Arousing Interest by Copy.
Attention having been attracted either by copy or other factors, the next step (see Fig. 61) is to arouse interest. To transfer the attention to the product or service in terms of personal interest.

Hollingworth in "Advertising and Selling : Principles of Appeal and Response" gives these eight interest incentives :

1. Novelty, bizarre effects, unusual devices and statements.
2. Color: brightness, tone, and harmony.
3. Illustration : cuts, photographs, sketches.
4. Action : suggested activity on the part of persons or things.
5. The comic: pictorial and verbal humor.
6. Feeling tone: pleasantness, excitement, strain, and their opposites.
7. Instinctive response : any appeal to a fundamental instinct.
8. Effective conceptions : appeal to established habits and ideals.

W. S. Zimmerman, of the A. W. Shaw Company, in speaking before the Cleveland Direct Advertising convention, said that the first thing they considered whether they were selling a man, collecting from him, or adjusting a complaint, was to "consider which one of the motives-love, gain, duty, pride, self-indulgence, self-preservation-will make that man think and act our way."

But no matter what interest incentive is used, or motive acted upon, generally speaking all copy is to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in Section 186.

Take the three cases already suggested in Section 225. Note how by copy alone, in the case of the letter, my interest is transferred from Bill Anderson's problem to mine-buying a Christmas present for my wife.

Assuming that I have a motor car, my attention is attracted by the statement about the makers of the first motor car tires, and then the headline transfers that attention to interest as indicated.

Even the enigmatical phrase, "October Tenth," becomes intelligible the moment I open up and read this headline :

November
BUSINESS
is out October 10. Here's
a glimpse of its contents.

Now for one example where copy must start right in with appetite whetted by a high-degree, attention-getting title, "She threw the dish-water on him and broke his heart." Jumping from attention to interest might seem hard to do there, but listen :

Homer Croy has written a new novel and maybe you'll want to read it. If you have ever been a boy, or if you have ever been a girl, or know any one who has, you'll like it.

Turkey Bowman-"Turkey" because he was as freckled as a turkey egg-loved a girl dearly but, when stealing to her window and looking up in the soft moonlight he sang to her sweetly and she threw the dish-water on him, the camel's back was broken for the last time.

Whose interest would not be aroused by "human" copy like that? I know not who wrote this little inclosure but it is one of the few book announcements that I can recall ever reading in its entirety. In one color only, of ordinary set-up, with no illustrations it is an appeal ENTIRELY THROUGH COPY.

Creating Desire by Copy.
Our next step (see Fig. 61) is so to fan the sparks of interest that they become flames of desire. The eternal triangle of creating desire is formed by showing the reader: (1) Profit, (2) Benefit, (3) Enjoyment, or a combination of one or more of these desirable things.

That our illustrations may have the most practical value, we will again refer to pieces spoken of in preceding sections.

Every man wants to give his wife a Christmas gift-he may not be able to give her what he wants to give, but he has the desire-for her benefit. He also probably wants to get the best he can for his investment-profit. He also wants to dodge the responsibility of picking the gift-enjoyment. The following additiongl quotations from the letter we quoted in part in Section 225 will show how some shrewd writer of letters (copy) turned attention into interest and interest into desire :

... and he wondered when he'd get the time to look around. He needed a gift that would be valued, it had to be within reach of his purse, but most of all he wanted something that would be different from the general run of gifts that come in at Christmas.

He had his secretary write me for the solution, told me how much he could spend and "passed the buck" to me, re-minding me to be sure it reached him before Christmas.

The morning after Bill's letter came in I shipped him one of those sturdy, unique Navaho rugs-one of Wah-Pee-Tse's own creations; took a chance on the size and prepaid the charge.

Satisfying Caution by Copy.
The rug-selling let-ter we have quoted has by its copy already offset several of the inhibiting cautions that stop many actions already started. As we find in Fig. 61 the satisfying of caution is done by (1) Overcoming objections, such as objections to color of a rug, for example, or size; (2) price; (3) terms, and (4) service. The paragraphs (copy) already quoted have probably disarmed us on minor objections, such as Friend Wife not liking the rug, and yet the cautious man will be thinking: "But was Bill Anderson satisfied?" Listen to the remainder of the Ietter, note how it reaffirms the fact that price is not to be a deterring factor-the reader sets the price he will pay; and next, note how the final possible objection, lack of delivery on time, is swept away, and finally note the appeal for action (see Section 229):

His secretary has written me that Bill's been smiling serenely ever since and doing the work of two men. I wonder if his experience might not lead you to decide your own gift-problems in a similar manner?

May I not select a blanket or rug for you as would give you ample opportunity to find out how much better is such a gift and at a lower cost? Your order, then, started on its way to-day will soon bring the solution to that Christmas-gift problem. Will you mail it to-day?

With all good wishes,
Yours for a happy Christmas,
(Signature.)

In some pieces, of course, caution is not satisfied. Take the envelope inclosure about Homer Croy's book. The price is mentioned and instructions are given how to buy, but there is no satisfying of caution; it is not necessary in this instance. The tire folder, however, satisfied our caution by displaying as a subhead :

Guaranteed on a basis of 4,000 miles

and under this we read :

Put out under a strong guarantee-a guarantee that is more than a high-sounding jumble of words-a guarantee that is backed up by practice-Kokomo tires are the tires you can recommend in the strongest terms.

Then just a little farther down we read this satisfaction of caution about price, with a side-subhead (see Section 285) :

AS TO PRICE--our facilities for economical production are the best, no extra overhead here-our selling cost is cut right down to the lowest point by our special system of distribution-our costs are the lowest of any tire manufactured-and you get the benefit.

Inciting Action by Copy.
"Will you mail it to-day?" in the latter part of letter quoted in Section 228 is copy that incites the reader to action. That letter is a piece of mail-order copy ; its aim was to get a direct order.

The Kokomo tire folder had for its aim only to get the reader to inquire for the name of the local agent, and we have a subhead : "Let us give you the name of the Nearest Agent or Distributor," followed by an arrow leading our eye to a postal card which reads :

Kokomo Rubber Company,
Kokomo, Indiana.
Gentlemen :
Please send me the name of the nearest agent or distributor of Kokomo tires.

There is space for signature and address under the above copy.

The Homer Croy book inclosure incites action in this wise :

If you can't get a copy at the nearest book store, send us $1.90 and we'll see that Turkey is yours.

"October Tenth" has for its purpose impression only, not action, and incites no action by its copy.

"Are your farm buildings fireproof?" in several ways incites to action, direct and indirect. Within on the main display pages we find heavily displayed this copy :

Build with Natco Hollow Tile.

In the index finger pointed to this we find displayed, smaller, this action-inciting copy:

We have plans for farm buildings of many kinds. Write us to-day.

On the back fold more action-inciting copy:

Send for Nateo plans-free.

We have plans for many kinds of farm buildings and will help you-free. Tell us what you intend to build.

In all direct advertising except mail-order or advertising which only aims to get inquiries, the fifth step of Fig. 61 is taken by the salesman-retail, wholesale, or manufacturer, and not by the copy.

Copy which will make your readers take some or all of these steps may be broadly classified into : Information, News, Educational, Human-Interest and Reason-Why copy.