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 FROM 
 
 Addressograph Sales Co. 
 
 123 BAY ST. 
 TORONTO. ONT.
 
 The Preparation and 
 Care of Mailing Lists 
 
 A working manual that covers every 
 phase of list handling, from obtaining 
 names of "live" prospects without ad- 
 vertising for them, to handling lists 
 economically and productively. Based 
 on the experiences of successful firms 
 in all lines of business 
 
 BY 
 
 W. K. PAGE 
 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 ADDRESSOGRAPH COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO ILLINOIS 

 
 Copyright, 1014, by 
 AdilressogrBph Company
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Pn«e 
 
 I Guesswork vs. Certainty in 
 
 Advertising 7 
 
 II The Value of Mailing Lists 11 
 
 III How to Compile Mailing Lists .... 17 
 
 IV Points to Watch in Compiling 
 
 Lists 32 
 
 V How to Keep Lists Up to Date . . .40 
 
 VI Handling Lists Automatically .... 50
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Guesswork vs. Certainty in 
 Advertising 
 
 ANEW age in advertising is at hand. 
 Advertising has traversed the route of 
 all things mortal — from the crude to the 
 finished, the complex to the simple, the uncertain 
 to the certain, the wasteful to the economical. 
 
 First came the discovery of the mighty force 
 of advertising. Then to advertise simply meant 
 to tell all the public about your goods — to spread 
 the news broadcast whether it fall on barren or 
 fertile ground. That was the age of General 
 Publicity. 
 
 In due course advertisers came to realize that 
 all advertising was not necessarily good adver- 
 tising. Some of it was wantonly wasteful as well 
 as absurd. They began to apply to the subject 
 of advertising, that had hitherto been shrouded 
 in mystery, common-sense business methods. 
 Then came the awakening. Many an advertiser 
 came to his senses with a sharp jerk and realized 
 that he, like the traveler lost in the forest, had 
 been traveling around in circles instead of tak- 
 ing the short cut. 
 
 [ 1 1
 
 A NEW AGE IN ADVERTISING 
 
 The next age or step in advertising was the 
 elimination of broadcast, haphazard appeals to 
 the public in general, and an endeavor to con- 
 centrate efforts on specific classes. This was a 
 great step in the right direction. Advertising 
 was beginning to be placed on a tangible basis 
 and to be operated with a touch of science. 
 
 And now advertising has passed the thres- 
 hold of another age — the Individual Appeal age — 
 known as Direct Advertising. No longer do ad- 
 vertisers shoot their appeals haphazard all over 
 the country, shot-gun fashion, in the hope of hit- 
 ting prospective buyers. Instead, they pick out 
 prospective buyers in advance of advertising to 
 them and concentrate their selling fire upon them 
 one by one. 
 
 There's a lesson for every advertiser in the 
 taking of Vera Cruz. In 
 the olden days the fleet 
 would have pounded away 
 at the city as a whole and 
 trusted to luck to raze it 
 to the ground. 
 
 But today, what a 
 difference! Uncle Sam's 
 naval boys have grown 
 out of the guesswork 
 stage. Before firing a 
 single shot they picked out 
 the vital spots in Vera 
 Cruz, got them down on 
 
 'Bsfor* /irmj.' ii »/j"r r/i.v ptclmd 
 
 ■ ,m tin x ilnl IpOtt unit fiitur.tl 
 out tin- riinw "
 
 CONCENTRATING YOUR FIRE 
 
 paper, figured out the range to a fraction of an 
 inch, and — waited. Then when the word came 
 they startled the world with their marksmanship 
 by sending shot after shot flying through win- 
 dows with the accuracy of a diestamp punching 
 holes in a sheet of metal. 
 
 The methods that enabled them to do this 
 are the methods of Direct Advertising, namely: 
 
 Instead of shooting haphazard at the ninety- 
 odd million people in the United States, select 
 the class of people that can buy your goods. 
 Then split this class up into individuals. Get 
 their names down on paper in your office. Deter- 
 mine, on the basis of experience, the best appeals 
 to use, and go after prospects one by one instead 
 of in a mass. Keep it up until they capitulate 
 and buy your goods. 
 
 Direct Advertising is no pet theory or thing 
 of mushroom growth. Its practicability and 
 superiority over other forms of advertising for 
 most business, have been demonstrated time and 
 time again. Now it is coming into its own. 
 
 Over six hundred millions of dollars are 
 spent annually in the United States for various 
 forms of advertising. Already Direct Advertising 
 stands second on the list. Within the next few 
 years, when advertisers are fully awake to its 
 tremendous possibilities, it will top the list. 
 There's no stopping it. Cream will always rise to 
 the top. Water will always find its level. Log- 
 ical methods will always triumph sooner or later. 
 
 [ 9 ]
 
 THE MONEY SPENT FOR ADVERTISING 
 
 "Printers' Ink" gives the following estimate 
 of annual advertising expenditures in the United 
 States for various forms of advertising. Note 
 that Direct Advertising comes second on the 
 list. If Direct Advertising can rank thus high 
 when most advertisers are chasing the General 
 Publicity delusion, it is obvious that as its sales- 
 making and cost-cutting possibilities become gen- 
 erally known, it will outrank all other mediums in 
 popularity : 
 
 Newspaper advertising (retail and general) $250,000,000 
 Direct-mail advertising (circulars, form- 
 letters, house-organs, etc.) 107,000,000 
 
 Magazine advertising 60,000,000 
 
 Farm and mail-order 75,000,000 
 
 Novelty 30,000,000 
 
 Billposting 30,000,000 
 
 Outdoor — electric signs, etc 25,000,000 
 
 Demonstration and sampling 18,000,000 
 
 Street-car advertising 10,000,000 
 
 Distributing 6,000.000 
 
 Theatre programs, curtain, and miscel- 
 laneous 5.000,000 
 
 $616,000,000 
 In the following pages is told how concerns 
 in all lines of business — concerns both large and 
 small — have used and are using Direct Advertis- 
 ing to sell the greatest volume of goods at the 
 lowest possible cost. Fortunes have been built 
 on these methods. They represent the dearly- 
 bought experience of hundreds of concerns whose 
 names are synonyms for commercial success. 
 Surely you can profit by studying them. 
 
 I 10 I
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The Value of Mailing 
 Lists 
 
 INTO Chicago breezed a typical Westerner 
 with an Al land proposition. Ample capital 
 he had and a stack of sworn testimonials from 
 satisfied purchasers that would make even the 
 most doubting "Doubting Thomas" itch to get 
 his name on the dotted line. He had the "goods," 
 the evidence, the money — everything was in his 
 favor. 
 
 Then he launched his 
 selling campaign. No 
 piker was this man when 
 it came to spending 
 money to get business. 
 Not he — "the sky's the 
 limit"— he'd say. "I'm 
 going to close up this 
 deal right quick; why, 
 I can sell these few 
 thousand acres in less 
 time than it takes some 
 people to get started." 
 
 I 11 
 
 'The advertising solicitors went away 
 
 smiling and happy, with fat space 
 
 contracts in their pockets"
 
 THE NIGGER IN THE WOODPILE 
 
 Action ! — that's what he wanted. And he 
 surely got it. Advertising solicitors for the 
 newspapers he had come to his office on the 
 double-quick. They went away smiling and 
 happy with fat space contracts in their pockets. 
 
 Then inquiries began to come in from the 
 advertisements. They were turned over to sales- 
 men to follow up. Each successive advertisement 
 brought a bunch of inquiries. Some sales were 
 made. Two months elapsed, the rush and excite- 
 ment of getting things started died down, and the 
 business settled down to fixed routine. 
 
 At luncheon one day the land man ran across 
 an old friend in the advertising business. To 
 him he opened up. He threw aside his office mask 
 of self-satisfaction, and confided that things were 
 not going well with him. "The trouble is," he 
 continued, "that it costs me 'way too much to 
 get inquiries.' I figured up this morning and 
 found that each inquiry I've received thus far has 
 cost me fifteen dollars. If all these inquiries 
 resulted in sales, it would be all right. But they 
 don't — only a small percentage pans out. And 
 that sends my selling cost up far too high. I'm 
 buying business instead of selling land. Some- 
 thing has got to be done, and done mighty quick." 
 
 "As I see it," broke in the advertising man, 
 "your prospects are farmers?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "City people as a whole and farmers who 
 have little or no money are no good to you." 
 
 f 12 1
 
 ANOTHER PET THEORY SMASHED 
 
 "Right," returned the land man. 
 "Then what's the use in paying money for 
 broadcast advertising to reach hundreds of 
 thousands of people who are of no use to you? 
 Why not get a list of farmers in the immediate 
 vicinity of Chicago, who have money, and con- 
 centrate your efforts on them? That's all your 
 advertising is now doing for you — producing a 
 list of names. And each name costs you fifteen 
 dollars — about fourteen dollars and ninety-five 
 cents too much. I can get for you a list of names 
 of farmers with money in any locality you name. 
 And the names won't cost you more than an 
 average of five cents each." 
 
 Disbelief was written all over the land man's 
 face. But he was willing to be shown. Instead 
 of saying "it can't be done," he snapped back, 
 
 "get me a list of names 
 of farmers with money 
 in and around these three 
 towns," and he wrote 
 out the town names on 
 the back of the menu. 
 
