25. Letter in Answer to an Advertisement.-The kind of letter to write in reply to an advertisement depends entirely on the advertisement. The advertiser knows what he wants and will give details in his advertisement; the reply should meet the points of the advertisement fully and squarely. If the advertiser asks age, experience, details of education, etc., care should be taken to see that the information is given. Much is said nowadays about the value of the short letter, but while the applicant should avoid repetition and should omit unessential details, he should tell the advertiser all that is desired, if it requires several pages. Many advertisements nowadays specifically ask applicants to give full details in their first letter. Suppose you desired to write a reply to the following advertisement : WANTED-Young man with sound advertising ideas. The fact that this advertiser is a manufacturer and needs a good correspondent gives a strong opening to an applicant that is a good correspondent. A letter something.like the following should command favorable attention from the advertiser: I really want the position you advertised in PRINTERS' INK, and ask an opportunity to prove that I am qualified for it. For more than a year I have been a close student of everything relating to advertising, have completed a correspondence course in advertising, and have read everything I could get hold of in the way of advertising books and magazines. I have had much experience as a correspondent and am considered a good one. I am twenty-two years old, and am not married. At present I am employed as bookkeeper with Mertz & Co., of this city, which position does not afford any opportunity to prepare advertising matter or advertising plans. It furthermore, does not afford any opportunity to advance, and even if I have to make some temporary sacrifice of salary, I want to get where I can get experience and be able to do some creative work. I am at present receiving $75 a month. I feel that my general business ability, coupled with my ability as a correspondent, warrants my asking for that salary in taking a new position; but if the place you have to offer is--as I believe--the kind of place I am looking for, we can certainly agree on the salary question. With this letter you will find some carbon copies of letters I have written. I now dictate most of the correspondence of Mertz & Co. I feel thoroughly capable of taking charge of the correspondence of any firm where the subject matter is familiar or is such that I can become familiar with it. These letters will give you an idea of my style, I attended the Temple Business School, of Philadelphia, nearly a year, studying bookkeeping, business law, and English composition. Since leaving school, I have studied persistently everything that promised to be helpful to my business education. I was for a year with Milburn & Co., of this city, as assistant bookkeeper, and then took my present position. I can refer you to my present employers, to Milburn & Co., and to Mr. Samuel Elkins, publisher of THE EVENING ITEM, of this city. who has been very kind to me during the study of my advertising course and who is familiar with my ability and reliability. Note the enclosed original advertisement for a manufacturer of this city. This will give you a little idea of my advertising ability. I'd like to have the privilege of talking the matter over with you, and if you are where I can reach you, will arrange for an interview. May I hope to hear from you soon? Yours very truly, 26. Unsolicited Letter of Application.-A letter that is not an answer to an advertisement need not give as many details as one that is sent to a prospective employer advertising for help. The following is a good example of a letter written to a firm that has not advertised for an advertisement writer, but may possibly be able to give employment to one: Mr. W. H. Hammond, Advertising Manager, Williams & Brown, Newark, N. J. Dear Sir: You're busy? All right, please lay this aside until you can read it without interruption. Now! You are perhaps rushed in your advertising office and need a young man to assist; not one totally unacquainted with advertising and selling methods, but instead one who has had enough experience to take hold of your work and do it willingly, easily, and thoroughly. Perhaps you have just the opening for a fellow 21 years of age---one who has had six years' general office experience, but principally and more directly connected with the Sales Department of a large National Advertiser---one who has learned of modern selling methods, to operate the typewriter, to be an excellent correspondent, AND who has recently finished a complete Advertising Course with a well-known school. The enclosed advertisement, which is entirely original work, will give you some idea of his style. About the young man in question: His future with the above concern looks good---but not good enough to suit him. He wants his future confined strictly to the advertising field and wants to get in touch this month with some advertiser who could use him in that capacity. In order that his qualifications and experience may be best presented he will gladly arrange for personal interview with any one interested; no matter where you live. Think now, could you use such a fellow---to advantage? write him---that's me! IISW Yours respectfully, If so. The preceding letter is not intended as a form that will suit any particular case, but is offered as a suggestion. Such a letter as this, neatly typewritten and enclosing a carefully prepared advertisement, should attract favorable attention, and in most cases will result in the applicant's name being put on the waiting list. It is a good plan to send out dozens or even hundreds of such letters, securing the names of advertisers from the newspapers or the magazines and selecting those branches in which the applicant feels he can do best. For instance, such an applicant as the one whose qualifications are described in Fig. 30 would do well to make up a list of electrical manufacturers from trade journals or directories, and to solicit the entire list. The expense of such letters is little if it will put the writer in touch with a desirable position that will open a useful career. Where many letters are sent, it is sometimes a good plan to have a specimen advertisement set up and to enclose a proof of it with each letter. A specinien of one's work is an actual example and means more than a claim. 