V JNlVLKSITYj OF v JN LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD A DESK BOOK FOR BUSINESS MEN THIRD EDITION EDITED BY George William Poole • Jonathan John Buzzell. h CONSULTING EDITORS George W. Coleman Ex-President Associated Advertising Clubs of America George French Author of Art and Science of Advertising BOSTON AMERICAN BUSINESS BOOK COMPANY 19 15 Copyright 1913 by American Business Book Company Copyright 1914 by American Business Boole Company Copyright 1915 by American Business Book Company Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England Copyright in Great Britain and British Possessions Printed by Poole Printing Company Boston. Massachusetts, U. S. A. CONTENTS Part /—THE PRINCIPLES OF LETTER WRITING PAGE Preface xiii Introduction 1 By George William Poole The Plan — Basic Analysis, Purpose, Definite Aim ... 9 By Carroll Westall The Data — Collection, Classification, Logical Arrangement 17 By S. Roland Hall The Message — ^The Facts, Viewpoint, Human Interest . 25 By George W. Coleman The Style — Language, Personality, Atmosphere . . . 31 By George French The Opening — Securing Attention, Interesting, Pleasing . 39 By J. George Frederick The Body — Description, Proof, Persuasion 45 By W. H. Ingersoll The Closing — Inducement, Climax, Direct Command . 55 By Tim Thrift The Mechanics of the Letter — Stationery, Framework, Typography 61 By George French Supervising Correspondence — Organizing, Developing and Managing a Department 67 By Edward B. Brown Postage — Comparative Value of One- and Two-cent Postage 7 1 By F. W. Ross Part 77— SPECIMENS AND EXAMPLES "The Best Letter I ever Used and Why" — 314 pages of specimen letters and letter headings. Notes and Comments 79 Edited by Jonathan John Buzzell 359385 PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION THE highest aim of any author should be to produce a work from which the reader will receive a maximum of benefit. And not only that, but his book should be so clearly written and so weU arranged that the reader may accomplish this, end with a minimum of time and effort. This applies espe- cially to books intended for the present-day business man. It is the belief of the Editors of this volume that every busi- ness man will be benefited by a careful reading of the entire work, but it has been so arranged that those desiring to find at once some specific information on any subject of especial interest shall be able to find such information without "wading through" material that has no bearing on that particular question. There is much that is general in letter writing; much that applies to every letter that is ever written. This volume is as a whole so fundamental and so basic that everyone who writes letters or manages a correspondence department will profit by reading it thoroughly. John Ruskin has said that no book is serviceable until it has been read and re-read, and marked, so that you can refer to the passages you want in it, as a soldier can seize the weapon he needs in an armory, or tTie housewife bring the spice she needs from her store. On the other hand there are a multitude of specifically treated subjects that the busy man who is in search of some solu- tion for his individual problems will want to have pointed out to him and placed where they will be quickly and easily accessible. This has been kept first in mind in making the revisions for this third edition. The work as it stood in the first two editions has met with such universal approval that any changes except for help in reaching more quickly any special material wanted seemed [ vi ] PREFACE unnecessary. For this purpose the specimen letters have been classified and there has been added an exhaustive index that will enable the busy correspondent to find matter pertaining to any special condition which he has to meet in the handUng of his daily correspondence or the writing of form sales letters. It has been suggested that some illustrations be given show- ing just how this book may be utilized to the end of acquiring greater proficiency in the art of writing forceful business letters. By following the methods here outlined any one can quickly and readily develop a strong individual style and produce letters that will ring true with the personaUty of the writer and his business. It should be borne in mind, however, that great skill and power to execute important work cannot be derived off-hand from any book, or indeed from tuition of any kind. They must depend almost entirely on the individual's ability for serious thought and careful application. Anyone with a sincere desire to write strong sales letters can surely realize that desire by exercising a little patience and common sense in carrying out the instructions so plainly laid down in the illustrations to follow. In order to become a master of any desired style or a style that is particularly adapted to any special line of business, it is recommended that out of the many examples given in this book some style be chosen — something that is pleasing to the writer if he is writing merely for practice, or adapted to the class with which he has to deal if he is writing actual sales letters. Then by exercise in re-writing according to examples here given it will be an easy matter to become in a short time a complete master of that distinctive style coveted by all forceful, result-getting letter writers. It is not at all necessary that the letters used for practice should be in any way pertinent to the business about which the student wishes to Write his letters. It would, as a rule, be wiser to take these examples from a line of an entirely foreign nature. fvii] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD In Example I is shown a composite letter which illustrates how the specimen letters in this book may be used for practice. Example II shows the same letter re-written. The student should himself again re-Avrite it, working in his own ideas of appeal and the selling arguments of the article he chooses to write about, at the same time maintaining the same style and unity as