 The advertising man 
 returned to his office 
 and wrote a l etter to the 
 assistan^^ashjer of the 
 bank in_e^ch of the three 
 towns, offering five cents 
 a name for a list of 
 local farmers of standing. 
 
 'At luncheon the land man met an old [ 13 1 
 
 friend in the advertising 
 business
 
 FACTS THAT CARRY A JOLT 
 
 When each list came in he had it copied in 
 triplicate and sent a cop y to the justice of_ the 
 ^peace and the .flfljt.or of the newspaper in each 
 town asking them to check the list for accuracy 
 and to add any names not listed. For this service 
 he enclosed with each letter a check for one 
 dollar. 
 
 Inside of two weeks he had three lists that 
 were of undeniable accuracy, each having been 
 compiled by the local bank man and checked by 
 the local editor and a justice of the peace — men 
 whose reports could be relied upon as their 
 business brought them into intimate touch with 
 local men and affairs. 
 
 With an expression of mingled surprise and 
 eagerness the land man took the lists from his 
 friend and listened to a detailed account of how 
 they were obtained and verified. Then he found 
 his voice. "To think," he snapped, "that I was 
 paying fifteen dollars apiece and waiting months 
 to get identically the same class of names that 
 you bring in by the hundred, in a couple of 
 weeks, at a cost of about five cents a name. 
 Some one please kick me." 
 
 The names were put on the regular follow- 
 up list. A goodly number was developed into 
 sales. Carefully-kept records showed a striking 
 fact — that indentically the same percentage of 
 sales resulted from the lists of names as from 
 the inquiries obtained through advertisements. 
 Six months later the land man sold his last
 
 FORTUNES BUILT ON LIVE NAMES 
 
 tract of land, closed his office and went back west 
 with a profound respect for mailing lists, and a 
 lesson learned that simple methods often produce 
 the biggest results. 
 
 This is not an exceptional case that applies 
 only to the land business. Basically the same 
 idea applies to every business. Many a concern 
 is buying names through advertising at an in- 
 flated cost of several hundred per cent while their 
 competitors are outselling and underselling them 
 by using mailing lists. 
 
 No business exists but what can make 
 profitable use of mailing lists. Some business 
 can reach all their prospects simply by using 
 mailing lists; others need to use mailing lists 
 in conjunction with press advertising. It all 
 depends on the nature of the business and the 
 type of person sold to. 
 
 Instances of fortunes built on mailing lists 
 abound. A publisher sold over a million dollars' 
 worth of a set of books through the medium of 
 carefully compiled lists of names. A country 
 retailer boosted his sales by forty per cent simply 
 by persistently circularizing a selected list of 
 names. A wholesaler placed a new brand of 
 goods with the trade in record time and at unbe- 
 lievably low cost by the use of mailing lists of 
 retailers and consumers. A man with an idea has 
 just sold $2,500,000 worth of securities through 
 the use of mailing lists at a gross selling cost of 
 fifteen per cent., and this during a period when 
 
 [ 15 1
 
 INSIDE FACTS ON BIG SUCCESSES 
 
 capital was as shy of new investments as a rabbit 
 is of a charge of buckshot. 
 
 A wholesale mail order house built up sales 
 of over ten million dollars a year simply by 
 compiling lists of possible buyers and following 
 them up persistently. And one of the greatest 
 specialty i oncerns in the world, that sells over a 
 million dollars' worth of goods a month, built up 
 and maintaned this huge business by the skilful 
 use of mailing lists in conjunction with a force of 
 salesmen. 
 
 The following pages tell specifically how to 
 compile and handle mailing lists of all kinds — 
 lists for local as well as national use; lists for the 
 one-man concern, the middle-sized concern, to 
 great industries whose operations are nation-wide. 
 Boiled-down records of dearly-bought experience, 
 truths gleaned from scores of hard-fought 
 business battles, are these pages. They make 
 Opportunity your working partner — give you 
 chances the "other man" never had. 
 
 I M 1
 
 LOCAL 
 
 City 
 
 Telephc 
 
 Blue Book 
 
 note:- 77, 
 
 Sou rues givi 
 are suggest i\ 
 only as the 
 nature anc 
 number of 
 direcrorie. 
 differ wit i 
 each localit 
 It is a simp! 
 matter to oi 
 tain a con 
 plete list oi 
 directories 
 published if, 
 your localit] 
 
 COPYRIGHT,
 
 Sources of Names of Prospects 
 
 n 
 
 [directories | [governmental records] I organizations! [press clippings) [amtsI^ I miscellaneous 
 
 LOCAL NATIONAL MUNICIPAL COlNm STATE NATIONAL BUSINESS GENERAL 
 
 City Rating- Books CityTa. Lis 
 
 Telephone [ |Traae Directorial [pi7i.ll Betords 
 
 |L,cea„fceorJ, 
 
 lMsi.i.8 B«..J: 
 
 t.« List. Um«T»L,.ts CummercialClub Fratern 
 
 |CuuntyTa» Lists] | Labor R^rd,] 
 
 Semtsiy./St, 
 RecorJs 
 
 (CU|| Labor 
 
 in 
 
 ic.«o r .^i iwn 
 
 1 — ^~ 
 
 NOTE- A,„rg„„„„„ 
 
 Notices, naeneral thai 
 
 Maoaiines EinpW«yUJCn« 
 
 Newspape 
 
 Exchanging L 
 nth otW Cone 
 
 | Addr«sin e Companies! 
 
 
 Salesmen', Report. | 
 
 
 | Investigator. | 
 
 
 | R.F D Carriers | 
 
 
 | Customer, | 
 
 
 | Delivery Men | 
 
 
 | Bank Cashiers | 
 
 
 | Justices «/„)rPe.« | 
 
 
 | Country Editor, | 
 
 
 | Dealers
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 How to Compile Mailing 
 Lists 
 
 THE first essential in list compilation is to 
 get the right perspective. And the way to 
 do this is to look at sources of names just 
 as one of your salesmen looks at his territory. 
 Just as it is inadvisable for a salesman to submit 
 his proposition haphazard to everyone in his 
 territory, irrespective of their line of business and 
 purchasing power, so is it inadvisable for a list- 
 compiler to list haphazard every name at his 
 disposal. The principle of selection needs to be 
 observed. 
 
 A salesman generally has a fairly good idea 
 of the class of people to whom his goods can be 
 sold. Accordingly he concentrates on them and 
 passes by people who do not come under this 
 class. 
 
 The compiler of lists needs to possess the 
 salesman's viewpoint and to make each name pass 
 the test of "Is this man a live prospect?" before 
 he enters it on the list. By holding this idea in 
 mind he can easily separate the wheat from the 
 chaff and produce lists that are approximately 
 one hundred per cent "live." 
 
 [ 17 ]
 
 JUST HOW TO GET LIVE NAMES 
 
 Almost limitless are the sources of names 
 for any class of business. The chart facing page 
 16 shows the main sources from which concerns 
 that have won notable successes through the use 
 of mailing lists obtain names. 
 
 Take the first classification in the chart — 
 Directories. To even attempt to make a complete 
 list of all directories is a formidable task. And 
 even if such a list were published in this book it 
 would not help much, as only a small number of 
 the directories listed would be of use to any one 
 firm. It is a comparatively simple matter for any 
 firm to obtain a more or less complete list of 
 directories suitable for its use. Inquiry among 
 publishers of directories, and publishers of trade 
 journals, will result in names of directories un- 
 known to the average man. 
 
 Typical of directories 
 that contain valuable 
 names are, "Telephony's" 
 directory of telephone 
 companies; Brown's direc- 
 tory of American gas 
 companies; McGraw's di- 
 rectory of electric light, 
 gas, and electric railways; 
 Thomas' directory of 
 American manufacturers. 
 Directories are obtainable 
 of practically every line of 
 trade. Inquiry among your 
 
 'The list compiler needs to select 
 
 names in carefully M <> MIMWM 
 
 i, /. < is prospects U> call upon" 
 
 [ 18 1
 
 WHY PAY FOR WHAT IS FREE? 
 
 business friends also will yield names of many 
 worthwhile directories suitable for your use. 
 
 The second classification in the chart — 
 Governmental records — is a fruitful source of 
 valuable names. It will pay any concern to get 
 into touch with city and state government de- 
 partments in territories in which it is pushing 
 for business. Many valuable lists of names, at 
 the disposal of the public, will be discovered. 
 A personal visit to the city or state governmental 
 office is preferable to correspondence. Take the 
 city of Chicago, for example. A talk with the 
 City Clerk disclosed the fact that the following 
 classified lists are at the disposal of responsible 
 parties : 
 
 Acetylene gas, collection, 
 
 Amusement parks, 
 
 Airdomes, sideshows, etc., 
 
 Auctioneers, 
 
 Automobiles, public pas- 
 senger, on stands, 
 
 Automobile passenger, 
 35 HP or less, 
 
 Automobile, passenger, 
 more than 35-HF 
 
 Automobile, delivery 
 wagons, capacity less 
 than one ton, 
 or compression of, 
 
 Bakeries, 
 
 Baseball fields, 
 
 Billiard and pool tables, 
 
 Boarding stables, 
 
 Boats, launches, etc., 
 
 Bowling alleys, 
 
 Brokers, 
 
 Circuses, menageries, etc., 
 
 Concerts, 
 
 Fireworks exhibitions, 
 
 Halls for Dances, 
 
 Lectures, art exhibits, etc., 
 
 Merry-go-rounds, 
 
 Penny arcades, 
 
 Platform, walk-around, 
 
 Pony or animal rides. 
 
