reply4 ,this chapter gives specific schemes that have proved successful in pulling answers--in making an opening for the heavy artillery of the follow-up 99 99 99 99 99 ,think what a problem you would have if you started out as a salesman to sell a certain article with no definite idea of where to find your prospects4 ,you might interview a hundred men before you found one who was interested4 ,that would be pretty slow and pretty expensive selling1 wouldn't it8 ,and think what it would mean if you were to send out broadcast a thousand expensive booklets and follow-up letters only to receive one reply from the one man with whom you effected a point of contact4 ,that1 too1 would be a prohibitively costly method of selling4 ,yet one or both these methods would in many cases be necessary were it not for the inquiry-bringing letter4 ,the inquiry letter is a feeler--the advance agent of the selling campaign4 ,it goes broadcast to find and put its finger on the man who is interested or who can be interested1 and his reply labels him as the man whom it is worth while for your salesman to see1 or1 who is at least worth the expense and endeavor of a follow-up series4 ,the inquiry letter is like the advertisement which asks you to send for a catalogue or booklet4 ,the advertisement writer believes that if you are interested enough to write for the booklet1 you will be interested enough to read his sales letters1 and possibly become a purchaser4 ,it is the same with the inquiry-bringing letter4 ,it is simply a sieve for sifting out the likely prospects from the great mass of persons1 who for many reasons cannot be brought around into a buying mood concerning your proposition4 ,the great advantage of the letter which induces the recipient to express his interest in an inquiry1 is that you not only make him put himself unconsciously under an obligation to read further details1 but you give time for the thoughts that you have started to get in their work4 ,the fact that a man has decided to ask for more information and has put that decision in writing is of considerable psychological value4 ,the one thing the salesman hopes to find1 and the one thing the letter writer strives to create1 is a receptive mood on the part of his prospect4 ,the moment a man answers the inquiry-letter1 he has put himself into a frame of mind where he waits for and welcomes your subsequent sales talk4 ,he looks forward with some interest to your second letter4 ,at first there was just one person to the discussion4 ,now there are two4 ,in this respect the letter is like the magazine advertisement4 ,give all the details of a #ejj piano in an advertisement of ordinary size1 quoting the price at the close1 and it is extremely unlikely to bring the reader to the point of deciding that he will buy the piano4 ,it is better to deal with some point of interest about the piano and offer a fine piano book free4 ,and right here it is worthy of mention that interesting books with such titles as ,how to ,select a ,piano1 ,how to ,make ,money in ,real ,estate1 ,bank ,stocks as an ,investment1 or ,the ,way to ,have a ,beautiful ,complexion1 make letters as well as advertisements draw inquiries of a good class4 ,in other words1 offer an inducement1 give your man a reason for answering4 ,when you have written a letter calculated to draw inquiries1 put yourself in the position of the man who is to get it and read it through from his standpoint4 ,ask yourself whether you would answer it if you received it4 ,test it for a reason1 an inducement1 and see if it has the pulling power you want it to have4 ,if you are offering a book1 for example1 impress the reader with the real value of the book1 magnify its desirability in his mind4 ,a paper company does this admirably when it writes3 ,the new ,condax specimen book is a beautiful thing--not a mere book of paper samples1 understand1 but a collection of art masterpieces and hand-lettered designs1 printed with rare taste on the various kinds of ,condax papers4 ,many have told us it is the finest example of printing they have ever seen come from the press4 ,we feel sure you would treasure the book just for its artistic merits1 but we are not sending you one now because there is such a tremendous demand for it that we do not like to chance having a single copy go astray and we want yours to reach you personally4 ,we are holding it for you and the enclosed card will bring it1 carefully wrapped1 by return mail4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of course such a book must be designed to do the proper work when it gets into the hands of the reader4 ,it is a mistake to tell a great deal in the inquiry-bringing letter1 unless you can reasonably hope to close a sale4 ,a man will act on impulse in ordering a dollar article1 but he isn't likely to be impulsive about an insurance policy4 ,if you give him the entire canvass on an insurance policy at the first shot1 it will have to be of extraordinary interest and convincing power to close the sale4 ,the subject is new4 ,the prospect has not had a chance to think over the facts4 ,he is suspicious of your power2 afraid of hastiness on his own part4 ,he is likely to give himself the canvass and decide ,no1 before giving you any further chance4 ,appeal to curiosity4 ,arouse interest and leave it unsatisfied4 ,remember that your inquiry letter is a definite part of your campaign4 ,therefore it must be consistent with what is to follow and must pave the way naturally for it4 ,seek replies only from those who can use and can afford to buy the article you have to sell4 ,a maker of a specialty machine got out an inquiry letter along this line3 ,if you are tired of a salaried job1 if you want to get into a big-paying1 independent business of your own4 ,i have a proposition that will interest you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of course he got a big percentage of replies1 for what man does not want a big-paying1 independent business of his own8 ,but when in his follow-up letter he stated his proposition1 offering state rights to his machine for #e1jjj1 he shot over the heads of #ii per cent of the men who had answered his first letter4 ,his inquiry letter had completely failed of its purpose4 ,it was not selective1 it was general4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i should like to have you consider buying the enclosed series of talks on advertising for use in your paper4 ,i am an expert advertising man and ,i have spent a great deal of time and energy on these talks4 ,i know that they will produce results that will be very satisfactory to you for they are based on the real experience of an expert4 ,the price of these talks--that is1 the right to use the talks and illustrations in your city--is #ae1 which you must admit is dirt cheap1 considering the quality of the matter4 ,all the progressive publishers are jumping at the chance to get these talks at the low price ,i am quoting them4 ,if you do not accept my offer1 one of your competitors will certainly do so1 and you will lose prestige4 ,hoping to hear from you at once and promising careful attention to your valued favors1 ,i am ,truly yours1 ,signature3 ,g4 ,l4 ,lawrence 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter has an unfortunate beginning4 ,the writer starts by considering his own interests rather than those of the publisher4 ,it is not tactful to begin with ,i want-to-sell-you-something talk4 ,the second paragraph is merely an egotistic statement4 ,no facts are furnished to impress the publisher4 ,in the third paragraph price is introduced before desire is created4 ,the fourth paragraph is a palpable boast that will not be believed and an insinuation that the publisher addressed may not be progressive4 ,the suggestion about the competitor is likely to arouse antagonism4 ,the close is hackneyed and the entire letter is rather an advertisement of the writer's inability rather than of his ability 99 99 99 99 99 ,do not deceive4 ,nothing is gained by deception in a high grade venture4 ,your offer to give away a first-class lot in a first-class suburban real estate campaign will make a good class of readers suspicious of you4 ,and though you may get many inquiries from those who are looking for something for nothing1 the chances are that the inquiries will be of a very poor quality4 ,better get two per cent of first-class prospects than ten per cent that will only waste your time4 ,you must not forget that it costs money to solicit people either by mail or by salesmen4 ,,how ,,to ,,increase ,,your ,,advertising ,,receipts ,sidenote3 ,heading and first sentence introduce a subject of vital interest to publishers4 ,what would it be worth to you to have a dozen more local advertisers buying your space regularly8 ,sidenote3 ,facts and arguments which show that the writer knows conditions4 ,how much money would it mean to have in the paper regularly just a few of those who advertise poorly and spasmodically for a short time1 then drop out and whine that advertising doesn't pay8 ,sidenote3 ,as he has had such wide experience he understands the situation and his words carry conviction--touch a tender spot with every publisher4 ,i know your problems4 ,i have had soliciting experience as well as broad copywriting experience4 ,i served three years on the advertising staff of ,,the ,,baltimore ,,news--the paper for which ,mr4 ,munsey recently paid #a1ejj1jjj4 ,i know how hard it is to get a certain class of local advertisers started4 ,i know how hard it is to keep them going after they once start4 ,of course ,,you know why some advertisers come in the paper but won't stay4 ,they can't see where their money comes back1 ,,and ,,the ,,plain ,,truth ,,is ,,that ,,often ,,it ,,doesn',t ,,come ,,back simply because these advertisers don't advertise intelligently4 ,your solicitors are not all skillful copywriters4 ,soliciting ability and copy-writing ability rarely go together4 ,even if your solicitors were all good copy-writers1 they wouldn't have time to study each advertiser's proposition exhaustively4 ,but if you expect to keep your advertising receipts up to the high-water mark1 you can't always do ,,all ,,soliciting and ,,no ,,helping4 ,you must assist the advertiser to get the full value of the money he spends with you4 ,how8 ,this letter answers the question4 ,sidenote3 ,clear and logical4 ,read the attached ,,secrets ,,of ,,successful ,,advertising4 ,they are short1 but they are interesting and they are practical4 ,note the plain examples of the good and the bad4 ,these talks will encourage advertisers to begin and will help those who come in to get the worth of their money4 ,if you sent all of your customers and prospective customers a book on ,advertising--even if a suitable one were available--it might insult some4 ,perhaps only a few would read it thoroughly4 ,besides1 it would probably cost you a hundred dollars4 ,these short talks can be used on days when you are not pushed for space4 ,you can see that they look readable4 ,they can be read in a minute or two4 ,the cost is insignificant1 considering the results that are sure to come from this campaign of education4 ,suppose only two or three new patrons came in as the result2 you would get back your little investment over and over4 ,who will educate your customers and prospective customers if you don't8 ,sidenote3 ,an effective1 confident close that commands respect and consideration4 ,i do not urge you4 ,just read the articles4 ,i know what you1 as a progressive publisher1 will think of them4 ,let me hear from you as soon as convenient1 for if you do not want the service1 ,i shall want to offer it elsewhere4 ,you are the only publisher in your city to whom ,i am now offering the service4 ,i enclose stamp for the return of the sheets in the event that you do not keep them4 ,yours for more and better advertising4 ,signature3 ,m4 ,b4 ,andrews 99 99 99 99 99 ,the question of how to open your inquiry letter is a big one4 ,good beginnings are as varied as the proposition which the letter presents4 ,the straight question usually commands attention4 ,do you get the best price for your goods8 ,are you securing all the advertising patronage to which you are entitled8 ,couldn't you use an extra pair of good trousers8 ,do you collect #ih per cent of your accounts8 ,openings of this kind rivet attention4 ,with some letter-writers1 the direct command style of opening is popular3 ,get more advertising4 ,how8 ,this letter answers the question4 ,wear tailor-made clothes at the price of ready-made4 ,make your money earn you six per cent4 ,if these openings are chosen with the care that the advertising man uses in selecting headings for advertisements1 attention will be secured4 ,gentlemen3 ,your easiest profits are those you make by saving expense4 ,there is one way you can save rent2 save wages2 save damage to samples and still sell more goods4 ,install a ,patent ,extension ,display ,rack in any department you like-- picture1 linen1 notions1 sporting goods1 etc41 and you will add #cj square feet of display for every foot you use4 ,you will enable one salesman to do the work of two4 ,you will save the time your salesmen now spend in getting out goods and putting them away4 ,you will prevent the samples from becoming soiled4 ,don't take the trouble to write us a letter1 just pencil on the foot of this the name of the manager of the department you would like to begin with1 and we will explain all about these display racks to him4 ,yours very truly1 ,signature3 ,smith and ,deene ,p4,s4 ,marshall ,field ,co41 of ,chicago1 bought the first ,extension ,display ,rack we sold and they have been buying ever since4 ,their last order just received amounts to nearly a thousand dollars4 ,can you afford not to investigate8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the reference to easy profits at once interests every business man and the method of saving rent1 saving wages and increasing sales is certain to be investigated4 ,the third paragraph presents good argument--short and to the point4 ,the letter is extremely easy to answer--just a few words with a pencil and that is all4 ,proof of the merit of the article in its satisfactory use by a large wholesale house is cleverly brought out in the postscript 99 99 99 99 99 ,another good way to win the interest of the prospect is to offer to help him in his buying in some specific way4 ,a firm selling diamonds by mail1 for instance1 does it in this fashion3 ,unless you are an experienced judge of precious stones1 it is almost impossible to buy a diamond at random and be certain of getting value for your money4 ,but you need not take chances4 ,our best expert has written a booklet telling just how to determine diamond value1 how to detect flaws1 and explaining the choicest cuttings4 ,whether or not you buy of us1 this little book will be of inestimable value to you in buying stones4 ,we will be glad to send you a copy for the asking4 99 99 99 99 99 ,still other writers follow the declarative form of opening4 ,allison ,preferred has advanced to #ajf in a week4 ,yesterday we sold for #aj1jjj cash a property that was put in our hands only ,tuesday4 ,but inasmuch as the declarative form lacks a little of the inherent interest of the question or the command1 it should deal with some point of particular interest value to the class addressed4 ,style and interest value are just as important in the letter that is to draw an inquiry as in the letter designed to make a sale4 ,some think that just because a letter is fairly certain to reach a man if properly addressed1 it is easy to get a reply4 ,far from it4 ,unless there is a good reason for a man answering a letter1 he isn't going to do it4 ,suppose that a furniture dealer1 on receiving a new stock of furniture1 writes a letter like this to a list of several hundred women3 ,our fall stock of furniture arrived on ,saturday and is now on exhibition on our third floor4 ,the showing is unsurpassed4 ,here you will find something to suit you1 whether you wish oak1 mahogany1 walnut or birch4 ,we invite you to pay us a call4 99 99 99 99 99 ,some who would probably have come anyway may come in response to such a letter or may write for special information4 ,but a letter of this kind is sure to bring results3 ,dear ,mrs4 ,brown3 ,i remember that when you purchased the mahogany bed last ,march you expressed a desire to buy a dresser that would match4 ,in the new lot of furniture that we put on our floors only yesterday are several dressers that would match your piece perfectly4 ,come in and see them4 ,i should like you to see also the dressing tables and chairs that match your dresser1 even if you are not ready just now to get an entire set4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first letter has little point to it4 ,the second has personality and interest1 and if signed by the salesman that sold the first piece of mahogany1 is certain to bring the customer in if anything would4 ,a strong method of closing letters of this sort is to have final paragraphs of this style3 ,may we tell you more8 ,this won't put you under the least obligation4 ,if we can't show you that it is to your interest to take up this matter1 it is our fault--not yours4 ,mail the card now and let us put all the facts before you4 ,a post card or a postal card should be enclosed in all inquiry- bringing letters4 ,the request for further details should be printed1 so that the prospect has only to sign his name and mail the card4 ,in other words1 make it easy for the prospect to answer4 ,another thing1 don't print anything on the card that will make it appear that the prospect is committing himself4 ,paragraphs of this sort have proved effective3 ,without committing myself1 ,i give you permission to furnish me full information about the subject mentioned in your letter4 ,the card method is particularly good if the inquiry is to be followed up by a solicitor1 for the card may be sent conveniently to the solicitor who will take it with him when he calls4 ,it sometimes pays to have all the inquiries from a territory sent on cards addressed to a certain solicitor1 though the inquirer may think at the time of inquiring that the one whose name appears on the card merely is the correspondent that wrote the letter4 ,the advantage is that a prospect who sends in a card addressed to ,mr4 ,h4 ,e4 ,carrington1 care of the ,smith ,publishing ,company1 has seen ,mr4 ,carrington's name4 ,when ,mr4 ,carrington calls1 the inquirer is sometimes flattered to think that the gentleman has been sent from the home office4 ,as he has written a card to ,mr4 ,carrington1 he cannot with good grace deny an interview4 ,the man who writes and offers to do something without putting the least obligation on the inquirer who accepts the offer is hard to turn down4 ,a writer of advertisements1 after a courteous criticism on advertisements that he doesn't like1 closes in this way3 ,i think ,i can show that it is to your interest to use some copy of my construction4 ,if ,i can't1 certainly it won't be your fault4 ,may ,i show you what ,i think is a more profitable way of advertising these goods8 ,if when you see my copy you are not more than satisfied to pay my bill1 there won't be any ill-feeling on my part4 ,the decision will rest with you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,inquiry ,,bringing ,,letter ,,what ,,it ,,must ,,do ,,stimulate ,,interest ,,awake ,,desire ,,for ,,further ,,information ,,give ,,reason ,,for ,,answering ,,make ,,inducement ,,for ,,answering ,,pave ,,way ,,for ,,follow ,,up ,,call ,,for ,,immediate ,,action ,,what ,,it ,,must ,,not ,,do ,,arouse ,,idle ,,curiosity ,,create ,,exaggerated ,,ideas ,,give ,,full ,,particulars ,,misrepresent ,,proposition ,,waste ,,arguments ,,close ,,way ,,for ,,further ,,letters 99 99 99 99 99 ,a townsite company1 selling town lots by mail1 uses a device that gets replies when ordinary requests would be disregarded4 ,as the close of a three-page form letter this paragraph is used3 ,we enclose letter that the railway company wrote us4 ,please return it in the enclosed stamped envelope1 and tell us what you think of our plan4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the next sheet following is a facsimile letter from a prominent railway official commending the plan1 so making it easy for the prospect to add a few words of commendation4 ,this is a clever scheme to coax a reply out of the prospect--and it is certain that he carefully reads the letter from the railroad company before he returns it4 ,no matter what the nature of his letter it gives an opportunity for a personal reply4 ,a clothing manufacturer has an effective method of drawing out a fresh inquiry or indication of interest from his mailing list by inquiring what satisfaction the reader got out of the last suit ordered1 asking a criticism of service if the buyer has any to make1 saying that anything that was wrong will be made right4 ,writers of investment letters have found that it pays to emphasize the fact that only a small lot of stock is available4 ,if the letter leads the prospect to believe that barrels of the stock will be sold1 the effect will be prejudicial4 ,the limited quantity idea is effective in selling other things4 ,an investment letter that brought good results where the signer of the letter knew all those to whom the letter was sent made the statement that four or five shares of stock had been put aside for the prospect4 ,practically no more information was given in the letter1 but full information was offered on receipt of request4 ,the request gave opportunity for the salesman to call4 ,this putting aside idea may be applied to clothing and other commodities4 ,its efficiency lies in the fact that it gives a definite point to the letter4 ,in the letter that angles for an inquiry1 do not tell too much4 ,whet the appetite and arouse the curiosity4 ,make them hungry to learn all about it1 make them come back like ,oliver ,twist and ask for more4 ,but it is fatal to paint a proposition in such brilliant colors that there is a chance for disappointment when the prospect gets his additional information4 ,nor should an offer of a free booklet or free samples be made so alluring that the letter will be answered out of idle curiosity when the recipient is really not a prospect at all4 ,schemes without number can be devised to get a reply and only enough should be put in such a letter to stimulate a reply1 saving up the real arguments and the big talking points for the letter that aims on getting the actual order4 ,how ,to ,close ,sales ,by ,,letter ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #ah ,suppose that your most obstinate prospect--a man in the next block on whom your cleverest salesman had used every tactic and had been rewarded only by polite turn-downs until he had lost hope-- should call up some afternoon and ask you to send over a salesman4 ,would you despatch the office