The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-01-21
II rArs TO ADvExrIsE.
INIT Net With Circulars and Handbsils-
Newspapers reach ths People


But Nee With Cireulnrs and Handbslls-
Newspapers reach ths People
The following letter received by this
paper treats Of . subiecr Of general IN
serest 10 I'll Business men. and the an
10 advertisers generally:
To thu Business Manager OF the Pest
IntellIgence.: Dear Sir. Which Is con-
sitsered tia mast expensive form Of adj
vertisenent--circ CT newspaper
advertisement Would sia0 invested In
csrculafs reach more people and be more
profitable than the same amount Put In
newspapersr SECOND STREET.
THIS letter WAS handed by the Post-In-
te.Hgencer 10 8 r. wes<osa the advertise
sng expert Of this city. Cog an answer. Mr..
Weston has spent thousands OF dollars IN
advertising IN Seattle during the past six
years ard certainly is cDmpetenf 10 give
satisfactory aEswer 10 cur ccrresponr
dents question
NY anEwer to your correspondent
would be. that advertising by means Of
circulars - one OF the most expensive
forms OF advertising. II IS really a form
which small advertisers particularly, cam
not afford 4, use. / believe that so prop
eriy expended In newspapers. VIII reach
an equal number OF people. and. possibly,
greater number than double the amount
invested in circulars The great fault of
Circular advertising lies In the distrlbu-
ton Of the same. Granfing that each and
every circular printed is delivered into
the hasafs OF a reader, 1t is impossible
even then to reach the same number OF
readers that can be reached by a news
paper advertisement. Your eorrespon-
dent would figure upon the expenditure
OF his slo0 LII circulars as follows:
IA will probably secure him 5000 cir
amount TO another so, OF 81 per Thousand.
Now. these circulars, granting that they
had an actual bona fide distribution, will
reach exactly $1,000 people, and allowing
two readers; to each circular will give
result OF 100000 readers. Take the same
amount OF money. sio0. and buy with it
an approximate ten inch space In the
Post LnteIligencer for a period of ten
days. each morning this advertisement
VIII have circulation of not less than
1900 copies. or at the end of ten days q
total circulation OF 10000 copies. Allew-
Ing the same number of readers to the
paper that We have to the circular, the
100000 readers. The objection will be
raised that the newspaper advertisement,
being one of many. will not receive the
same altten~ion that will be accorded to a
circular. Granting this Ito be true and de-
Quoting 50 per cent. from the number Of
newspaper readers. you win still have
10000 newspaper readers. az against lOo.-
600 readers OF the circular.
\ have parposely placed the average OF
readers for the newspaper on the same
basis as that allowed circulars. 1t Is gem
orally considered, however, among adyer-
Using men, that only about SO per cent. OF
the circulars wall be read, and that five
readers may be figured as a fair average
of each AMI every paper. There Is moth
Ing, however. so deceptive as figures, and
no fixed rule can be given for measuring
the results OF advertising. My experience
of small advertisers has been that they
do not look beyond the first cost of their
advertisements. They assume that, be-
cause $500 or 10000 circulars will cost less
than a prsnlinent advertisement in the
paper. consequently the circular adyertis-
ing Is not only the cheapest but the best
II beaieve that the best answer to your
correspondents question lies In the fact
that the heaviest advertisers DO very lit
tie circular work. During the past six
years / have spent several thousand dol
lars each year for one firm In this city,
and during that time the amount spent
for circulars has not exceeded $50 per
year. A case In point, which ! believe
will satisfactorily answer the question:
asked II the experience CT one OF my
clients during the last ten days. This
gentleman has heretofore confined the
bulk of his advertising to circulars. and
did very little newspaper work. He
placed an advertisement in your valuable
said to me I never had better returns
from the same amount of money in all
my advertising experience
NOW. do not WIS.,. to be understood
as conveying the idea that circular adver-
Using Is net valuable. for II certainly has
value. but is undoubtedly secondary to
the newspaper. I would advise your cor
respondent if he intends spending $l00 In
advertising that he invest $50 OF II in line
or local advertising In your paper, giving
In ais advertisement some special article
or articles, the sale or which he can d.
reetly trace. Then let him take the re-
manning $50 and invest It In circulars.
mentioning in the circular the same line
given In the newspaper advertisement.
and believe that he Will find by contrari-
son of results that he VIII receive from
SO 10 100 per cent. more returns from the
money spent In the newspaper than he
Will secure from his circulars
II mean by circular advertising. as is
generally understood, dodgers. quarter
sheets. posters and other conspicuous
means OF advertising. and do not refer
to the high class circular work. the dis
trEhution of which Is usually through the
malls. I win say IN conclusion that If
your correspondent vail stick 10 the truth
In his advertisements. offer the public fair
vasues ard treat customers who come IN
answer TO eas advertisement with cour-
tesy he viii find that newspaper adyer-
Using Is plain business proposition"