 Shows, 
 
 Roller or ice skating. 
 
 rinks, 
 Skill and strength testing 
 
 devices, 
 Summer gardens, 
 Swimming shows, 
 Theatres, 
 Wrestling matches, 
 
 [ 19 ]
 
 NAMES FREE FOR THE ASKING 
 
 Cabs, public, 
 Carbonated waters, etc., 
 Cartridges and shells, 
 Catch-basins and sewers, 
 cleaners of, 
 
 Chauffeurs, 
 
 Cigarette dealers, 
 
 Coupes, public, 
 
 Deadly weapons, dealers 
 in, 
 
 Delicatessen stores, 
 
 Detective agencies, 
 
 Distillers, 
 
 Dispensaries, medical, 
 
 Dogs, 
 
 Drain layers, 
 
 Drivers of public pas- 
 senger horse-drawn 
 vehicles, 
 
 Drug stores, 
 
 Dry cleaners, 
 
 Electrical contractors, 
 
 Engineers, stationary, 
 
 Fireworks, sale of, 
 
 Fishmongers, 
 
 Garages, 
 
 Gunpowder and explo- 
 sives, sale or use of, 
 
 Hacks, public, 
 
 Hospitals, 
 
 Hotels, 
 
 House movers. 
 
 Ice dealers, 
 
 Junk dealers, 
 
 Livery Stables, 
 
 Lumber dealers. 
 
 Meat markets. 
 
 Milk dealers, 
 
 Motor bicycles, 
 
 Moving picture films, 
 storage of, 
 
 Moving picture operators, 
 
 Natatoriums and swim- 
 ming pools. 
 
 Nurseries, public, 
 
 Omnibuses, 
 
 Pawnbrokers, 
 
 Peddlers, various, 
 
 Plumbers, 
 
 Poulterers, 
 
 Restaurants, 
 
 Saloons, 
 
 Second-hand dealers. 
 
 Shooting galleries, 
 
 Soap factories, 
 
 Canneries, 
 
 Tickers, 
 
 Undertakers, 
 
 Workshops. 
 
 It is not a part of the city's business to 
 supply these lists of names they are not issued 
 in printed form. The city officials, however, 
 are at all times willing to give any responsible 
 individual access to their classified records and 
 
 I N |
 
 HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF THIS? 
 
 to allow him to copy them on the premises. A 
 good plan, adopted by many firms, is to send 
 two of their employes to the city hall — a clerk 
 to call out the names and addresses, and a 
 stenographer to record them. 
 
 From state and county officials valuable 
 names can be obtained. For example, the state 
 of Illinois issues monthly a list of persons to 
 whom automobile licenses have been issued, 
 giving number of license and name and address 
 of the applicant. Copies of these booklets can 
 be obtained from the Secretary of State for ten 
 cents each. 
 
 From the map in the county recorder's 
 office can be obtained the names and addresses 
 of owners of real estate — to the amount of five 
 acres or more — throughout the entire county. 
 In the treasurer's office the tax lists afford 
 splendid opportunity to obtain new names and 
 verify others. 
 
 Organizations of all kinds — business, pro- 
 fessional and social — are splendid sources of live 
 names. A complete list of members of any 
 organization can usually be obtained without 
 much trouble. If you know a member of the 
 club through whom you can obtain a list of 
 members, so much the better; but if not, a frank 
 talk with the secretary usually will result in 
 your obtaining the list of names you wish. Every 
 city and town has dozens of organizations of 
 which the average man never hears. It will pay 
 
 [ 21 1
 
 A TALK THAT TURNED THE TIDE 
 
 any concern interested in obtaining live names 
 to systematically look up organizations of all 
 kinds. 
 
 Here is a typical example of the sales possi- 
 bilities of a list of members in a club. A time- 
 stamp manufacturer in Chicago found that most 
 of his sales of a certain model were made through 
 superintendents of plants. How to get names 
 of superintendents was his problem. He tried 
 magazine and newspaper advertising — excellent 
 in its way. but wasteful from the standpoint of 
 appealing almost exclusively to superintendents. 
 One day he was discussing his sales problems 
 with the advertising manager of another 
 specialty concern whom he had met at luncheon. 
 This man had broken sales records for his firm 
 by discarding general advertising in favor of 
 Direct Advertising. 
 
 "Your proposition is easy," said he to the 
 time-stamp manufacturer. "All you have to do 
 is to get names of superintendents of plants, ap- 
 peal to them by mail, and follow-up with sales- 
 men." 
 
 "But where can I get names of superintend- 
 ents without advertising for them? I know of 
 no other way than to canvas firms for them." 
 
 "What's the matter with the superintend- 
 ents' Club of Chicago?" 
 
 "Superintendents' Club?" repeated the manu- 
 facturer in surprise; "never heard of it." 
 
 "Come around to our plant and 111 introduce 
 
 I M I
 
 DOLLAR-MAKING EYE-OPENERS 
 
 you to our superintendent and arrange for him 
 to give you a list of members." 
 
 The manufacturer obtained a list of superin- 
 tendents in Chicago. He sent a series of six 
 pieces of mail matter to each member in con- 
 junction with personal calls by his salesmen. 
 Months later, all smiles, he dropped in to see the 
 advertising manager whose suggestion he had 
 adopted, and announced, "That idea of yours was 
 a winner. Thus far I've sold eleven per cent of 
 the names on the list, at one-third the selling 
 cost of my old method. I'm using your idea on 
 other associations and have obtained several lists 
 of names that promise to pan out as well as that 
 of the Superintendents' Club." 
 
 So many clubs and 
 organizations are now in 
 existence that practically 
 every firm — no matter 
 what it sells — can make 
 exceedingly profitable use 
 of this source of names. 
 
 Magazines, news- 
 papers and trade journals 
 are live sources of names. 
 Wrapped up in even the 
 most commonplace news 
 item is often a pointer for 
 someone that will yield 
 profitable sales. Accounts 
 of engagements and wed- 1 
 
 'The advertising manager intro- 
 r o;5 1 duced the manufacturer to the 
 
 superintendent of his firm 's plant ' '
 
 CLIPPINGS THAT YIELD SALES 
 
 dings offer sales possibilities to insurance men, 
 architects, real estate men, banks, stores, man- 
 ufacturers of specialties used in the home, etc. 
 Notices of accidents, to insurance men, man- 
 ufacturers of artificial limbs and surgical appli- 
 ances, and manufacturers of protective devices 
 in general. 
 
 The manufacturer of a fireproof roofing sub- 
 scribes to a press-clipping bureau for accounts 
 of fires that started on the roofs of buildings. 
 Persons who have suffered loss and inconvenience 
 in this connection are live prospects for his fire- 
 proof roofing. 
 
 Similarly a safety elevator firm uses press 
 notices of elevator accidents; a stove polish 
 manufacturer, for accounts of explosions in the 
 home due to inflammable polish ; a heating con- 
 cern for notices of fires due to a certain type of 
 furnace. Similar instances can be given almost 
 indefinitely. 
 
 Some concerns subscribe to a number of 
 periodicals and search out sales pointers them- 
 selves. Others subscribe to a press-clipping 
 bureau. The cost of this service varies according 
 to the number of clippings supplied per month, 
 and their nature. A service sufficient for the 
 average business can be obtained for about five 
 dollars a month. 
 
 Methods of obtaining names through adver- 
 tising in publications are so well known as to 
 need no explanation. Experience shows that a 
 
 [ M ]
 
 MAKING ADS PRODUCE MORE 
 
 greater number of inquiries can be pulled from 
 any advertisement by offering to send to in- 
 quirers an informative, human-interest booklet 
 instead of the usual catalog or suggestion to 
 "write for particulars." Few persons are pri- 
 marily interested in your proposition itself, but 
 they are interested in what it will do for them. 
 The Burroughs Adding Machine Company cashes 
 in on this tendency by advertising informative 
 booklets instead of adding machines. In a re- 
 cent issue of "Printers' Ink," E. St. Elmo Lewis, 
 advertising manager of the company, writes: 
 
 "... I took six ads in the 'Saturday 
 Evening Post' and got 231 inquiries and 51 sales. 
 I then took our book, 'A Better Day's Profits,' 
 put in an ad of the same size, and got 3,362 in- 
 quiries out of one advertisement. From this we 
 got 261 trials and sold 232 machines. The reason 
 was because the point of 
 contact was the custom- 
 er's business." 
 