in the original. Example III shows a letter taken from page 221 of this book. Example IV shows this letter re-written, using the same method of presenting sales arguments and the same kind of appeal, but in an entirely different line of business. By study of the letters in this book it will readily be seen how interest may be secured in your own proposition by the angle of the appeal, and how to bring out the selling points that will lead the prosf)ect to act on your closing suggestion. Re-writing accord- ing to these examples will be found excellent practice. It will train the mind to think logically and consistently in connection with letters regarding any line of business and will make the task of real letter writing an easy one. This exercise will also furnish the inspiration for new ideas around which to construct your own sales letters. The large number of letters contained in this book and the great variety of styles embodied in them make it especially adapted to this purpose. — The Editors. Note — See Examples I, II, III, IV, on following pages. [viii] age 97 U age 358 HIO age 349 1f6 age 349 V age 349 ^8 age 280 %Z age 285 115 age 421 115 EXAMPLE I Composite letter made up from paragraphs indicated in margin. The letters from which this example is made up represent five different lines of business. In EXAMPLE II is shown how this letter may be re-written for practice in acquiring style. Gentlemen: - Let's get shoulder to shoulder and boost Spring and summer business. We are helping hundreds of merchants in small towns to increase their silk business and we can do the same for you. We make this easy for you by giving you as many book- lets, like the enclosed, as you need to go round your list. That will mean a lot of additional business for you. Not only that, but it will make your store known as the ****** store of your community. Laying aside all question of merit, of durability, of comeliness and of good value - all of which points you will readily accord to ***** *, our hosiery in your windows or on your shelves is in itself an item of enormous adver- tising value. It has a certain fixed value as an advertising medium, just as tangible as the columns of your newspaper or the billboards you have to pay for. We must be represented in your locality as soon as possible and would thank you for a line by return mail on the enclosed postal letting us know if you are interested. If you are, we will send you full details of the *♦•**♦ agency plan, prices and prints showing our packages in their true colors, samples of the advertising that has been so successful for our agents, etc. All that is required is to sign the attached card. Why not sign it - TO-DAY? Yours very truly, EXAMPLE II This shows how EXAMPLE I may be re-written in a way to adapt it to any line of business. By practice in this way it will soon become easy to write the desired style. Gentlemen :- By getting together shoulder to shoulder we are helping merchants in other towns to boost their "business - euid we want to help you also. We will furnish you free enough booklets like the en- closed to cover your entire list. By distributing these you can bring in a large amount of additional business. And besides, it will advertise you and give your store the benefit of our wide reputation and our general advertis- ing. Leaving out all question of good value, excellence, stylishness and real worth - and you will grant that our goods possess all these qualities - there is an enormous ad- vertising value in having our goods on your shelves and in your show windows. It is worth more than expensive news- paper and billboard advertising. We'll do our share toward the boosting if you just fill out the enclosed card telling us how many booklets you can distribute and the form of imprint you want on them. And then we will give you the kind of service that will make it to your advantage to give us your business. Once you are stocked with our line and the booklets distributed - with others to follow - you will find your business increasing just as we have increased it for other merchants - that, of course, means more money for you. It is easier to fill out the card now than to put it away for two days and then hunt for it. Yours very truly, [x] EXAMPLE III This letter is taken from page 221. EXAMPLE IV shows this letter re-written, using the same appeal and the same style of argument. Dear Sir: - When the dealer sells a buggy he makes a profit. That's his prtme idea in selling it. The more buggies he sells the more profit he makes. So it is his aim to sell a great many that his profits may increase. The conclusion of this little line of elementary reasoning is that the vehicle dealer must offer the kind of work that will sell readily and at reasonable prices. That's what we are offering the trade for 1912. It's the kind which permits you to buy low and sell high, with a good long margin for yourself in between. But the price is not the only virtue. It's the good, honestly made, well finished work - the kind that not only pleases the customer, but brings him back - and his neigh- bors, too Surely, Mr. , the line that perpetuates your trade and multiplies your profits while it does it, is worth getting acquainted with. The way is easy - the enclosed blajik does the trick. Yours truly, EXAMPLE IV This letter shows how to follow the style of the letter in EXAMPLE III in writing for some other line of business. It also illustrates how to get suggestions for opening paragraphs. Dear Sir:- When the dealer sells a shoe he makes a profit. That's his prime idea in selling it. The more shoes he sells the more profit he makes. So it is his aim to sell a great majny that his profits may increase. The conclusion of this little line of elementary reasoning is that the shoe dealer must offer the kind of shoes that will sell readily and at reasonable prices. That's what we are offering the trade for 1915. It's the kind which permits you to buy low and sell high, with a good long margin for yourself in between. But the price is not the only virtue. It's