Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-02-11
Advertisements as News.

The Detroit Evening News gives the fol.
lowing sensible advice to its advertisers, and
the same will apply all around: Advertise
specialties and keep your advertisement fresh
and they will pay
Probably our advertisers will think it
none Of our business-that as long US they
pay for their space, they should be permitted
to Gil it as they wish-but we are really
anxious that advertising should pay those
investing in it aud this leads us to call at
teHtion to fault which many commit, to the
prejudice OF their own interests. We would,
at any time, rather not have a mans bust
ness than take his money without his receiv.
ing a full equivalent for it 10 increased
trade.
The fault we speak of is Indebtedness
and desultoriness in the preparation of ad-
vertisements. If q new store is opened, it
may be well enough for Jones, Brown Il Co
to enumerate in their earlier advertisement
the various lines Of goods they keep, but
after the public have become well aware that
they are in the hardware or dry goods bust.
ness, something different is needed. Then
the announcement must be made to contain
nesos, 10 order TO be read aud acted on. Who
would regard the news column of 4 news
paper which dealt only in the broadcast gen.
e%ralities, reporting day after day facts that
the public were already well aware of. OF
course, no one would read such a paper. 1t
is the freshness and striking character Of the
news which draws readers and makes a
newspaper sought for, and just the same
principle applies to advertisements The
business man, to benefit fully from them,
must make them contain something that the
people want to know-fresh and detailed
information. Bold aud ingenious display
will never alone effect the object.
In a long aud observing experience we
have noticed that people pay little attention
to generalities. A dry goods dealer may
advertise from now till doomsday that he
keeps u full line of cotton, linen and wooden
goods, silks, %velvets, ribbons, laces, etc, and
observe scarcely any increase 10 trade, but
let him announce that be has opened a case
of cashmeres which he has marked at 25
cents 4 yard below the previously current
rates and see how his store will be %thronged.
But it is not necessary always to cut prices
to make advertisements tell. A leading
Chicago book house fills its advertising space
with price lists of all the new publications oil
the day. All bookworms read them with
interest and no doubt weigh the prices in
their minds till they are impelled to go to
the store aud purchase. Ia other depart
ments Of trade there are few advertisers who
do not have something in their stocks that
graphically described would draw hosts oil
people to their stores to inspect, if not to
purchase, aud inspection commonly leads tC
purchase.
The aim should be to interest the public
II no doubt requires skill and thought and
study, but this positive news feature is es.
sential to the pro6tableness Of the advertise.
ment, aud can always be depended on to pay
handsomely. OF this we have no dOubI
whatever. The newspaper simply diffusei
the information which the advertisers furnish
That information ought to be OF character
that shall draw custom. If no such infor
nation can be given, it is of very precarioui
advantage advertising at all, but a good live
advertiser, with the immense circulation thu
Evening News now affords him, ought di
rectly to get his money back many timei
over.
1t can be done, and it is the advertiser
own fault if he does not.