Bill-Posting For The Local Advertiser
Advertising is appealing to people through their common sense and their artistic sense in order to win their dollars and cents.
Bill-posting is a logical and splendid medium for the local advertiser, and the baker, the butcher, the candlestick maker can use it with equal facility and advantage.
Posting can be used by the local merchant as the one and only medium, or as a supplement to his newspaper or street-car announcements. Its use has in the past been largely confined to the latter, but this has been chiefly because of the high cost of posters in the small quantities needed for local work. This difficulty is being overcome by the issue of stock posters for every line of business, and it is now possible to get from your local bill-posters either the paper itself or information where you can buy it for nearly every trade and every line of goods which would bear advertising. These posters are made up with a blank space at the bottom for printing in the name of the local merchant. Moreover, many manufacturers to-day furnish posters, imprinted with the local dealer’s name, if he will but post them.
Local poster advertising can be made either general or specific—it can advertise the full line or special sales. The specific advertising is usually more productive than the publicity style. Here are a few suggestions of specific opportunities for local merchants;
- Banks—Solicit savings’ accounts, and state interest-commencing dates.
- Stationers—Advertise school books and supplies just previous to opening of new term.
- Furniture Dealers—Special spring sale of furniture for porch and country places. Advertise April 15th a “Special Discount Sale” to catch people who move into new homes May 1st. Rug sale.
- Coal Dealers—Early fall poster admonishing people to lay in their winter’s supply and save money.
- Sporting Goods—Advertise baseball and tennis supplies in spring, football goods in fall and skates in early winter. Cameras.
- Haberdashers—Straw hats and Easter neckwear. Fall derbies, ties, mufflers, etc.
- Druggists—Specialty of prescriptions. Soda-water fountain and special drinks. Christmas gifts. Spring tonic.
- Jewelers—Engagement gifts and wedding presents. Special poster advertising clocks and watches. Silverware poster.
- Nurseries—Seeds, bushes and trees for spring planting.
- Hardware Dealers—Lawn mowers, garden tools and seed-time specialties. Farm tools and supplies in special “Farmers’ poster.”
- Real Estate—Special sales of lots.
- Clothiers—Spring suits and hats. Raincoats and umbrellas. Shirtings and gloves. Fall suits and overcoats.
- Shoe Stores—Ladies’ and children’s shoes. Low shoes for spring and summer. Fall shoes, rubbers and overshoes. Baseball, tennis, football and outing shoes.
- Custom Tailors—Made-to-measure clothing for spring. Fall suits and overcoats.
- Laundries—Advertise quality of work and prompt deliveries. Special poster on ladies’ shirt waists and lingerie.
- Cigar Dealers—Special price box sale of cigars. Pipes and smoking mixtures.
- Grocers—Teas and coffees. Special soap sale. Special advertising of premiums or trading-stamps.
- Gas Companies—Gas ranges.
- Dentists—Artificial teeth and crown work.
- Photographers—Special one-month price for cabinet photos.
- Department Stores—White goods sale. Special silk sale. Remnant sale. Linen sale. Ladies’ and children’s ready-made suits. Shirt-waist sale. Christmas furs. Christmas presents. Men’s hats and clothing. Boots and shoes. Special 10% discount month.
- Music Stores—Pianos and organs. Exchange department. Slightly used instrument sale. Installment plan.
- Summer Parks—List of attractions, free street-car tickets, etc.
- Milliners—Easter bonnets. Special $5 trimmed hat.
These are but a few random suggestions, and the list might be continued almost indefinitely, but I have given enough to suggest the possibility of special offerings through posting and show the way.
Most of such posters which cannot be purchased of stock lithographers can be made up by the local printer or newspaper office in one or two colors, with or without wood-cut illustrations, but the more attractive the poster can be made, the better the results will be.
The beauty of posting for the local advertiser is that he knows his advertising cannot be scattered. It will go right in his own territory, and he will not be paying for any waste circulation outside. Then, too, he can select his locations, supplement his special poster with hand-bills to the farmer, newspaper announcements and special window displays to connect his store with just what he is advertising at the time he is advertising it.
The fact that everybody knows the local merchant is no argument against advertising. They also know “the other fellow,” and advertising alone, combined with fair dealing, will give you the lion’s share of the trade.
The local merchant to-day who doesn’t advertise should at least advertise his business for sale, and in the next ten years posting will, I predict, be developed into one of the greatest forms of advertising for the local merchant. It is so big, so forceful, so always-before-you-and-never-to-be-thrown-away that it is bound to command unusual attention in the small town or city.
Talk it over with your local bill-poster and let him help you with suggestions gleaned from his experience.
Business is built up on confidence. It’s a game of confidence between buyer and seller, but woe betide the advertiser who considers it a confidence game. You must “Make Good” with the consumer to insure future sales and only in repetition lies success and reputation.