 Under "Miscellaneous 
 Methods" in the chart 
 are suggestions for plans 
 that will yield names 
 of unusually high order. 
 Firms that sell to the 
 same class of people 
 as you sell to are gen- 
 erally willing to exchange 
 lists of prospects and cus- 
 
 I 33 1 
 
 'A bank obtains from its depos- 
 itors names and addresses of 
 their employes ' '
 
 GETTING OTHERS TO CO-OPERATE 
 
 tomers. Sometimes exchanges can best be made 
 with head offices of firms; in other cases by 
 having your representatives approach the local 
 representatives of the firms. Manufacturers of 
 office machines and specialties find it very profit- 
 able to exchange lists among themselves, as a 
 firm that has bought one kind of modern equip- 
 ment is generally in line for others. Similarly, 
 concerns in unrelated lines can profitably work 
 together. A malted-milk firm and a soda-fountain 
 drink firm not only exchange names of dealers 
 but tip each other off from time to time of the 
 opening up of new stores. A men's clothing 
 manufacturer works with a men's shirt concern, a 
 hat manufacturer with a men's furnishing manu- 
 facturer, and so on. 
 
 A bank in Chicago systematically approaches 
 those of its depositors who are large employers 
 of labor, and obtains the names and addresses of 
 their employes with the idea of inducing them 
 to open savings accounts. 
 
 A manufacturer of workmen's overalls uses 
 the same method. He first used the plan in his 
 home town and obtained such excellent results 
 that he now uses it all over the country. To 
 each dealer handling his line he explains the plan 
 and suggests that they obtain names of employes 
 of plants in their locality, and send them to the 
 manufacturer. Advertising matter and a letter 
 stating that the overalls can be purchased at 
 such-and-such a store is sent to all names sup- 
 
 26
 
 TIPS ON BUYING NAMES 
 
 plied by dealers. Excellent results are obtained. 
 Dealers willingly co-operate, as they realize the 
 importance of getting a new customer into the 
 store and know that an overall sale will generally 
 lead to other sales and oftentimes valuable 
 regular patronage. 
 
 From addressing companies can be pur- 
 chased valuable lists of names of all kinds. Price 
 averages one cent a name. The better class of 
 addressing company guarantees its lists to be 
 from 95', to 98'/ accurate, depending on the 
 nature of the list, and refunds at the rate of two 
 cents a name for all "dead letters." Addressing 
 companies often have on record, or can easily ob- 
 tain, lists of names that a concern itself could 
 gather only by months of effort and considerable 
 expense. Before going to any considerable 
 trouble in compiling lists it is advisable first to 
 see what addressing companies have to offer. 
 
 Your salesmen are a splendid source of live 
 names, as they are daily learning of new pros- 
 pects. The best method for cashing in on the 
 work of your salesmen is to operate a system of 
 salesmen's reports whereby each salesman re- 
 ports to head office the names of concerns he has 
 called upon each day, together with the chances 
 of selling them. 
 
 The practice of using investigators to obtain 
 names, is increasing in use. Here is a typical 
 way in which the plan is operated: A manufac- 
 turer of an office device found that in selling to
 
 HOW TO USE INVESTIGATORS 
 
 large firms it was necessary first to convince the 
 office manager of the merit of the proposition 
 before talking to the purchasing agent. Names 
 of office managers cannot be found in directories 
 and trade lists, like other classification of names, 
 and so this manufacturer hired a bright young 
 woman to compile a list of office managers. Her 
 method is to go to the information desk in large 
 offices and ask for the name of the office mana- 
 ger. The desired information is usually obtained 
 at once. An alternative of this plan is to obtain 
 the names by telephone. 
 
 Similarly, a concern selling children's ap- 
 parel employs investigators to visit homes 
 and find out the number, sex, and ages of chil- 
 dren. Sometimes this information can be obtained 
 from the maid who answers the door; in others, 
 from the head of the house. Where these methods 
 fail, recourse can be had to neighborhood stores, 
 
 or in the case of apartment 
 buildings, from the janitor. 
 An addressing com- 
 pany uses school children 
 for list compiling. Dur- 
 ing the vacation months 
 the company writes to 
 bankers in towns asking 
 them to recommend hon- 
 est boys and girls. These 
 children visit homes and 
 
 . \ hriulit fOmtt >»'"'""" It fin- 
 pluyt </ In ObtOhl til' tuimrs f>( 
 ti/fici- miitiuw' * 

 
 GETTING NAMES FROM CUSTOMERS 
 
 find out such information as whether or not the 
 residents own pianos, organs, and musical instru- 
 ments in general; names of card players; 
 members of brass bands; invalids; make of stove 
 used, etc. One cent a piece is paid for names 
 accompanied by the desired data. 
 
 Mail carriers — city as well as R. F. D. — are 
 a fruitful source of names. They should, how- 
 ever, be approached on the subject while off duty. 
 R. F. D. route lists particularly are of value, and 
 it is comparatively easy to obtain them. This 
 method is particularly effective because it is 
 possible not only to obtain the farmer's exact 
 name, but also the name of his wife, how many 
 children he has, whether they are grown, at 
 home, or going to school. A mail-carrier com- 
 piling a list in this way is also able to give defi- 
 nite information as to whether the farmer is a 
 renter or owner; how many acres he farms or 
 owns, general prosperity, and the like. 
 
 Your customers, if properly approached, can 
 be induced to supply you with many live names. 
 Many firms systematically circularize their en- 
 tire customer lists, asking for names and addresses 
 of persons who might be interested in their 
 goods. The success of this plan depends largely 
 on the way in which you have cultivated the 
 friendship of your customers and also upon the 
 nature of your business and their business. 
 Merely writing a letter to customers and asking 
 for names, will not suffice, however. You must 
 
 [ 29 1
 
 METHODS OFF THE BEATEN PATH 
 
 not put your customer to any trouble in acceding 
 to your request. You must make it extremely 
 easy for him to reply — so easy, in fact, that he 
 cannot well refuse. A plan that experience has 
 shown to produce splendid results is to enclose 
 with your letter asking for names, a printed form 
 with blank lines for the customer to fill in with 
 names and addresses, and also a stamped return- 
 addressed envelope. In some cases a stamped 
 return-addressed post-card can be used in place 
 of a form and envelope. It all depends upon the 
 class of people you are circularizing; if a high 
 class, you should unhesitatingly use the form and 
 two-cent stamped, return-addressed envelope. 
 
 Delivery men of stores are in close touch 
 with trade conditions in their districts and can 
 be used as a source of names. Manufacturers 
 distributing through dealers find it resultful to 
 suggest this method to their dealers. One retailer 
 requests each of his delivery men to supply at 
 least ten new names of prospective customers 
 each week. Another store pays its delivery men 
 a bonus for all live names in excess of twelve 
 reported each week. 
 
 In small towns bank cashiers, justices of the 
 peace, and newspaper editors can be drawn upon 
 for names difficult to obtain in ordinary ways. 
 A check for one or two dollars sent to any of 
 these individuals, together with specific instruc- 
 tions as to the kind of names required, will 
 usually produce the desired information. Names 
 
 f ™ 1
 
 GETTING NAMES FROM DEALERS 
 
 obtained in this way can be verified by sending 
 
 them to the local postmaster with the request 
 
 that he cross out "dead" names. The post-office 
 
 regulations in this connection read: 
 
 "Postmasters must not furnish lists of names of 
 persons receiving mail at their office . . . Lists of 
 names sent to postmasters for revision must be returned 
 to the sender when postage is provided for that purpose, 
 but no new names must be added to the lists. Post- 
 masters may, if they desire, however, cross off the 
 names of those who have moved away or are deceased." 
 
 Dealers who handle your goods are a fruitful 
 source of live names. While you should never 
 leave it to the dealer to follow-up your prospects 
 or customers, you can use him to advantage to 
 compile valuable lists for you. His permanent 
 customer-list is of great value to you. Get him 
 to send you a copy, and add it to your own pros- 
 pect list. Or, if he will not part with the list, you 
 can get around this difficulty by sending him 
 your printed matter in sealed, stamped, unad- 
 dressed envelopes. Then he can address the mail 
 right in his own office without disclosing the 
 names on the list. Proof of mailing can be ob- 
 tained by post-office receipts. 
 
 These methods cover the main sources from 
 which live names, suitable for any class of busi- 
 ness, are obtained. They are based upon the 
 actual experiences of firms that have followed 
 them to their great profit. To any concern willing 
 to use ordinary care they bring the opportunity 
 to build up a large list of valuable names that 
 speedily show their worth by increased profits. 
 
 [ 31 1
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Points to Watch in Com- 
 piling Lists 
 
 TO A YOUNG office manager came th« 
 opportunity to purchase the patent rights 
 of a household specialty. Investigation 
 showed a ripe field for the article, and accord- 
 ingly he roped and branded his opportunity. 
 
 This young man had been in the employ of 
 a concern that had piled up a substantial surplus 
 by selling household specialties by mail. Daily 
 had he seen the modern miracle performed of 
 sending out printed matter and reaping a harvest 
 of dollars in return. If his concern could do this, 
 why couldn't he? 
 
 And so he started to duplicate their methods. 
 A line of attractive advertising matter was pre- 
 pared. Lists of names were compiled. The 
 stage was set for a big success. Stacks of mail 
 matter were daily sent all over the country. 
 Hopes ran high. 
 
 But for some reason or other the dollar- 
 magnet failed to work. According to this young 
 man's experience each morning should have 
 found a mail-carrier struggling under a load of 
 mail which, when opened, yielded orders, checks 
 
 I 82 I
 
 KILLING OFF A HOODOO 
 
 and currency. But now the law of opposites 
 seemed to hold sway. Each mail now brought 
 only a handful of letters most of which bore one 
 of Uncle Sam's rubber stamps, reading, "Ad- 
 dress not known," "Moved away," "Deceased.'' 
 
