The Goderich Signal-Star, 1959-09-24, Page 14PAOWiatN -
TIT GODERICH SIGNAL-STAR'A'
ligUBSDAY SEPT 2141.1059
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Bill Cavell of The Goderich Signal -Star staff discusses newspaper
advertising layout with Stan Prevett, of Goderich Motors.
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One of the most recent Additions to the changing scene on the
Square iS Woolworth's store.
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OVER
towns
than it
a period of teri y'ears, a change takes
poidation. This change isanucli More
is to a permanent one. •
.pace in the .personnel of any.
noticeable to a former resident
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STATITItS prove that hundreds of new,residents have
and also the surrounding area. during the past ten years
have also -come and Moved again .from town. There. are
Goderich — and many long fainiliar ones have disappeared.
THE CHANGING POPil,.[ATION ineans NEW PEOPLE
qvainted with "The Best Places" to buy various,gpods in
moved to Qoderichi
Numerous people
Many. 33 ftwes in
•not completely ae-
town. Theydo not
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11,0c' e'ssarily shop al. Si. 0 reS whicb fel: "Eveo-body. knows us; liVe . dont need
to advertise:' • .
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A NEW QENERATION of 'ipotential cuStuniers conies with a changing pdpula
tioti. To reach and serve these newcomers cananean the difference between a.'
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slitting .or statie volume of business and an INCREASING volume of business.
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BUT NO "Flash in the pan" advertising has lasting effect. One tank full of
gaAoline doesn't keep a ear going forffer. You have t6 kepputtnggas. in if ..
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you want to contnue to go places,. • Advertising to a business 'is like gasoline to
• a ear --4,- or l,ogs to a camp fire. Consistent . advertising DoPsN"r COST
IT PMTS!
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• NEWSPAPER ADV.ERTISIG far outranks in: volume ANY OTHER medium
of ,advortiinetoday. • That's a fact with statistics to prove it: -In Goderieh
- . and district, THE SIGNALATAR goes into mire hmes than ANY.. OTHER
.;),IEWSPAPER. Its total circulation of 3,300 copies weekly (at an average of
•31/2 persons to a' household) meMis1.550 READERS EVERY WEEK..
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WHY NOT let the advertising columns of The 'SignalStar hlp37611U keep the .,
libtential customers infprmed about your LATEST DESIRABLE MERCHAN-
DISE? Plan a consistent program of advertising and let us help you witIV•-
• that plan. •. .• .
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How To Write A Good
Advertisement is Not Easy:
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It takes time AndplaTiting to rrite ADS THAT WORK.
In ' fact,it takes time and work to obtain worthwhile
results in anything you do.
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Foryour guidance, here are some
helpful basic rules to, follow- in
writing advertisements which will
persuade 'people to do business
with you:
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STEP ONE
Define clearly and specifleally WHOou're talking to; WHO you, want
to reach and influence. Before. you put- a word on paper, paint a mental
picture of your customers and prospects, just if you were looking at them
and talking to them across a desk or counter. Practise this mental portrait
paintin,g whenever you sit down to write an ad . . . and you'll ioon find
%that your ad copy has more aim, more conviction, more specific selling in it.
All too Many ads are not written to anyone at all; and they have the same
effect in• a, shotgun shell aimedat a cloud.
STEP TWO
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DefineWHAT you're talking -about;-*HAT you wantle sell:- AndMake
your definition complete, Good copy is built .on "deWled product data. For
instance, "Pocket kives, $1.50" is not ad copy but mere product listing:
but "Strong, bone-liVidled two -blade pocket knives t of Swedish steel" is.
Apply this-"WHAT,Process" to whatever product or service you areswriting
about . . . and you'll add !ew interest and new effectiveness.
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STEP THREE
Whieb b gs us to a other copy Writing help: the YOU Technique,
Write right at " r reder. • A headline that says:
"Yo'11 find rong, fig tweghtheelbarrows hre" has far more im-
pact on Ihe reader than one s4yirtg; 4'We have strng, lightweight wheel-
barrows," -for the latter form isto a definite degee, talking to itself: The
little word ,"You" is a big one in ad copy, And it keeps your copy targeted
at the reader in form as well as in Planning.• , • - ,
There's'a :,,Fifth ingredient in the copy recipe: the THEME'. Or Slogan,
if you prefer. A Theme can be part of a headlie, or the last s'sentence of
the copy, or the signature of' your ad. But it shouldalways be a terse,
strong statement of the mhjor benefit of doing business with you. It should
bca constant element Of' your' advertising . . a part of every piece of
copy you -write. •
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A good many years ado, every advertisement for those square, plain but
rugged autoniobiles thb--Ddgr- Brothers built carried ' a theme; the major
benefit of the Dodge car., It was the single word "Depndabifity." A 'copy
theme that has gotten iself implanted in almost everyone's mind these days
Sh op -at Searsitd Save ."
. ' THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF ALL AtiVERTISING
Tell the reader WHY he'll benefit from your product or service.,
This "WHY Element" is the basic of advertising copy that works. You
can even write an equation for it, which is. tis: Your Custoniers' lqteds plus
Your. Product's Features ,,,,, .., ,, ... .,,,,,.
The Benefit..s Yiiu Offer.
Use it as,, the blueprint frlill• types of advertising copy; use it in your
business letters too. And dicover, -as you use it, that you are sepirating
the wheat from the chaff in your ad ccipy. For as you putintowords tbe
reasons why, people should-debUsinessWith you, you will find yourself
getting rid of the suerficial, the vague, the trivial "sales pitches" that con-
:, fuse somirch fid copy. Yalell be talking in terms of YOur customers,
By all men,,tll your readerswhy they'll benefit, right off the bat!
offersAtteIlle main 'headline of
' Your ad . -into the first paragrdph of yourJett& . . 7 Ific6,Tarbrrts-of
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your folder or 'catalog.. , ,
. "You'll- findmart tailoring plus long wear in our new; line of
strmipr slacks',".
starts real selling a ,lotater, more specifically and more interestifigly than
(fSev.olir newao of sprier "shcks." .. .f.-
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BUT HEED THIS WARNING:
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There are some words to avoid in ad copy. They're the tired words; long
since overworked; now almost meaningless to the average reader... One of •
theln is AMAZING. Another is.SENSATIONAL. Two more "weary Willies"
-are TERRIFIC. and FABULOUS. They are lazy substitutes fon clear, forcefill
descriptive ,words. Stay .ayvy from them, and your Copy will do a better
selling jb. Strip away the worlyout words from the following:
"Colossal paint brush sales event! Each and every sensational-
valtte,brush in our tremendous stock amazingly reduced in price
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for fabulous savings!"•
Say it in plain, enthusiastic language, and you have something like this:
"Yo'll save good money if you buy that paint brush you need
from us now. We've cut the price on all the paint brushsin
the store . . . all izeg And types. And they're all fine grade
•brushes. Save now." ' •
DO'n't confuse a Theme witlr a pat' on your, own back, For instance,
"Huron County's Largest 'Clothespin Manufacturers" is not a theme that
promises any benefit 16 the reader. It would be more to the point, though
far-fetehed, td say: "Clothespins, husky enough to hold a horse."
Those are five, good building -stones on which to build sound, pkoductive
.advertising copy . . .and right about now you're saying: "all well and -good,
but I'm no Professor of English. HOW do I write an ad? How about the
words to use? How about the style?"
First of all, be thankful you're not an English professor. With a few
exceptions, that importhnt hnd useful elan make mediocre copy writers. For
ad copy is notifralgre-,ALis not an ssay, It is selling-- And the best
Vocbulary for any advertisementis the e.,lear, plainrunsophistioated vocabu-
ary people use to talk to each other.
When you Write an ad, use Plain English, Don't let it sound simple:
minded . . but keep it simple, Leave the lon; learned, obscure words
to the Dictionary,
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WRITE, IIKFACT, THE WAY YOU TALK
The usual busines; letter is more interestiag,,,AndnuAive tban,jl.itm.,', • '
thing else the satne man may write sfiriply becatise he talks thiliitre'f.. . . ..i '0
dictates it , . . With the force and enthusiasm and ,color of everyday English
Language. Try dictating your ad topy . . . or at least talk it albud to your
self. The litter may get' you a reputation for ecentricity, but yatir ads
will haite life in them, anCnterest,.
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'HOW LONq.,SHOULD. AN. ADBE?'
This questqion has probably taken the4starch, and the sell, out of mere
ads than any other single attitude in' the whole 'World of advertising.
For an advertisement should be exactly as long as is needed to tell the
reader clearly, forcefully and fully, why he'll benefit by doing business with
you. ff that requires a thousand' words of headline, bOdy copy and data,
abont your- company's .natner .address.end other, products. or. services .
then a thdusand werels are 'the right length. Some of the most effective ads
ever to appear have been,far longer than that. An ad Should be concise
. . . but complete. And convincing. Don't stop until you've said what you
have to say. (Don't wdrry: reading this isti't likely to stafyyou writing
thousand -word ads. But the point is.thatyou shouldn't measure ad copy by
the yard, but by the "meat" in it).
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ADT.RULES.,
I. Define WHO -you want to reach:
2. Know WHAT you Want to say; ,rt
3. Tell your readers WHY theystrbenefit by doing business With you.
4. A"Write at your readrs, not At yourself.
5. Develop and use a THENCE.
And don't do these •things:.
)oft use dictionary-langilage. Keep it clear and simr%
bn't use the „tired wortis.,....L
8. Dob't stop until you've siiid what you have to say, naturally, compTe-- tely
enuht h
tutsiaossteasicbll
ayi
Put
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DO'and Don'ts Into action in your advertising copy
, . . and you'll 'soon see, More adieu ,fromyour ads.
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