Huntsville gazette., 1892-07-16
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
WRITING ADVERTISEMENTS.


A Profitable Employment That Is Open
to Women With Literary Tastes.
Among the different occupations
offered to women as a means of liveli-
hood, nine out of every ten are over
crowded or not at all suited to the
woman of literary bent. But to the
suggestion of Become a writer of
advertisements" the bread seeker is
apt to reply why, never should have
thought of that" OF course not; very
few other women have thought of it,
and that is why it is good time to
think of it now.
This is comparatively new occupa-
ton. one offering great inducements,
especially to the women of literary as
pirations, 1t is becoming the custom in
all retail dry goods establishments to
employ person whose sole business is
to write the advertisements used day by
day, also to get up all pamphlets, circu-
lars. posters, catalogues, in fact, to see
to all the advertising matter used by
the house. In the few cases known to
the writer where women have filled
this important place they have been
eminently successful 1t is work pecu-
liarly fitted to women, for if there is
one thing in the world that woman
kind agree in loving it certainly is dry
goods, and it is second nature talk
about them. And writing dry goods
advertisements is simply talking about
dry goods. OF course, the writer must
know what to say, how to say it, and
above all when enough has been said;
must be able to say much in few
words and make those words ''telling;"
muse exert her power of ingenuity to
put her announcement in attractive
forms that will catch the eyes of the
readers as they glance over the paper.
yThe chief object OF the advertisement
is to place the business written of be-
fore the reader in the best possible
light. All this comes with a very little
experience, a little study of the matter.
Some familiarity with the routine will
soon put one entirely at ease.
Perhaps the best way to get clear
idea of the routine of this work will be
to relate the experience of a woman
employed by large retail house. She
reaches her cozy office, which is in the
most quiet corner of the fourth floor of
the establishment, about nine o'clock
every morning. Her first duty is to
make round of the departments to
gather up items for her advertisements
for the day, see what is new, what is
especially important to be placed before
- Sc, >f 1>o
purchase or of fresh arrival of goods
that she must see and let others see in
print Or she suits her announcements
to the weather, and if it is cold day
she will get up sale of cloaks' or of
other winter goods; for of course she
must consider what people want as well
as what her firm wants to sell.
After laying in this fund of informa-
ton she next proceeds to the most i'm
portant part of all-the telling it to the
public This is her advertisement She
writes several for the afternoon papers,
and sends them to the different Offices,
whence proofs are returned her at two
o'clock. While awaiting her proofs she
sometimes arranges the advertisements
for the next mornings papers, SO that
after looking over her proofs hes days
work is done. That is, the regular
stated days work. When at work on
magazine advertisements, catalogues or
circulars, of course her time is more
fully occupied. But she finds it pleas
ant and not at all laborious employ
ment, as well as remunerative one.
She arranges her time and methods of
work to suit herself, it being understood
that she will do all the work required,
but she does it her own way, and pre-
fcrs this to any other occupation open
to women, and she has tried several
other lines of literary work.
Another bright woman writes three
advertisements of one hundred lines
each for a shoe house, jewelry firm
and dry goods business every week,
and is paid five cents line for her
work, or fifteen dollars from each firm,
making her weekly earnings forty-fve
dollars.
Still another woman, who has the
happy faculty of writing catching"
jingles, makes speciality of getting up
rhymes on various lines of business and
offering them for sale. She has met
with enough success to feel justified in
deciding on ''jingling" advertisements
as her future source of bread and but
ter AS to the remuneration, five to ten
cents line is the usual price paid
where the work is done "by the piece, :"
or if regular salary is given, fifteen
hundred to two thousand dollars is con-
sidered good pay for the first year or
two.
If the would-be advertisement writer
las enough knowledge of art to
make sketches of cloaks hats, and
other drygoods articles with which to
illustrate her advertisements that will
prove great point in her favor, and
this suggests something else, why does
not the woman artist try making
illustrations for dry goods literature?
Many men artists are now devoting
themselves to this work, and it stands
to reason that a woman could bring
out the details of articles of woman's
dress at least as well as a man. Taking
it all in all, this is profession brim
full of possibilities for the woman who
is capable of doing it.-Virginia Frazer,