 Obviously, something was wrong. The 
 young man called in a friend who directed the 
 advertising of a successful concern and asked 
 him to locate the trouble. After quizzing the 
 owner of the firm, his employes, and scrutinizing 
 records for an hour or so, the advertising man 
 announced: "Your proposition is all right and 
 can be made to produce sound business. The 
 trouble is all with your list of names. First, they 
 are not of the right type ; second, they were 
 compiled in too much of a hurry. Then, to back 
 up his statement, he offered to direct the com- 
 pilation of a new list and its circularization. His 
 offer was gladly accepted. Within a month the 
 business found itself. Each issue of circulars 
 brought back orders. "Dead" letters were few 
 and far between. A business headed for the 
 commercial scrap-heap was turned to the up- 
 grade that leads to profits. And this seeming 
 marvel was accomplished simply by knowing how 
 to compile and handle lists of names. 
 
 Many a concern is blighting its opportunities 
 and killing its profits by mishandling lists of 
 names. A large retail store in Philadelphia 
 regularly circularized a list of 200.000 names 
 consisting of customers and prospects. Results 
 
 [ 33 ]
 
 WHY SOME LISTS DO NOT PULL 
 
 failed to come up to expectations. Each circulari- 
 zation of the list produced less tangible results 
 than the preceding circularization. Then an ex- 
 pert list compiler was called in. He quickly found 
 the trouble. It took the form of 65' j inaccuracies 
 in the lists — customers filed under prospects, and 
 vice versa; wrong spelling in names and ad- 
 dresses ; names of persons of a class that experi- 
 ence showed did not patronize the store; and 
 hundreds of "dead names," consisting of persons 
 who had died or moved out of the city. Careful 
 revision of the list resulted in succeeding cir- 
 cularization showing an increase of 31 per cent, 
 actual increase in orders. 
 
 Instances of this nature can be related al- 
 most without end. The point is here: If it is 
 worth while to go to the expense of compiling 
 and circularizing lists — and of this there is no 
 doubt — surely it is worth while to do the job 
 
 thoroughly — to devote a 
 
 little more time to the 
 work and insure that the 
 lists are at least ninety- 
 five per cent accurate. 
 Careful investigation of 
 the lists of hundreds of 
 concerns — large as well 
 as small — shows that the 
 majority are woefully 
 inaccurate. The inac- 
 curacies result primarily 
 
 .?• 
 
 V. 
 
 <V' 
 
 r 
 
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 'Each morninu should have found a 
 
 ititiil-ciirrimr striitwliiw urnler 
 
 a load of orders"
 
 THE FIVE ESSENTIALS TO OBSERVE 
 
 from failure to observe the five rules that govern 
 the compilation of productive lists, namely: 
 
 RULE 1: VIEWPOINT. As explained in 
 a preceding chapter, the list compiler needs to 
 take the attitude of a salesman. Just as a sales- 
 man does not try to sell his goods to everyone, 
 but makes reasonably sure that a man is of a 
 class that can buy his goods, before he calls on 
 him, so should a list compiler make reasonably 
 sure that a man represents a live prospect before 
 he places his name on a list. The best way to 
 determine this is to classify past sales into types 
 of individual and lines of trade, and to list only 
 those names that come under these headings. 
 
 RULE 2: TRADE ZONE. Many businesses 
 find it impracticable to attempt to win trade out- 
 side of certain zones or districts. For example, a 
 manufacturer of stoves has little if any market 
 for his product in California ; a mail-order 
 millinery concern has found that its most profit- 
 able market is in certain southern states; a 
 retail store has found that delivery charges and 
 competition make it inadvisable to go beyond a 
 certain radius of its store in soliciting new 
 business. Before new names are placed on a 
 mailing list they should be carefully investigated 
 to see if they come in the firm's trade zone. 
 
 Others find that it is more profitable for 
 them to concentrate their circularizing efforts in 
 just those cities and towns where they have 
 effective distribution or representation for the 
 
 [ 35 ]
 
 KNOWING VERSUS GUESSING 
 
 reason that the product or service offered is of 
 such a nature that it cannot be sold by mail but 
 must be through personal solicitation. Many 
 neglect to make such an analysis of selling meth- 
 ods and so are spending 25 , of their advertis- 
 ing appropriation to make from 3', to 5',' of 
 their sales. 
 
 Some concerns find that they cannot make 
 sales in towns of less than 10,000 inhabitants 
 and so in preparing their mailing lists eliminate 
 names in all smaller towns. An office specialty 
 manufacturer recently made a complete analysis 
 of his sales and advertising expenditures and 
 found that 85' ; of his orders came from towns 
 of over 10,000 inhabitants, yet nearly 30'; of 
 his appropriation was being spent in direct ad- 
 vertising in towns of less than 10,000 inhabitants. 
 This manufacturer immediately eliminated all 
 lists of names in towns of less than 10,000 in- 
 habitants and that portion of the appropriation 
 that had been invested in circularizing in the 
 smaller cities and towns was invested in special 
 circularizing in the larger cities where he had 
 excellent representation to co-operate with his 
 advertising efforts. 
 
 Too many dash blindly into direct advertis- 
 ing without first carefully mapping out a course 
 and thoroughly analyzing the market. Some do 
 not know the most productive fields for their 
 product and in addition to wasting money by 
 circularizing small towns and cities where they 
 
 [ 36 ]
 
 HOW TO ANALYZE YOUR FIELD 
 
 have no representation, or where there is no 
 market for their products, they spend thousands 
 and thousands of dollars in reaching lines of 
 business or classes of people that cannot be con- 
 sidered buyers. For instance, one manufacturer 
 recently found that he had been circularizing 
 approximately 250 lines of business, whereas 90% 
 of his sales were made to 75 lines of business. 
 
 Direct advertising is the most powerful form 
 of business building if the plan is based on a 
 careful analysis of distribution, possible markets 
 and past records. This form of advertising is 
 definite. It is a tangible quantity, for the adver- 
 tiser knows just those people he is spending 
 money to reach. He is not taking a chance. It 
 is vastly different than buying white space on the 
 taken-for-granted basis that a reasonable per- 
 centage of the "hundred thousand circulation" 
 are possible buyers. In 
 many instances the ad- 
 vertiser pays for reach- 
 ing several hundred 
 thousand people, 1% to 
 2% of which actually 
 can possibly use or pay 
 for his service or product. 
 Direct advertising is 
 not so simple as press ad- 
 vertising, for it requires 
 hard work, study, thought 
 and strategy, but if built 
 
 'Names should be thoroughly 
 
 verified before they are placed 
 
 on a mailing list" 
 
 [ 37 ]
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRY OUTS 
 
 on the "think first" basis it brings back generous 
 profits just as sure and just as regularly as the 
 banks pay interest on deposits. 
 
 RULE 3: VERIFICATION. Before a name 
 is placed on a list, no matter from what source it 
 is obtained, it should be checked with other 
 sources. For example, names taken from 
 telephone directories should be checked with city 
 directories, blue books, tax lists, trade directories, 
 etc. These sources are suggestive only, as meth- 
 ods for checking naturally depend upon the class 
 of names dealt with. Names should be verified 
 in three ways: first, for accuracy as to type or 
 line-of-business classification, as explained under 
 "Viewpoint;" second, for trade zone; explained 
 under this heading; third, for spelling of name 
 and accuracy of address. 
 
 RULE 4: TRY-OUT. Time and time again 
 experience has shown that even the most exper- 
 ienced advertising man cannot accurately fore- 
 cast whether or not a list will pull. Oftentimes 
 the most promising list fails miserably, while a 
 seemingly impossible list produces big business. 
 Before any considerable number of names are 
 added to a mailing list, a try-out should be made. 
 This is done by selecting, say, one thousand 
 names at random from the new-name source and 
 sending the regular run of circular matter to 
 them. Results from this try-out are basic. The 
 same percentage of orders that results from 1,000 
 
 I 88 1
 
 CARE IS THE MAIN ESSENTIAL 
 
 names will also result from any multiple of 1,000, 
 provided the names are obtained from the same 
 source and come under the same classification. 
 
 RULE 5: REVISION. Because a list of 
 names is accurate today is no sign that it will 
 be accurate a few months hence. Businesses and 
 individuals change so frequently that constant 
 revision of lists is imperative. Methods for keep- 
 ing lists up to date are fully explained in 
 Chapter V. 
 
 To compile and maintain accurate lists is a 
 comparatively simple matter. There is only one 
 basic essential, and that is that you be willing to 
 have one of your employes handle them as care- 
 fully as you insist that your bookkeeper handle 
 your accounts. Do this and it is a simple matter 
 to compile and keep up to date a list of any size, 
 from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands, 
 classified in any way you wish. 
 
 [ 39 ]
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 How to Keep Lists Up 
 to Date 
 
 IT IS not sufficient merely to compile a list of 
 names and to let it go at that. Eternal 
 vigilance needs to be exercised. Lists of 
 names are constantly changing. A man who is 
 the livest kind of prospect today may, for any 
 one of a dozen reasons, become an "impossible" 
 prospect in a few weeks or months. An average 
 list of retailers will undergo a fifteen per cent 
 change in a year, manufacturers and wholesalers 
 ten per cent, and transient occupations, such as 
 barbering, as high as sixty per cent. To avoid 
 waste through such changes, lists of names must 
 be corrected frequently and be made to parallel 
 the movements of the persons they represent. 
 
