Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-12-30
by Herbert Kaufman.

advertising isn't magic. There is no element of
the black art about it. In it's best and highest form
it is plain TALL talk-selling talk. It's results are
in proportion to the merit of the subject advertised
and the ability with which the advertising is done
There two great enemies to advertising
profit and both Of them caused by ignorance of the
real functions and workings Of publicity.
The one is advertise promises which will not be
fulfilled because all that advertising can do when it
accomplisles is to influence the reader of your
copy to Investigate your claims.
If you promise The earth and aelvcr The moon ad-
vertisfng wtH not pay you. ~
If you draw men and women to your store on
fretense and fail to make good, advertising will have
harmed you because it has only drawn attention to the
fact that you are to be avoided.
1t is as Mrj4st to charge advertising with failure
under these conditions it would be for your eghbor
to rob bank and find yourself indicted for his isdeed
In brief, advertised dishonesty is broftless
than m,expoited deception.
The other great error in advertising is to expect
more ont of advertising than there is in it.
Advertising is seed uJtich merchant plants in the
confidence OF the community He must allow time for
it to gro1v Every successful advertiser has to be
patient The time that it takes to arrive at results
rests entirely with the ability and determination you
display in the effort But you cannot turn back whep
you have travelled half way and declare that the path
is wrong;
You can't advertise for a aUeek and because your
store isn't crowded say it hasn't paid you. 1t takes
certain period to attract the attention of readers.
Everybody doesn't what you print the first time
it appears More will notice your copy the second day.
a great many at the end of month.
You cannot expect to win the confidence of the
community to the same degree that other men have
obtained it without taking pretty much the
length of time that they did, But you can cut short
the period between your introduction to your reader
and his introduction to your counters by spending
effort in preparing your copy and displaying greater
amount of CONTINGENCIES
You mustn't act like the little girl who planted
garden and came out the neat day expecting to find
it in full bloom Her father had to explain to her that
plans require roots and that although she could
see what was going on the seeds doing their most
important Uork Just before the foavrs sho1Ued above
ground
So advertising is doing its most important work
before the big results eventuate and to abandon the
money which has been invested just before results
arrive is not only foolish but childish 1t uonld be
us as logical for farmer to abandon his fields because
he could not harvest his corn week after he planted it,
Advertising does not require faiAt-n merely COM
mon sense If it is begun in Doubt and deserted before
normal results can be reasonably looked for the fault
does not lie with the newspaper or with publicity
it rests entirely upon the head of the coward who
retrected before he uus defeated.
Copyright Company. Chicago,