Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-02-18
SCIENCE OF COPY WRITING
".Snow Your Audience" One of the Chief Requisites in Successful
 Advertising.

ing what to talk about are the chief necessities of the successful copy writ CT. declared George H. Perry, a well- known advertising man, before an ad- vertising class in New York city the ether evening
 "The first requirement-know your audience-is very simple thing. but often forgotten by adver- tisers. A striking illustration of this occurs in one of the women's maga- zines. It is the advertisement of an electrical device, used in homes, to be sure. and a good thing to adver tise in a woman's publication, but the trical paper and addressed to dealers in electrical supplies. The man who wrote that ad used the language of the trade in speaking to the woman in the home, which of course is all wrong"
 In discussing the next question of what to say, the speaker analysed the talking points of an article-com- petition. price and quality.
 There must always be a difference between competing articles, or else they would not be on the market at the same time. The question is, What can you talk about that the other fel- low hasn't got? Your article is either newer, simpler, of different design. more beautiful or better for some mer- chand!sing reason.
 "In default of any such difference. price Is of the next importance. Can you sell 1t cheaper? Then comes Qual. ity-quality in the sense of character. With some articles the competition that is, the difference in manufacture or design-may not be talking point The purchaser of an auto. for instance. does not care so much how his ma- chine operates as he does about the quality or the price. You must de- termine the talking point of your article.
 Now, you know your audience and you have picked out the talking points The next thing is the writing of your ad-the text, typography and illustra- tion. It is no more necessary to be smart or clever in your text than it is to be handsome in business. What the public wants now are the facts Your text must be practical as dis tinguished from being merely clever. Be sensible in your choice of Ian guage; be simple and direct. Peo. pie are not SO particular as to the literary quality of advertisements; they go to the editorial pages for that Let the goods talk. If you say every thing you can say and your ad still seems weak. the fault is not with you but with your goods. You can not do more than let the goods tell their own story. If that story is insufficient it is not your fault. Don't be afraid of short ad: the shorter the ad the better" t
 MT. Perry just touched on the psy- chological side of advertising: "There is a governing trait in human nature that makes you instinctively recog- nize the truth. You can always tell when a man Is in earnest-hence the necessity of sincerity in advertising. When you once have sincerity no mat ter what you write you will convince. For that reason be receptive to in- fluence; don't let man deceive you, but try to catch his enthusiasm in hk article"
 In connection with the text MT. Perry told of the important part played by the headline Tt must catch the casual glance, which is sometimes even antagonistic: in ad- dition 1t carries message. There tore. give the headline much thought Use simple. short words. Fill your line without crowding. Do not use a .blind headline You not only lose a reader-you disappoint him-and he will have no faith thereafter. A head line that merely makes an effect does not accomplish it's real purpose. If you have an illustration 1t must be part of the story. Pictures are some times too good and. instead of direct ing to the story. distract. Rather than be a companion to the text the illus tration should be an auxiliary.
 Then. if you have the right things to say and the right audience; if you believe in the article yourself and will tell what you know and believe in the most simple. direct, quietest, most persuasive language and in the shortest words you know-you have the, right ad."