the good, honestly made, well finished work the kind that not only pleases the customer, but brings him back and his neigh- bors, too. Surely, Mr. , the line that perpetuates your trade and multiplies your profits while it does it, is worth getting acquainted with. The way is easy the enclosed order blank does the trick. Yours truly, This letter also suggests an opening something like this: Quality of workmanship and materials put into a shoe have a bearing on the profit the dealer can make. Or like this: When you buy shoes do you look into every little detail of the making as carefully as you figure the percentage of profit you can make? [xiil PREFACE THE basis of all progress is a study of facts. The business man who seeks increased proficiency in letter writing wants to know what others have accomplished and how. For him has been compiled this book of letters and facts about letters that have taken part in the building up of strong business enterprises. The facts here set down represent the best prod- ucts of some of the most competent men in the business world. No claim to originaUty is made by the editors. The assist- ance of some of the foremost writers and authorities on business letters has been freely sought, and each one has made important contributions to the sum of what can be learned about writing and executing business-building letters. Several recognized experts in business correspondence have contributed chapters on what their experience has taught to be the basic principles and underlying factors of the result- producing business letter. It cannot be claimed that letter writing in its average application has yet reached the exactness of a science, but the foundations of a science have been laid and the superstructure is fast being reared. These monographs should serve as an authentic guide not alone to the ambitious beginner, but to the experienced writer as well. Many prominent business houses, large and small, national and local in their trade relations, have consented to tell what letters they have used, how they have used them, for what pur- pose, and with what results. Even a cursory examination of these letters cannot but help to stimulate the average business man to develop plans and prepare letters that will prove of similar value in his own business. Much credit is due the Consulting Editors for their sug- gestions and efforts in securing valuable matter contained in this volume. Their sole aim has been to benefit business corre- spondence as a whole by helping to place it on a more efficient basis. f xiii 1 PART I THE PRINCIPLES OF LETTER WRITING -^^,9^. /tr<^ Form Letter Specialist and Ad- vertising Counselor; Treasurer, American Business Book Company. INTRODUCTION By GEORGE WILLIAM POOLE TE important place held by the letter in direct advertising makes it a subject worthy of the most serious investigation and thoughtful study. It occupies an essential position in the promotion of practically every business enterprise at every stage of its growth and expansion. Probably no one other form of advertising is so generally used by all classes of business, large and small. Its value is well recognized. Its future is assured. It is vested with certain privileges and bounded by certain limitations. The only indictments that can be brought against it are the same that can be brought against any form of advertising. There is much more or less facetious talk about the relationship of the form letter to the waste basket, that kindly receptacle of all, written or printed, that is worthless or impertinent. There is Uttle question that, dollar for dollar, there is far more other advertising than of form letters flung directly into the waste basket without a reading. Until within a comparatively few years less serious attention has been paid to the writing of copy for form letters than to the writing of advertising copy of other kinds. It admits of no illustrations and no display; in no other copy is genuine human touch so necessary, or so hard to get. Many form-letter cam- paigns have turned out to be failures; but so also have almost countless newspaper and magazine campaigns. In either case the fault has been, not with the medium, but with the way in which that medium was used. It has been because the cam- paigns have been lacking in some essential features or details, the greater part of which those who have specialized along ad- vertising lines have now become able to place on a more nearly [ 1 ] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD scientific basis. Many features of advertising campaigns that once were considered as a gamble, pure and simple, are now matters of ascertained knowledge among advertisers. Such knowledge has come as the result of experience and investigation. Among progressive business men there is going on an everlasting digging for those facts that are based upon the laws of cause and effect. No one man has in his possession all the facts concerning the writing of form letters, and no several men have yet reached the end of what is to be learned. In fact, education along this line is in its infancy. Little by little, nourished by the interchange of ideas between those who themselves make careful deductions from their own experiences, it will grow to maturity, but not within the time of any one taking a part in compiling this book. It is, accordingly, the purpose of this work to set down the facts that have been gleaned from the experiences of some of the largest and most important concerns, as well as those of some houses operating on a smaller scale. That information regarding the subject of business letters has been less in evidence than regarding almost any other phase of advertising is due, primarily, to the fact that it has been far more difficult to obtain than any other. The average business man is more secretive regarding his letters than of his other advertising methods. Letters are not publicly displayed and distributed, but are circulated within the confines of a carefully guarded mailing list, which in most cases contains few, if