boy8 ,or would you send your star salesman8 ,yet if that prospect lived a hundred miles away and sent in a letter of inquiry1 one out of two firms would entrust the reply to a second or third-rate correspondent--entirely forgetful that an inquiry is merely a clue to a sale1 and not a result in itself4 ,this chapter shows how to ,,get ,,the ,,order by letter 99 99 99 99 99 ,the man who inquires about your goods isn't sold by a long ways4 ,he is simply giving you an opportunity to sell him4 ,inquiries aren't results1 they're simply clues to possible sales1 and if you are going to follow those clues up and make sales out of them1 you need the best men you can find and the best letters those men can turn out to do it4 ,inquiries of good quality are costly1 frequently several times as costly as the advertiser figures in advance that he can afford to pay4 ,yet1 strange to say1 many advertisers will employ #ej or #ajj-;a-week ability to write advertisements that will produce inquiries and then expect #aj or #ae men to turn them into sales4 ,as a matter of fact nine times out of ten the hardest part of the transaction is to close the sale4 ,an inquiry is merely an expression of interest4 ,the reader of the advertisement says1 in effect1 ,all right1 ,i'm impressed4 ,go ahead and show me4 ,or1 if he hasn't written in reply to an advertisement1 he sends an inquiry and invites the manufacturer or dealer to tell what he has4 ,to get the highest possible proportion of sales from each hundred inquiries1 requires that the correspondent be as skillful in his written salesmanship as the successful man behind the counter is with his oral canvass and his showing of the goods4 ,if the truth were known1 it is lack of appreciation of this point that discourages most concerns trying to sell by mail1 and it is the real secret of a large percentage of failures4 ,a clock manufacturer notified the advertising manager of one of the big magazines that he had decided to discontinue his advertising4 ,the inquiries we get from your magazine1 he wrote1 don't pan out4 ,the advertising manager thought he saw the reason why and he made a trip down to the factory to investigate4 ,reports showed that in two months his magazine had pulled over #djj inquiries1 yet out of that number just seven prospects had been sold4 ,will you let me see your follow-up letters8 he asked4 ,they were brought out1 and the advertising manager almost wept when he read them4 ,awkward1 hackneyed1 blundering notes of acknowledgment1 they lacked even the merest suggestion of salesmanship4 ,they would kill rather than nourish the interest of the average prospect4 ,he sent the set of letters up to the service bureau of his magazine and a new series of strong convincing letters1 such as the clock deserved1 were prepared4 ,on the strength of these he got the advertiser back in and the next month out of #ahi inquiries1 forty-six clocks were sold4 ,think of the actual loss that manufacturer suffered simply because he did not really appreciate that inquiries aren't sales6 ,get this firmly in mind and then get the proper attitude toward the inquirer4 ,there is a big difference between the original sales letter and the answer to the inquiry4 ,you haven't got to win his interest now4 ,you've got that4 ,but you have got to hold it and develop it to the buying point4 ,your man has asked you something2 has given you the chance to state your case4 ,now state it in the most complete1 convincing way you know how4 ,dear ,sir3 ,we are pleased to receive your request for ,wilson's ,accounting ,methods1 and a copy goes forward by today's mail4 ,do not fail to notify us if it fails to reach you within a day of the receipt of this letter4 ,your attention is particularly called to the descriptive matter on pages #c to #i1 inclusive4 ,we are confident that among the forty stock record forms there illustrated and described you will find a number that will save time and labor in your office4 ,you will see that our stock forms are carried in two sizes--#c by #f-a_/d inches and #e by #h inches1 the smaller size being furnished at #b a thousand and the larger size at #b4ej a thousand1 assorted as you desire4 ,should you desire special forms to meet your individual requirements1 we can furnish them to order1 printed from your copy1 on one side of linen-bond stock--your choice of five colors--at #c4ej a thousand4 ,on pages #aaf to #aci you will find complete descriptions and order blanks of our special introductory outfits1 ranging in price from #a to #bb4 ,we make these attractive offers to enable our customers to select outfits that can be installed at a very small cost1 and we ship any of our stock outfits with the distinct understanding that if they are not entirely satisfactory they may be returned to us at our expense4 ,under the liberal conditions we make1 you incur no risk in placing an order1 and we trust that we may be favored with one from you right away4 ,by purchasing direct from us--the manufacturers--you eliminate all middleman's profits and are sure to get proper service4 ,let us hear from you4 ,very truly yours1 ,signature3 ,anderson ,anderson 99 99 99 99 99 ,a letter that sums up well the principal features of the goods described in detail in the catalogue and the strong points of the manufacturer's plan of selling4 ,the letter is closely linked with the catalogue4 ,such a letter as this is a strong support to the catalogue 99 99 99 99 99 ,a good way to get at this is to put yourself once more in the other man's place4 ,what do you like to get when you answer an advertisement8 ,and how do you like to get it8 ,first of all you like a prompt answer4 ,i have had some experiences lately1 says one business man1 that have made me feel that promptness and careful attention to all of a correspondent's requests are fully as important as the literary part of business correspondence4 ,i am interested in an enterprise in which material of various kinds will be used--sample jars1 mailing cases1 and so forth4 ,i have been writing to manufacturers in the effort to get samples and prices4 ,in several cases it really seemed to me as if the manufacturer was trying to test my patience by waiting from three days to a week before answering my letter4 ,several of them forgot to send the samples they referred to in their letters4 ,in other cases the matter of samples was overlooked for a few days after the letter was written or the samples were ordered forwarded from a distant factory without any explanation to me that the samples would be a few days late in arriving4 ,in still other instances references were made to prices and sizes that were not clear1 thus necessitating another letter and a further delay of a week or ten days4 ,as ,i had to have all the material before ,i could proceed with any of it1 one man's delay tied up the whole job4 ,really when one has a chance to see the dowdy1 indifferent way in which a great many business concerns take care of inquiries and prospective customers1 the wonder is that there are so many successes and not more failures4 ,how refreshing it is to get a reply by return mail from an enterprising man who is careful to label every sample and to give you all the necessary information in complete form and to write in such a way as to make you feel you are going to get prompt1 careful service if your order is placed with him4 ,it is a pleasure to send business his way1 and we do it1 too1 whenever we can4 ,it is easy enough to look out for these things when a regular method is adopted4 ,with a catalogue before him1 the correspondent should dictate a memorandum1 showing what samples or enclosures are to be sent and how each is to be marked4 ,by referring to the memorandum1 as he dictates1 the references will be clear4 ,cherish both carefulness and promptness4 ,you don't know what you sometimes lose by being a day late4 ,an inquirer often writes to several different concerns4 ,some other correspondent replies by return mail1 and the order may be closed before your belated letter gets in its work1 particularly if the inquirer is in a hurry--as inquirers sometimes are4 ,you may never learn why you lost the order4 ,when you cannot give full attention to the request immediately1 at least write the inquirer and tell how you will reply fully in a day or so or whenever you can4 ,if you can truthfully say so1 tell him that you have just what he wants and ask him to wait to get your full information before placing his order4 ,in this way you may hold the matter open4 ,dear ,sir3 ,replying to your esteemed favor of recent date would say that we have noted your request for a sample of ,royal ,mixture and that same has been forwarded4 ,this tobacco is absolutely without question the finest smoking tobacco on the market today4 ,this statement will be substantiated by tens of thousands of smokers4 ,we hope to receive your valued order at an early date and remain ,truly yours1 ,signature3 ,brown ,co4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the first paragraph of this letter is so hackneyed that it takes away all personality1 and there is nothing in the second paragraph to build up a picture in the reader's mind of an enjoyable tobacco 99 99 99 99 99 ,now as to the style and contents of your letter1 here's one thing that goes a long way4 ,be cheerful4 ,start your letter by acknowledging his inquiry as though you were glad to get it4 ,yours of the #aeth received and contents noted1 doesn't mean anything4 ,but how about this3 ,i was glad to find on my desk this morning your letter of the #aeth inquiring about the new model ,marlin4 ,there's a personal touch and good will in that4 ,a correspondence school answers a prospective student's inquiry like this3 ,i really believe that your letter of the #fth1 which came to me this morning1 will prove to be the most important letter that you ever wrote4 ,an opening such as this clinches the man's interest again and carries him straight through to the end4 ,don't miss an opportunity to score on the start4 ,dear ,sir3 ,your order for a sample pouch of ,royal ,mixture is greatly appreciated4 ,the tobacco was mailed to-day4 ,to appreciate the difference between ,royal ,mixture and the others1 just put a little of it on a sheet of white paper by the side of a pinch from a package of any other smoking tobacco manufactured4 ,you won't need a microscope to see the difference in quality4 ,smoke a pipeful and you will quickly notice how different in mellowness1 richness and natural flavor ,royal ,mixture is from the store-bought kind4 ,if you are not enthusiastic over its excellence ,i shall feel greatly disappointed4 ,so many discriminating pipe smokers in all sections are praising it that it makes me believe that in ,the ,aristocrat of ,smoking ,tobacco ,i have produced an article that is in fact the best tobacco money can buy4 ,royal ,mixture is all pure tobacco1 and the cleanest1 best-cured and finest leaf that the famous ,piedmont section of ,north ,carolina can produce4 ,the quality is there1 and will be kept as long as it is offered for sale4 ,depend upon that4 ,the more you smoke ,royal ,mixture the better you'll like it4 ,this is not true of the fancy-named mixtures which owe their short-lived popularity to pretty labels1 fancy tin boxes and doctored flavors4 ,i give you quality in the tobacco instead of making you pay for a gold label and tin box4 ,the only way to get it is by ordering from me4 ,royal ,mixture goes right from factory to your pipe--you get it direct1 and know you are getting it just right1 moist and fresh4 ,right now1 ,,to-,,day1 is the time to order4 ,a supply of ,royal ,mixture costs so little and means so much in pipe satisfaction that every hour of delay is a loss to you4 ,it's too good to do without4 ,money refunded promptly if you are not satisfied6 ,if it is not asking too much of you1 ,i would like to hear within a day or two just how the tobacco suits you4 ,will you not write me about it8 ,be critical1 as ,i desire your candid opinion4 ,respectfully yours1 ,signature3 ,wallace ,e4 ,lee 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter is here rewritten1 making it interesting from the first line to the last4 ,it makes one feel that ,royal ,mixture is something unusually good 99 99 99 99 99 ,second1 be sure you answer the inquiry--every point in it4 ,you know how provoked you are when you ask a question and the correspondent in replying fails to answer4 ,be sure you answer all the questions of the inquiries you handle4 ,give letters a final reading1 to be sure4 ,it is often advisable to quote the inquirer's questions or to use side-heads so he will understand you refer to the questions he asked4 ,for example1 suppose a real estate agent receives an inquiry about a farm4 ,the inquiry can be clearly answered by adopting a style like this3 ,we are very glad to give you details about the ,abbott farm in ,prescott ,county4 ,,location4--,this farm is on the macadam road between ,frederick and ,whittsville1 three miles from ,frederick4 ,there is a flag station on the ,d4 ,l4 railroad one and a quarter miles from the farm gate on the macadam road4 ,,transportation ,,facilities4--,there are six trains a day on the ,d4 ,l4 road that will stop at the flag station mentioned4 ,these trains give a four-hour service to ,baltimore4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this style of letter is a great aid to the writer in bringing related points together and thus strengthening description and argument4 ,if the inquiry involves the sending of a catalogue1 hook the letter and the enclosure together by specific references4 ,it adds immensely to the completeness of your letter4 ,and don't be afraid to repeat4 ,no matter what is in the catalogue or booklet that is sent along with the letter1 the letter should review concisely some of the most important points4 ,the average person will pay closer attention to what is said in the letter than to what appears in the catalogue4 ,the letter looks more personal4 ,for example3 ,on page #ah you will see described more fully the cedar chest that we advertise in the magazines4 ,pages #bj to #bh describe higher-priced chests4 ,all these chests are of perfect workmanship and have the handsome dull egg-shell finish4 ,the higher-priced models have the copper bands and the big-headed nails4 ,use the order blank that appears on page #cb of the catalogue1 and be sure to read the directions for ordering that appear on page #cj4 99 99 99 99 99 ,these descriptions and references tie the letters strongly to the enclosures and thus unify the entire canvass4 ,the woman who gets a letter telling her that the refrigerator she inquired about is described and illustrated on page #dj of the catalogue sent under separate cover1 and then reads some quoted expressions from people in her town or state who have bought these refrigerators1 is more likely to order than if a letter is sent1 telling her merely that the catalogue has been mailed under separate cover2 that it gives a complete description but that any special information will be given on request4 ,the first method of replying makes it appear that the correspondent is enthusiastic about his refrigerators and really wants to sell the inquirer one4 ,the second method is cold and indifferent4 ,if your goods permit the sending of samples by all means enclose some with the letter4 ,they permit the actual handling of the article1 which is so great an advantage in selling over the counter4 ,and then insure attention4 ,no man1 for example1 will throw away a haberdasher's letter referring to spring shirts if samples are enclosed4 ,the samples will get some attention1 though the one who received them may not need shirts at the time4 ,samples also give an opportunity to emphasize value4 ,for instance1 it is a good plan to say3 ,take these samples of outings to your local store and see if you can get anything at #be that is half as good as what we are offering you4 ,the fact is1 few people make such comparisons1 but the invitation to compare is evidence of the advertiser's confidence4 ,for that matter1 few people ask for refund of money on honest merchandise1 provided the refund is limited to a brief period2 but the promise of instant refund when unsatisfactory goods are returned1 is a great confidence-creator4 ,it is not always possible for one correspondent to handle the entire inquiry4 ,in that case it is well to let the answer indicate the care exercised in preparing it4 ,a part of a letter may sometimes advantageously refer to some other correspondent who can deal more thoroughly with a technical matter under discussion4 ,a large mail-order concern employs a man who can tell customers in a tactful way just how to make coffee and tea1 and he makes satisfied customers out of many who otherwise would believe that they had received inferior goods4 ,this same man is also an expert in adjusting by letter any troubles that may arise over the company's premium clocks1 and so forth4 ,unless such technical matters are extensive enough to require a separate letter1 they can be introduced into other communications by merely saying3 ,on reading what you have written about the engine1 our expert has this to say3 99 99 99 99 99 ,dear ,sir3 ,your esteemed inquiry has been received1 and we are sending you one of our booklets4 ,in case none of the samples suit you1 let us know what colors you like and we will send more samples4 ,we can save you money on trousers4 ,a great many of the best dressers of ,new ,york and ,chicago are wearing trousers made by us4 ,you run no risk in ordering1 for if the trousers are not as ,i represent them or do not fit you1 we will correct the mistake or refund your money4 ,we urge you to order immediately1 as we may not have in stock the patterns you prefer4 ,trusting to receive your order at an early date4 ,truly yours4 ,signature3 ,edward ,brown 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter starts out with a hackneyed opening and not enough emphasis is put on the samples4 ,it is a mistake to make the suggestion that the samples sent may be unsuitable4 ,the third paragraph starts out with an assertion unbacked by proof and the second sentence is a silly boast that no one believes4 ,a man does not pay his tailor the full price until the trousers are completed4 ,it is a weak selling plan to try to persuade a stranger to send the entire price to an advertiser whom he knows nothing about4 ,the plea for an immediate order on the ground that the pattern may not be in stock later is a weak and unfortunate method of argument4 ,the final paragraph is as hackneyed as the first1 and fails to impress the reader 99 99 99 99 99 ,dear ,sir3 ,here you are6 ,this mail will bring you a sample book containing some of the neatest trousers patterns you have seen in a long time4 ,tear off a strand from any of them and hold a match to it2 if it doesn't burn wool the laugh is on me4 ,you may wonder why ,i can undersell your local dealer and yet turn out trousers that make good4 ,certain conditions1 of which ,i shall tell you1 make this possible4 ,in the first place1 trousers are my specialty4 ,other tailors want suit orders above all1 but ,i have built up my business by specializing on trousers alone4 ,i buy my fabrics from the manufacturers in large quantities at wholesale prices4 ,the saving--the money that represents your retailer's profit--comes to you4 ,i don't need an uptown diamond-front store1 with an exorbitant rental4 ,instead1 ,i employ the best tailors ,i can find4 ,the trousers ,i make are built1 not shaped1 to fit you4 ,we don't press them into shape with a goose1 either4 ,all our fabrics are shrunk before we cut them at all4 ,sewn throughout with silk1 the seams will not rip or give4 ,and style--why1 you will be surprised to see that trousers could have so much individuality4 ,i could not afford to sell just one pair of trousers to each man at these prices4 ,it costs me something to reach you--to get your first order4 ,you will order your second pair just as naturally as you would call for your favorite cigar4 ,i am enclosing three samples of #f ,london woolens4 ,these have just come in--too late to place in the sample book4 ,aren't they beauties8 ,please don't forget that ,i guarantee to please you or to return your money cheerfully4 ,i ask for the #a with order only to protect myself against triflers4 ,may ,i look for an early order8 ,yours1 for high-grade trousers4 ,signature3 ,chas ,r4 ,greene 99 99 99 99 99 ,an interesting beginning1 inviting proof of quality4 ,facts show why low prices can be quoted1 followed by graphic description and logical argument4 ,the samples give point to the letter and the plain1 fair selling plan makes an effective ending 99 99 99 99 99 ,then again1 make your letter clear4 ,good descriptions are just as important in answers to inquiries as in letters that have the task of both developing interest and closing a sale4 ,all that has been said in previous chapters as to the value of graphic descriptions and methods of writing them applies with full force to this chapter4 ,the letter that is a reply to an inquiry can properly give more detailed and specialized description than a letter that is not a reply to an inquiry1 for in writing to one who has inquired the correspondent knows that the reader of the letter is interested and will give attention to details if they are given clearly and attractively4 ,generally speaking1 a sales letter that is in response to an inquiry should make it unnecessary for the reader to ask a second time for information before reaching a decision4 ,and this leads to one big important point3 do your best to close the sale in this first reply4 ,don't leave loop holes and uncertainties that encourage further correspondence4 ,give your letter an air of finality4 ,lay down a definite buying proposition and then make it easy for your man to accept it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,what ,,will ,,make ,,reply ,,effective ,,promptness ,,completeness ,,answer ,,all ,,questions ,,give ,,full ,,details ,,clearness ,,make ,,further ,,letters ,,unnecessary ,,label ,,samples ,,plainly ,,definite ,,proposition ,,guarantee ,,of ,,satisfaction ,,make ,,ordering ,,easy ,,inducement ,,for ,,quick ,,action 99 99 99 99 99 ,guarantees1 definite proposals1 suggestions to use the enclosed order blank1 are important factors in effective closing paragraphs4 ,don't put too much stress on the fact that you want to give more information4 ,many correspondents actually encourage the inquirer to write again and ask for more information before ordering4 ,try to get the order--not a lot of new questions4 ,experiments show that the interest of an inquirer wanes rapidly after the receipt of the first response4 ,in replying to inquiries1 the chance of securing a sale with a third letter is much less than the chance with the first1 for after receiving the first letter1 if it is unconvincing1 the inquirer