These are facts. Your fellow-druggists will tell you that El Vampiro sells and satisfies—that they sold 76 gross last year. In fact, their sales have kept on during the winter months. But spring and summer are the seasons for the rapid sale of the "fly and bug killer in the bellows box." The inclosed folder tells you that there is a generous profit in El Vampiro. Your stock will turn as often as twice a month during the summer months. Other druggists iu your town did it. Can you? Our "every-man-in-on-it" offer will be held open for your acceptance until April 30. We would hold it open longer, but there is a limit to our supply of El Vampiro.
Yours very truly, This letter includes nearly all the chief character istics of effective letters. The opening words, "Com peting druggists in your town," grip the reader's interest. Then the writer makes the impressions he .
planned to make. The letter has individuality. It is filled with pertinent facts. It is definite and dip lomatic. The expression is natural and business like. The tone is respectful and courteous. Not all these characteristics are apparent unless the critic is able to put himself in the place of a druggist.
8. A a mechanical aid for his staff of sales correspondents, whose duty it was to cooperate frequently in writing form sales letters, the advertising manager of a manufacturing plant devised the following chart of questions.
A. To be answered before you. write the letter: L Definitely, what is the fundamental purpose of your letter? 2. What type of person is the addressee? In case you are writing this letter to a class of buyers, address your letter to an individual—if possible a real person with whom you are ac quainted—a person who typifies the class. Know this addressee as thoroly as possible. Visit with him, if possible; draw on all your experience in dealing with him both by correspondence and in in person ; ask questions about him of those who are well acquainted with him. Find out all you can about him. SEE him ; where he lives, his oc cupation, his habits, his hobbies, his aims, his temperament ; and give particular attention to the following questions: 3. What is your addressee's knowledge of, and atti tude toward you, toward this business, toward your proposal, and toward our competition? 4. What are the definite impressions necessary to make your letter accomplish its definite, fundamental purpose? 5. What are the addressee's • probable resistances to each of these impressions, and what facts will gain each impression in the face of these resistances? 6. What are the addressee's self-interests to which your proposal will appeal most strongly? 7. What arrangement of impressions, or selling points, will be most effective—will be most likely to increase the reader's interest as he reads? 8. Does the plan of your letter make it as easy as possi ble for the reader to do as you wish, and as difficult as possible for him not to do as you want him to? 9. How can you best appeal to a strong feeling of self
interest in the reader right at the start of your letter—in the very first sentence, if possible? B.—To be answered as you write: J. Just how will each word, phrase, statement, and paragraph impress the reader? C.—To be answered after you have written: 1. Will the very first part of the letter get favorable attention and cause the reader to want to read on. (This usually means a direct, concrete, and con vincing appeal to one or more of the reader's per sonal desires, and a forecast of the possible satis faction of the desire as a result of reading the letter.) 2. Will the reader's interest increase as he reads? (Do you keep him in the letter? Could you add or sub tract anything and thereby increase his interest?) Remember, you must make him read, and read with keen interest, or your effort is likely to be wasted. Lead him to a climax of thought and feeling which causes him to be willing to do as you wish.
3. Will the reader believe all the statements you make? Is it all the truth from his point of view? Do you give him facts, and not yAur own arbitrary opinions or conclusions? Do you avoid telling him what he already knows (as well or even better than you)? Especially, do you avoid telling him what he ought to know, so that he might get the impression that you think he does not know? Do you supplement his knowledge of facts so that he will be likely to con clude for himself that he ought to do as you want him to? 4. Do you cause him to get a vivid impression of the re sulting good to him of doing as you want him to? 5. Will your closing sentences be likely to cause him to act upon his willingness to do as you want him to? Does he get a definite suggestion of just how he may do as you want him to? Have you avoided the hackneyed "do-it-now" close? 6. Is you expression effective? Is it all clear to him? Does it all sound natural and sincere to him? Is it free from hackneyed phraseology and lifeless ex pressions? Is it direct and simple and definite, and free from waste of words and unnecessary state ments. Does it attract the eye? 9. Use of this executive who prepared this chart attributes to the use of it a phenomenal increase in the results gained not only from the form sales letters written by his staff of correspondents, but also from the letters sent to individuals. He is now using the chart in a modified form as a guide for gen eral correspondents, and is also getting out editions of it especially adapted to the requirements of each department. The questions above quoted are the set of general questions that apply to the sale of almost any product or service. For the sake of illustration, imagine the following conditions calling for a letter to be written by means of this Self-Question Chart according to the directions.