any, who are interested in the method by which the business is con- ducted. Great diffidence in displaying their form letters has been shown by many big advertisers who do not hesitate to commit themselves on other advertising matters. There has been a noticeable lack of confidence and fear of criticism. That there is a genuine get-together spirit now prevalent among business and advertising men has been fully demonstrated by the hearty response that has been given to requests for material [2] INTRODUCTION for this book. Letters that have brought many millions of dol- lars in business are here given publication, for the benefit of all who will study them carefully and constructively. It is noticeable, in reviewing these letters, that judicious planning and straight- forward, human-interest facts have a far more important part in the construction of form letters that actually have made good than the aptitude for the adroit use of language, or the ability to "wield a facile pen." The form letter is the most difficult to write of all adver- tising copy. It is far more difiicult than the single letter to an individual. The letter must be written to a composite person, of whom the several parts are common to all of the class addressed. Great pains must be taken not to insert any statement or argu- ment that will offend or fail of response, as every useless word or sentence is an encumbrance that lessens the chances of driving home the argument in a way that will tell in results. This sug- gests the advantage of selecting and classifying your mailing list with greatest possible care. It means a close study of con- ditions, of needs, of human nature. The better the classification of the mailing lists the easier it will become to write form letters that will bring a large percentage of results. Of nothing does it seem more true that "what is worth doing at all is worth doing well" than of the planning and writing of form letters; and in no other phase of business promotion is that adage more flagrantly disregarded. It is my belief that the average form letter can be made to accomplish from two to four times as much as it now does. That it is possible to lay down any specific code of rules whereby this may be accomplished is not to be advocated. It is a problem to be worked out by each individual for himself, and can be accomplished only by exerting his best energies in the proper research and investigation. The study of the elimination of the useless and the acquisition of the elements that make for [ 3 ] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD clearness and force has not received from the practical business man the attention which it deserves, because he has found it difficult to obtain dependable information outside his own per- sonal experience. The average sales letter is the result of impulse rather than ofjcareful planning. It is true that some business houses have succeeded in collecting a mass of facts, and in estab- lishing standards for their letters, but they are the exceptions. Writing a form letter does not begin with the writing at all. The perfect letter, if there is such a thing, like every other perfect piece of work, must be the result of a perfect plan. Much knowledge of merchandising, of human needs and human nature, must be had in order to provide a basis upon which a letter to produce the greatest possible results should be founded. A thorough conception of just the position one's business fills in the economy of the people must be the starting point of the successful sales letter. The power of reasoning and the faculty for analysis must be brought into full play. It is no small task — this planning and writing a form letter. The appeal must be deep. It must reach the very ground upon which the reader stands, and the facts must be such as will admit of no contradiction as he sees them. Show him. Action can best be obtained by the statement of facts that appeal to his reasoning processes. But how can you state facts until you first find them out for yourself? After the facts — all the facts — have been obtained, then there must be a logical arrangement of these facts. There should be maneuvering and marshaling until an irresistible phalanx is formed before the attack is made. Next the enemy's camp must be considered. What is his viewpoint? How can I present my facts so that they will have that element of human interest which will touch a responsive chord in the reader's mind? The difference between letters that will get business from a business man in a metropolis and those that will get business from the leisurely minded rural prospect Ues not so [4] INTRODUCTION much in length, as some suppose, as in style. The language must be pleasing, without evidence of straining to make itjso. It is a courtesy due the reader from the writer, and will be appre- ciated — other things being equal — in dollars and cents. The basic foundation of the argument is the individual writer's con- ception of the business he is writing about and the place it fiUs in the needs of the class he is addressing. Do not use argument for argument's sake. Make your letter stand out with force of personality — a personaUty that is pleasing, sincere, logical, and convincing. All these preliminary steps will serve to fill the writer with confidence and conviction that will not fail to have a telling effect in net results of the letter itself. Find the point of contact between your proposition and your reader, get into his confidence by giving a legitimate reason for writing him; and then, if you have become sufficiently saturated with all the facts in the case and enthused by the genuineness of the proposition you are to make — writing the letter will be as easy as talking to a friend. Of course there must be logical sequence and proper arrangement of facts in each individual letter, and each letter should be written with due consideration as a unit in the series. It is quite as essen- tial, in a series of follow-up letters, to arrange the facts and arguments to be emphasized in each letter