is likely to come to an adverse decision that cannot afterwards be easily changed4 ,in this respect1 answers to inquirers are much like unsolicited letters sent out to non-inquirers and planned to create and build up interest4 ,in a number of lines of business the third letter sent out in response to an inquiry barely pays for itself4 ,for this reason1 it is usually poor policy in handling this class of business to withhold some strong argument from the first letter in order to save it for the second or the third4 ,better fire the #ac-;inch gun as soon as you have the range4 ,if the first answer fails to land the order1 the advertiser may follow up with an easier plan of payment1 a smaller lot of the goods1 or make some other such inducement4 ,not all goods admit of offering small lots1 but when this can be done1 the argument may be made that there is no profit in such small orders1 that the offer is only made to convince the inquirer of quality4 ,some very successful correspondents close in the direct-command style3 ,don't delay2 send your order ,,now4 ,sit right down and let us have your order before you forget it4 ,it isn't necessary to write a letter2 just write across the face of this letter ',i accept this trial offer'1 sign your name and send the sheet back to us in the enclosed envelope4 ,such closing sentences are strong1 because the reader is influenced to act immediately1 and the loss that usually comes about by reason of people putting things off and forgetting is reduced4 ,the third example is particularly good because it eliminates letter-writing1 which is a task to many and something that is often put off until the matter is forgotten4 ,other correspondents1 instead of using the direct command style1 close in this way3 ,we are having a big sale on these porch chairs4 ,if you order immediately we can supply you1 but we cannot promise to do so if you wait4 ,we know that if you place your order you will be more than well pleased with your investment4 ,if prices are to be increased on the goods offered1 the correspondent has a first-class opportunity to urge an immediate response3 ,there is just two weeks' time in which you can buy this machine at #be4 ,so you can save #e by acting immediately4 ,experience shows that the increased-price argument is a good closer4 ,in the final sentences of the letter should be mentioned the premium or the discount that is given when the order is received before a certain date4 ,these offers are effective closers in many cases4 ,in making them it is well to say provided your order is placed in the mails not later than the #ajth1 for such a date puts all on the same footing no matter how distant they are from the advertiser4 ,finally1 don't overlook the opportunity to make even the signature to your letter contribute something4 ,firm signatures are rather lacking in personality4 ,smith ,brown ,clock ,co4 hasn't much pull to it4 ,but when the pen-written name of ,albert ,e4 ,brown appears under this signature the letter has much more of the personal appeal4 ,for this reason1 many concerns follow the practice of having some one put a personal signature under the firm name4 ,it is not desirable1 of course1 to have mail come addressed to individuals connected with the firm1 but this can be avoided by having return envelopes1 addressed to the firm1 in every letter4 ,in fact1 a little slip may be enclosed reading3 ,no matter to whom you address an order or letter always address the envelope to the firm4 ,this insures prompt attention4 ,at least one large clothing concern has found it profitable to let its letters go out over such signatures as ,alice ,farrar1 for ,,brown ,,co4 ,those to whom ,miss ,farrar writes are informed that the inquiry has been turned over to her for personal attention--that she attends to all requests from that inquirer's section and will do her best to please1 and so on4 ,when methods of this kind are followed and it becomes necessary--because of the absence of the correspondent addressed--for some one else to answer a letter1 it is well to say4 ,in the absence of ,miss ,farrar1 ,i am answering your letter4 ,never let an inquirer feel that the one he addresses is too busy to attend to his wants or is not interested enough to reply4 ,when the busiest president of a business concern turns over to some one else a letter intended for the president's personal reading1 the correspondent should say1 ,president ,parkins1 after reading your letter1 requests me to say for him1 and so on4 ,these little touches of personality and courtesy are never lost4 ,they create a cumulative business asset of enormous value4 ,what to ,,enclose ,with ,sales ,letters ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #ai ,sales have been made--and lost--by the printed matter enclosed with business correspondence4 ,a mere mass of folders1 cards and bric-a-brac is in itself not impressive to the prospect' unless each item backs up a statement in the letter and has a direct bearing on the sale ,enclosures may be classified thus3 ,,first1 catalogues1 price lists and detailed descriptive matter--to inform the prospect of the goods2 ,,second1 testimonials and guarantees--to prove the claims made for the goods2 ,,third1 return postals1 addressed envelopes and order blanks--to make it easy for the prospect to buy the goods 99 99 99 99 99 ,the enclosure is to the letter what the supporting army is to the line of attack4 ,it stands just behind the men at the front1 ready to strengthen a point here1 reinforce the line there1 overwhelm opposition finally with strength and numbers4 ,a clever sales letter may make the proper impression1 it may have all the elements necessary to close the sale1 but it is asking too much to expect it to handle the whole situation alone4 ,the average prospect wants more than he finds in a letter before he will lay down his money4 ,the very fact that a letter comes alone may arouse his suspicions4 ,but if he finds it backed up by accompanying enclosures that take things up where the letter leaves off1 answer his mental inquiries and pile up proof1 the proposition is more certain to receive consideration4 ,the whole principle of right use of enclosures is a matter of foreseeing what your man will want to know about your proposition and then giving it to him in clear convincing form and liberal measure4 ,but enclosures must be as carefully planned as the letter itself4 ,they are calculated to play a definite part1 accomplish a definite end and the study of their effect is just as vital as the study of step-by-step progress of letter salesmanship4 ,some letter writers seem to think that the only essential in enclosures is numbers and they stuff the envelope full of miscellaneous folders1 booklets and other printed matter that does little more than bewilder the man who gets it4 ,others make the mistake of not putting anything in with the letter to help the prospect buy4 ,neither mistake is excusable1 if the writer will only analyze his proposition and his prospect1 consider what the man at the other end will want to know--then give him that--and more4 ,and in order to live up to this cardinal rule of enclosures1 simply confine your letter to one article4 ,seven of the best letter writers in the country have made exhaustive tests with descriptive folders4 ,they have found that one descriptive circular1 with one point1 and one idea pulls where the multiplicity of enclosures simply bewilders and prejudices the reader4 ,these men have conclusively proved that overloaded envelopes do not bring results4 ,in general the enclosure has three purposes3 first1 to give the prospect a more complete and detailed description of your goods2 second to give him proof in plenty of their value2 third1 to make it easy for him to buy4 ,on this basis let us classify the kinds of enclosures2 that is1 the mediums through which these three purposes may be accomplished4 ,the first1 the detailed description1 is usually given in catalogue1 booklet or circular1 complete in its explanation and1 if possible1 illustrated4 ,supplementing the catalogue or booklet1 samples should be used whenever practicable for they help more than anything else can to visualize the goods in the prospect's eyes4 ,proof is best supplied in two ways1 through testimonials and guarantees2 and the ways of preparing these for the prospect are endless in variety4 ,third1 you will make it easy to order through the use of order blanks1 return cards1 addressed envelopes1 myriads of schemes that tempt the pen to the dotted line4 ,the exact form of each of these elements is not of moment here so long as it is clear to the man who receives it4 ,the point to be made is that one enclosure representing each of these elements-- description1 proof1 and easy ordering--should accompany the sales letter to back it up and make its attack effective4 ,and now to take these up one by one and see the part each plays4 ,when the prospect reads your letter1 if it wins his interest1 his first thought is ,well1 this sounds good1 but ,i want to know more about it4 ,and right there the circular comes to his assistance--and to yours4 ,and on this circular depends very largely whether his interest is going to grow or die a natural death4 ,if it is to lead him toward an order it must picture to him clearly just what your proposition is and at the same time it must contain enough salesmanship to carry on the efforts of the letter4 ,and it is well to bear down hard on this3 do not put material into your letter that properly belongs in the circular4 ,link your letter up with the enclosure and lead the reader to it1 but do not go into lengthy descriptions in the letter4 ,concentrate there on getting your man interested4 ,do that and you may depend on his devouring the enclosures to get the details4 ,a common mistake in this line is to place a table of prices in the body of the letter4 ,it is simply putting the cart before the horse4 ,price in every sale should be mentioned last4 ,it certainly should not be mentioned before you have convinced your prospect that he wants your article4 ,prices should be quoted at the end of the descriptive folder or on a separate slip of paper4 ,this descriptive enclosure takes on many forms--a booklet1 a circular1 a folder1 a simple sheet of specifications1 a price list--but in all cases it is for the one purpose of reinforcing the argument made in the letter4 ,when a proposition requires a booklet1 the mistake is often made of making it so large and bulky that it cannot be enclosed with the letter4 ,the booklet comes trailing along after the letter has been read and forgotten4 ,sometimes the booklet never arrives4 ,where possible it is much better to make the booklet of such a size that it may be enclosed in the same envelope with the letter4 ,then you catch the prospect when his interest is at the highest point4 ,it is embarrassing and ineffective to refer to our booklet1 mailed to you under separate cover4 ,put the book with the letter4 ,or1 if you must send the booklet under separate cover1 send it first and the letter later1 so that each will arrive at about the same time4 ,and now that you have put in a circular to help the letter1 put in something to help the circular--a sample4 ,here you have description visualized4 ,in more ways than one the sample is by all odds the most valuable enclosure you can use4 ,in reality1 it does more--much more than help the circular with its description1 it is concrete proof1 in that it demonstrates your faith in the article and your readiness to let your prospect judge it on its merits4 ,a two by three inch square of cloth1 a bit of wood to show the finish1 any chip off the block itself speaks more eloquently than all the paper and ink your money can buy4 ,how irresistible becomes a varnish maker's appeal when he encloses in his letters a small varnished piece of wood1 on the back of which he has printed1 ,this maple panel has been finished with two coats of '#fa' ,floor ,varnish4 ,hit it with a hammer4 ,stamp on it4 ,you may dent the wood1 but you can't crack the varnish4 ,this is one point where '#fa' varnish excels4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,enclosures3 ,,circulars ,,folders ,,or ,,booklets ,,price ,,list ,,order ,,blanks ,,testimonials ,,stuffers ,,return ,,post ,,card ,,return ,,envelope ,,coupons ,,or ,,certificates ,,list ,,of ,,buyers ,,samples 99 99 99 99 99 ,a manufacturer of a new composition for walls gives a more accurate idea of his product than could ever be learned from words and pictures by sending a small finished section of the board as it could be put on the wall4 ,a knitting mill approaches perfection in sampling when it encloses a bit of cardboard on which are mounted a dozen samples of underwear1 with prices pasted to each and a tape measure attached to aid in ordering4 ,a roofing concern has the idea when it sends little sections of its various roof coatings4 ,and at least one carriage maker encloses samples of the materials that go into his tops and seat covers4 ,most unique samples are enclosed and because of their very novelty create additional interest in a proposition4 ,a real estate company selling ,florida lands enclosed a little envelope of the soil taken from its property4 ,to the farmer this little sample has an appeal that no amount of printed matter could equal4 ,a company manufacturing cement has called attention to its product by making small cement souvenirs such as paper weights1 levels1 pen trays1 and so forth1 sending them out in the same enclosure with the letter or in a separate package4 ,one manufacturer of business envelopes encloses with his letter his various grades of paper1 made up into envelopes1 each bearing the name of some representative concern that has used that particular grade4 ,then in the lower corner of the envelope is stamped the grade1 weight1 price and necessary points that must be mentioned in purchasing4 ,the various envelopes are of different sizes4 ,on the back of each envelope is a blank form in which the purchaser can designate the printed matter wanted1 and underneath1 in small letters1 the directions1 ,write in this form the printed matter you demand2 pin your check to the envelope and mail to us4 ,thus this one enclosure serves a number of purposes4 ,first1 it carries a testimonial of the strongest kind by bearing the names of prominent concerns that have used it2 then1 it is an actual sample of the goods2 and lastly1 it serves the purpose of an order blank4 ,even a firm which sells a service instead of a product can effectively make use of the sample principle4 ,one successful correspondence school encloses with each answer to an inquiry a miniature reproduction of the diploma that it gives its graduates4 ,while the course itself is what the student buys1 unquestionably the inspired desire to possess a diploma like the one enclosed plays its part in inducing him to enroll4 ,a ,new ,york trust company gets the same effect by sending the prospective investor a specimen bond complete to the coupons which show exactly how much each is worth on definite dates through several succeeding years4 ,here again the specimen bond is not actually the thing he buys but it is a facsimile and an excellent one in that it puts in concrete form an abstract article4 ,possibly it is inadvisable to include a sample4 ,then a picture of the article accomplishes the purpose4 ,a grocer who writes his customers whenever he has some new brand of food product1 always includes in his letter a post card with a full tinted picture of the article4 ,for instance1 with a new brand of olives he encloses a picture of the bottled olives1 tinted to exactly represent the actual bottle and its contents1 and underneath he prints the terse statement ,delicious1 ,tempting1 ,nutricious4 ,if his letter has not persuaded the housewife to try a bottle of the olives1 the picture on the enclosure is apt to create the desire in her mind and lead to a purchase4 ,an automobile dealer who knows the value of showing the man he writes a detailed picture of the machine1 includes an actual photograph4 ,even the reproduction of the photograph is insufficient to serve his purpose4 ,the photograph is taken with the idea of showing graphically the strongest feature of the machine as a selling argument1 and illustrating to the smallest detail the sales point in his letter4 ,then1 with pen and ink1 he marks a cross on various mechanical parts of engine1 body or running gear1 and refers to them in his letter4 ,to carry the photograph enclosure a step farther1 one dealer of automobile trucks illustrates the idea of efficiency4 ,he encloses with his letter a photograph of his truck fully loaded4 ,in another photograph he shows the same truck climbing a heavy grade4 ,then in his letter he says1 ,just see for yourself what this truck will do4 ,estimate the weight of the load and then figure how many horses it would take to handle an equal load on a similar grade4 ,in the sale of furniture1 especially1 is the actual photograph enclosed with the letter a convincing argument4 ,fine carriages1 hearses1 and other high-grade vehicles are forcibly illustrated by photographs1 and no other enclosure or written description is equally effective4 ,after description and visualizing--through the medium of circular and sample--comes proof1 and this you may demonstrate through any means that affords convincing evidence of worth4 ,the two best are testimonials and guarantees1 but the effectiveness of either depends largely on the form in which you present them4 ,testimonials are often dry and uninteresting in themselves1 yet rightly played up to emphasize specific points of merit they are powerful in value4 ,the impression of their genuineness is increased a hundredfold if they are reproduced exactly as they are received4 ,an eastern manufacturer has helped the prestige of his cedar chests tremendously with the testimonials he has received from buyers4 ,letters from the wives of presidents1 from prominent bankers and men in the public eye he has reproduced in miniature1 and two or three of these are enclosed with every sales letter4 ,an office appliance firm with a wealth of good testimonials to draw on sends each prospect letters of endorsement from others in his particular line of business4 ,a correspondence school strengthens its appeal by having a number of booklets of testimonials each containing letters from students in a certain section of the country4 ,the inquirer thus gets a hundred or more letters from students near his own home1 some of whom he may even know personally4 ,a variation of the testimonial enclosure is the list of satisfied users4 ,such a list always carries weight1 especially if the firms or individuals named are prominent4 ,a trunk manufacturer1 who issues a trunk insurance certificate to each customer1 reproduces a score or more of these made out to well known men and submits them as proof of his product's popularity4 ,another effective form of enclosure is a list of buyers since a recent date4 ,one large electrical apparatus concern follows up its customers every thirty days1 each time enclosing a list of important sales made since the previous report4 ,another plan is that of a firm manufacturing printing presses4 ,in making up its lists of sales it prints in one column the number of ,wellington presses the purchaser already had in use and the number of new ones he has ordered4 ,the names of the great printing houses are so well known to the trade that it is tremendously effective to read that ,blank1 previously operating ten ,wellingtons1 has just ordered three more4 ,second only to the testimony of the man who buys is the guarantee of the seller4 ,mail-order houses are coming more and more to see the value of the money-back privilege4 ,it is the one big factor that has put mail sales on a par with the deal across the counter4 ,time was when sellers by mail merely hinted at a guarantee somewhere in their letter or circular and trusted that the prospect would overlook it4 ,but it is often the winner of orders now and concerns are emphasizing this faith in their own goods by issuing a guarantee in certificate form and using it as an enclosure4 ,a roofing concern forces its guarantee on the prospect's attention by giving it a legal aspect1 printing in facsimile signatures of the president and other officials--and stamping the company's name4 ,across the face of this guarantee is printed in red ink1 the word ,specimen4 ,along the lower margin is printed1 ,this is the kind of a real guarantee we give you with each purchase of one of our stoves4 ,a mail-order clothing firm sends a duplicate tag on which their guarantee is printed4 ,across the tag of this sample guarantee is printed in red1 ,this guarantee comes tagged to your garment4 ,the prospect who finds proof like this backing up a letter is forced to feel the worth-whileness of your goods or your proposition1 and he draws forth his money with no sense of fear that he is chancing loss4 ,the number and kind of enclosures you will put into your letter is entirely up to you4 ,but before you allow a letter to go out1 dig under the surface of each circular and see whether it really strengthens your case4 ,apply this test2 is the letter supported with amplified description1 proof1 materials for ordering8 ,if it is1 it is ready for the attack4 ,you may find it best to put your description1 your testimonials1 your guarantee and your price list all in one circular4 ,it is not a mistake to do so4 ,but whether they are all in one enclosure or in separate pieces1 they should be there4 ,and in addition1 put in your return card order blank or envelope or whatever will serve best to bring the order4 ,when your letter with its aids is complete1 consistent1 equipped to get the order then1 and only then1 let it go into the mails4 ,bringing ,in ,new ,business ,by ,,post ,,card ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #bj ,methods of soliciting trade by mail are not confined to the letter or printed circular4 ,the postal regulations are sufficiently broad to allow a generous leeway in the size and shape of communications that may be sent by mail1 and as a result1 a new field of salesmanship has been opened by the postal card4 ,folders1 return- postals and mailing cards have become part of the regular ammunition of the modern salesman1 who has adapted them to his varied requirements in ways that bring his goods before me prospect with an emphasis that the letter often lacks--and sometimes at half the cost 99 99 99 99 99 ,the result-getting business man is always asking the reason why4 ,he demands that a method1 especially a selling plan1 be basically right2 that it have a principle behind it and that it stand the microscope of analysis and the test of trial4 ,there are three reasons why the postal card is a business-getter4 ,did you ever pause while writing a letter1 sit back in your chair1 and deplore