Test Campaigns

"Almost any (advertising) question can be answered cheaply, quickly, and finally by a test campaign. And that's they way to answer them --- not by arguments around a table."

Just Salesmanship

"Advertising is salesmanship. Treat it like a salesman. Force it to justify itself."

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"A mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre advertising affects all of your trade."

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"Ads are planned and written with some utterly wrong conception. They are written to please the seller. The interest of the buyer are forgotten. One can never sell goods profitable, in person or in print, when that attitude exists."

Offer Service

"Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising."

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"People can be coaxed but not driven. Whatever they do they do to please themselves. Many fewer mistakes would be made in advertising if these facts were never forgotten."

Good Business

"...most national advertising is done without justification. It is merely presumed to pay. A little test might show a way to multiply returns."

Things Too Costly

"Many things are possible in advertising which are too costly to attempt. That is another reason why every project and method should be weighed and determined by a known scale of cost and result."

Letter Writing

"Letters to inquirers, follow-up letters, whenever possible they should be tested. Where that is not possible they should be based on knowledge based on tests."

Advertising Laws

"Mail order advertising is traced down to the fraction of a penny. The cost per reply and cost per dollar of sale show up with utter exactness."

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"One ad may bring in too many worthless replies, another replies that are valuable. So our final conclusions are always based on cost per customer or cost per dollar of sale."