according to some definite plan as it is in each individual letter. The final letters in a series should bear the same relation to the series as the final paragraphs do to the single letter — that is, use the strongest and most convincing arguments last. Say just the right thing, and just enough to give your prospect what facts he can readily take care of without confusion. Be careful not to crowd in "just one more" unless there be ample room for it, and remember that the closing paragraph or sentence should suggest action, or at least be strong enough to clinch the nail and make your [5 ] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD point. The too abrupt ending should be carefully avoided. Give it a natural swing — an individuality that will grip. The dress of the letter — the stationery, the letter heading, the typewriting, the spacing, the margins, etc., all have an im- portant bearing on its success as, a business getter. A poorly "processed" form letter is less effective than a printed circular. If it be "filled in" it should match the body of the letter perfectly, otherwise it is better not to attempt it. That business man who pays considerable attention to looks in his form letters will be found, in the long run, to be far more successful than one who neglects appearance in even a small degree. There is a distinct selling value in appearance, and the mechanical make-up of the business letter should always be in keeping with the best standards. It has been the task of the editors of this volume to gather such information as is possible to obtain, and to present it in a form that will make it readily accessible to the business man working at the high speed required by present-day conditions. The constructive thinking necessary to derive the most benefit from these letters comes as a force of habit to all practical business men, and care has been taken to make clear the essentials upon which judgment must be based. It is first necessary to know what constitutes -valuable knowledge on this subject, and that must be determined by men who by their wide practical experi- ence are competent to determine. The writer has for more than eighteen years made a special study of form letters, and has taken active part in hundreds of mail campaigns. The knowledge thus gained has been supple- mented by that of a number of recognized leaders in advertising work. The essential divisions of the subject were thus determined, and writers qualified to cover these various phases of letter writing in an effectual manner were chosen. INTRODUCTION It is our belief that the subjects and the writers of the seven monographs which follow will appeal to the judgment of every man interested in knowing more about this powerful factor in the promotion of modern business. I 7 ] Manager of Advertising, University Press. Cambridge, Mass.; Author of "A Manual of Church Publicity." THE PLAN By CARROLL WESTALL Who has not heard that picturesque exclamation, "It beats the Dutch!" Analyzed, it's the unconscious tribute to the qualities which have made the enterprising Germans our most dangerous competitors in the battle for foreign trade — Teutonic thoroughness, the unlimited capacity for digging down to the roots of things. This faculty the following article has also. With the gusto of an engineer attacking a new and complicated construction problem, yet in an off-hand, readable style, Mr. Westall holds up for your inspection a letter plan. He takes it apart — shows how it works — puts it skilfully together again — then tells you in breezy, man-to-man, practical fashion how to plan your own letters in the same effective way. We urge you to read this article in its proper order. It's logically the first — and moreover an excellent^ "curtain raiser" for the other chapters that follow. — Note by The Editors. WHO "plans" form letters? Not the average business man. He is "too busy." So far from saving his time, the apparent effect of the invention of typewriter, tele- phone, loose leaf and card systems, and other modern time savers has been merely to "speed him up." Like a squirrel in its revolving cage, he is apt to be too preoccupied with "going through the motions" to realize whether he is actually getting anywhere or not. Plan form letters? Not he ! Let someone else do it. And so — as usual — what is anybody's job ends in being nobody's job. The form-letter task goes vainly "down the line" repulsed by everybody till it finally reaches the clerk, who being the "lowest in succession" can't dodge. But he is too buried in detail to have any breadth of view. He can't plan; he can only execute. Most form letters show the result of this treatment. They are outcasts. No parents. No brothers or sisters. Just acci- dents! They start from nowhere — they twist and they turn — and they get nowhere — unless you call the waste basket some- where. They remind you of the new house that a friend [9] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD of yours has built. He proudly ushers you through it. You notice that the parlor opens directly into the kitchen. You notice other things, but you say nothing. Finally he bursts out triumphantly with "I planned this house and saved the architect's fee." You murmur the customary compliments; you think "it certainly looks it." And you mentally decide that when you buUd you'll have an architect. Business men are coming to realize that form letters without a plan are like a building without an architect. Form letters are written to get business. Not some business, but the most business possible. And just as the high-priced salesman would never think of calling on an important "prospect" without first carefully planning and preparing for the interview, so the man who would have his form letters sales letters must plan — broadly, thoroughly, comprehensively, before he even touches pencil to paper or whispers into the phonograph. Why are not all form letters so planned? Frankly — because it means work. There's no dodging that fact. And work — especially along new or different lines — is never