the poverty of mere words8 ,did you ever wish you dared to put in a little picture just at that point to show your man what you were trying to say8 ,of course you have if you have ever written a letter4 ,that is reason one4 ,did you ever watch a busy man going through his morning's mail8 ,long letters he may read1 short letters he is sure to glance through1 but a post card he is certain to read4 ,it is easy to read1 it is to a degree informal and it is brother to a call on the 'phone4 ,that is reason two4 ,and the third reason is that no matter what the principles behind it1 by actual test it brings the business4 ,while primarily the postal mailing card is intended to aid the letter in many ways it does what the letter can never do4 ,it can carry a design or an illustration without the least suggestion of effrontery1 which a letter can not do without losing dignity4 ,it can venture into clever schemes to cinch the interest4 ,it is the acme of simplicity as means to win an inquiry4 ,and withal it does its work at less cost than the letters4 ,in general postal mailing cards may be classed as of three types3 #a4 ,,the ,,double ,,or ,,return ,,post ,,card4 ,this consists simply of two ordinary post cards attached for convenience in mailing1 sometimes closed at the loose edges by stickers but usually left open4 ,the one carries the inquiry-seeking message2 the other is for the reply4 ,it is already addressed for returning and contains on the opposite side a standardized reply form to be signed4 #b4 ,the two or three or four ,,folder ,,mailing ,,card4 ,this gives greater space and opportunity for cleverness of appeal through design4 ,the third or fourth fold may or may not be prepared for use as a reply card4 ,instead of providing for the reply in this way1 some of these folders hold a separate card by means of corner slots4 ,in any case they fold to the size of the ordinary postal and are held by a stamp or sticker4 #c4 ,,illustrated ,,personal ,,letters4 ,these are in effect simply letters printed on heavier stock which fold into post card size4 ,their advantage lies in the opportunity for illustration and an outside design or catch phrase to win attention4 ,in some cases they are even filled in exactly in the manner of a form letter4 ,which of these forms is best suited to your uses is a matter which the nature of your proposition and your method of selling must determine4 ,whether you want to tell a long story or a short one1 whether you want it to serve merely as a reminder or as your principal means of attack1 these and other points must guide you4 ,so to help you determine this1 it is best to consider the post card here on the basis of its uses4 ,there are four3 #a4 ,to get inquiries4 #b4 ,to sell goods2 to complete the transaction and get the order just as a letter would4 #c4 ,to cooperate with the dealer in bringing trade to his store4 #d4 ,to cooperate with the salesman in his work on dealer or consumer4 ,inquiries may be inspired in two ways--either by using a very brief double card or folder which tells just enough to prompt a desire for more information or by a post card letter series which works largely on the lines of letters enclosed in envelopes4 ,in the first instance the card or folder resorts to direct pertinent queries or suggestions of help that impel the reader to seek more details4 ,an addressing machine manufacturer1 for instance1 sends his prospects a double folder with a return post card attached ,this message is little more than suggestive3 ,do you know that there is one girl in your addressing room who can do the work of ten if you will let her8 ,all she needs is a ,regal to help her4 ,give her that and you can cut nine names from your pay roll today4 ,does that sound like good business8 ,then let us tell you all about it4 ,just mail the card attached4 ,it puts you under not the slightest obligation4 ,it simply enables us to show you how to save some of your good dollars4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such a card is virtually an inquiry-seeking advertisement done into post card form to insure reaching the individual4 ,and for this reason it may be well to carry a design or illustration just as an advertisement would4 ,a life insurance company has made good use of a post card folder1 building it up around its selling point of low cost4 ,the outside bears a picture of a cigar and the striking attention-getter ,at the cost of ,your ,daily ,smoke-- the sentence is continued on the inside--you can provide comfort for your family after you are gone1 through a policy4 ,then follows enough sales talk to interest the prospect to the point of urging him to tear off and send the return card for full information4 ,many propositions can be exploited in this way4 ,in other instances a much more complete statement must be made to elicit a reply4 ,here the illustrated personal letter comes into use4 ,and it is significant that in a number of specific cases these letters in post card form have been far more productive of inquiries than ordinary letters on the same proposition4 ,their unique form1 the accompanying illustrations1 by their very contrast in method of approach1 prompt a reading that the letter does not get4 ,postal mailing cards may be used in two ways--either as a campaign in themselves or as steps in a follow-up series4 ,they are especially good when your selling plan permits of goods being sent on approval or a free trial basis4 ,then you can say1 ,simply drop the attached order card in the mail box and the goods will come to you by first express4 ,a publishing house has sold thousands of low priced books on this basis1 using merely a double post card4 ,one section carries to the prospect an appealing description of the book and emphasizes the liberality of the offer4 ,the return card bears a picture of the book itself and a clearly worded order1 running something like this1 ,i will look at this book if you will send it charges prepaid4 ,if ,i like it1 ,i am to remit #a4jj within five days4 ,if not1 ,i am to return it at your expense4 ,there can be no misunderstanding here4 ,the simplicity of the card scheme itself appeals to prospects and brings back a big percentage of orders4 ,a variation of the use of the postal as a direct sales medium is the employment of it to secure bank savings accounts4 ,a banking house in ,chicago sent out folders to a large mailing list of property holders and renters in all parts of the city4 ,as a special inducement to establishing savings accounts1 this house offered each person1 who returned an attached card1 a small metal savings bank free1 which could be kept in the home for the reception of dimes and nickels until filled--this small bank to be returned at intervals to the bank for the establishment of a permanent savings account4 ,on the return card enclosed was a promise to send to the inquirer's home one of those small banks absolutely without cost to the receiver4 ,here the simplicity of the scheme and method of proposing it again brought large returns4 ,one manufacturer of dental cream sends out free samples upon request4 ,the tube is wrapped in pasteboard1 which proves to be a post card ready for signature and stamp--inviting the recipient to suggest the names of friends to whom samples can be sent4 ,some concerns offer to send a free sample if names are sent in but this firm has achieved better results by sending the sample to all who ask and then diplomatically inviting them to reciprocate by furnishing the names of their friends4 ,several large hotels have found valuable advertising in post cards that are distributed by their guests4 ,these cards are left on the writing tables with an invitation to mail one to some friend4 ,a ,st4 ,louis restaurant keeps a stack of post cards on the cashier's desk4 ,they are printed in three colors and give views of the restaurant1 emphasizing its cleanliness and excellent service4 ,every month hundreds of these are mailed out by pleased customers and as a result the restaurant has built up a very large patronage of visitors--people from out of the city who are only too glad to go to some place that has been recommended to them4 ,a most unusual use of post cards appeared in a ,st4 ,louis street car4 ,a prominent bondseller had arranged an attractive street car placard1 discussing briefly the subject of bonds for investment purposes4 ,in one corner of this placard was a wire-stitched pad of post cards1 one of which passengers were invited to pull off4 ,the card was mailable to the bondseller1 and requested a copy of his textbook for investors4 ,the prospect who sent the card was of course put upon the follow-up list and solicited for business4 ,here1 again1 the uniqueness appeals to the public4 ,as a cooperator with a letter follow-up1 the card or folder is effective1 because it introduces variety into the series1 sometimes furnishing just the touch or twist that wins the order4 ,in the follow-up series the double folder becomes especially adaptable1 because of its simplicity4 ,it usually refers to previous correspondence4 ,for example1 one suggests3 ,you evidently mislaid our recent letter4 ,since its message is of such vital interest to your business-- ,the remainder of the message is given up to driving home a few of the fundamental points brought out in the previous letters4 ,simple directions for filling out an attached return card are added4 ,one double post card1 used as a cooperator with a follow-up1 calls attention to a sample previously mailed1 asking a careful comparison of the grade of material and closes with a special inducement to replies in the form of a discount for five days4 ,return cards1 employing the absolute guarantee to insure confidence of fair dealing give clinching power4 ,here is a sample3 ,gentlemen3--,please send me a case for trial4 ,it is clearly understood in signing this order that the shipment comes to me all charges prepaid and with your guarantee that you will promptly cancel the order1 in case ,i am in any way dissatisfied4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,a space is left at the bottom of the card for the person ordering to sign name and address4 ,again the post card serves a similar purpose as a cooperator with the salesman4 ,often between calls the house makes a special inducement to sales4 ,here1 either double post cards or folders give the advantage of simplicity2 the return card offering a powerful incentive to immediate action on the part of the customer4 ,the return card indicates to the house that the customer is interested and a salesman is called back to handle the order4 ,one manufacturer1 through use of the folder and card1 wins a clever advantage for his salesmen4 ,an attractive folder1 with numerous illustrations1 gives a fairly complete description of the firm's product4 ,enclosed with the folder is a return card bearing the form reply1 ,dear ,sirs3 ,i am interested in ----4 ,please mail me a picture catalog of ----4 ,and a space is left with directions for filling in name and address of the person replying4 ,these cards when received are carefully filed and from them the salesmen gauge their calls on the prospects4 ,here the advantage to the salesman is obvious1 since his personal call assumes the nature of a favor to the prospect4 ,from time to time1 mailing folders or double post cards1 are mailed between calls of the salesman1 and serve to keep the proposition warm in the mind of the prospect4 ,usually the postal or folder is a valuable aid in sending trade to the dealer4 ,one manufacturer to stimulate business by creating orders for his retailer1 sent out an elaborate series of mailing cards to the retailer's customers4 ,enclosed with the folder were leaflets giving special features in the stock1 which added value to the sales letter4 ,handsomely engraved cards guaranteeing the material were also enclosed as a suggestion that the customer call on the retailer and the retailer's private business card was inserted4 ,a western coffee dealer used mailing folders on lists of consumers supplied him by retailers4 ,attractive designs on the outside of the folder create interest and put the consumer's mind in a receptive condition for considering the sales arguments embodied in the personal letter feature of the folder4 ,a manufacturer of a contrivance for applying special paints builds an approach for the dealer's salesman with postal folders4 ,the design on the outside of the folder indicates the simplicity with which the appliance may be operated4 ,the sales letter inside gives minute directions for using the machine and calls attention to particular features by reference to the demonstration on the outside4 ,as an entering wedge to orders1 the letter offers a free trial and suggests that a salesman make a practical demonstration4 ,the manufacturer has his dealer sign every letter and the return card enclosed gives only the address of the dealer4 ,a varnish concern sent to a large mailing list a series of illustrated letters describing the use and advantage of its products4 ,they appealed to the consumer and built up a trade for the local dealer4 ,each letter contained both a return post card1 addressed to the local dealer and a small pamphlet showing various grades of the varnish4 ,the result of this follow-up system was twenty-five per cent more replies than the same number of envelope letters4 ,one of the most successful campaigns ever conducted to introduce a new cigarette depended entirely upon postal letters4 ,a series of five or six of these--well nigh masterpieces of sales talk--created the desire to try the product4 ,enclosed with each folder was a card bearing a picture of the distinctive box in which the cigarettes were sold1 so that the prospect could recognize it in the dealer's store4 ,in another instance a book publisher created a demand for a new novel by mailing a series of single post cards bearing illustrations from the book4 ,in this case the element of mystery was employed and the real purpose of the cards was not divulged until five or six had been sent and the book was ready to go on sale4 ,whatever variety of card1 folder or letter you choose to use1 these features you should carefully observe3 the style of writing and the design and mechanical make-up4 ,the effectiveness of the mailing folder must depend upon the combination--ideas of attractiveness1 simplicity and careful use of the personal letter feature4 ,it must command attention by a forceful1 intelligent approach4 ,it must stand out sharply against the monotonous sameness of the business letter4 ,the folder's appearance should be in accord with the class or type of men it goes to meet4 ,its approach should contain sincerity1 purpose1 and originality4 ,originality in shape hardly serves the purpose1 because of the ridicule unusual shapes may give the proposition4 ,the originality should be in the illustrations or catch phrases4 ,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 attention4 ,it corresponds to the illustrated headline of the advertisement4 ,no rules can be laid down for it as it is a matter for individual treatment4 ,colors that create a proper condition of mind through psychological effect must be taken into consideration in the attention-getting feature of the folder4 ,there are certain color schemes which are known to create a particularly appropriate condition of mind4 ,for instance1 where quick action is wanted1 a flaring color is effective4 ,where pure sales arguments count most in stating a proposition1 blacks and whites have been found the most adequate4 ,soothing colors1 such as soft browns and blues1 have been found to appeal to the senses and serve to insure additional interest through a pleasant frame of mind4 ,the right impression once gained1 the style of the reading matter must make the most of it4 ,many have hesitated to use the postal or folder because they fear for a certain loss1 through lack of dignity1 where the proposition demands an especially high-class approach4 ,but to some folders1 especially of the letter variety now in use1 no such criticism could possibly be offered4 ,really fine samples of these letters bear outside illustrations from photographs or the work of the best artists4 ,their appearance outside and inside is given every possible attention to create the impression of distinct value4 ,an appeal to the senses1 as in the use of pleasing colors1 is a feature of their make-up4 ,the personal letter inside is perfect in details of typography2 it is carefully filled in with prospect's or customer's name2 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 appeal4 ,the cost of these folders1 because of the high grade of reproduction and the art work1 runs considerably above the usual business-getting letter of one-cent mailing4 ,the lowest class of these folders cost approximately the same as the usual letter under two-cent mailing4 ,any addition of special art work increases their cost proportionately1 but the expense is frequently justified4 ,these illustrated letters depend upon their power of suggestion1 through graphic illustration and design1 and upon the personal idea of the letter used for getting business4 ,few enclosures1 other than the return card1 or reminder card1 for filing purposes1 are used4 ,one physician1 especially anxious of promoting a new remedy1 sent out mailing folders describing his remedy and offered an absolute guarantee of results before payment4 ,the return card enclosed with this folder was engraved with the name and address of the physician above and underneath his absolute guarantee4 ,because the campaign was so unusual1 it produced unexpectedly large returns4 ,here1 as in the usual business-getting letter1 careful attention is given to details4 ,the importance of attracting attention in the first paragraph by careful expression1 followed by the creating of desire in the mind of the customer or prospect and the adding of conviction--and finally1 the use of reason that compels action cannot be emphasized too strongly4 ,a more appealing letter could scarcely be written than the following1 used in the cigarette campaign previously mentioned4 ,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 quality4 ,note the easy style1 designed to catch the reader as he first opens the folder and carry him along fascinated to the end3 ,dear ,sir3 ,sidenote3 ,attention-getter2 natural and effective4 ,explanation clear1 and a desire is created through promise4 ,turn back in your mind for one minute to the best ,turkish cigarette you ever smoked4 ,if you remember1 it was not so much that the cigarette was fragrant1 or that it had a particular flavor1 or aroma1 or mildness1 that caused it to please you--it was the combination of all these qualities that made it so delicious4 ,this means that the perfection of that cigarette was in the blend1 the combination of rare tobacco1 each giving forth some one quality4 ,we have worked out a blend that produces a ,tobacco ,cigarette which satisfies our ideal at least4 ,we call the cigarette made of this brand ,,pereso4 ,we make no secret of the kind of tobacco used--the exact proportion and how to treat the rare leaves is our secret4 ,to get a perfect aroma1 we must take ---- ,tobacco3 young sprigs of yellow so soft that the ,turks call it ,golden ,leaf4 ,we use ---- leaves for their flavor2 they have marvelous fragrance as well a delicate mildness4 ,sidenote3 ,giving conviction by details4 ,to get each of these tidbits of ,tobacco into perfect condition1 so that their qualities will be at their prime when blended1 is our profession4 ,the ,,pereso cigarette is the result4 ,sidenote3 ,suggesting immediate action4 ,touch a match to a ,,pereso cigarette after luncheon today4 ,you will be delighted with its exquisite aroma1 its fleeting fragrance and delicate mildness4 ,sidenote3 ,strength in clincher lies in absolute guarantee4 ,if it is not better than the best cigarette you have ever smoked1 allow us the privilege of returning the fifteen cents the package cost you4 ,the original box with the remaining cigarettes1 when handed to your dealer1 will bring the refund4 ,will you ,join us in a ,,pereso cigarette today8 ,very truly yours4 ,signature3 ,adams ,adams 99 99 99 99 99 ,enclosed in this folder next to the letter was a card bearing a picture of the cigarettes in their box4 ,at the bottom of the folder1 underneath the letter1 was the phrase3 ,all good dealers--fifteen cents a package4 ,with the mailing card1 as with the letter1 guarantees1 free trial offers and the like1 help to strengthen the close of the proposition1 win the confidence and bring back the answer4 ,for example1 a large watch company1 wishing to appeal to a class of customers who had previously been listed and whose financial standing made its proposition secure1 sent out folders signed by department heads asking the privilege of mailing a watch for examination and trial4 ,the letter1 which carefully described the advantages of the watch over other watches sold at similar prices1 offered this trial without any cost to the prospect1 only asking that if the watch suited his needs a draft be mailed to the company4 ,the return card in this case contained an agreement by the firm to hold the prospect in no way obligated to the company1 except through purchase4 ,before returning the card to the company1 the prospect was required to sign it1 agreeing that1 after a trial1 either the watch or the money should be sent in4 ,before you enter upon the use of mailing cards1 be sure you understand the postal regulations regarding them4 ,they are not complicated1 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 weight4 ,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 size4 ,this means that all return cards1 whether enclosed or attached1 must be within authorized sizes to allow a first class postal rating4 ,making ,it ,easy ,for the ,,prospect to ,answer ,,part ,v--,,writing ,,the ,,sales ,,letter--,,chapter #ba4 ,the mere physical effort of hunting up pen and paper by which to send in an order for ,,something ,,he ,,really ,,wants1 deters many a prospect from becoming a customer4 ,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 him4 ,here are ,eighteen ,schemes for making it easy for the prospect to reply--and to reply ,,now 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are few propositions so good that they will sell themselves4 ,a man may walk into a store with the deliberate intention of buying a shirt1 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 street4 ,lack of attention1 over-anxiety to make a quick sale1 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 sale4 ,even more likely is this to happen when you are trying to sell him by mail4 ,he probably cares little or nothing about your offer2 it is necessary to interest him in the limits of a page or two and convince him that he should have the article described4 ,and even after his interest has been aroused