The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-05
ADVERTISING FOR RETAILERS.
Practical Suggestions on the Subject
by Charles Austin Bates.


by Charles Austin Bates.
The following appears in Printers Ink
of Feb. IA, and is Of interest and practical
value TO retailers in every branch Of bust
ness;
"One Of the first questions to be decided
is how much to spend for Advertising
After that comes how 10 spend it
The amount must depend, Of course,
on the size of the business and the per-
centage OF profits. 1t is wise, think TO
set the figures low. Then in emergen-
cies and extra dull times additional ex-
peuditure is possible.
II YOU are carrying all the sail you
possibly can, and the wind dies down
little, you viii lose your momentum. If,
on the contrary, YOU have a 'ballon lib to
run up, and a few reefs to let out of the
other sails, you can 90 right ahead.
The same idea applied to the appor
tionment OF the appropriation is good
thing, too
1 do not believe in the fxed-spac idea
in advertising a retail business That is
to say, | would make space contracts for
so many lines or inches to be used during
one year, and not for certain four or six
or eight inch space every day.
Ordinarily, of course, the size would
be the same from day to day, but varying
conditions of trade should be met Dy va
riations in the size of the ad.
Every business house, no matter how
Small, should have in convenient tabu-
lated form the exact amount of business
transacted in each day, each week and
each month of the preceding wear
Alongside these figures should be placed
the results of the present business. In
that way losses and gains are immedi-
ately apparent. You can work with a
definite goal in view Each day of last
year stands by itself, and to equal or ex-
coed IL is your daily task If this cannot
be done easily and in the normal course
of business, increase your advertis-
ing, If you know that Monday, Feb 26,
was a big day in 93, use extra space
and extra effort in your ads on Sunday,
the 25th, and if need be during the whole
week
That's the way TO take advertising
Just like medicine. II is medicine II Is
tonic, curative, stimulant. Take it
as you need it.
would divide the appropriation some
thing in this'way: Use the best paper
first and take enough space to make the
ad effective; use all you probably can in
that paper before you consider any other.
l would rather have Que good ad than two
poor ones. Two short poles are not as
good as one long one when you're after
y
need in the best paper consider the next
best, and so on. Schemes and programmes
and novelties can wait. You'lp not
lose anything If you leave them out
altogether. In deciding what proper
ton of the total space to use every day
should set apart 10 or - per cent. for
emergencies and divide the rest more or
less equally between the days. Too many
business men look upon advertising as a
org nf chance a frfrr o
enough thought. IL is treated super
ficially. They advertise because they
know that most successful men do adver-
tise, and not from any well-grOunded con
tidence that it pay. They look on it as
more or less of a mystery-as something
different from their real business.
A great deal is said of the mystery of
advertising, of its subtlety and its uncer-
taiulieS. IL is as simple and certain as
daylight, once you think of it in the right
way. 1t is just as simple as hanging up
your sign or saying Here are some fine
peaches, Mrs. Jones-20 cents a can. "
When your ad goes in the paper you are
simply hanging up thousands of signs and
speaking to hundreds of Mrs. Joneses II
you can make them believe that your
peaches are cheap at 20 cents YOU have
only little less chance of selling to them
as to the particular Mrs. Jones in the
store. You can generally make them
believe what you say il you are honest.
have theory that is as easy to detect a
dishonest ad as a dishonest man Some
thing in the face of the man aud the ad
tells the story.
A misleading or obscure ad is a mistake
The name and business should be promi-
nent in every retail ad, unless there has
been established distinct individuality
in the style of the ad, so that the style
advises people what to expect in the mat
ter.
| do not believe in Incorporating II
you follow Mr.. Dennis theory YOU would
curtain the front of your store, so that
the line of goods handled could not be de-
termined without going inside. It is all
right to use catchy headline, but il
should have directly to do with the goods
talked about.
Suppose you do delude somebody into
reading your ad. If he is not interested
in your goods he will not buy If he is
interested he will read your ad anyway
if you make it readable.
Generalization won't do. Jokes won +
do. If people want humor and miscella-
neous reading they will turn to the de-
partments in the paper devoted TO those
things.
An ad ought TO be about some special
thing and ought to give some news about
it, Instead of saying "a full line of gro
ceries, talk about spices, or canned to-
matoes, or catsup-some one thing
Tell something about it-where it
grows, how it is made, the price-espe-
cially the price. That's news, and people
will read it,
You can use any kind of heading you
ike-make it as striking as you can, but
have the character of ad perfectly plain.
The object of retail advertising is two
fold-direct sales and publicity. Public
ity-keeping your name before folks-is
really incidental. That benefit will ac-
crue, no matter how you advertise. You
accomplish it just as much when you ad
vertise for direct sales as when you don't
Sales are what you are after-now, not
next summer. Sufficient for the day is
advertising thereof" Publicity is part of
the cumulative effect of advertising, and
should be counted just so much clear gain
Impure Blood Can Be Made Pure,