The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-08-04
The Art of Advertising,

awake merchant of these times is as convinced
that knowledge and use of this art is as essen
tal part of his business education rs Il knowl-
edge of dollars and cents or OF selling goods ut
profit He knows that to be successful to build
up trade and 10 hold il after il has once been
gained. he must advertise and advertise literally.
II is og,y necessary in order to illustrate the
truth of this statement, TO call attention to the
most successful merchants and manufacturers Of
any large city, or small village, in the United
States. They know just what to say to the pub
lie. when to say il, and the medium to employ in
saving it, They have made the same careful
study of this as of any other branch Of their bust
ness. Study the careers Of men who spend the
most money on advertising; such men as Robert
Bonner, the manager Of \. r. Stewards, the
Kingsford Starch Company, the "Sozodont man."
the settler Apericnt man." the Harpcrs, the
Appletons, the Helmbolds, and the ten thous-
ands of Others whose rapid accumulation of
princely fortunes is alone due to advertising.
They never allow the public to remain in igno.
rance of the fact that they have a good thing to
-sel They know how to make their constant APP
pcals in manner that will prove attractive
They are always deyising new and striking meth
DDS for presenting their wares to the public no.
tice, by the use of printers ink. With them, as
we have said, it is as important that man cngag-
ed in mercantile pursuits should know how to
advertise, as to know how to buy judiciously, or
to sell at living profit
But what is iudirious advertising:
First of all, if advertising is worth doing at all
il is worth doing we'll. II does not consist neccs
SdrHy in large advertisements, though few ads"
are ever too large. Speaking negatively, the ad-
vcrtiser who understands and appreciates the
value of the art does not insert poor, god-tor
sakcn, timid, trembling, beggarly, afraid.to-bc-
seen little "ad." in an obscure corner Of some pa
per- out Of favor to the publisher, to support a
party organ, and then cndeavor to make the pro
prictor of the paper sensible Of the value of his
patronage, 10y growing when asked to pay for
the advertisement, and vowing that it never did
him any good, but was just put in out of charity.
An sad" should always be large enough to catch
the eye in whatever position in the paper it occu-
pies In that shape it carries tone OF confidence
with it that makes the reader feel that the house
is not afraid to tell what they have for sale; and
that when they sag they will sell cheop they mean
world and the off side of the moon also, know it,
1t is a sort of promssory note of good faith 1t
is advertising, readers believe, honestly rs well
as literally, and their customers soon Learn to be
licyc these promises publicly made through the
newspapers, and such advertisements are studied
with interest by every one who expects TO be-
come purchaser,
To he most ciicctual, an advertisement must be
continuous. 1t is folly to put small card in Il
paper once on trial, and then take 1t ont if YOU
do not Immediately reap Il golden harvcsti
While large special advertisements are Of great
importance, their value is doubled by following
them with Il card, or notice kept constantly be
fore the public No matter how much You eat,
you cannot eat enough in a month to last you
wear One feather used as a fcathcr-bcd will not
make a 'soft thing" neither will one advertise.
ment 1t is in continuance that strength exists.
Buyers require some guarantee of good faith, and
he very best assurance you can give tn. IN that
you have something good to sell. and something
which you are NOT ashuInel of is ,u advertise.
mcnt continuing from Cime TO time II IS an evil
dencc OF soiVc2Gy, When customers see card for
the first tlrlc, ten to one il makes 20 impression
on them or they have 20 particular need of your
line of goods Blu in Two or three weeks or,
may be, as many months, when they DO want,
what is the most natural thing to do hut TO go to
the man who for weeks upon weeks Tas been in
yiting tier 10 come? With many people it is
lust as rcccssary to invite them TO your place of
,niS,ess as to your tircsdc to tea, if you wish to
lace them. You may have a better stock
! 6 +bn nnphbp- and soil IL phpnnpr
but it is your fault that customers fail to give
YOU a trial for can you expect lady or gentle
man to run aronnd town hunting you up whose
name they never heard in their life time in all
probability? To discontinue an advertisement
because times are hard, is like tearing out Il mill
dam because the water Is low. If on account of
! dull timcs you stop telling YOUR customers That
YOU have something which they need, thcyEwill
| he pretty certain not to tll you of their wants.
| IN spite of the present depression some of our
heaviest and most constant advertisers tell Us
that they never sold more goods than during the
past year, and most of this is the result of not
letting the buying public forget who they are
and what they have to sell
Advertisements, like public pumps, should he
placed where they will DO the greatest good To
the greatest number, and here are some reasons
why the FREE TRADER is the best medium in this
city and county for advertising your business:
lst. It's circulation weekly is larger than that
OF any other paper published in the county. II
is read by ninetenths of the people in the city
and reaches full two-thrds, at least, of all the
farmers who trade in the city.
I'd. It's readers are the buyers of all Glasses IN
the city and nearly all the surrounding country
who are able to take this the cheapest god paper
in this congressional district. It reaches III,
Iclass of readers in short that every business man
depends upon for his trade.
3D. In the changing Of its subscription list
4 the changes of residences Of subscribers, by
which the paper is constantly coming into new
hands; the new price Of subscription-oNE Dol
fILAE AND HALF PER ANNUM-which is constant
Nv adding new name, to the already fine list-al