popular. You see the brain disUkes entering upon a new field — it prefers a rut. You have to fight it — hold it down — keep it in the new path. After a while it gives up resisting and presently you discover that that which has previously been difficult has become relatively easy. You have gained a tool with a keen edge and you delight in a new sense of mastery. But in the first place one is confronted by that mental sluggishness of which we are all more or less possessed — that disinclination to grapple with a problem with the full force of the mind. How are we to overcome this tendency? First, by ridding one's mind of the nervous sense of haste. Resolve to take enough time to see the thing through. Get some good sized sheets of paper and some well-sharpened pencils. Select a comer where you won't be disturbed. [10] THE PLAN Now let's start at the very beginning. Then we'll feel sure we're building on bed rock. Imagine you are a total stranger — a keen, experienced salesman, say — entering your office for the first time. Forget for a while your experience. Lay aside your usual point of view; look at your problem with new eyes. (Yes, I know it's difficult, but it can be done.) Take nothing for granted. Get yourself "in a comer" and ask yourself questions, writing the answers dowi> on paper. "How can I develop a plan? By thoroughly analyzing my business. What is thorough analysis? Digging down to the roots of things. What's the root of all business? Supplying human needs. What are the fundamental needs? Food, shelter, clothing. What are the businesses called that supply* these fundamental' needs? Staple lines. Is my business a staple line?" — and so on. And here I must offer a warning. Be sure that you ask yourself but one question at a time and that your answer is correct. Make each joint true as you go along, or your whole structure may fall. You see, analysis is not at bottom so complex as it may seem. It is merely the comparison of one thing with another. You're reasonably safe as long as you don't try to crowd too many things into the mind at once. In which case you may find yourself in the same fix as a sensational clergyman who asserted that "premature gray hair is an indication of fast living." Analyzed, his reasoning evidently was : "Fast" living depletes the energy. Gray hair is said to indicate depleted energy. Therefore all people with prematurely gray hair have lived fast." His error lay in trying to hold more than two "propositions" in the mind at once. Had he divided all hair into "gray" and "not gray," all people into "fast" and "not fast," and all depleted energy into "resulting from fast living" and "not resulting from fast living" he would have quickly reahzed that in order to prove [11] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD that all people with prematurely gray hair had lived "fast" he would also have to prove that ail depleted energy is the result of "fast" living — a claim too absurd to pass muster. He had put some of his parishioners in the wrong pew; we must be careful not to make a similar mistake in our classification. Following this plan of not holding more than two facts in the mind at once, we continue with our analysis. Business comes from two sources — old customers; new customers. Finan- cially, old customers are of two kinds — those buying up to their limit; those whose purchases can be increased. From the "good will" standpoint, you have satisfied customers of your house plus dissatisfied customers of competitors; just as your competitors have dissatisfied customers of yours and satisfied customers of their own. Prospective new customers are also of two classes — • those now buying of competitors; those not buying at all. Now we are getting down to brass tacks. We find that new business is the result of "demand," and that demand is either already developed or to be developed ; and that demand involves a supply. (Note here that by working upward from the basic human needs to demand, we approach the form-letter prob- lem from the correct side — that of the buyer — and thus avoid the mistake of the average business man, who, approaching the question from the manufacturing or selling end, fails to get the buyer's viewpoint.) To this demand and our supply we now add a third factor — the "medium" by which demand and supply, or market and product — are brought together. This is accomplished by the sales campaign, and we must first find out what place in the sales campaign should properly be assigned to our form letters. Here we are face to face with some nice questions of policy. Shall we need one letter — or series? General letters — or spe- cific? To go to jobbers, dealers, or consumers? To a number of classes of buyers — or to one class only? To women — or men? fl21 THE PLAN Letter to carry the whole message — or short "letter of trans- mittal" with other printed matter? To boost the general line — or to focus on a single proposition? For general welfare — or for sales? And so on. Along with these questions we must also consider the facts developed by our analysis of the product itself, involving such questions as: Permanent, all-the-year-round — or seasonable? Necessity — or luxury? Quality high — or low priced? Only one of kind — or competitive products? Many talking points — or few only? One leading quality or "hook" — or several, of about equal importance? There! We have the foundation facts for our plan, and can lean back in our chairs and rest for a moment. And while we are resting, let's glance back over our course. What did we do? We analyzed first the basic needs of business generally, then the relation of our line to general business. Next we considered the necessities of the sales situation growing out of that relationship, and finally the conditions as met by the particular product we wish to push. In other words, we dis- covered that "a plan" meant analysis; that analysis is the com- parison of two things and from them creating a third; that the fundamental factors are the buyer and product; that from a consideration of these two — the "demands" of one, the "talking points" of the other — result the sales campaign and the sales letter. Now we can safely go ahead and lay out our letter or series of form letters. We have the data for a successful consideration of the purpose and keynote of these letters. We have charted the harbor, set our course and can now hoist sail and away. No doubt it has seemed a long process to you. But the longest way round is frequently the shortest way home — "home" being of course the plan that produces the most efficient letters. And [13] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD if the work has been done thoroughly, part of it will serve as the basis for a future plan on other lines or products in your business — or at least will so develop your power of analysis as to make the next similar problem much easier and quicker to solve. Bear in mind that I have not furnished you with an exact chart of your harbor ; I have merely indicated the necessity for such a chart so that you may avoid the rocks, and have sug- gested how such a chart may be made. In a nutshell: Find the facts; find all the facts; be sure you have them straight; find out where they lead to. Thea build your letters on your conclusions. .14] Advertising Manager, Alpha Portland Cement Co.; former Principal, Schools of Selling, International Correspondence Schools. THE DATA By S. ROLAND HALL The basis of successful teaching — what is it but the collection of adequate acts 'and their arrangement and presentation in orderly, logical fashion? Mr. Hall's success in treating this important and too frequently slighted division of good letter-writing principles in part explains his success in the larger field of mail instruction. In a simple, unassuming, conversational style that "gets under your guard" — a style, by the way, which is characteristic of all his writing, and which is part of the man himself — he plants some fundamental ideas as to correct fact-collection and arrangement, to later bring forth a good crop in your own work, if you follow him closely. This article will no doubt be read by his own correspondence pupils as well as by those maturer students of advanced business methods who have inspired this volume — and to equal advantage by both clashes. — Note by The Editors. AN acquaintance, regarded generally as one of the most efficient letter writers of America, was asked what he would charge for preparing six letters to be used in ex- ploiting certain real estate. His reply was that he could not conscientiously charge anything, because he did not know any- thing about the property; and he could not write effective letters about something he knew nothing about. It evidently had not occurred to the inquirer that it would be necessary to furnish this letter writer a great deal of information about the property, and that it would be necessary to classify and absorb that infor- mation before real sales letters could be prepared. He prob- ably had the idea, that unfortunately so many people have, about letter writing and advertising — that the clever writer can, without data of any consequence, lean back in his chair, close his eyes, and out of the air pluck details and arguments that will induce people to part with their money. The fallacious idea about the clever writer's ability to write without data is responsible for a great deal of poor work. The [17] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD truth is, of course, that one who is skilful in expression can reel oS a letter that is gracefully phrased, and that often calls forth favorable comment. The expert letter writer knows many tricks of the trade: interesting opening, adroit argument and effective closing. But after that, what? A compliment on the letter? That is not what we want as the result from a sales letter; and it is the sales letter that we most often refer to when we talk about "letters that make good." We are wiser than we can explain. That is, we have a sense that we cannot well describe. That instinctive sense enables us often to read between the lines of mere skilful expression, and perceive that the writer does not really know whereof he writes. That instinctive sense, on the other hand, often enables us to see in a crude letter the real information and the con- fidence of the writer, and makes us believe the message, though it may not be expressed so gracefully as a more skilled writer would express it. A letter from a farmer, about a lot of pickles that he put up himself, is before me. It has none of the tricks of the professional letter writer, but it tells about the pickles, the care with which the farmer grew them and with which he put them up, how good they are, what the price is, and when he is going to be around delivering. And his letter makes me pickle hungry. A sales letter is an advertisement — an advertisement in letter form. We put many of our advertisements into that form, because we know that people are habituated to read, with more or less care, everything that comes to them in the shape of letters. The letter goes out with the guarantee of a great gov- ernment for its delivery. Its "circulation" is assured. It is read by itself, to the exclusion of other things. It is not "blanketed" by other advertisements surrounding it that draw off the easily diverted attention. Consequently, the letter is a great advertising medium. But the letter is, nevertheless, an [18] THE DATA advertisement — a good advertisement, a mediocre advertisement, or a poor advertisement, according to whether we have wrought well or ill in our writing of it. And though we think most often of sales letters, when we talk about business letters, let us not forget that the mere acknowledgment, the answer to a complaint, and all the other forms of letters, also have advertising value. Now, we teach that the effective advertisement must have real data behind it if it is to have a positive selling force, and as the same thing is true of the letter, it foUows that we must search for data for our letters, just as we would for data for other kinds of