Business Lyceum
e-Letter
Practical
Instruction in the Arts and Sciences of Making Money
JANUARY 2001
Greetings & Salutations:
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Returning from a trip to see one of my old clients recently,
my wife ... DeLores ... and I stopped to refresh ourselves.
Browsing through the nearby antique (and junk) shop, I came across
an 'old' book entitled, "The Elementary Laws of Advertising
And How to Use Them" by Henry S. Bunting. -- Needless to
say, I bought the book.
Although "The Elementary Laws of Advertising And
How to Use Them" was published in 1913 ... that's
87 years ago, before World War I, back when the horse was still
the most common form of personal transportation ... it is, in
almost all respect, fundamentally identical in content to the
books on advertising being written today.
In the opening of the book, Bunting decries the fact that
... even in 1913 ... most books on the subject of advertising
are written by professional writers with little or no knowledge
of business, or by advertising commission agents whose sole intent
appears to be that of enticing unwary business men into buying
more, and unnecessary, advertising from them.
Throughout the book, when Bunting notes an advertising myth,
or fallacy, foisted upon the business community by less-than-knowledgeable
writers, those advertising myths and fallacies are fundamentally
identical to the self-same myths and fallacies you will still
find repeated in most books about advertising ... especially
college-level textbooks on the subject.
It's really amazing how little things have changed in the
advertising community over the past 87 years. -- Then they wonder
why a poor, uneducated farm boy (like me), can make millions
from his advertising, while the over-edjerkcated advertising
specialists are exceptionally lucky to be drawing paychecks.
-- Could it be that people like me were never required to learn
by rote the existing myths and fallacies and were, thereby, unable
to use them to limit our marketing efforts? -- Oh well ...
Let's take a look at some of the things Bunting was teaching
his readers in 1913. -- To that end, when I quote directly from
Bunting's writings, I will put his text in quotes (" ").
That way, you'll be able to tell when it's me writing and when
I am quoting him.
To begin with, throughout the book, Bunting uses the terms
"advertising" and "publicity" interchangeably,
stating that "Advertising, in the modern" (1913) "meaning
of the word, is publicity issued for the purpose of selling goods
or services."
He also made the point that ...
"Whenever you issue a piece of publicity -- and whatever
you put out as an advertisement -- your purpose is to sell goods.
I may say your only purpose is to sell goods. You have
no other purpose whatever. If your advertisement does not
sell goods it is a failure, and the money it cost might just
as well have been thrown away." (Ain't it the troot, even
today?)
Upon reading Bunting's definition of advertising being "publicity
issued for the purpose of selling goods or services," I
had a flashback to the Creative Writing class I took in the second
semester of my senior year in high school. (I got to take
it, instead of the standard English class, because I had passed
the English Competency Test ... required, at that time, to even
apply for college.) Anywho ...
About half way through the course, the teacher ... Bazil Conard
(war hero, African campaign) ... brought three newspaper ads
to class. Our assignment was to write a newspaper article
about the advertisers; using nothing but what we could learn
from the ads. (I hadn't even remembered that assignment
from my high school experiences until I read Bunting's definition
of advertising.)
Thinking back, the teacher didn't really make a point of using
the ads to write a newspaper article. It was just an exercise
in being 'creative.' -- Now, it dawns on me that, if a journalist
can't write an article about you, your company, your product,
or your service, just by reading your advertising, your advertising
probably isn't as effective as it could be. Therefore ...
If advertising is publicity used to sell your goods, then
it stands to reason that 'publicity' must be an inherent characteristic
of your advertising copy. -- I'm just now learning what Bunting
was teaching 87 years ago ... even though I have used the technique
unknowingly for years.
Now, back to Bunting's book ...
As I told you, Bunting's book is fundamentally identical to
much of what is being written about advertising today. -- Fer
instance ...
Today, anyone studying advertising soon learns the A.I.D.A.
formula for copywriting. -- First you get the reader's Attention.
Excite their Interest. Create a Desire for your product.
Then, get the reader to take Action by ordering from you.
Bunting's formula was a little bit different - but - fundamentally
the same.
Attention-Getting Power Plus Suasion Power Equals
Selling Power
If you try to look-up the word 'suasion' in your computerized
dictionary, chances are you won't find it. -- It's not in mine.
