The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-29

jackson. They will not be near ready
to report a next Tuesdays meeting of
the trustees. however
to begin a prompt and thorough in
vestigation of the why Not
Today mans art is his business No
business can long survive that does not
exist to serve the needs of mankind
hence your business, your advertising
must meet and fill need.
The world moves and we move with
| it. If the mountain will not come to
Mahomet then Mahomet must go to the
mountain. In other words, you must so
out after business. Advertise, whether
| by personal solicitation, through the
columns of the newspapers, bill boards
or by the premium route but advertise
you must to be successful. The concern
that waits for business to hunt it, to
come in unlimited, just voluntarily
viii be an uncomfortably long time on
the waiting list, for that day is but Il
memory and as we'll the public likes
to spend money, they like best to spend
it where invited by appealing attrac-
| tions to the pocket book
Bids for Patronage
| THE aggressive alert merchant goes
out after business today. lie bids for
patronage, and bids in the way he
thinks most appealing to the class of
trade to which he caters. There Is al
ways plenty of business for the men
who are hustling on the job to corral
1t. And to my mind one of the most
if not the most successful way to COR
raj your share of business is with the
lasso of advertising via your local pa
per, whether daily, weekly or semi
weekly. Don't understand this to mean
a page or one-half a page once or twice
a year in great, glarng, flaming Goth
a N
reputable firm can live up to and con-
tinue in business, but conscientious.
persistent advertising that is streak ed
through and through with quality and
rings true.
Elevate your advertising to an art.
Put clever ideas into your ad, humorous
sentimental or philosophc. Make them
bright, interesting, readable, appealing,
tinterspersing them most prodigally
with gumption. that old article pure and
simple. Always have for the founda-
| tion of your advertising truth-in other
words, have for your advertising a mer-
ger of honesty and business. 1t pays.
| Talk to the buying public through
the columns of your home papers. Tell
| them the advantages the store of Mills
| & Company offers Mrs. Housekeeper or
Mr.. Office Man, whatever your par
| ticular line may be. Specialize, but let
these special offerings be timely sea-
strongly to the prospective buyers at
| that time of the year. once price is
advertised sell the article Just as ad-
vertised. Never substitute an inferior
piece of goods Keep faith with your
| customers three hundred and sixty five
days in the year.
You buy and pay for newspaper
space to talk to the public about your
own business to tell of the superior
| quality of your stock. of your terms
your prices, etc, and to keep your
! firms name before the public. 1t is an
investment from which you expect the
richest returns. This being true, then
under no circumstances waste the min
utest part of that space knocking your
competitor or competitors for knock
| too often proves boost; then 1t Is
not good business policy to waste space
that way, to say. nothing of the point
| of commercial morality involved.
Birmingham Example
Speaking of truth in advertising.
brings to my mind Birmingham firm
! that few years ago was struggling
| along in a small store. in none too de-
sirable location, but as the years passed
as years have habit of doing, this
firm grew steadily and surely. and to-
day they are doing business on one of
the most prominent corners in the city
in handsome five story brick struc
another case of advertising-ad
ing in which honesty and truth predom-
mated
Even thoughSyou are disappointed
in realizing results from advertising,
and admitting that you made mistakes.
perhaps in rot changing your copy. run
ming the same ad week after week. pos
sibly you were not alive to the inter-
ests of your trade. but whatever the
mistake, IT Is never too late to mend.
And as to mistakes why everybody
makes them and sometimes they are
helpful, useful unless we are stalag-
mites. Mistakes are monitors--they
teach us how to turn failure into sue
cess.
Lack of Persistence
mo doubt your mistakes In advertis-
ing was due to lack of personal atten-
tion to details. If such is the case then
get busy advertising--start today TO
Lucre avenue by beginning live adver-
tisng campaign in your local papers
The profit, the victory is surely yours,
you are true. to the self-imposed task
of portraying the value of your wares.
but they must be written in the rythm
of thruth, j,st as though you were a
historian. truthfully portraying the
mood and temper of characters famous
in history.
After all is said there is no absolute
chart to guide the pilot at the helm of
the skipper Adscrafts He must be a
guide unto himself. steering clear of the
shoals of waste. exaggeration and mis-
representation steering straight ahead
for the port success. and remember.
this
Advertising is an antiseptic that pre-