 Co-operation between the various depart- 
 ments of a business and the advertising depart- 
 ment will save much useless circularizing of 
 names. A manufacturing company in the east 
 operates a system whereby the sales department 
 and the credit department daily advise the ad- 
 vertising department of sales made to prospects, 
 and concerns that have failed, so that their names 
 can be removed from lists. This close co-opera- 
 
 I io 1
 
 SIMPLE METHODS OF LIST-CHECKING 
 
 tion saves a large amount of printed matter, 
 labor and postage in following up persons who 
 are no longer prospects. 
 
 A cross-check on this system is also operated 
 by periodically submitting the entire follow-up 
 list to various departments for them to check 
 over carefully and cross off any undesirable 
 names that have escaped previous notice. 
 
 One of the big Chicago wholesale houses, 
 in addition to keeping its list corrected daily 
 from returned letters, letters from customers and 
 reports of salesmen, has an effective system for 
 revising all its lists every six months. 
 
 On January 1 and July 1 the names are first 
 listed on the Addressograph in the order in which 
 they appear in the card indexes. The latest issue 
 of a rating book is secured. This is cut up and 
 rebound into forty or forty-five books, each repre- 
 senting one or two states. They are then dis- 
 tributed among as many girls as there are books, 
 who compare the names and addresses with those 
 on the Addressograph lists. In this way the 
 work is finished in a few days. 
 
 Names of new firms with a satisfactory rat- 
 ing are written in their proper geographical and 
 alphabetical position. After the list has been 
 checked thus far it is turned over to an address- 
 ing company to check for correct addresses from 
 the later city directories. So exhaustive an over- 
 hauling as this is not necessary in some 
 businesses, but that can only be determined by 
 
 [ 41 ]
 
 HOW TO AVOID DUPLICATION 
 
 you and the class of persons and firms you are 
 addressing. 
 
 The manager of the department has pre- 
 viously blue-penciled towns where the firm has 
 an exclusive account, and the girls in seeking 
 new names skip these towns. If a name on the 
 Addressograph list is not reported in the rating 
 books, the card-index plates are put in special 
 drawers and are sent to the credit department, 
 which determines whether the name shall remain 
 in the file. The new names which the girls select 
 are listed on cards, and, if O. K'd by the credit 
 
 Form I (front): A page f mm a nuinulmturer's hook which fucill- 
 
 tutes the milking "f clumges in MNMI tiriil mlilresse.\ of iiiyfctn- 
 
 itj. Form III (buck): Report sheets supplied to salesmen. 
 
 I tf 1
 
 METHODS OF CROSS-CHECKING 
 
 department, are at once made up into Address- 
 ograph plates. 
 
 This house is daily making new customers. 
 Daily slips from the bookkeeping department 
 show these. If the new customer's name is in 
 the prospect's file, it is taken out and slipped into 
 its proper geographical position in the customer's 
 file. If the new customer has no plate in the pros- 
 pect's file, a new one is immediately made. 
 
 A New York manufacturing company sup- 
 plements this wholesaler's system with a circular- 
 letter inquiry sent to bank cashiers over their 
 entire list of names. In their letter they ask if 
 such-and-such a person is still in business 
 (names are typewritten at the foot of the form- 
 letter), if he has moved away, if so where, and if 
 there are any new retailers in town handling their 
 line. These letters bring information that is 
 extremely valuable to this firm. 
 
 Certain businesses find it necessary to main- 
 tain separate lists for each department. Often a 
 name will appear on several lists, and occa- 
 sionally in all lists. Corrections under these 
 conditions are more difficult to make. An Indi- 
 anapolis manufacturer, with three lists, makes 
 his corrections easy with a loose-leaf book record 
 of all names on his list. This book (Form I) is 
 indexed by towns and customers. In three 
 columns opposite each name, crosses indicate 
 in which list each name will be found. By refer- 
 ring to this loose-leaf book, which is arranged in 
 
 [ 43 ]
 
 CORRECTING LISTS AUTOMATICALLY 
 
 the same order as the Addressograph card-index, 
 the corrections and additions are easily made. 
 
 A bank in Chicago prints at the top of each 
 monthly statement sent to depositors: "Is this 
 your correct address?" (Form II). This serves 
 as a constant reminder to patrons to advise the 
 bank of any change in their address. Another 
 bank prints a change-of-address form on its 
 monthly statements sheets. This form is perfo- 
 rated so that it may easily be detached from the 
 rest of the sheet. Twice a year, at the usual 
 moving time, the customer's name and address 
 are printed on this slip with the Addressograph, 
 and space left where he may note any correction 
 or change. The card is provided with a stamp, 
 so that all the recipient need do is mail it. 
 
 An insurance company in Boston uses a 
 similar notation in issuing assessments to policy 
 holders. These methods keep lists very near 
 accurate all the time. 
 
 In the advertising department of a Pittsburgh 
 firm, 18,000 names of customers appear in any 
 one or all of fourteen classifications. To eliminate 
 duplication of card-index plates and to save time 
 in locating names, all classifications are mixed 
 together in one list. The various classifications 
 are indicated by placing metal tabs in different 
 positions on the tops of the card-index address 
 plates. The Addressograph automatically selects 
 and addresses any one or more classifications 
 desired and skips others. 
 
 [ 44 ]
 
 WIDENING YOUR FIELD 
 
 A manufacturer of office specialties who had 
 
 always depended on direct advertising to promote 
 
 the sale of his product found recently that the 
 
 results from this form of publicity were not 
 
 nearly so good as they had been in past years. 
 
 He could not determine the reason. His circulars 
 
 and literature were far better than they had been 
 
 and in tests produced better results than his old 
 
 literature. His mailing list was up to date, for it 
 
 had been religiously checked with a rating book 
 
 every three or four months. An addressing 
 
 company had been employed with the same 
 
 frequency to make corrections of street addresses. 
 
 His list was in excellent condition as far as 
 
 accuracy was concerned. He discussed his 
 
 problem with various advertising experts but 
 
 without finding a solution. A young man in his 
 
 mailing department suggested to him that his 
 
 lists were not broad enough; that is, did not 
 
 cover enough field — for they were built on one 
 
 source only, a rating book — whereas there were 
 
 thousands and thousands of prospects for his 
 
 product which were not included in rating books. 
 
 This fact was proved by an analysis of past sales. 
 
 He had sold a fair percentage of the prospects in 
 
 the narrow fields he was reaching through his 
 
 direct advertising and so naturally results were 
 
 falling off though his failure to open up new fields. 
 
 He had always felt that the rating book was the 
 
 source for names of his prospects because his 
 
 product was sold to large concerns. It did not 
 
 [ 45 ]
 
 WHAT A SALES-ANALYSIS SHOWED 
 
 ■ TMIt YOUR CORRECT ADDRISST N. B. Hall. *\ 
 
 392 E. Chicago A»o . 
 
 ACC4MWT UO All CMCIUII 
 
 ID ro» Tm »io»mrt MOKAffO WW ■" wwrw 
 
 COMMCT TO 6irt •OT.Cf MO Ul ML MClAMATlOffl 
 
 .' ..;.. 
 
 ^~ 
 
 Form II: Monthly statement used by a bonk to insure accurate 
 
 addresses. This serves as a constant reminder to patrons 
 
 to advise the bank of any changes in their addresses 
 
 occur to him that there are thousands and thou- 
 sands of powerful concerns in the country that 
 are not listed in rating books, all of which are 
 prospects for his product. 
 
 He employed a mailing-list expert to compile 
 new lists. This man requested an analysis of 
 sales and after finding that the bulk of the 
 business was in cities of over 10,000 he made up 
 a list of such cities and had the record and book- 
 keeping departments report to him the number 
 and amount of sales in each line of business in 
 each town. He then obtained telephone books 
 and city directories for every one of these cities 
 and made a complete outline showing the number 
 of possible prospects in each line in each town. 
 He compared this with the sales made and later 
 
 [ 4fi ]
 
 MAKING LISTS YIELD MORE 
 
 with the old mailing list and in many instances 
 found that sales in lines not on mailing list were 
 far in excess to sales in lines that were included 
 in list. This can be explained by the fact that 
 the product was sold through representatives. 
 
 This compiler of lists then set to work. He 
 started on the larger cities where distribution 
 or representation was most efficient. He referred 
 to every possible source for names in compiling 
 the list. For instance, in New York City he used 
 Trow's Directory of Corporations, the list of 
 members of the Merchants' Association, of the 
 Adertising Clubs, of the Sales Managers' Club 
 and City Directory and Telephone Book, the 
 Dun Book, and, most important of all, a file of 
 salesmens' reports that had been accumulating 
 for many years, but which were never used in 
 compiling or revising the mailing list. 
 
 It took this expert just four months to get 
 a list of 10,000 names in New York City, but it 
 was the best list of prospects the manufacturer 
 possibly could obtain. In a greater percentage of 
 the cases the name of an official of the company 
 was included. The purpose for this was to get 
 the circular matter through the hands of the 
 mail clerks who are inclined to destroy circular 
 matter that is merely addressed to the company. 
 