-- However, if you go to your hardcopy dictionary, you will learn
that the word 'suasion' is the root word for 'persuasion' ...
the word more commonly used today. -- 'Suasion' is the 'act'
- and - 'Persuasion' is the 'result' of the suasion.
Bunting put his formula this way, "The selling point
of an advertisement lies at the intersection of its attention-getting
power with the power of its suasion."
Here's a bit of what he had to say about ...
Attention-Getting Power
"The average business man, under the hypnotic influence
of the advertising promoter, has been led to believe that if
he can, by advertising, attract the attention of individuals
without number, regardless of whom or of what they may be, the
trick is done.
"If the mere attraction of attention were the only thing
to be considered in successful advertising we would find here
and there conspicuous examples of its force. Unfortunately,
such examples are not to be found at all. As a matter of
fact, the history of American business during the past 25 or
30 years,î (1885 to 1913) "is cluttered with the wrecks
and scrap-heaps of fortunes lost by the sole method of paying
out money for attention-getting publicity that never even paid
for itself. Look through the files of the magazines and
you will find that 90 percent of the advertisers of even a comparatively
few years ago have disappeared, and their places have been taken
by new adventurers on very much the same road to extinction.
These wrecks and scrap-heaps are the monuments of the advertising
promoter's theory that merely attention-getting publicity pays."
Furthering those thoughts, Bunting asks, "Did it ever
occur to you that you could get so much attention in publicity
that the very power of the attention would kill you -- would
reduce the selling power of your publicity to zero? But
such is the cold fact."
Although the illustrations of getting too much attention Bunting
used in his book were taken from his time, those illustrations
easily equate to much of the TeeVee advertising we see today
... in those commercials which are so 'entertaining' you either
can't remember what company ran the ad, or you can't figure out
what they are selling - but - you do remember the commercial
itself.
The same holds true in mailorder and internet marketing today,
when so much emphasis is placed on just getting the recipient
to open the envelope or visit the website, the true purpose ...
selling ... becomes almost an afterthought. -- As in 1913, the
advertiser who believes that just getting the recipient's attention
will result in sales has bought into the rhetoric of those who
have learned how to 'sell advertising' but have never learned
to 'advertise to sell.'
Just as Bunting said, "The selling power of publicity
varies inversely with its attention power when attention-getting
is made the sole purpose of the publicity." -- "The
purpose of all publicity is to sell goods." -- As true today
as it was in 1913 ... getting 'traffic' is now the focus, rather
than making sales and building a 'customer' base.
Of course, even if your advertising has all the Attention-Getting
Power possible, you won't have much Selling Power unless it has
an equal amount of ...
Suasion Power
As Bunting said, "You must not only attract to your goods
the attention of the buyer of goods, but you must persuade him
to buy by some argument, some device, some sort of suasion"
(act) "that moves him to buy. It should be clear that
much of the success of your publicity will depend upon its suasion
value as well as upon its attention value. The two things
are inseparably bound up with each other."
Suasion "may be an active suasion, in which the mind
of the buyer is influenced through such agencies as salesmanship,
circulars, catalogs, services of various kinds, general publicity,
premiums, or other active campaigning to get or to hold trade;
or it may be a passive suasion, in which the mind of the buyer
is influenced by the quality or price of the goods, or other
advantage or desirability."
As examples, Bunting told his readers that suasion is ...
"When a cereal company company advertises that professors,
preachers, and brainy men in general eat oats for breakfast;
when a business concern ads 'established 1824' after its name;
when the automobile maker tacks on the word 'noiseless' to the
picture of his machine; when a hotel advertises itself as 'absolutely
fireproof'; when the fountain beverage is tipped as 'refreshing';
when tobacco is described as the kind that 'does not burn the
tongue'; when the food product is said to be prepared in a 'clean
and sanitary factory'; when, in brief, any word or sign calculated
to appreciate the goods in the mind of the reader of the advertisement
is added to the main attention-getting device, the purpose of
the addition is to persuade the reader to buy the goods, and
suasion is the tool used to do so."
Bunting further advises his readers that ... "to sway
preference it is necessary to let buyers -- when their attention
has been sufficiently attracted -- know that there is advantage
in preferring the brand that is advertised." -- And ...