and he is in a mood to reply1 either with an order or a request for further information1 he will be lost unless it is made easy for him to answer2 unless it is almost as easy to answer as it is not to answer4 ,a man's interest cools off rapidly2 you must get his request for further information or his order before he picks up the next piece of mail4 ,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 time4 ,instead of being taken up later1 it is engulfed in the current of routine and quickly forgotten4 ,had the offer riveted your attention strongly enough2 had the inducements to act been forceful2 had the means for answering been easy1 you would probably have replied at once4 ,make it so easy to answer that the prospect has no good reason for delaying4 ,make him feel that it is to his interest in every way to act ,,at ,,once4 ,do the hard work at your end of the line2 exert yourself to overcome his natural inertia and have the order blank1 or the coupon or the post card already for his signature4 ,don't rely upon his enthusing himself over the proposition and then hunt up paper1 pencil and envelope2 lay everything before him and follow the argument and the persuasion with a clincher that is likely to get the order4 ,in making it easy to answer1 there are three important elements to be observed4 ,you must create the right mental attitude1 following argument and reason with a do it now appeal that the reader will find it hard to get away from4 ,then the cost must be kept in the background1 centering attention on the goods1 the guarantee1 and the free trial offer rather than upon the price4 ,and finally1 it is desirable to simplify the actual process--the physical effort of replying4 ,the whole effort is wasted if there is lacking that final appeal that convinces a man he must act immediately4 ,your opening may attract his attention2 your arguments may convince him that he ought to have your goods2 reason may be backed by persuasion that actually creates in him a desire for them1 but unless there is a do it this very minute hook1 and an easy to accept offer1 the effort of interesting the prospect is wasted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,scheme #a--;,a ,,special ,,price ,,for ,a ,,limited ,,period ,the most familiar form of inducement is a special price for a limited period1 but this must be handled skillfully or it closes the gate against an effective follow-up4 ,the time may be extended once1 but even that weakens the proposition unless very cleverly worded2 and to make a further cut in price prompts the prospect to wait for a still further reduction4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,better ,,look ,,again ,,and ,,see ,,if ,,you ,,have ,,signed ,,your ,,name ,,and ,,written ,,your ,,town ,,and ,,state ,,plainly4 ,,we ,,get ,,lots ,,of ,,orders ,,every ,,year ,,that ,,we ,,can',t ,,fill ,,because ,,the ,,address ,,is ,,incomplete ,,or ,,illegible4 ,,it ,,is ,,best ,,to ,,be ,,on ,,the ,,safe ,,side ,,and ,,write ,,your ,,name ,,and ,,address ,,so ,,plainly ,,that ,,there ,,can ,,be ,,no ,,possible ,,mistake4 ,,did ,,you8 ,,you ,,don',t ,,have ,,to ,,use ,,better ,,keep ,,an ,,this ,,order ,,sheet4 ,,you ,o ,r ,d ,e ,r ,s ,h ,e ,e ,t ,,exact ,,copy ,,of ,,this ,,can ,,order ,,any ,,old ,,way ,,order ,,for ,,future ,,you ,,like4 ,,but ,,using ,,this ,,reference4 ,,will ,,save ,,us ,,both ,,some ,,bother 99 99 99 99 99 ,,be ,,sure ,,to ,,always ,,sign ,,the ,,more ,,careful ,,you ,,are ,,keep ,a ,,copy ,,of ,,your ,,name ,,and ,,address4 ,,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 ,,clearly1 ,,the ,,more ,,certain ,,from ,,us ,,in ,a ,,or ,,address4 ,,if ,,your ,,we ,,are ,,to ,,get ,,your ,,order ,,reasonable ,,shipping ,,station ,,is ,,filled ,,promptly ,,and ,,length ,,of ,,time1 ,,different ,,from ,,your ,,correctly4 ,,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 ,p4,o4 ,,money ,,order ,,street ,,or ,,rural ,,route ,,paid ,,by ,,exp4 ,,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 ,,routing8 ,,if ,,out ,,of ,,variety ,,ordered ,,have ,,we ,,your ,,permission ,,to ,,substitute ,,equal ,,or ,,better ,,in ,,nearest ,,variety ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,,bu,,qts,,lbs,,pts,,oz,,pkts,,no,,artic les ,,wanted ,,value ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- cents cents cents cents 99 99 99 99 99 ,this order sheet simplifies ordering and assures accuracy4 ,on the reverse side are printed several special offers1 to which reference may readily be made4 ,the sheet is made to fold up like an envelope and when the gummed edges are pasted down enclosures are perfectly safe 99 99 99 99 99 ,on some propositions the time limit can be worked over and over again on different occasions like special store sales4 ,a large publishing house selling an encyclopedia never varies the price but it gets out special ,christmas offers1 ,withdrawal sale offers1 ,special ,summer offers--anything for a reason to send out some new advertising matter making a different appeal4 ,and each proposition is good only up to a certain time4 ,the letters must be mailed and postmarked before midnight of the last day1 and this time limit pulls the prospect over the dead center of indecision and gets his order4 ,the last day usually brings in more orders than any previous week4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,fill ,,out ,,and ,,mail ,,this ,,coupon ,,to ,,chicago ,,supply ,,co4 ,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 ,,roofing1 ,,siding1 ,,etc4 ,,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 ,r4,f4,d4 ,,box ,,no4 ,,st4 ,,no4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this coupon1 used in advertisements and in printed matter1 make it extremely easy to send for information on special subjects 99 99 99 99 99 ,,scheme #b--,,the ,,last ,,chance ,,to ,,buy ,if it is desired to come right back at a prospect1 some such paragraph as this is written3 ,only #df sets left6 ,the success of our special offer surpassed all expectations4 ,it will be necessary to issue another edition at once4 ,the style of binding will be changed but otherwise the two editions will be the same4 ,as we do not carry two styles on hand1 we are willing to let you have one of the #df remaining sets at the ,,same ,,terms although our special offer expired ,saturday night4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and this appeal may pull even better than the first one--provided the proposition is on the square4 ,it is hard to put sincerity into a letter that is not based on an absolute truth4 ,if ,only #df sets left is merely a salesman's bluff when in fact there are hundreds of sets on hand1 the letter will have a hollow ring4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,making ,,it ,,easy ,,to ,,answer ,,creating ,,desire ,,time ,,limit ,,limited ,,no4 ,,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,sincerity is the hardest thing in the world to imitate in a letter and absolute confidence is the key-stone to all mailorder selling4 ,there are plenty of plausible reasons for making a time limit or a special offer4 ,a large publishing house1 selling both magazines and books by mail occasionally turns the trick by a human interest appeal3 ,i told the business manager that ,i believed ,i could bring our ,august sales up to equal those of the other months4 ,he laughed at me4 ,always before they have fallen off about twenty per cent4 ,but ,i am going to do it--if you'll help me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then the sales manager went on with a special offer2 it was a legitimate offer which made a real inducement that proved one of the most successful the firm ever put out4 ,,scheme #c--,,low ,,prices ,,during ,,dull ,,seasons ,in making a special price the prospect must be given some plausible reason and sincere explanation for the reduction4 ,a special arrangement with the manufacturer1 cleaning out of stock1 an introductory offer--some valid reason2 and then state this reason in a frank1 business-like way1 making the story interesting and showing where it is to the advantage of both the prospect and yourself4 ,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 suit1 on orders placed during ,july and ,august4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this offer sent out by a merchant tailor brought results1 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 inducement4 ,,scheme #d--;,,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 list4 ,a free sample if you send us your dealer's name is reasonably certain to call for an immediate reply from most women1 for they are always interested in samples4 ,making a special introductory offer on some new device or appliance is certainly a legitimate reason for cutting the price4 ,it is an inducement1 moreover1 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 system4 ,,scheme #e--,,the ,,special ,,introductory ,,price ,there can be no excuse for the carelessness that makes a special introductory price1 and later in the same letter or in a follow-up calls attention to the many satisfied users in your section4 ,be sure your reason is real--then it rings true and incites prompt action like this offer3 ,the ,wright ,copy ,holder sells the world over for #c4jj4 ,we are certain1 however1 that once you see the holder actually increasing the output of your own typist you will want to equip your entire office with them4 ,so1 for a limited time only1 we are going to make you an introductory price of #b4be4 ,send to-day for one of these holders and give it a thorough trial4 ,then any time within thirty days1 after you have watched the holder in actual use and seen it pay for itself1 in actual increased output1 order as many more as you want and we will supply them to you at the same introductory price of #b4be each4 ,after that time we must ask the regular price4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is convincing4 ,the prospect feels that if the holder were not all right it would not be sold on such terms1 for the manufacturers expect that the one holder will give such satisfaction that it will lead to the sale of many more4 ,enclose #b4be now in any convenient form and let the holder demonstrate for itself what it can save you every day4 ,don't wait until tomorrow--but send your order today--right now4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the closing paragraph and if you are at all interested in copy holders it is likely you will place an order ,,now4 ,and if you don't and if the order is not placed within ten days1 the offer may be extended for two weeks and after that a ten-day only offer may pull forth an order4 ,,scheme #f--,,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 puller4 ,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 announcement4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,date ,,wilson ,,safety ,,razor ,,co4 ,,dear ,,sirs3--,,please ,,send ,,one ,,standard ,,wilson ,,safety ,,razor 7,,price #c4jj7 ,,very ,,truly ,,yours4 7,,your7 ,,name ,,street ,,and ,,no ,,city ,,state ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,,if ,,the ,,razor ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,sent ,,through ,,your ,,dealer ,,fill ,,out ,,below 7,,dealer',s7 ,,name ,,address ,,city ,,state ,,if ,,you ,,prefer ,,that ,,we ,,send ,,razor ,,direct ,,to ,,you1 ,,please ,,enclose ,,remittance ,,in ,,either ,,of ,,the ,,following ,,forms ,,cash 7,,registered ,,mail71 ,,money ,,order1 ,,ny ,,bank ,,draft ,,check ,,the ,,wilson ,,safety ,,razor ,,co ,,or ,,the ,,dealer ,,who ,,executes ,,this ,,order ,,in ,,accepting ,,the #c4jj ,,for ,,the ,,safety ,,razor ,,agrees ,,with ,,the ,,purchaser ,,that ,,it ,,is ,,sold ,,on #cj ,,days ,,trial ,,without ,,any ,,obligation ,,or ,,liability ,,for ,,use ,,during ,,that ,,period4 ,,if ,,for ,,any ,,reason ,,the ,,purchaser ,,desires ,,to ,,return ,,it ,,within ,,that ,,period ,,the ,,seller ,,upon ,,shall ,,upon ,,receipt ,,thereof ,,refund ,,the #c4jj ,,the ,,wilson ,,safety ,,razor ,,co4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this form of post card provides for two methods of ordering--the customer may take his choice 99 99 99 99 99 ,in influencing prompt action the time element and the special price are not the only ,act ,now inducements although they are the most common4 ,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 correspondence4 ,so the sales manager wrote a personal letter in which the following paragraph appeared3 ,in looking over our correspondence ,i notice that you are particularly interested in a #b-;horse power engine4 ,i have an engine of that size on hand that ,i think will interest you4 ,we have just received our exhibits from the ,motor ,boat ,shows4 ,among these ,i noticed a #b ,h4,p4 engine and remembering your inquiry for this size engine1 it occurred to me that this would make you an ideal engine for your boat4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this was cleverly worded1 for although the company would contend that the exhibits were taken from stock1 the possible buyer would feel confident that the engine exhibited at the show had been tested and tried in every way4 ,if he were in the market at all1 this would probably prove a magnet to draw an immediate reply--for it is always easy to reply if one is sufficiently interested4 ,,scheme #g--;,,holding ,,goods ,,in ,,reserve ,this holding one in reserve for you has proved effective with a typewriter company3 ,the factory is working to the limit these days and we are behind orders now4 ,but we are going to hold the machine we have reserved for you a few days longer4 ,after that we may have to use it to fill another order4 ,sign and send us the enclosed blank to-day and let us place the machine where it will be of real service to you4 ,remember it is covered by a guarantee that protects you against disappointment4 ,if you don't like it1 simply return it and back comes your money4 99 99 99 99 99 ,bond brokers frequently use this same idea1 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 is4 ,in one form or another this scheme is widely used4 ,when the order justifies the expense1 a night telegram is sometimes sent stating that the machine can be held only one day more or something like that4 ,this only is possible on special goods that cannot be readily duplicated4 ,in all these offers and schemes the price is kept carefully in the background4 ,many firms never mention the price in the letter1 leaving that for the circular1 folder or catalogue4 ,,scheme #h--,,the ,,free ,,trial ,,offer ,instead of the price being emphasized1 it is the free trial offer or the absolute guarantee that is held before the reader4 ,without even risking a cent you can use the ,wilbur on your farm free for #cj days4 ,we will ship it to you1 freight prepaid1 with the plain understanding that1 should the ,wilbur not come up to every claim we make for it1 we will take it off your hands1 for we don't want anyone to keep the ,wilbur when he is not satisfied with it4 ,thus1 we agree to pay ,,all charges and take ,,all risk while you are testing and trying the ,wilbur for one whole month4 ,you see1 we have a great deal of confidence in the ,wilbur or we could not afford to make you this square and generous offer1 which leaves it entirely to you to say whether or not the ,wilbur ,fanning ,mill is a practical and money-making success4 ,since the #cj days' free trial proposition puts you to no risk whatever1 you should take advantage of this opportunity and have a ,wilbur shipped right away on the free trial basis4 ,to prove it1 all you have to do is to fill in1 sign and mail this card4 ,after #cj days you ,,can return the machine if you are willing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,not a word about price4 ,all about the free trial and the fact that you are to be the judge of the machine's value4 ,and not only the free trial but the absolute guarantee is emphasized4 ,your money back if not satisfactory is the slogan of every successful mail-order house4 ,frequently a facsimile of the guarantee accompanies the letter2 always it is emphasized4 ,,scheme #i--,,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 do4 ,the broad assertion is made that after a month's use it would not be sold at the price paid for it1 and instead of arguing the case and endeavoring to prove the statement1 the company strives to make it easy to place a trial order4 ,here are two of the three paragraphs that make up one of its letters3 ,to prove it1 all you have to do is to fill in1 sign and mail this card4 ,after #cj days you ,,may return the machine if you want to4 ,try it out4 ,never mind what we might ,,say about the uses your shop men would be getting out of it--,,find ,,out4 ,it is easy4 ,just send the card4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is simplicity itself4 ,the writer does not put us on the defensive by trying to argue with us4 ,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 keeping4 ,the price is held in the background and the actual ordering is nothing more than to sign a post card4 ,there is no reason at all why we should delay2 we could hardly turn the letter over to be filed without feeling that we were blind to our best interest in not replying4 ,,scheme #aj--,,the ,,discount ,,for ,,cash ,publishers of a magazine angle for renewals without boldly snatching for a man's pocketbook1 by this presentation3 ,simply tell us ,,now to continue your subscription4 ,remit at your convenience4 ,better still1 wrap a #a4jj bill in this post card--and mail to us today4 ,we will send not only the twelve issues paid for1 but will--as a cash discount--extend your subscription an extra two months4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here the cost is brought in almost as an afterthought1 yet in a way that actually brings the cash with the renewal4 ,fill out the enclosed order and the goods will be shipped at once and billed in the regular way4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the payment is not in sight--it hasn't yet turned the corner4 ,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 check4 ,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 month4 ,,scheme #aa--,,the ,,first ,,installment ,,as ,a ,,deposit ,where goods are sold on easy terms and a first payment required1 many correspondents refer to the remittance as a deposit4 ,in the strong guarantee it is expressly stated that in case of dissatisfaction1 the deposit will be returned4 ,even the deferring of the payment a few days helps to pull an order4 ,it is not that a man is niggardly or that he does not want the article but it is the desire1 rooted deep in human nature1 to hold onto money after it has been hard earned4 ,to facilitate your prompt action1 ,i am enclosing a convenient postal card order4 ,our shipping department has had instructions to honor this as readily as they would your check4 ,there is no need to send the customary initial payment in advance4 ,simply sign and mail the enclosed card2 when the file comes1 pay the expressman the first payment of #b4jj4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here the payment was very small and it was deferred only a few days1 but long enough to make it seem easier1 and the orders were much larger than when cash was required with the order4 ,,scheme #ab--,,sending ,,goods ,,for ,,inspection ,take no risk is the reassuring line in many advertisements and letters4 ,send no money--take no risk4 ,we do not even ask you to make a deposit until you are satisfied that you need the ,verbest in your business4 ,simply send the coupon today and the ,verbest goes forward at our risk4 ,such offers pull best when simply worded and contain some such phrase as ,without obligation on my part1 you may send me4 ,it gives reassurance that there is no catch and inspires the confidence that is the basis of the mail-order business4 ,then there is the argument that the device or equipment will pay for itself--a powerful leverage when rightly applied4 ,here is the way the manufacturer of a certain machine keeps the cost in the shadow3 ,there is no red tape to go through4 ,simply sign the enclosed blank and forward to-day with the first payment of #c4jj4 ,the ,challenge will go forward promptly4 ,and the balance you can pay as the machine pays for itself--at the rate of seventeen cents a day4 99 99 99 99 99 ,simple1 isn't it8 ,you forget all about the cost4 ,the paragraph is a cleverly worded ,do it now appeal and the cost is kept entirely in the background4 ,,scheme #ac--,,the ,,expense ,,versus ,,the ,,investment ,,argument ,a companion argument is that the device is not an expense but an investment4 ,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 standard4 ,this is a strong argument with the shrewd business man who figures the value of things not on the initial cost1 but upon the profits they will earn and the dividends they will pay4 ,the whole proposition must be shaped in such a way that it is easy for the prospect to buy4 ,he must want to buy--and the experienced correspondent realizes that every word and phrase must be avoided that is capable of being misconstrued4 ,there are no details so small that they do not have a bearing on the success of a campaign4 ,,scheme #ad--,,the ,,return ,,postal ,,filled ,,in ,,for ,,mailing ,and now that you have made clear your proposition and shown your proof1 now that you have led your prospect to the buying point1 the next step is to make him send you the order4 ,and the only way to do this is to follow the example of the good salesman3 put the pen in his hand1 your finger on the dotted line1 and slip the order blank before him4 ,the salesman does these things because he knows that he might lose the sale if he asked his prospect to hunt up a pen1 a letterhead and some ink4 ,he knows the value of making it easy to buy4 ,and in selling by mail you must do the same4 ,don't guide him on to a decision to order and then leave him at sea as to how to do it4 ,show him exactly what to do4 ,it is easy enough simply to say1 ,write me a letter1 or1 send me #b4jj4 ,the very man you want most to sell may not know how to write a clearly worded order4 ,even if he does1 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 buy4 ,so give him the order ready to sign1 with as few changes as possible required4 ,and give him an addressed return envelope to send it in4 ,if no money is to be sent with the order1 put it on a post card4 ,sign and mail the card borders on the extreme of simplicity in buying4 ,you cannot be too simple in your method of soliciting orders4 ,if your proposition will admit of saying1 ,pin a dollar bill to this letter and mail1 say it4 ,if more details are needed1 make them as simple as possible4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,johnson ,,dye ,,order ,,and ,,coin ,,card 7,,be ,,sure ,,to ,,address ,,your ,,envelope ,,very ,,plainly7 ,,johnson ,,dye ,,company ,,boston1 ,,mass4 ,,send ,,me ,,packages ,,of ,,johnson ,,dyes1 ,,at ,,ten ,,cents ,,each1 ,,as ,,marked ,,in ,,the ,,order ,,blank ,,below4 ,i ,,enclose ,,in ,,this ,,coin ,,envelope ,,below1 ,,total ,,sign ,,very ,,plainly ,,cents ,,name ,,address,,number1 ,,street1 ,,or ,,box1 ,,post ,,office1 ,,county1 ,,state ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,,don',t ,,fail ,,to ,,fill ,,out ,,this words behind ,,has ,,he 7,,any7 ,,johnson drawing of ,,dyes ,,for ,,wool8 ,,my ,,dealer',s ,,name envelope ,,has ,,he 7,,any7 ,,johnson ,,dyes ,,for ,,cotton8 ,,address ,,has ,,he ,,the ,,johnson ,,dye ,,colors ,,ordered ,,write ,,plainly ,,below8 ------------------------- -------------------- ,,johnson ,,dyes ,,johnson ,,dyes ,,for ,,wool ,,for ,,cotton ,,light ,,blue ,,light ,,blue ,,dark ,,blue ,envelope3 ,,put ,,dark ,,blue ,,navy ,,blue ,,your ,,money1 ,,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,a manila enclosure that contains a small envelope suitable for sending coins or bills4 ,the directions not only cover all points on the order but give the company information for its follow-up 99 99 99 99 99 ,,scheme #ae--,,the ,,money ,,order ,,ready ,,for ,,signature ,if you want him to send a money order1 help him to get it by enclosing a money order application filled in except for his name4 ,avoid the possibility of giving the order blank a legal appearance4 ,simply have the order say1 ,send me ---- and as little more as is necessary4 ,show the prospect that there are no strings or jokers in your blank4 ,make it so simple that there is no possibility of misunderstanding its terms4 ,if the article is one that is sold in much th same way to every purchaser1 it is best to print the entire order1 leaving only the date line and the signature line blank4 ,if the purchaser has to choose between two styles of the article or between two quantities1 the order blank may be printed1 so that the quantity not wanted may be crossed out4 ,,scheme #af--,,ordering ,,by ,,marks ,in dealing with an unlettered class of people1 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 ordered4 ,in case of articles that are sold for cash and also on the easy payment plan1 it is better to have two separate order blanks printed on different colors of paper1 one plainly headed ,cash ,order ,blank1 and the other ,easy ,payment ,order ,blank4 ,avoid the ,instalment ,plan4 ,the name has lost standing of late2 the wording ,easy ,payment ,plan is better and more suggestive4 ,,scheme #ag--,,the ,,coin ,,card ,the coin-card method is a winner for sales under a dollar4 ,the card1 with its open holes inviting the quarter or the fifty-cent piece1 and the order blank printed conveniently on the flap--captures much loose money4 ,the post office department will furnish money order applications with the name of the advertiser printed in the proper spaces4 ,these printed applications should be sent for the prospect's convenience in cases where a money order is likely to be used4 ,they insure that the advertiser's name will come before postmaster's written in the preferred form1 and they also relieve much of the hesitancy and embarrassment of the people that do not know how to make out an application4 ,,scheme #ah--,,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 firm4 ,that effective closing removed the tendency to delay until a check or a money order could be secured4 ,it took away the fear of loss in the mails4 ,it largely increased the returns of the letter4 ,it is sometimes an excellent plan to suggest that the reader sign and mail at once a postal card that is enclosed4 ,if there is an inch or two of space at the bottom of the letter1 a blank order or request may be written there that needs only a signature to make it complete4 ,in the closing paragraph1 direct the reader to sign and return the slip4 ,an addressed envelope should always be enclosed4 ,it will not always be used1 but it will be used by most people1 and it assures the correct address and facilitates the handling of incoming mail4 ,how ,to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal ,to ,,women ,,part ,,vi--,,the ,,appeal ,,to ,,different ,,classes--,,chapter #bb ,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 paragraph4 ,the average woman does not have a large correspondence2 her mail is not so heavy but what she ,,finds ,,time ,,to ,,read ,,every ,,letter ,,that ,,appeals ,,to ,,her ,,even ,,slightly4 ,the printed heading may show a letter to be from a cloak company4 ,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 samples4 ,yet if the writer of the letter is skilled and understands the subtle workings of a woman's mind1 ,,the ,,cloak ,,is ,,half ,,sold ,,by ,,the ,,time ,,she ,,fills ,,out ,,the ,,postal ,,card4 ,this chapter tells why 99 99 99 99 99 ,the more personal a letter is made the more successful it will prove4 ,several large mail-order houses1 handling thousands of letters every day1 are gradually abandoning the use of form letters1 making every communication personal4 ,the additional expense is of course great but the increased business apparently justifies the new policy4 ,the carelessness that sends out to women form letters beginning ,dear ,sir has squandered many an advertising appropriation4 ,a man might not notice such a mistake or he might charitably blame it onto a stupid mailing clerk1 but a woman--never4 ,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 dealing4 ,a mail may bring in two letters--one1 from a farmer1 laboriously scrawled on a bit of wrapping paper2 the other1 from a lady in town1 written on the finest stationery4 ,both may request catalogues and the same printed matter will be sent to each1 but only the amateur correspondent would use the same form letter in reply4 ,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 tactics1 and the form letter that tries to wing all classes of individuals is most likely to miss all4 ,in making an appeal to women1 the first thing to be considered is the stationery4 ,good quality of paper is a sound investment4 ,saving money by use of cheap stationery is not economy for it prejudices the individual against the sender before the letter is ever opened4 ,firms that cater to women of the better class follow out the current styles in writing paper4 ,the proper size and shape of sheet and envelope immediately make a favorable impression4 ,various tints may be used to good effect and1 instead of a flaring lithographed letterhead1 the firm's monogram may be stamped in the upper left-hand corner4 ,the return card on the envelope should not be printed on the face but on the reverse flap4 ,such a letter is suggestive of social atmosphere2 it is complimentary to the lady4 ,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 apparent4 ,if the line is anything that can be shown by sample1 manage to work into the very beginning of the letter the fact that samples will be mailed free upon request4 ,women never tire of looking at samples2 they pull thousands of orders that could never have been landed with printed descriptions or illustrations4 ,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 dress4 ,it urges upon its correspondents the desirability of getting in this appeal in the very first sentence4 ,letters from this house begin with some pointed reference3 ,becoming styles1 we know1 are what you want1 together with quality and the greatest economy4 ,or1 ,you know we guarantee you a perfect-fitting suit1 of the prettiest materials in the market--whatever you may select4 ,this letter has the personal signature of the sales manager3 ,dear ,madam3 ,i have been intending to write you ever since you sent for your ,,republic ,style ,book1 but ,i have been so busy in connection with our new building as to hardly find time4 ,but you are no doubt now wondering just why1 out of the many1 many thousand requests for the ,,republic ,style ,book1 ,i should be so particularly interested in yours4 ,and so ,i am going to tell you frankly my reason4 ,it is this3 ,in your community there is only a very small number of all the ladies who wear ,,republic ,suits1 and they ,,all should wear them--and ,,would wear them if they could but be made to know the real beauty of our suits4 ,i want to show them just how beautiful a ,,republic ,suit can be4 ,so ,i ask you1 would you like to have made for you this season1 the most beautiful suit you ever had8 ,would you like now1 a suit more stylish1 better fitting1 more becoming1 better made--,,more ,,perfect--than any other suit you have had8 ,if this interests you at all1 then ,i am ready personally to see to it for you4 ,a suit that is different from the ones worn by your acquaintances is what ,i am now speaking of2 not different because made of some unusual material1 or in some over-stylish design1 but different because ,,better4 ,it is the difference of ,,quality1 of genius in its cutting1 that ,i want your friends and neighbors to see and admire in your suit4 ,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 friends4 ,i wish your suit to convince ,,them that they1 too1 should have their suits made by the ,,republic4 ,would you care to have me tell you just how ,i propose to put this unusual grace and style into your suit8 ,first1 everything depends upon the ,,lines of a suit--if its lines are beautiful1 the suit is beautiful4 ,now we have at the ,,republic a chief designer1 who is a genius in putting the greatest beauty and grace into the lines of his models4 ,we say he is a genius1 because a man can be a genius in designing just as a musician or any exceptionally skillful man may be said to be a genius4 ,and when a highly trained cutter and an expert tailor make up one of this man's designs1 the result is a suit that stands apart from all others1 by reason of the attractiveness there always is in grace and style and beauty4 ,such is the suit ,i offer to have made for you4 ,but there is to be no increased cost to you for this special service4 ,the price of every ,,republic ,made-to-,measure ,suit is plainly stated under its description in our ,style ,book4 ,that is all you'll have to pay4 ,if you wish you can have a dressmaker take your measurements and we will pay her for her trouble1 as explained on the enclosed ,dressmaker's ,certificate4 ,please read this certificate4 ,now1 what am ,i to do8 you ask4 ,simply send your order to me personally4 ,just say1 ,make my suit as you agree in your letter4 ,now if you wish other samples or information1 write to me personally and ,i will take care of it for you4 ,but1 the sooner you get your order to me the better4 ,please consider that we1 at the ,,republic1 will always be glad to be of service to you4 ,i1 especially1 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 say1 ,this is a ,,republic ,suit4 ,shall ,i hear from you soon8 ,yours very respectfully1 ,signature3 ,g4 ,l4 ,lawrence 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter was sent out on very tasty tinted stationery4 ,it was written by someone who understood the subtle processes of the feminine mind4 ,in the first place the lady is flattered because the sales manager himself writes to her and offers to give her order his personal attention4 ,surely an opportunity to secure the very best suit the house can turn out6 ,it is the difference of ,,quality1 of genius in its cutting1 that ,i want your friends and neighbors to see and admire in your suit4 ,no fulsome flattery here2 it is so delicately introduced that it appears entirely incidental1 but the shaft strikes home4 ,there is just enough left unsaid to stir the imagination4 ,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 place4 ,in another letter from the same house the prospect was impressed by the great care used in making up garments3 ,in order that your measurements may be taken exactly right1 we send you with this letter a ',republic' ,tape ,measure4 ,this is the same kind that our cutters use and it is entirely accurate4 ,we send this tape measure to you because we want to avoid the least possibility of variation in your measurements4 ,we want to make your suit perfect1 and we will personally see to every detail of its making4 99 99 99 99 99 ,no battery of arguments and proofs could make the same appeal to the woman as the tape line sent in this way4 ,the suggestion is more powerful with a woman when skillfully handled than statements1 assertions and arguments4 ,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 field3 ,we want you to read our booklet carefully for it explains our methods of doing business fully4 ,we are very particular about filling orders and know you will be pleased with any suit you may buy from us4 ,our financial standing should convince you that if anything is not right we will make it so4 ,we guarantee satisfaction and solicit a trial order4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the first place1 the average woman would know nothing about the financial standing of the house4 ,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 manufacturers4 ,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 satisfactory4 ,but while women are susceptible to flattery there is danger of bungling1 of making the effort so conscious that it is offensive4 ,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 goes4 ,the average woman is disgusted and reads no further4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,mere cleverness in expression will fall wide of the mark and facetiousness should be strictly avoided4 ,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 weakness4 ,arouse her curiosity--the curiosity of woman is proverbial1 and a general store at ,nettleton1 ,mississippi1 found a ,cousin ,elsie letter1 mailed at ,atlanta1 ,georgia1 to be the most effective advertising it ever sent out1 for it aroused the greatest curiosity among the women of ,nettleton4 ,here is a letter just as it was sent out1 the name of the recipient filled in on the typewriter3 ,my ,dear ,cousin3-- ,i know you will be surprised to get this letter4 ,i spent such a delightful ,winter in ,california and wished so often that my dear ,nettleton kin could be with me4 ,on my return trip1 ,i met the ,wilson ,piano ,co's ,manager4 ,he told me the ,nettleton ,supply ,co4 was giving away one of its #djj4jj pianos this year in advertising4 ,i do hope that some of my ambitious ,cousins will get to work and get it4 ,it will certainly be worth working for4 ,then what do you think8 ,the first thing when ,i came to the office this morning1 ,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 ,nettleton4 ,our salesman said that this is one of the nicest bills that he has sold this season4 ,i met the buyer and talked with her about all of you and promised to attend the ,spring opening4 ,i know it will be one of the best the house has had1 as it will have so much pretty stuff to show4 ,i will have only a day or two and ,i want to ask you and all my ,cousins to meet me at this opening4 ,i am anxious to see you and this will be a good opportunity for us to meet4 ,don't fail to meet me4 ,i have lots of work to do and must bring this letter to a close4 ,with a heart full of love for all the dear old ,nettleton folks and an extra lot for you1 from1 ,your ,cousin1 ,elsie4 ,p4,s4--,don't fail to come to the opening4 ,i will be there if possible4 ,miss ,smiley will let you know when to come4 ,buy a pair of ,peters' shoes this ,spring2 you will never regret it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such letters could not be used very often but occasionally they are immensely effective4 ,mrs4 ,elliott's troubles and how they were cured have become famous in some parts of the country4 ,written in long hand1 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 polish4 ,the letters were written in such a chatty style that they were read through and passed around to other members of the family4 ,my dear3 ,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 well4 ,you know some time ago after ,i had painted my floors1 ,i wrote the company whose paint ,i used and they put my experiences in the form of a little booklet entitled ,mrs4 ,elliot's ,troubles4 99 99 99 99 99 ,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,the appeal to women must hover around her love of style and her desire for economy4 ,bring in either subject deftly at the beginning of a letter and she will be an interested reader of all the sales talk that follows4 ,several mail-order houses have trained women to handle this part of their correspondence for they are more apt in the use of feminine expressions4 ,let a man try to describe some article as perfectly splendid1 or really sweet and he will stumble over it before he gets to the end of the sentence4 ,yet when these same hackneyed phrases are brought in naturally by a woman who feels just that way about the garment she is describing1 they will take hold of the reader in a way that is beyond the understanding of the masculine mind4 ,in the appeal to women there is more in this tinge of off-hand refinement1 the atmosphere1 the enthusiasm shown and in the little personal touches1 than in formidable arguments and logical reasons4 ,what is triviality to a man is frequently the clinching statement with a woman4 ,and so a fixed set of rules can not be formulated for writing letters to women4 ,instead of a hard and fast rule1 the correspondent must have in mind the ideas and the features that naturally appeal to the feminine mind and use them judiciously4 ,dear ,madam3 ,this mail is bringing to you a copy of our new catalogue1 describing our complete line of ,hawkeye ,kitchen ,cabinets4 ,the catalogue will tell you how you can do your kitchen work in half the usual time4 ,it will tell you how to save your strength1 time1 and energy--how to relieve yourself of the burden of kitchen drudgery4 ,aren't these things worth looking into8 ,just try counting the unnecessary steps you take in preparing your next meal4 ,calculate the time you lose in looking for articles that should be at your fingers' ends but are not4 ,imagine1 if you can1 what it would save you if you could do away with your pantry1 kitchen table1 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 sink1 so you could reach almost from one to the other4 ,think of the steps it would save you4 ,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 7in the dark7 find almost anything you wanted4 ,if you can draw in your mind a picture of such a piece of furniture1 you will have some idea of what a ,buckeye ,kitchen ,cabinet is like4 ,how1 don't you want one of these automatic servants8 ,don't you think you need it8 ,if so1 send for one ,,now4 ,don't put it off a single day4 ,you have been without it too long already4 ,it doesn't cost much to get a ,hawkeye4 ,if you don't care to pay cash1 you can buy on such easy payments that you will never miss the money--only five cents a day for a few months4 ,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 sunshine1 yet you are walking miles in your kitchen when one streetcar fare a day for a few months would do away with it4 ,send your order right along and use the ,cabinet thirty days4 ,if it doesn't do what we say it will1 or if you do not consider that it is more than worth the money1 send it back at our expense and we will refund whatever you have paid4 ,that's fair1 isn't it8 ,we pay freight on all-cash orders ,yours truly1 ,signature3 ,adams ,adams 99 99 99 99 99 ,this letter is written in an easy1 natural style1 which is aided by the short paragraphs4 ,the appeal to the imagination is skillful1 and the homely illustration of the car-fare well chosen4 ,the closing is in keeping with the general quality of the letter and was undoubtedly effective4 ,this letter is a longer one than the man would read about a kitchen cabinet1 but there are not too many details for women readers 99 99 99 99 99 ,all women1 for instance1 are influenced by what other women do1 and there is no other touch more productive of sales than the reference to what some other customer has ordered1 or what comments she has made4 ,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 sale3 ,one of our very good customers from your neighborhood writes us that her new suit 7,style #cehg7 has caused her more perfectly delightful compliments than she ever had before4 99 99 99 99 99 ,such testimonials are to be found in every mail-order house that has attained even a moderate success1 for women who are pleased are given to writing letters profuse in their expressions of appreciation4 ,at times it is desirable to quote a whole letter1 withholding1 of course1 the name of the writer4 ,the most convincing letters to use are those that tell about first orders1 or how some friend induced the writer to send in a trial order1 or how she came to be a customer of the mail-order house4 ,these personalities add a touch of human interest1 they create an atmosphere that is real1 they mean much to a woman4 ,quoted letters are especially effective in getting a first order after a woman has become sufficiently interested to write in for a catalogue4 ,here is one lifted from a letter sent out by the general manager of a suit house3 ,dear ,mr4 ,wardwell3 ,you ask me to tell you how ,i came to send you my first order4 ,i think ,i had written for your ,style ,book three seasons4 ,each time ,i found many garments ,i liked4 ,i found waists and dresses and skirts that were much prettier than the ones ,i could get elsewhere4 ,and yet1 some way or other1 while ,i longed for these very garments1 ,i did not order them4 ,i think it was simply because ,i never had ordered by mail4 ,one day when looking through your ,style ,book the thought came to me3 ,if you want this dress1 why don't you stop hesitating and wondering and sit down right now and order it8 ,and ,i did--and ever since ,i have bought my suits1 dresses1 waists1 almost everything1 from you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,testimonial letters from prominent women1 wives of distinguished men and others whose names are widely known1 are always effective4 ,a number of years ago ,mrs4 ,frances ,cleveland1 wife of the ex-president1 wrote to a furniture factory for a cedar chest4 ,the order was in ,mrs4 ,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 house4 ,such things have an influence on the feminine mind that the skilled correspondent never overlooks4 ,the reason that so many letters fail to pull is because the correspondents are not salesmen2 they are unable to put actual selling talk into a letter4 ,for after you have aroused a woman's curiosity and appealed to her love of style and her desire to economize1 there has got to be some genuine1 strong selling talk to get the order4 ,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 #cd-;inch length which could not be supplied as the regular measurements run from #cg to #dc4 ,a correspondent thinking only of the number of letters that can be answered in a day