Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-12-11
HABITS OF THE ADVERTISER
Few Who Spend Jadio' Ouly-The NsW
Paper Should Be No Canvasser.
National Revlav

rev Who Spend Jadlo Ouiy The NsG
Paper Should Be No Canvasser.
National Review.1
Most projectors when they contemplate
starting a paper roll their tongues in their
mouths at the delicious prospect Of wealth
in the shape Of advertisements, and they
say: "We must have a good %canvasser,
and get plenty Of them. The habit of
the genus advertiser is sadly against the
realization of these hopes. The adver,
tiser is a stupid being. with only ono &C
curate idea ruling him. and that is that
the spending of money in ad ertising
rays. Given a good thing well adver.
tised in a judicious way aud the profits
are sure, but there are very few adver-
tisers who spend judi iously. Some have
a passion for the backs Of monthly peri
odicals, and will advertise nowhere else;
some like lime tables; some believe in
~hoardings.
Assuming the selection good, the
course IS a wide one; but the men who
work on systems such as this are very
few. Most advertisers persist in ad ertis-
ing where every IL else does, and seem
to think they will be seen in the crowd.
1t is this common error that forms the
stumbling block to new papers. Pro.
%.5ectors will succeed very well with the
first number. 1t is necessary only to
announce by circular that the
first number Of q new periodical is about
to appear and the inveterate advertiser
crowds in. The knowing ones seek to
make long contracts and cheap prices, aud
bargain Tor specific places Of great proIli
nenCe.
The first number over all Is changed.
The advertisement revenue drops in a
week to a third and the period of dreary
dependency sets in. The managers diff
tlcuIties now begin in earnest. He knows,
II he understands his business, that his
duty is to go on issuing q tirst-rate paper
full Of news. with special editions, and
congratulate himself that the space his
competitors devote to advertisements can
be given by him to the reader. The pro
%jectors, however. draw a long face, and
the advertiser offers low prices, In nine
cases out of ten the manager succumbs,
and sends q canvasser out to make the best
terms he can
This is wrong. There should be no
canvasser begging for advertisements. 1t
is proper to have a man in the office to
wait on those advertisers who want to
see him, but he should not go round for
orders. Why? Pecalse the moment YOU
ask for an order the advertiser feels lie is
comforting a favor by granting it, and
that you are not worth your price. The
manager should go on issuing q good pa
per that the public will run after, and
then advertisers will run after him. I
know of a case in which q paper had been
struggling for eighteen years. Half the
paper wa occupied with advertisements,
but the advertisers despised it, and
screwed the price down.
A new system was adopted. The man
ager said: Il shall allow only one-fourth
Of the paper to be occupied with advcr.
tisements, and the price shall be adhered
TO. lie revised his editorial arrange.
ments, and in six months the circulation
had trebled, and the fewer advertisements
yielded 80 per cent. more money with
out canvassing. | know this is heretical
doctrine, and 1 have no expectation that
any one will follow the advice, but the
law is ineligible. First make the paper
good, and place it where it can be bought.
The rest will follow. The public will
buy; the advertisers will follow the public
and come to you with gold in their hands.