"The selling power of publicity varies with the directness
of its appeal to the individual who buys." -- "Issue
no publicity that is not directly addressed to an individual."
Comments like that, and others throughout the book, lead me
to believe that Bunting himself was involved in some form of
...
Selling By Mail
But, Bunting only directly addresses mailorder marketing once;
in the chapter on "Media and Circulation," when he
advises that ...
"The specificity of some media is elastic, while of others
it is rigid. It is elastic only when the medium and its
circulation are absolutely under the control of the advertiser
-- when the advertiser can select the persons before whom the
medium is placed.
"For example, if you are using circulars, letters, catalogs,
or specialties, or novelties as your media, you can place your
medium before persons selected by yourself, and thus make your
circulation as specific or general as you wish. The medium
is elastic. It need not always reach the same persons and
the same number of persons whenever it is used.
"Of course this does not go at all into the difficulty
of getting mail appeals read. The belief is general that
more than 90 percent of all advertising letters, circulars and
mailing cards are brushed into the wastebasket without more than
a glance." (Even in 1913!) "But this misfortune
for the advertiser has no bearing on this definition
of 'elastic' media. The art developed in this book will
enable the advertiser to devise his appeals so as to put them
among that comparatively small percent which are noticed and
read."
If those aren't the words of a veteran mailorder marketer,
I don't know what could be. -- Beyond that, it was apparent he
knew the great value of a customer base of known buyers, because
he advised his readers that ... "There is no diminishing
return for constantly maintained publicity."
In other words, you can never solicit your own list of known
buyers too often. -- Even in 1913, the old myth of diminishing
returns was, as it is now, just that ... a myth.
"The Elementary Laws of Advertising And How
to Use Them" was published by The Novelty News Press,
the publishing division of The Novelty News Laboratory of Business
Economics, located (in 1913) at 215 S. Market St., Chicago ...
where they also published "The Novelty News"
... a monthly magazine "to the business man who travels
out of the rut of old-fogy business methods and wishes to cut
a wide swath in his own field of trade". -- The subscription
price was $2 a year ... $2.50 abroad. A single copy could
be had for 20¢ in postage.
In the half-dozen 'sales pages' in the back of the book, they
also provided a free service called the Buyers' Information &
Wants Bureau to assist business men in locating the original
manufacturer or importer of any premium article or merchandise
"enabling you to save money by buying direct at factory
prices.î ó All a business man had to do was "state
your needs as plainly as possible, enclose a stamp for reply".
From various comments in the book ... and the ad for "The
Novelty News" ... it appears the company may have been
selling advertising specialties and premiums, nationwide, by
direct mail.
That was in 1913 ... I just wonder where Novelty News went
from there.
Now, let's do some ...
Questions & Answers, Comments
& Other Good Stuff!
Alvin Corbett asked:
"Can you send a list of Import-export Trade journals
and publications I can get my hands on that will build my knowledge
as well assist with useful knowledge for my business (the kind
you read.)"
Alvin:
Here's where you need to go to build your knowledge of import/export:
http://www.spyglasspoint.com
You can't sell Viagra - but ...
How much money would you be earning if you earned a 10% commission
on all the Viagra sold in your area? -- Since over $1 Billion
worth of Viagra was sold in 1999 ... projected to be twice that
amount for 2000 ... if you only earned a 10% commission on just
the sales in your area, you'd be making a bundle ... wouldn't
you? -- If a 'prescription' drug can produce over $1 Billion
in sales its first year, think how much more a 'non-prescription'
product that does the same thing could possibly do! --
Enhance for Life has developed a non-prescription product
that produces results like the prescription drug Viagra ... it's
even made from the same edible plant substance from which Viagra
is derived. And, it can be sold in each and ever Retail Outlet
across the country ... around the world ... without a prescription!