simply wrote1 ,we are very sorry we cannot supply the skirt you mention in the length you desire1 because this garment is not made regularly in shorter lengths than #cg inches4 ,regretting our inability to serve you1 and so forth4 ,the letter inspector threw out the letter and dictated another3 ,we cannot furnish skirt1 catalogue number ,h#dihb1 in a #cd-;inch length1 but we can supply it in a #cg-;inch length2 this is the shortest length in which it is regularly made4 ,you can have it altered to a #cd-;inch length at a small expense1 and as the skirt is an unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value1 the price being only #g4fe1 we trust you will favor us with your order4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is letter-writing plus salesmanship4 ,the correspondent did not spill over in his eagerness to get the order2 he did not describe the skirt as the finest to be had nor insist that it was the most wonderful bargain in the catalogue4 ,rather he told her it was an unusually pretty style and of exceptionally good value4 ,it was so simply told and so naturally that it carried conviction4 ,it refers to style and to economy--two things that appeal to every woman4 ,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 handled3 ,dear ,madam2 ,here's an incident that proves how important corsets are in wearing the new straight1 hipless gowns4 ,mrs4 ,thompson1 who is stouter than the new styles require1 tried on a princess gown in a department store4 ,the gown itself was beautiful1 but it was most unbecoming and did not fit at all1 tho it was the right size for her4 ,mrs4 ,thompson was about to give up in despair saying1 ,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 figures4 ,the result was that the princess gown took the lines of the corset and fitted ,mrs4 ,thompson perfectly4 ,in fact the original lines of the gown were brought out to better advantage4 ,this only goes to prove that with a good corset any gown will drape right and take the lines of the corset4 ,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 figure4 ,the ,dianas are made after the same models as the most expensive ,french corsets costing #aj to #be4 ,yet #a to #e buys a ,diana4 ,the ,diana is not heavy and uncomfortable as so many of the new corsets are this year4 ,the fabrics from which they are made are light and comfortable4 ,at the same time1 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 charge4 ,the ,diana dealer1 whose card is enclosed1 invites you to call and see these new corsets4 ,will you go in to see the ,diana today8 ,very truly yours1 ,signature3 ,grace ,la ,fountain 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter is in a chatty style that assures its being read4 ,it does not say1 ,we have just the corset for you stout women--but that is what it means4 ,it interests and appeals especially to the stout women without reminding them offensively that they are too heavy to wear the styles in vogue4 ,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 satisfaction4 ,many women are inclined to be skeptical and hesitate long before sending money to an unknown house4 ,so the ,national uses a guarantee tag insuring customers against dissatisfaction1 sending these tags out with the goods4 ,it assures the return of money if the order is not all right in every way and further agrees to pay all the express charges4 ,free reference is made to this tag in the company's letters and it gives a certain concreteness to the guarantee feature4 ,this tag makes its own argument1 proves its own case4 ,business men generally take it for granted that satisfaction goes with the goods2 their experience enables them to size up a proposition quickly and if there is any flaw in the advertisements or the company's methods1 they pass it by4 ,but women1 not so familiar with business affairs1 must be approached from a different angle4 ,little points must be explained and guarantees must be strongly emphasized4 ,the formal letter which appeals to a man by going straight to the point would1 by its very conciseness1 offend the vanity of a woman4 ,the successful correspondent never overlooks the susceptibility of a woman to flattery--but it must be the suggestion of flattery1 the implied compliment1 rather than the too obvious compliment4 ,the handsomest gown money will buy can't make you look well unless your corset is the correct shape4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the opening sentence in a letter advertising a particular corset4 ,the lady is gracefully complimented by the intimation that she wears handsome gowns1 yet there is not the slightest suggestion that the reference was dragged in as a part of the selling scheme4 ,instead of insinuating that she must buy cheaply1 let it be hinted that she is actuated by the very laudable motive of economy4 ,you would scarcely believe that such delicious coffee could be sold at #bj cents--unless you happen to know that the flavor of coffee depends largely upon the blending4 ,here the low price is emphasized but there is no hint of forced economy2 rather it suggests that the best quality can be obtained without paying a high price4 ,you can offer your most particular guest a cup of ,regal coffee and know she has never tasted a more delicious flavor and fragrance4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is the beginning of a letter that successfully introduced a new coffee4 ,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 coffee4 ,there are few things that the average woman is more concerned about than that her guests will be pleased with her refreshments4 ,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 guests4 ,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 appeal4 ,with the man it is reason1 logic1 argument2 with the woman it is suggestion1 flattery1 persuasion4 ,the correspondent who aims to establish a large mail-order trade with women must study their whims1 their prejudices1 their weaknesses and their characteristics before he can make an appeal that brings in the orders and makes permanent customers of trial buyers4 ,it is the little things--this subtle insight into feminine nature that marks the successful selling letter to the woman4 ,they are not things that can be set down and numbered in a text book2 they are qualities of mind that must be understood and delicately handled4 ,rightly used they are more powerful than irrefutable arguments and indisputable facts4 ,how ,to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal to ,,men ,,part ,,vi--,,the ,,appeal ,,to ,,different ,,classes--,,chapter #bc ,,one-,,half of the form letters sent out to men are thrown away unread4 ,a bare ,,one-,,third are partly read before discarded1 while only ,,one-,,sixth of them--approximately #ae per cent--are read through4 ,the reason why such a large proportion is ineffective is this3 the letter-writer1 through ignorance or carelessness1 does not strike the notes that appeal to every man4 ,here are some of the subtle ways by which correspondents have forced the attention of ,,men by appealing to traits distinctly masculine 99 99 99 99 99 ,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 made4 ,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 room4 ,it is the exceptional correspondent who stops to analyze his letters1 looking at them from every viewpoint1 and then tests out his conclusions1 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 returns4 ,for there are appeals that are practically universal4 ,appeal to a man's ambition and you have his interest3 larger income1 better position1 some honor or recognition--touch these and no matter how busy1 he will find time to read your message4 ,you've got to have more money4 ,your salary1 without income1 is not enough4 ,the man who depends upon salary alone to make him rich--well-to-do--or even comfortable1 is making the mistake of his life4 ,for the minute you stop working1 the money stops coming in4 ,lose a day and you lose a day's pay--while expenses go right on4 ,don't you think it's time you got ,nature to work for you8 ,a dollar put into a peach orchard will work for you days1 nights and ,sundays4 ,it never stops to sleep or eat but keeps on growing--growing-- from the very minute you put your money in4 ,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 pleasure4 ,the latter is lost forever--the dollar put to earning with us earns forever4 99 99 99 99 99 ,more money4 ,that appeal strikes home4 ,one glance at the letter and a man is interested4 ,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 him4 ,the correspondence schools recognized the force of this appeal and developed it so systematically that it might be called the standard correspondence school argument4 ,here is one of the best pulling arguments3 ,pay-day--what does it mean to you8 ,does your money go 'round8 ,or does it fail to stop all the gaps made by last week's or month's bills8 ,last week--according to actual1 certified reports on file in our office--,a4 ,b4 ,c4 men got their salary raised as a direct result of becoming more proficient from studying ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 courses4 ,don't you think it's time that salary raise was coming your way8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the same product--a correspondence course--may use the line of appeal peculiarly appropriate to men--that of responsibility4 ,such a letter leads out3 ,if your expenses were doubled tomorrow could you meet them--without running heavily in debt8 ,if you had to have more money on which to live--to support those dependent upon you--could you make it8 ,you could if you had the training afforded by our course2 it has doubled other men's salaries1 it can do the same for you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,next to the appeal to ambition in strength is this appeal to responsibility4 ,this is the burden of the arguments used by insurance companies1 savings banks and various investment companies4 ,an insurance company marketing a particularly strong investment policy1 and which follows the plan of writing to the prospect direct from the home office1 finds that such a letter as this pulls3 ,our ,agent1 ,mr4 ,blank1 no doubt has presented to you a majority of the many advantages of a ---- policy in the ----4 ,but we want you to have in writing1 and signed by an officer of the company1 what we regard as the main reason you should be with us4 ,no civilized man can evade responsibility4 ,should anything happen to you1 you are responsible for that loss--to your business--your family--your friends4 ,is your responsibility great enough--without the protection of the ,regal ,company--to make good your own loss8 99 99 99 99 99 ,but the kind of appeal to make is only one phase of the problem4 ,of equal importance is the manner of making that appeal4 ,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 appeal4 ,but such is not the case4 ,men's clothes1 as an instance1 are marketed on the talking points1 need for suitable dress1 quality1 style1 and similar arguments4 ,these arguments are not the ones appealing merely to men2 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 sex4 ,but the general talking point may be extended1 or rather restricted1 so as to make an appeal to men along the lines of their exclusive experience3 ,clothes are the outward index of the inner man4 ,the business man who dresses so as to show his inherent neatness and orderliness has just that much advantage over his less careful competitors4 ,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 position4 ,more than once has both business and advancement hinged on appearance4 ,and good appearance never handicaps--never holds a man back4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,how ,,different ,,arguments ,,appeal ,,to ,,men ,price ,foremost ,sentiment ,useless ,style ,slight ,quality ,important ,flattery ,doubtful ,exclusiveness ,seldom ,testimonials ,effective ,reputation ,reassuring ,service ,essential 99 99 99 99 99 ,this presentation is good man copy for it is based on that universal attribute--the desire to get on in business and as an employee4 ,this letter has the right kind of appeal1 rightly presented4 ,compare that letter with the one sent out by a tailor to the professional men of his city3 ,dear ,sir3 ,i hope you will excuse the liberty ,i am taking in addressing you personally1 but as it is on a matter that affects you very much and also your profession1 ,i hope you will overlook the familiarity4 ,as a physician you realize the importance of having good clothes and also of having them kept in good order1 both from a social as well as a professional standpoint4 ,being situated in your immediate neighborhood and having my store open a greater part of the day1 ,i am sure the proximity will be a great convenience to you4 ,i have had twenty-seven years' experience in making clothes and cleaning1 pressing and repairing them4 ,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 world4 ,sixteen years in ,london1 ,england1 making clothes for ,lords1 ,dukes and other titled people should entitle me to your consideration4 ,perhaps you may have some lady friends who need garments remodelled1 cleaned1 pressed or repaired1 who would be glad to know of my shop4 ,i assure you ,i will attend to all orders promptly and do your work as you want it4 ,yours very truly4 ,signature3 ,m4 ,b4 ,andrews 99 99 99 99 99 ,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,he starts out with an apology and his sentences are involved4 ,his boast about the work he has done for titled nobility abroad indicates that he is a snob--the whole letter lacks conviction4 ,sometimes a man-to-man appeal may have the heart interest that strikes a responsive chord4 ,dear ,mr4 ,smith3 ,sidenote3 ,a statement that every man agrees with4 ,good description4 ,an extra pair of dressy1 well-made trousers is something every man can use--no matter how many suits he has4 ,here is an opportunity to get a pair at exceedingly moderate cost4 ,sidenote3 ,effective method of dealing with a real bargain4 ,you know how we make trousers--what substantial1 well-selected patterns we carry2 how carefully we cut1 so as to get perfect fit in the crotch and around the waist2 how we whip in a piece of silk around the upper edge of the waist2 put in a strip to protect against wear at the front and back of the leg at the bottom2 and sew on buttons so that they won't pull off4 ,sidenote3 ,sending of samples greatly increases power of letter4 ,our season is winding up with a lot of patterns on hand containing just enough for one pair or two pairs of ,burnham-made trousers4 ,see the enclosed sample4 ,there's a good variety in dark patterns and a few light patterns1 not a one sold regularly at less than #f4ej and some sold as high as #g4ej4 ,sidenote3 ,this consideration for the old customer is sure to have a good effect4 ,these remnants won't go into the windows until ,saturday morning4 ,we are notifying you1 as a regular customer1 that as long as these remnants last you can get a pair of trousers from any piece for #e4ej1 or two pairs at the same time from the same measure for #aj--workmanship just the same as if you paid the regular price4 ,sidenote3 ,the last half of the closing sentence has much subtle power4 ,this is a ,,real bargain1 and we hope to see you before the best of the patterns are picked out4 ,truly yours1 ,,the ,,burnham ,,company 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a letter sent out by a rival tailor4 ,it grips attention in the first sentence and carries conviction4 ,it prompts immediate action and every sentence carries an appeal4 ,unlike the preceding letter1 it does not talk about the writer but about the goods he has for sale--the bargains he offers 99 99 99 99 99 ,the manager and owner of a business which was in immediate need of money had tried out different sales letters with but fair success4 ,his product sold to men2 it would stand up under trial2 the difficulty lay entirely in awakening interest in a highly competitive product4 ,as there seemed scarcely a chance that the business might be made to live1 the manager decided to take the public into his confidence--partly1 perhaps1 as extenuation for the failure he saw ahead4 ,so he led out with a sales letter beginning with this appeal3 ,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--live8 ,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 responding8 ,you1 like hundreds and thousands of others1 have had it in mind to buy of me sometime4 ,it is vital to the life of my business that you make that sometime ,,now6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the pulling power of this letter was phenomenal2 not only did thirty-five per cent of the list order1 but twelve per cent in addition answered1 stating that their orders could be depended upon later4 ,in addition1 there were scattering letters of encouragement and comment1 making the total result a marker in the era of solicitation by mail4 ,what made this particular letter pull1 when dozens of other letters1 written by the same man to the same list on the same proposition1 had attained only mediocre results8 ,the last letter made a distinctive appeal--to men--and particularly to men in business4 ,for1 since the time of playing store1 every man has met1 in its many varied guises1 the wolf of ,failure--and once a fellow business man is in the same plight1 the man who loves fairness will do his part to help out4 ,that these talking points that appeal to men are efficient is proved by such cases as just cited2 once the man-to-man appeal is actually brought out1 the response is immediate4 ,while such appeals occasionally make a ten-strike1 the average correspondent must rely upon logic and reasons why in making his appeal to men4 ,the ability to reason from cause to effect1 omitting none of the intermediate or connecting steps1 has long been held to be a substantial part of the masculine mind4 ,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 men4 ,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 mathematics1 which is a hard and fast rule study4 ,similarly in business1 the average man is used to working with his pencil1 and will follow a logical demonstration to the close1 where a woman would not give it a passing glance4 ,one of the latest selling campaigns1 marketing town lots in various new towns between ,st4 ,paul and the ,pacific ,coast1 appeals to the logical note in the masculine mind1 and grants a concession in a follow-up1 even before it is asked for4 ,this makes a particularly strong appeal to the man who has begun to think about the proposition and who senses that1 somehow1 it is not quite logical4 ,we have a letter from a man who1 like you1 read our advertisement and sent for more information1 including a copy of our contract1 and he wrote as follows3 ,i don't like the forfeiture clause in your contract4 ,under it1 if a man paid you #iej1 and then lost his job and couldn't pay any more1 you would have the right to gobble up all of his money and keep the lots too4 ,you wouldn't dare to make a contract with me under which as soon as ,i had paid you #cjj you would deed to me the first lot mentioned in my contract--the lot at -----1--and then with each #ajj paid in on the contract1 deed me the next lot named in my contract4 ,if you would do this1 ,i would take your contract in a minute1 because ,i would have some land for my money ,i paid in1 if ,i had to quit before ,i paid you the full #a1jjj4 ,we took this man at his word1 and have since thought that possibly there were others who regarded our contract as being too severe4 ,if this was the reason that you did not invest with us1 we ask you to examine the enclosed proof sheet1 from the printer1 of our new contract1 and write us not only if it suits you1 but if you can think of any other way to make it any more fair and equitable4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the illustration given is particularly good because it is anticipatory--nips an objection that may be just forming in the mind of the prospect4 ,dear ,sir3 ,we sent you a sample of our ,royal ,mixture tobacco in response to your request some time ago4 ,we are anxious to know what you think about it4 ,this is the best tobacco on the market today at the price1 and as we know you would not have asked for a free sample unless you intended to buy more if you liked the sample1 we hope to receive your order by return mail4 ,very truly1 ,signature3 ,morton and ,morton 99 99 99 99 99 ,a flat1 insipid letter entirely without order-pulling force4 ,the attempt to1 twist the request for a free sample into an obligation to place an order strokes a man's intentions the wrong way 99 99 99 99 99 ,dear ,sir3 ,well1 how did you find the tobacco8 ,i'm anxious to learn your opinion of ,boyal ,mixture1 now that you've burned a bit of it in your pipe4 ,i believe in this tobacco1 and back it up with a guarantee that removes all risk so far as the customer is concerned4 ,i refund money without argument if you are not satisfied4 ,royal ,mixture is not intended for smokers who are satisfied with any old stuff that will burn and give off smoke4 ,it is used by people who want nothing but the best and know it when they get it4 ,it's the perfection of pipe tobacco4 ,men who smoke my ,mixture for a month can't come down to common mixtures again4 ,it spoils the taste for cheap tobacco4 ,smoke a dozen pipes of it and you'll wonder how you ever got any comfort out of ordinary smoking tobacco4 ,royal ,mixture is skillfully blended from clean1 ripe leaves of the very best tobacco grown4 ,it is neither too strong nor too mild--it is precisely what a knowing pipe smoker likes3 fragrant1 satisfying1 delightful to nerves1 nostrils and palate4 ,there's a glorious1 natural aroma about ,royal ,mixture which appeals to a gentleman's nostrils most favorably4 ,particular pipe smokers praise it in the highest terms1 and prove the sincerity of their praise by ordering it from month to month4 ,shall ,i number you among the regulars8 ,remember1 you can't buy ,royal ,mixture from the retail shops4 ,it goes direct from packer to purchaser and reaches you in perfect condition4 ,the cost is so small1 and as you take not a particle of risk but can secure full refund of money if dissatisfied1 why hesitate to order8 ,the responsibility is entirely upon me4 ,every day you delay ordering means a distinct loss to you of greater pipe pleasure than you have ever experienced4 ,won't you sit down now1 while the matter is right before you1 fill enclosed blank and mail me your order ,,today--,,this ,,minute8 ,yours very truly1 ,signature3 ,l4 ,w4 ,hamilton 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is the letter rewritten1 explaining why this tobacco is superior4 ,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 common4 ,the cost is kept in the background by the guarantee of