 The test campaign was directed to the new 
 list and it was found that the results were ten 
 times better than they had ever been before from 
 a list of names in that city. 
 
 [ 47 ]
 
 USING SALESMEN TO CHECK LISTS 
 
 The experience of this manufacturer only 
 proves the importance of many sources for lists 
 of names — one source checks the other, and, 
 above all, it insures a wide field for the advertis- 
 ing effort. 
 
 Firms that operate a force of salesmen can 
 use them to great advantage in keeping their lists 
 up to date. One firm periodically sends to each 
 of its salesmen a complete list of customers by 
 towns, in his territory. These names are listed 
 automatically from the house records by the 
 Addressograph on "Salesmen's Report Sheets," 
 (Form III). The Salesmen's Report Sheets are 
 used by the house in three ways: first to supply 
 salesmen with a complete list of persons to be 
 called upon, thus obviating the possibility of 
 their overlooking anyone; second to keep close 
 tab on the work of each salesman, third, to supply 
 information on the movements of customers for 
 the purpose of keeping lists up to date. 
 
 While correcting is simple if attended to 
 daily your business may not be so large but that 
 you can make your regular corrections at the 
 of each month as is done by an Omaha Manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 This man makes his corrections about every 
 three or four weeks. After the corrections are 
 made proofs of the lists are taken by states, by 
 means of the automatic listing attachment, a 
 special device used with the Addressograph. 
 These proofs are hung on a hook on the advertis- 
 
 [ 48 ]
 
 A FLEXIBLE LIST-HANDLING SYSTEM 
 
 ing manager's desk. As the changes come to his 
 desk, he marks them on the proof. Just before 
 the monthly mailing, these corrections are made, 
 and the circulars go out without a mistake. 
 
 Correct your lists frequently. Twice a year, 
 at least, have them thoroughly revised. These 
 are the two rules for keeping lists. It is easy to 
 live up to them with the Addressograph. The 
 card-index arrangement of the address plates 
 enables you instantly to lay your hands on any 
 desired name. A single motion takes out or puts 
 in a plate. Your list can grow or shrink. The 
 operation of the card-index Addressograph re- 
 mains the same. The card-index file revolu- 
 tionized office routine. The card-index Address- 
 ograph has revolutionized the keeping and using 
 of mailing lists. 
 
 [ 49 ]
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Handling Lists 
 Automatically 
 
 THE most efficient way of keeping lists is 
 the card-index method, by which each 
 name and address is recorded on a sep- 
 arate card. The card-index system has greater 
 flexibility than any other method in existence. 
 Any name is instantly accessible, no matter how 
 large or highly cross-indexed the list. Names can 
 be classified in any one of a dozen or more ways — 
 alphabetically, by states, by territories, by lines 
 of business, by rating or buying power, and so 
 on, ad infinitum, according to the needs of the 
 business. And any or all of these classifications 
 can be made with but one list of names by means 
 of signal tabs attached to the tops of the cards. 
 With the card-index system it is a simple 
 matter to add to, to cut down, or change your 
 list of names at will. Each name and address is 
 entirely distinct from the others — it can be 
 handled without in any way affecting the other 
 names. Any name can be located in a few 
 seconds, no matter what classification it is filed 
 under. This extreme ease of operation and great 
 flexibility of use makes it a simple matter to 
 
 [ no 1
 
 HOW TO RECORD INQUIRIES 
 
 keep even the largest list right up to date at all 
 times. 
 
 The most modern and efficient form of card- 
 index is the Addressograph system. This system 
 contains all the good points of the card-index 
 method but goes much further — in that it prac- 
 tically operates itself. With the Addressograph 
 system there is no need to have clerks laboriously 
 hand-write envelopes, wrappers, etc., from the 
 names and addresses on the records. For, by 
 running the "cards" through the Addressograph 
 they automatically print in facsimile typewriting 
 the names and addresses that appear on them. 
 
 The following is a description of the Address- 
 ograph system: 
 
 When any names are to be placed on your 
 mailing list, as, for example, when inquiries are 
 received they are referred to the Addressograph 
 operator. 
 
 She then takes a blank Addressograph name- 
 plate (Figure I) for each name, and places it in 
 a graphotype. A graphotype is a machine that 
 embosses typewriter-style type on metal plates. 
 
 Figure J: Blank name-plate before it is placed in the graphotype 
 to be embossed tvith a prospect's name and address 
 
 I 51 ]
 
 PREPARING RECORDS THAT— 
 
 After this operation, which can be performed 
 by a young boy or girl almost as quickly as type 
 writing a name and address on an envelope, the 
 name-plate looks like this, (Figure II) : 
 
 , r.VtSMK TOE! 
 
 I inure II: Xntne-pltite tmbossmd with the prospect's 
 nurnc and mlilress 
 
 An impression of this name-plate is then 
 made on a special card, and both the card and 
 the name-plate are inserted in a metal holder 
 measuring 5 in. by 3 in. — regular card-index 
 size (Figure III). Cards are supplied with 
 rulings to meet every need. 
 
 m 
 
 ANDERSON & CRAWFORD, 
 1921 BROADWAY, 
 
 NEW YORK ,N .Y 
 
 ( 
 
 Business . 
 
 Rating..... 
 
 Customer. 
 
 .. -L 
 
 Catalogues 
 
 
 , CUT DTOAfflg) n> M 9 B Si 51 m \ 
 
 'U 
 
 Fiuur*' Hi- Standard eord-indait »/.-<• metal plat* holdtt* 
 
 i nntiiinitw a < tint-index < tittl mul n rm till nume-plnte 
 
 [ N |
 
 —REPRODUCE THEMSELVES 
 
 The next step is to mark on the name-plate 
 the classification under which it is to be filed. 
 This is done by inserting a metal tab in any one 
 of several slots at the tops of the plate. Figure 
 IV. shows some of the various kinds of index 
 tabs that can be used to care for any desired 
 system of classification. These metal tabs can 
 be inserted in or removed from the name-plate 
 in less than a second. They can be placed in 
 different positions to denote classifications. 
 
 Figure IV: A. few of the many kinds of metal index tabs used for 
 classifying card-index plates 
 
 The plates are then placed in a filing drawer 
 labeled "Today's Inquiries." When plates have 
 been made for all the names, they are placed 
 in the Addressograph and the necessary envel- 
 opes, postal cards or circulars addressed. 
 
 When this is done the plates are filed away 
 in an Addressograph card-index drawer in the 
 same way as regular card-index cards (Figure V). 
 When it is desired to use the plates for address- 
 ing, the entire drawer is simply placed in the 
 Addressograph, and the machine started. As 
 the plates run through the Addressograph 
 
 [ 53 ]
 
 A SELF-ADDRESSING SYSTEM 
 
 impressions are taken from them at printing 
 point after which they are automatically 
 returned to the original drawer in the same 
 order in which they were filed. As their 
 original order of filing is not disturbed, there is 
 no possibility of their becoming mixed. 
 
 /5v ''u 3v3 
 
 Figure V: Showing how the metal plates are filed the same as 
 cards in a standard card-index drawer 
 
 Figure VI shows the universal Address- 
 ograph which does addressing of all kinds. It 
 automatically selects any classification of names, 
 addresses envelopes, etc., for the classification 
 you desire, and skips the others. The operator 
 simply starts the machine and it does automati- 
 cally in a few hours work that ordinarily requires 
 days of concentrated brain work. There are 
 other models of the Addressograph — twenty in 
 all — adapted for every conceivable kind of ad- 
 dressing and record-handling need. 
 
 The Adressograph is the recognized stand- 
 ard addressing machine for maintaining and ad- 
 
 l M 1
 
 $2.50 OR 7c A THOUSAND— WHICH? 
 
 dressing mailing lists of 
 all kinds. Its complete 
 card-index features, and 
 its flexible error-proof 
 method of classifying 
 and automatically se- 
 lecting names and lists, 
 makes it indispensable 
 to advertisers. 
 
 Figure VII shows an 
 exact-size reproduction 
 of an Addressographed 
 address — clean-cut, fac- 
 simile typewriting, standard pica-size type. To 
 produce similar address individually with a 
 typewriter costs $2.50 a thousand, and a typist 
 can average only seven hundred and fifty ad- 
 dresses a day. With an Addressograph, one six- 
 teen-year-old girl can produce 25,000 addresses a 
 day, at a cost of only seven cents a thousand. 
 And not only this, but it is mechanically im- 
 possible to misspell a name or write a number 
 incorrectly, or to fail to address every name on 
 the list. 
 
 Figure VI: Showing a sixteon-ycar-old 
 girl using the universal Addressograph 
 to produce 25,000 different typewritten 
 addresses a day 
 
 Mr. Howard Vincent , 0' Brien , 
 
 334 Michigan Avenue, 
 Chicago, 111 - 
 
 Figure VII: The exact size of an Addressographed address 
 [ 55 ]
 
 FLEXIBILITY AND ACCURACY 
 
 You can classify your names in any way you 
 wish — it makes no difference to the Address- 
 ograph. It will automatically select the right 
 name from the most complicated system just as 
 easily as it will handle a straight list of names 
 with no classification. 
 