-- How would YOU like to earn a 10% commission on all the Enhance
for Life product sold in your area? -- Enhance
for Life is now registering representatives to help manage
their Referral Marketing Program (not MLM). -- For as little
as a one-time, out-of-pocket cost of $25 you can start
earning an income from Enhance for Life your very
first month in business with them. -- Without the need for a
prescription almost any Retail Store should want to sell the
Enhance for Life products ... with your referral
assistance. -- As an Enhance for Life representative,
there are Five Income Sources available for you. -- You automatically
earn monthly income from the first two and you can choose ...
at any time ... whether or not you want to participate in any
or all of the other three income sources. -- Start Enhancing
your Life Today! -- Join the Enhance for Life representatives
who are already earning commissions ... 100% of their representatives
have earned an annual average commission of a minimum of 120%
their very first month. -- Buy the rights to your areas, today!
-- You WILL earn your commissions for your areas from next month's
gross sales -- 100% Guaranteed! (Just tell'em ol'Jim sended ya.)
-- Contact: S.D. INDUSTRIES, Suite #123-W, 2663 Valleydale
Rd., Birmingham, AL 35244-2026 -- (205) 854-4094 -- FAX: (205)
854-3915 -- OnLine: www.EnhanceForLife.com
Sandra wrote:
"Received your mailorder course ... fantastic!
I looked through some old issues of magazines classified
ads and have been studying current ads in the classifieds ...
they all sound alike to me. I think because I've read so
much copy, I'm becoming desensitized to how copy affects
others. Most of the ads don't sound authentic ... most
are about 'making money' ... and 'quick and easy methods to make
500,000 overnight.' -- Now let's say my idea is to share my 'own'
secrets or principles of success: Do I have a chance to
compete against the thousands of ads which are carbon copies
of each other?"
Sandra:
YES ... you can still compete. Just like you, the opportunity
seekers are also becoming desensitized to the "get rich
quick" type of advertising. This happened once before
in the mid-1970s ... it seemed everyone was running the same
kind of ads. That's when we ol'pros changed from the customary
"hard sell" type of ads to a "soft sell"
... in effect giving the reader credit for having some brains.
It worked then. It works now.
In other words, elevate the reader by appealing to their "intelligence"
rather than their "greed."
Matt Furey wanted to know:
"We met at the superconference in Atlanta and I ordered
your book on Mailorder. Great material. I love your tell-it-like-it-is-and-isn't
approach. I had a question about the flyer you enclosed on the
Tax Haven Reporter. -- Will setting up an international investment
save me big money in taxes? I have recently incorporated and
want to know if this is basically the same thing, but done at
an international level for additional savings."
Matt:
You will, no doubt, hear thousands upon thousands of promises
to save you taxes, etc., from the offshore promoters - but -
doing business offshore is quite a bit more complicated than
most of them let-on.
The best thing to do is read and study the information about
offshore business methods; then, ask a
qualified CPA & an Attorney to assist you. Be sure
to ask both of them ... first ... whether or not they have had
any experience with offshore operations. Keep asking
until you find both a CPA and an Attorney who have had experience.
There are a great many advantages to offshore operations -
but - there are also a great many pitfalls and hazards.
Seek out the very best advice you can find. --
One suggestion, DO NOT accept as gospel anything you learn from
anyone who is "selling" that gospel. Have everything
confirmed by a legitimate source with experience in the field
... someone who doesn't have a vested interest in "selling"
you a particular program.
Michael S. Winicki wrote:
"Thanks, Jim, for your terrific newsletter. You've
been kind enough to answer a couple questions for me so I hope
I'm not going overboard by asking another. I'm selling
a variety of audio programs (found at http://www.whatsoundsgood.com).
Most are published by others that I'm reselling, in other cases
I'm actually publishing my own programs on a variety of topics.
-- Anyway after a lot of thought and investigation I thinking
of doing a magalog concept. There would be a few articles,
and of course the various audio programs. My background
is catalog marketing (with Kingdom Inc.) so that would be a natural.
-- But I still have to have prospects. If you or someone
you know would like to joint-venture a mailing please let me
know. I think that may be the best way to prospect.
If you have any thoughts on this I would appreciate your input."
Mike:
The bestest way to find joint venture partners is to advertise
for them. So ... I'm putting your request in this month's
e-Letter.
If any of you want to pursue a joint-venture with Mike, contact
him directly ... and ... if you have any audio products that
would be suitable for either his site or magalog concept he would
be interested in carrying them.