satisfaction and the clincher prompts immediate action 99 99 99 99 99 ,appeals to men can be peppered with technical description and still interest and get results4 ,the sales manager of a house selling cameras by mail says1 in speaking of this principle3 ,we found it necessary to use an entirely different series of letters in selling our cameras to men and to women4 ,generally speaking1 men are interested in technical descriptions of the parts of the camera2 women look at a camera from the esthetic side--as a means to an end4 ,in writing a sales letter to a man1 ,i take up1 for instance1 the lens4 ,this ,i describe in semi-technical terms1 stating why this particular lens or combination of lenses will do the best work4 ,then follows a description of the shutter--and so on through the principal parts until1 if the prospect be seriously interested1 ,i have demonstrated1 first1 that the camera will do the best work1 and1 second1 that it is good value for the money4 ,in writing a letter1 under the same conditions1 to a woman1 ,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 self1 family1 baby1 and friends4 ,these two appeals are the opposite poles of selling--the one logic and conviction1 the other sentiment and persuasion4 ,logic and conviction1 in fact1 are the keynotes to selling men by mail4 ,men fear being worked4 ,on those occasions when they have been worked1 it has generally been through sentiment--through the arts of persuasion rather than a clearly-demonstrated conviction that the proposition was right4 ,as a consequence1 persuasion alone1 without a mass of figures and solid arguments1 does not convince a man4 ,a land company uses a novel method of conviction along this line1 aiming to get the prospect to furnish his own figures4 ,the idea is1 that these figures1 prepared by the prospect himself1 and the accuracy of which he himself vouches1 will work conviction4 ,the letter reads in part3 ,suppose1 ten years ago1 you had paid down1 say #aj on a piece of cheap land4 ,then from time to time you had paid in say #aj per month on the same land4 ,had you been able to buy then as you can buy from us now1 your land would have been secured to you on your first payment4 ,now figure out what you would have paid in at #aj per month in ten years4 ,now1 remembering that well-selected land doubles in value once1 at least1 every five years1 what would you be worth now1 from your #aj-;a-month investment8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the letter proved the best puller of a series of try-outs sent to professional men and men on salaries4 ,every man has1 as a by-product of his every-day experience1 certain more or less clearly defined impressions4 ,with some men these are still in a sort of hazy formation2 with others these vague ideas are almost a cult4 ,the letter-writer who can tap one of these lines of thought gets results in a flash4 ,such letter takes a basis of facts common to most men1 blends them in the letter written1 so as to form fixedly from the prospect's own ideas and experiences1 a firm conviction that what the writer is saying is absolute truth4 ,a single sentence that does not ring true to a man's experience is an obstacle over which the message will not carry4 ,a company selling land in the west1 sent out a five-page letter-- enough to smother whatever interest might have been attracted by the advertisement4 ,here is the third paragraph from the letter3 ,as you were attracted by this investment opportunity after reading the straight facts regarding it1 ,i have come to believe in your judgment as a careful and prudent person who recognizes the value of a good1 permanent1 promising investment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that's enough6 ,it is barely possible that the first few paragraphs might arouse the reader's interest enough to glance through the five pages1 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 plant4 ,the man appeal is one that draws strongly from man experience4 ,ambition1 responsibility1 logical arguments1 reasons why--these are the things that the correspondent keeps constantly before him4 ,they all have root in experiences1 habits of thought and customs which distinguish men2 they are more exclusively masculine attributes that play an important part in the make-up of letters that rivet the attention of busy business men4 ,how ,to ,write ,letters ,that ,appeal to ,,farmers ,,part ,,vi--,,the ,,appeal ,,to ,,different ,,classes--,,chapter #bd ,the farmer is a producer of necessities1 hence he is a shrewd judge of what necessities are4 ,more1 he has always in mind a list of necessities that he intends to purchase--when he can afford it4 ,for this reason the letter that sells goods to him must either stimulate him to an immediate purchase of an article on his want list1 or to displace a necessity that is already there with something ,,more necessary4 ,so the letter that sells goods to him must appeal to his needs--and give him detailed specifications to think about 99 99 99 99 99 ,does it appeal to the farmer's need1 is the overhead question which is back of all advertising directed at the man living on a farm4 ,it is not necessary to go into proofs2 the reasons are apparent4 ,all other things being equal1 says the chief correspondent for one of the big mail-order houses1 the surest sale is the item that the farmer patron feels he must have4 ,even after making money enough to be classed well-to-do1 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 it4 ,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 necessities4 ,so the mail-order firm shapes its appeal to the farmer1 emphasizing the need of the merchandise it is offering1 and at the same time it bears down heavily on the advantages of buying direct4 ,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 made4 ,the brief1 concise statement that wins the approval of the busy business man would slide off the farmer's mind without arousing the slightest interest4 ,the farmer has more time to think over a proposition--as he milks or hitches up1 as he plows or drives to town1 there is opportunity to turn a plan over and over in his mind4 ,give him plenty to think about4 ,the farmer's mail is not so heavy but what he has time to read a long letter if it interests him1 and so the successful correspondent fills two or three pages1 sometimes five or six1 and gives the recipient arguments and reasons to ponder over during his long hours in the field4 ,one of the most successful men in the mail-order business sometimes sends out a seven-page letter1 filled with talking points4 ,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--#be1jjj guaranty bond--point after point like these are brought out and frequently repeated for emphasis4 ,the head of the ,english department in the university would be pained at the lack of literary quality1 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 pages4 ,and after all1 the writer is not conducting a correspondence course in rhetoric2 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 reader4 ,and the correspondent not only tries to make his proposition clear but he tries to get up close to the recipient in a friendly way4 ,the farmer is awed by formalities and so the writer who really appeals to him talks about ,you and ,me4 ,you do that and ,i will do this-- then we will both be satisfied4 ,one successful letter-salesman seldom fails to ask some direct question about the weather1 the crops1 the general outlook1 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 about4 ,never mind6 ,this letter is answered as promptly and carefully as if it had been an inquiry forecasting a large order4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,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 99 99 99 99 99 ,such attention helps to win the confidence of the farmer and the knowing correspondent never loses sight of the fact that the farmer is1 from bitter experience1 suspicious especially of propositions emanating from concerns that are new to him4 ,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 unwary3 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 guarded4 ,many of them can spot a gold brick scheme as soon as it is presented4 ,therefore the correspondent has to keep before him the fact that the farmer is always wary2 his letters must be so worded that no obscure phrase will arouse suspicion2 no proposition will admit of two interpretations4 ,so the guarantee and the free trial offer are essential features in letters that sell the farmer4 ,in hundreds of letters from manufacturers of goods that are sold by mail to the farmer1 nearly every one throws into prominence the guarantee and the free trial offer with money refunded if the purchase does not prove satisfactory4 ,a manufacturer of farm implements puts this guarantee into the first person effectively4 ,such a letter carries conviction2 you are impressed by the fact that #dj1jjj farmers consider this spreader the best2 the offer of comparison and demonstration seems conclusive that a comparison is not necessary2 you feel that the man who bought a different kind of spreader must have acted hastily without investigating the merits of this particular machine4 ,the farmer is usually open to conviction but he has to be shown4 ,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 retailer1 but he can most easily be won over by strong why copy4 ,an educational campaign is almost always necessary for the farmer who has never bought goods by mail2 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 advantage4 ,to get this to the eye and mind in a striking way is the first requisite4 ,a ,cincinnati firm selling buggies uses a comparative table at the bottom of the first sheet of the first follow-up1 as follows3 99 99 99 99 99 ,,cost ,,of ,,retail ,,plan ,,cost ,,of ,,our ,,plan ,actual factory cost of buggy44 #dc4jj ,factory cost44444 #dc4jj ,factory selling expense4444444 #d4jj ,selling expense44 #d4jj ,salesmen's expense444444444444 #d4ej ,our profit4444444 #f4ge ,factory profit4444444444444444 #g4jj ,,our ,,selling ----- ,retailer's selling expense4444 #e4jj ,,price444444444444 #ec4ge ,retailer's profit4444444444444 #ae4jj ----- ,,dealer',s ,,selling ,,price #gh4ej 99 99 99 99 99 ,this makes the prospect stop and think if not stop and figure4 ,another carriage manufacturing company uses a somewhat similar method of comparison but introduces it at a different point4 ,between the first and second pages of a three-page follow-up1 a sheet in facsimile handwriting is introduced forming a marked comparison1 mechanically1 to the typewriting preceding and following it3 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,problems of ,dollars and ,cents saving easily solved4 ,retail ,dealer's plan of figuring selling price4 ,actual factory cost of buggy44444444444444444444 #df4be ,expense and salary1 traveling salesman1 about #aj #d4ej ,jobber's profit--at least #ae 444444444444444444 #g4jj ,retail dealer's profit 7figured very low74444444 #bj4jj ,losses from bad debts444444444444444444444444444 #b4ej ----- ,,retail ,,dealer',s ,,selling ,,price4444444444444444444 #hj4be ,my ,plan of ,figuring ,selling ,price4 ,actual factory cost of buggy44444444444444444444 #df4be ,expense and salary of traveling salesman44444444 nothing ,jobber's profit444444444444444444444444444444444 nothing ,retail dealer's profit44444444444444444444444444 nothing ,losses from bad debts444444444444444444444444444 nothing ,my one small gross profit4444444444444444 #h4ej ----- ,,my ,,selling ,,price44444444444444444444444444444444 #ed4ge 99 99 99 99 99 ,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 order4 ,right-out-from-the-shoulder arguments and facts may also be used to good advantage in handling competition4 ,what the farmer wants is to know whether the other goods are as represented2 whether the proposition has any holes in it4 ,if the seller can give him facts that prove his product better than others1 honestly and fairly1 it does not boost the competitor but helps to sell his own goods4 ,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 milk4 ,this comparison shows that his machine has fewer parts and consequently will stay in repair longer and clean easier--two important talking points4 ,where a competing firm enters the field with a cheap quality of goods that would react against the trade1 it is sometimes policy to put the facts before the prospective buyers4 ,this was done by a ,winnipeg manufacturer of metal culverts after the following plan3 ,last ,may a firm manufacturing metal goods attempted to enter the culvert field in ,western ,canada4 ,we sent out a letter to every ,councilor in ,manitoba and ,saskatchewan showing the weakness of its culverts4 ,it looks as though our letter settled all chance of selling the kind of culvert it was making1 for it immediately quit the campaign for business4 ,we do not think a single culvert was sold4 ,the same company is again making an effort to enter the field1 and we would be pleased to see it get a nice business ,if it sold a good culvert1 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 satisfaction1 and that will mean purchasers will be very much disappointed1 and will have a tendency1 as a result1 to be opposed to all metal culverts2 their disappointment will be so great that it will react against our company4 ,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 itself4 ,there are very few machine shops in the country in which the heavy metal we use could be bent4 ,at any rate1 to bend back our metal1 you would require a machine shop wherever you were doing your road work4 ,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 culverts4 ,you simply could not do it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the farmer who receives such a letter1 if not entirely convinced1 is at least reasonably certain to make an investigation before placing an order with the firm selling culverts that can be bent by hand4 ,and it is probably a good thing for the mail-order business that such efforts are being made to protect the public against inferior goods4 ,experience has shown that while offers to the farmer must be clear cut1 the chances of pulling an order are increased if he is given a number of options as to price1 plan of payment and different kinds of items open to purchase4 ,he does not like to be restricted to one particular item1 or one arbitrary form of payment4 ,this fact was long ago recognized by the large catalogue houses1 for they aim to offer several kinds and sizes under every item listed4 ,it has been found that where both the number of items and options in a line is doubled or otherwise substantially increased1 that the percentage of sales immediately increases4 ,a company in ,canton1 ,ohio1 putting out a line of sprayers1 offers on the back of its order sheet four sprayers of different prices and four forms of making payment for each sprayer4 ,this gives the prospect sixteen options--one of which will look best to him1 when he sends in his order4 ,this information is printed on the back of the order sheet1 where it can not get separated from it and where it will have a last appeal4 ,the mail-order houses have been vieing with each other in trying to find unique appeals to the farmer4 ,to this end profit-sharing plans and various premium schemes have been introduced1 in some cases with phenomenal results4 ,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 brother4 ,and the novelty device appeals to him strongly4 ,an ,ohio company putting out buggies as a main product1 adds an insurance policy as a clincher4 ,the purchaser is himself insured for one hundred dollars payable to his heirs in case of his death2 the buggy carries an indemnity--not to exceed fifty dollars--covering accidents along the line of breakage or damage in accidents or smash-ups4 ,this insurance1 under the policy given1 is kept in force a year4 ,this extra not only acts as a sales argument but a basis for a talk like this3 ,the ,s4 ,w4 pleasure vehicles have been tested by insurance company officials4 ,they have been proved practically unbreakable1 the material and durability surprising the insurance officials4 ,insurance is not issued on sickly persons1 weak buildings nor on inferior vehicles4 ,it is because our vehicles are so well made that insurance is permitted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this makes a convincing talking point1 particularly to the man who is not familiar with accident indemnity1 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 road4 ,when it comes to framing up a campaign there are many points1 minor in themselves1 but each having its significance1 that it is well to consider4 ,it frequently happens that not enough attention is paid to the stationery that is used for farmers1 but all these things have their influence in prejudicing the recipient for or against a new house4 ,it is a good rule in writing the farmer to diversify your stationery1 says a mail-order man who has sold a wide range of specialties4 ,the reason for this lies in the fact that when a farmer has been drummed about so much he may grow resentful at the persistence4 ,we aim1 not only to present the proposition very differently each time1 but we use different size envelopes1 different letterheads and markedly different enclosures in each follow-up4 ,particularly along rural routes1 where the men folks are in the field when the carrier comes1 ,i aim to change envelopes and letterheads4 ,i never want the housewife to be able to say to the man of the house when he asks what mail came1 that ',there's another letter from the firm that's trying to sell you a cream separator'4 ,to make ordering easier and to get the farmer to act now a coupon or an enclosed postal card1 good for a limited number of days is widely used4 ,this makes it easier to send for catalogue or a free trial or whatever is advertised4 ,it is a spur to action and results in adding to the mailing list1 names of many persons who might never respond if they had to wait until they found pen or pencil and paper--and a convenient opportunity4 ,a rebate check is another popular scheme for inducing the customer to order4 ,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 order4 ,this order is made out in the form of a personal check1 filled in with the prospect's name4 ,it is1 to all intents and purposes1 a personal check1 only payable in goods instead of cash4 ,similar use of the check method of exciting interest is also used by a ,detroit incubator manufacturer1 who finds that many who have resisted other appeals answer to the chance to convert a check into a saving4 ,this same firm also adds as a clincher an offer to pay the freight on certain lines of goods1 so that the catalogue price becomes actual cost instead of cost plus freight charges4 ,such inducements come home to the farmer2 anything on the something-for-nothing order appeals to him4 ,aside from the nature of the proposition and the way it is presented1 there is the all-important element of seasonableness4 ,the man who has always lived in the city might understand the general principles of mail-order selling and have a good proposition1 but his success would be indifferent unless he understood the meaning of timeliness in reaching the farmer4 ,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 buy2 it would be almost impossible to train enough guns on him during the rush season to force his interest4 ,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 afterwards4 ,the message was timely2 it wormed its way into the farmer's mental want list and blossomed forth when he felt that he could afford the article4 ,only a carefully kept record-of-returns sheet or book will show when sales can best be made on a particular item1 and the shrewd manager will test out different items at different seasons before launching a big campaign which may be ill-timed4 ,the winter months are the best time for comprehensive information to soak in--but the letter generally is not the place for this4 ,put personality in the letter--specifications in the circular4 ,this is the advice of an experienced correspondent whose length of service enables him to speak authoritatively4 ,a winter letter may be long1 verbose and full of interesting information2 the farmer will read it carefully4 ,this is the time to get in specifications1 estimates1 complicated diagrams and long arguments which require study4 ,letters for the work months need to be short and snappy1 both to insure reading and to act on a tired mind4 ,and then finally the proposition must be made so plain that there is no possibility of its being misinterpreted4 ,what a city man who is a wide reader gets at a glance1 the ordinary farm owner or farmer's boy--often with only a rudimentary knowledge of ,english--must study over4 ,so needful is the observance of this principle in our business1 says this manager1 that our sales letters have come to be almost a formula4 ,first we state our proposition4 ,we then proceed to take up each element of the offer and make it as plain and plausible as possible4 ,in this case the elements are3 #a4 ,the thing offered4 #b4 ,time of trial4 #c4 ,freight paid4 #d4 ,return privilege4 ,all the letter is a plain exposition of #a1 #b1 #c1 #d--the preceding paragraphs are summarized and connected4 ,for instance1 after the item offered has been treated and the length of trial made clear1 the two are summarized thus3 ,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 #cj days in which to try it4 ,but what about freight8 ,just this4 99 99 99 99 99 ,then we explain freight paid and return privilege4 ,this gives a continuous and increasing summary straight through the letter1 which closes with a recapitulation of the proposition4 ,the aim of putting several summaries of the proposition in all sales matter is so that there can be no possible mistake about the proposition1 for thousands of propositions are turned down by people on farms simply because the reader does not quite understand everything4 ,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 mind4 ,the letter writer must realize what a point this is with the average farmer4 ,what a city man does he can keep to himself2 if he buys a gold brick he gets rid of it and forgets the transaction just as quickly as possible4 ,but what the farmer does is neighborhood gossip4 ,if one of those slick city fellers sells him something he can't use1 every one knows it4 ,make the proposition clear--so clear that every one in the family can understand it1 for usually purchases are talked over for days before an order is finally sent out4 ,take into account the farmer's suspicious nature and bear down heavily on the utility of the article4 ,there is no hidden mystery in reaching the rural prospects but they must be handled with discretion and with an understanding of the prejudices1 characteristics and viewpoints of the farmer4