 Among the hundreds of different systems 
 that various concerns operate with an Address- 
 ograph are many that are marvels of detail and 
 ingenuity. At first glance it seems impossible 
 for even a human being, much less a machine, to 
 operate them efficiently. Yet the Addressograph 
 cares for them with the utmost ease. It is safe 
 to say that this machine will handle efficiently 
 practically any system that the human brain can 
 devise. 
 
 The McCaskey Register Company, of 
 Alliance, Ohio, uses the Addressograph to issue 
 advertising matter to a list of approximately 
 365,000 retail merchants scattered throughout the 
 country. This company realizes that "gener- 
 alities make poor sales arguments," and that a 
 sales-appeal that will pull orders from one type 
 of retailer will often fall flat when used on re- 
 tailers of another type. 
 
 This company has developed the person- 
 alization of its mail-sales matter to a high degree. 
 Its list of 365,000 prospects is divided into seven 
 distinct lines of trade; and each line of trade 
 is further divided into five classifications accord- 
 ing to financial rating — thirty-five distinct class- 
 
 [ 56 ]
 
 A MACHINE THAT DOES BRAIN-WORK 
 
 ifications in all. Separate mail matter is used for 
 each of these divisions. For example: a price 
 circular can be sent to the entire list irrespective 
 of classification; or all of those persons in a 
 certain line of business can be addressed; or all 
 businesses of a certain financial rating; or all 
 butchers having certain rating. 
 
 Think what a tremendous amount of detail 
 work would be involved, and what chances for 
 error would occur in an attempt to handle this 
 complicated system by means of clerks. Such an 
 undertaking would necessitate a large staff of 
 clerks whose sole business would be to care for 
 the system. And even then, despite the utmost 
 care, errors would creep in and kill the produc- 
 tiveness of the advertising matter. Everyone 
 who has had experience with human fallibility in 
 handling follow-up systems will realize the truth 
 of this statement. 
 
 Yet the Addressograph handles this com- 
 plicated system with ease and inviolable accuracy. 
 It simply cannot make a mistake. It enables the 
 McCaskey Register Company to follow up from 
 1,000 to 20,000 prospects a day, at the same time 
 sending individualized sales literature to each 
 classification of prospects. It would take a staff 
 of skilled addressers at least a week to issue 
 such a mailing. Yet, with an Addressograph, 
 one girl can handle the entire job in less than a 
 day. 
 
 [ 57 ]
 
 INDIVIDUALIZING THE APPEAL 
 
 Another example: The Timken-Detroit Axle 
 Company sells axles to automobile manufacturers. 
 The bulk of its sales-promotion work is concen- 
 trated on automobile dealers with the idea of 
 influencing them to specify Timken-Detroit axles 
 in ordering cars from manufacturers. 
 
 Each dealer usually handles three grades of 
 car, say, a low-priced car (Ford), a medium-priced 
 car (Chalmers), and a high-priced car (Pierce- 
 Arrow.) The axle needs of each make of car 
 are different. Thus it is impractical to send the 
 same sales-literature to all dealers. Each dealer 
 needs to receive matter that deals exclusively 
 with the make of car he handles. To maintain a 
 separate dealer list for each make of car would 
 be impracticable, in that it would result in end- 
 less duplication of records and consequent con- 
 fusion, to say nothing of the time required to 
 operate such an unwieldy system. 
 
 The Timken-Detroit Company has solved 
 the problem by operating an Addressograph 
 system that automatically cares for 312 different 
 classifications in their mailing lists. Dealers 
 names are entered on Addressograph name-plates 
 and filed geographically. The various classi- 
 fications are made by inserting metal tabs in the 
 name-plate. Thus, an "A" tab placed in the first 
 socket signifies a "Ford" dealer; a "B" tab placed 
 in the second socket indicates a "Cole" dealer, 
 
 [ 58 ]
 
 A MACHINE THAT ALMOST THINKS 
 
 and so on through the list. By means of a tab 
 chart, dealers handling any make of car can 
 instantly be located. To address envelopes to 
 dealers in any make of car, a clerk takes from 
 the card-index all cards bearing the tab classi- 
 fication, inserts them in a special drawer, and 
 then places them in the Addressograph. Clean- 
 cut, letter-perfect, fac-simile typewritten ad- 
 dresses are automatically produced at the rate 
 of 2,000 an hour. Once each month wrappers for 
 a house-organ are also addressed to the entire 
 list, irrespective of classification. 
 
 The follow-up system of the average concern 
 does not call for as many classifications as that 
 of the McCaskey Register Company or the Tim- 
 ken-Detroit Company. In handling a smaller list 
 with the Addressograph it is not even necessary 
 to take out from the main list the classification of 
 name-plates that it is desired to address. An 
 attachment known as the automatic bell-signal 
 device is set to correspond with the signal tabs 
 on the classification to be addressed. The entire 
 list is then run through the Addressograph. As 
 the name-plates of the desired classification pass 
 through the Addressograph they form an electric 
 contact and ring a bell. At this signal the 
 operator allows the machine to address the wrap- 
 per, envelope, or postal card as the case may be. 
 Address plates not in the classification desired, 
 give no signal. The operator skips all such plates 
 
 [ 59 ]
 
 GREATER SPEED AND LOWER COST 
 
 by simply pressing his knee against the lever 
 that operates the skipping device. 
 
 The Addressograph can be made to print 
 addresses for any desired classification simply by 
 moving a stop, similar to the stops used on a 
 typewriter tabulator. The stop can be moved 
 to any classification in one second. 
 
 Consider the comparative advantages in 
 handling lists of names by means of clerks, and 
 also by machinery, with the Addressograph. 
 
 Figure it any way you will, it costs you in 
 clerk-hire from $1.25 a thousand for handwritten 
 addresses to $2.50 a thousand for typewritten 
 addresses. This is for clerk-hire alone. It does 
 not include rent for the space the clerks occupy 
 while they are addressing. Where a large list of 
 names is handled, the cost of floor space to 
 accommodate the addressers working on them is 
 considerable. Consider also the time taken — even 
 the most skilled addresser cannot average more 
 than 1,000 hand-written or 750 typewritten ad- 
 dresses a day. 
 
 One sixteen-year-old boy or girl with an 
 Addressograph can produce from 2,000 to 3,000 
 typewritten addresses an hour, at a cost of only 
 seven cents a thousand. No large amount of 
 floor space is required — an entire Addressograph 
 equipment can be operated in an odd corner of the 
 office. Where it takes a staff of clerks a week or 
 more to address envelopes for a list of, say, 
 
 [ oo ]
 
 CUTTING THE COST OF OFFICE WORK 
 
 20,000 names, a boy or girl with an Addressograph 
 can do it in a day. 
 
 No matter how careful your clerks are, they 
 will make mistakes — even the most skilled clerk 
 is not infallible. Omission to address just one 
 envelope may mean the loss of a good sale. In- 
 correctly or illegibly written addresses result in 
 heavy returns through the Dead Letter Office. 
 Each letter thus returned not only represents a 
 lost sale, but actual time and money spent in 
 handling it. In hand-addressing a large list, 
 scores of such mistakes are bound to be made. 
 
 With an Addressograph it is a mechanical 
 impossibility to omit to address envelopes for 
 every name on the list ; it is also impossible to 
 address an envelope illegibly or incorrectly. 
 Mistakes of this nature simply cannot occur. 
 Thus, there are no losses through these causes 
 when an Addressograph is used. 
 
 The mere saving of time and labor in ad- 
 dressing is but one of the many features of the 
 Addressograph. It affords every feature of a 
 perfect card-index, so simplifying the main- 
 tenance of the list that it is easily kept up to 
 date. So flexible and complete are the card 
 indexes of the Addressograph that lists so main- 
 tained can be arranged and classified to suit 
 the most exacting requirements. 
 
 Operating cost is one of the most vital ele- 
 ments in business. It is the balance wheel be- 
 tween profit and loss. Many a business is being 
 
 [ 61 ]
 
 WHY NOT MAKE THIS SAVING NOW? 
 
 strangled to death by excessive operating costs 
 due to antiquated methods. Machinery has 
 shaved down the cost of manufacturing goods 
 almost to the vanishing point. It will likewise 
 shave down the cost of office work and of selling 
 your goods. To continue to do by hand work 
 that can be done quicker, easier, cheaper and 
 better by machine is to drive away dollars that 
 literally come to you and asked to be banked. 
 
 Look around your office now for opportu- 
 nities to cut the cost of routine work. Start 
 where the biggest saving is possible. Look care- 
 fully into your methods of addressing and record- 
 handling. Figure your present costs carefully. 
 You'll find addressing alone costs you from $1.25 
 to $2.50 a thousand names. Why continue to 
 pay this exorbitant price week in and week out 
 when an Addressograph will do the work for 
 you more expeditiously and absolutely without 
 error at an average cost of only 7 cents a thou- 
 sand? Why not make this saving now? 
 
 I 68 |
 
 III! LIBRARY 
 l \I\ l R.S1 M oi CALIFORN1 V 
 
 S.IMl.l If. II I). II .1 
 
 THIS HOOK IS DUE ON llll LAST DVTE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
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 3 1205 00142 0874 
 
 
 AA 000 785 302 I