Philip F. Gomez asked:
"Here's a question about Internet marketing. I've worked
closely with the Internet for several years and the best comparison
of it to anything in the "real" world that I've heard
is not physical mail, nor store front, nor television -- but
rather the telephone. As I see it, sending someone an e-mail
is more like putting a message on an answering machine than sending
someone a letter. Visiting a web site for information is like
calling up a company and requesting information -- only the turnaround
is much faster and it costs far less to use the Internet. --
My first question is do you think that's a fair comparison?
If so, what techniques are available for marketing with the telephone
and could they be adapted to marketing on the Internet?"
Philip:
You are on the right track ... Internet Marketing is not mailorder,
nor store front, nor television marketing, but I don't think
it can be compared to "leaving a message on an answering
machine" either. If you compare it to "telephone
marketing," it is more like someone calling and trying to
sell you something. It can be annoying, that's why "spam"
is such a big issue.
A website is more like a "Tupperware Party." --
You invite people into your home to see the things you have to
sell. While they are there, they can (maybe) play some
games, get some free gifts, or whatever, all the time knowing
you are trying to sell them something.
To be quite frank with you, I am firmly convinced that "no
one" has an answer to what kind of marketing Internet Marketing
really is. Everything seems to work a little bit - but
- there is not, yet, a definitive approach that works all the
time.
Cory Saner wrote:
"Great course on Finder Fees! I just received it
on Friday and have already made some correspondence. I noticed
nothing in your course about using the internet. Have you
any suggestions on that topic? I have found literally thousands
upon thousands of wants by doing various searches. I was
just wondering what your take is since its not in the course.
If you use it what searches or sites do you find most helpful?"
Corey:
Earlier this year, I did a dedicated effort to use the Internet
to locate viable Finder's Fee opportunities ... reviewed over
500 possibilities ... only one (just one) of them was worth pursuing.
The problem is that anyone can offer; or request, anything on
the Internet without either having it available or having the
ability to acquire it when found.
The only way to use the Internet is to use it like you would
any other resource directory - but - ALL follow-up MUST be in
hardcopy writing. Unfortunately, however, most of the opportunities
you find on the Internet do not include a name, address and telephone
number ... they want everything by email - but - you don't know
who you are dealing with.
Like I said, use the Internet as a resource directory ...
NOT to make deals.
Well ... that's it for this month. -- In order to make every
issue responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions;
or tell me what sources or resources you need to build your business;
or give me any thoughts you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I Ain't a mind-reader. -- If'n you
doesn't tell me what you need, I may never touch upon the information,
sources or resources you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ...
I am just your moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
Marketing Genius
Thought For The Month!
"To give real service you must add something
which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity
and integrity."
-- Donald A. Adams
Can you stump the old master? --
Betcha can't!
Over the past 40 years (man and boy), I have made bundles
of money in direct selling, service
contracting, wholesale merchandising, entertainment (I was a
professional Trumpet player, vocalist & Radio Announcer),
freight forwarding, import/export, retail merchandising, warehousing,
real estate, electronics manufacturing, finder's fees, closeout
merchandising, financial brokerage, business consulting, steel
fabrication, gold and coal mining, offshore banking, mailorder,
writing, and publishing. -- That being the case ...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just
starting, well on your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've
probably been where you are, done what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something in
your business - or - if you have
any comments about anything I've said in issues of this e-Letter;
or if you want to add your 2
cents worth ... just "ask" me or "tell" me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth
to ...
with "Question" - "Comment"
- or, "2 Cents Worth" in the SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you
may ask, I will contact some of the professionals in your field
of endeavor (I will probably know one or more personally) to
get the real 'skinny' for you.
No Paid Advertising!
We DO NOT accept 'paid advertising'
in the "Business Lyceum e-Letter." -- Why? -- Because, when you offer 'paid advertising,'
you are obligated to run the ad, or have a valid excuse for not
running it. (An excuse that will hold-up in court because
all too many people like to sue for any seeming slight.)
Therefore ...
Any time you see something offered in
the "e-Letter," you can bet your bippy I am telling
you about it because it is something I, personally, would recommend
to my friends and family. -- It's here because I
like it; not because I am being paid to tell you about it --
BUT -- that does not mean that I don't accept payment in the
form of commissions (never in advance) from some of the offers
I tell you about.
'Nuff said?
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Copyright - 2001, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.