27. Preparing for Openings.-The large newspapers, the trade papers of the class of the Dry Goods Economist, the Shoe Retailer, etc., and the advertising publications frequently contain advertisements for competent advertising men and women. While most of these advertisements specify experience, the bright beginner need not become discouraged, for employers specify this qualification only because it usually means a higher grade of ability. If the beginner has the necessary ability and can show that he has, it is often possible to get a position even where experience is specified in the advertisement. Some employers prefer to have a beginner whose ideas are more elastic, so to speak, than an older man whose habits of thought are firmly fixed and who sometimes adjusts himself poorly to circumstances when he cannot have things go his preferred way. Besides, it is easy for the beginner to get a little experience if he lives in a town of, any size. He may, by canvassing, get local advertising work to do that will not only afford practical experience but will give him an indorser. If asked to call for an interview, you should employ every spare moment before the interview in becoming familiar with the prospective employer's business, so that you may be able to talk intelligently. If you can look up any of his advertising, do so, but be very careful in your criticism of it, for you will probably not know what results it brought, while the man to whom you talk may know. Besides, if he prepared the advertising, he may be sensitive about criticism of it. Therefore, while pointing out as clearly as possible what is weak, you should be tactful. Make it a point to cultivate the acquaintance of newspaper publishers. An indorsement from a publisher counts for much. For this reason, the position of solicitor of advertising for a newspaper is likely to prove a stepping-stone to higher positions. It not only enables the advertisement writer to get the prestige that comes from working for a newspaper and to earn a publisher's indorsement, but it gives him an insight into various lines of advertising and also valuable experience in writing different kinds of copy. 28. Last, but not least, when you have been selected for a position, remember that the battle is only half won. Work without regard for hours until you have a working mastery of the details of the new position. The successful advertising man has need for positive convictions and the courage to carry out his ideas, but at the same time he must always be ready to listen and to learn. The lowest-salaried clerk with the company may have the correct point of view on some question, while a remark dropped by a buyer of the advertiser's goods may be worth the advertising man's salary for a month. The advertising man cannot cultivate the acquaintance of the salesmen of the company too closely. Whether they are traveling salesmen or local salesmen, they are in a position to give information of much value acquired from their contact with customers. In mail-order concerns, the correspondents can make many good suggestions about what is needed in catalogs, booklets, etc., for they have to answer the questions that inquirers ask. Some advertisers allow their advertising managers free rein in directing the publicity end of the business; others exercise a close supervision over the advertising work and the contracts with mediums, requiring the advertising manager to receive the firm's approval on practically all important matters. advertising man, even if left considerably at liberty, should encourage conferences on advertising questions. He will find the viewpoint of executives and heads of departments helpful and broadening despite the fact that he will regularly have to combat some unwise suggestions on the firm's advertising. 29. Opportunity for Women.-There are a number of successful women advertisement solicitors, and a bright woman is in nowise handicapped in such work by the fact that she is a woman. The fact is that she can sometimes get attention when a hearing might be refused to a man. In the work of writing advertisements, a woman's familiarity with such things as household furnishings, and particularly with dry goods and millinery, gives her an advantage over a man; and it is in work of this kind that she has the strongest claims to consideration. A woman applying for an advertising position should make the most of this argument. It has proved in a number of cases to be the key that unlocked opportunity. Women, as a rule, give closer attention to details than men, and as they carry on much social correspondence, they are frequently more fluent than men in writing descriptions, which is another advantage. There is, therefore, no reason why a bright, independent, courageous woman may not aspire to any position in the advertising world. There are a number employed in agencies and as advertising managers. In a number of the larger cities there are enough women engaged in advertising work to have a woman's advertising league. The fact that there are women holding successfully almost every kind of position in the advertising world shows that the field is open for others of equal ability. APPLYING FOR A POSITION AS ADVERTISING SOLICITOR 30. The qualifications and duties of a solicitor of advertising are discussed in detail in the Section entitled Fields of Advertising Employment. The field is one of good opportunity, and an aggressive man is sure to be greatly broadened by his contact with advertisers of different types. |