advertisements. If we do not, then our letters are likely to become "as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." A writer of business letters should not flatter himself that the finding of nuggets of real information is an easy task. Some- times it is only after the most painstaking inquiry and study that what we are looking for comes to light. The letter writer , should regard himself as being in the position of a reporter, or a lawyer. He must be a living interrogation point. He can get much by searching libraries and printed matter generally. He can also get a great deal by the use of his feet and his eyes in another way. There are some things that one cannot do justice to with- out actually seeing them. There is a confidence, an enthusi- asm, an ability to describe graphically, that come only through having seen with one's own eyes that which is to be advertised. If I were going to advertise a colony of small farms, I would no more think of trying to write letters about those farms with- out first going and seeing the property with my own eyes than I would write love letters to a woman whom I had never met. Imagination is a great creator, and those who have the gift of imagination, in large measure, can do wonderful things, some- times without much fact with which to feed the fire; but that sixth sense is likely to see through the purely imaginative work. [19] LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD Wholly imaginative work, and work based on second-hand information must, in business, be inferior to writing based on first-hand data. A buyer for a large department store was once found by an acquaintance calmly tearing a shoe apart with a pair of pincers. He explained that certain statements had been made about the workmanship and material of the shoe, and he was tearing it up to satisfy himself that the statements were true. So, then, we have the principle that in searching for data for efficient letters we should, if possible, go and see the things we are to write about, or have them brought to us, and maybe tear something apart. Maybe tasting, hearing, or feeling, is important. I am sure I wrote much better matter about the fig-growing business of California by having specimens of those figs on my desk and by having tasted them. And then we must ask questions. It is hard to beat the question method. It is one of the oddest things in the business, but true, that the most important kind of information will often jemain hidden until it is brought to the surface by a question. A dentist once had an article that he wanted to sell to other •dentists. His argument for it seemed good, but something Avas lacking. Finally, he was asked in what way competitive goods failed to do their work perfectly, if his did that particular work perfectly, and why it did it. Out it came — the real kernel of the nut; but in some way he had missed it up to the questioning. Once in my own experience I found it necessary to have very full answers furnished to thirty-five or forty questions, and to have specimens of dozens of letters written by a client before I could undertake to suggest improvements in his letter- soliciting plans. Finally, the people to whom the letter is to be written must be studied, and data collected from them. For, of course, there [20] THE DATA is a buying point of view, as well as a selling point of view, and the data drawn from seeing and studying the thing to be sold must be adapted to the needs, sentiments, manner of reasoning, etc., of the people to whom the letter is to be written. One cannot hope to write letters about vacuum cleaners that will lead women to buy such an article unless a study from the woman's point of view is made. You cannot hope to write the farmer an effective letter about a gas engine, or a sulky plow, until you have secured data about the way a gas engine or a sulky plow fits into a farmer's life. I recall that I once had the job of selling a city lot situated on a sloping block at the top of a hill. I put in considerable time gathering and assembhng my data. Against the objec- tion that the lot was at the top of the hill, and that the purchaser would not have so easy a walk as if he bought a lot on the level, was the fact that the views were fine and could never be cut oflf. Against the objection that the rear sloped rapidly down to the valley were the arguments that, (1) the lot was lower priced than one entirely level, (2) that a terraced backyard was more artistic than a level one, (3) that a stable, garage, or any other outbuilding that might be desired in the rear, would be down below the dwelling, and isolated, and would not shut off the view. Against the objection that a fire house was soon to go on the comer was the argument that it was to be a small fire house, that firemen were orderly and their presence really con- stituted extra police protection. For every objection, logical argument was studied out; and much good argument was found to which there were no objections. It was then no trouble to write letters about that lot. There was plenty of data, and the job was merely one of selection. I have demonstrated, to my own satisfaction at least, that no form letter addressed to a fairly intelligent class of people needs to have names and addresses "filled in." The conclusion [211 LETTERS THAT MAKE GOOD has been forced on me, by a number of experiments, that after all, what counts is the information in the letter — the data. Based on strong data, your form letter does not need a name and address filled in. Lacking that, all the skilful "filling in" you can do won't save the day. The classifying of data is in itself a task for the master hand. But the general principles are: In the first division, put the data most likely to compel interest; reject the points of such little strength that they may impair the strength of better ones; keep back, until near the end of the argument, data that is likely to repel if introduced near the beginning (such things as high prices, etc.); reserve some strong point for the close. [22] CKj