St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-17
BUILDING CIRCULATION.
INTERESTING ADDRESS By HON. AL
van EASTMAN
PAPER AND pUsHo
Arc the Four Words Which Are
the Keynote TO the Whole Stu
ation-Amusing Story of the
Editor Who Built Up Big Tx
change List-No Royal Road to
Success

Editor Who Built Up Big Tx
change List-No Royal Road to
Success.
Paper read before the Minnesota State
Editorial Association, by Alvah Eastman. of
the St. Cloud Journal-Press, Feb. IL, 1884,
The history of every successful pa
per can be told in four words: Good
paper-and push" They tell the whole
story.
The paper that attracts subscribers
must be attractive. 1t must be worth
the subscription price to tine people who
are expected to take it. The sugges
tiOns l shall make will be with this kind
of paper in mind. and l shall contine
myself to the publishers of so-called
country weeklieS. which cannot afford
an affidavit editor'to give their papers
the desired number of Subscribers.
The profit in the subscription list is
i'll the new subscribers. At present
prices, so cents is very liberal allow
ance for the cost of each paper added to
the already established list for one
year. With a subscription price of
$3.50 year, there is a clear profit of
81 on each new subscriber paving in adj
vance-t0 say nothing of the increased
value to the advertising columns.
The question TO determine is, how to
secure the greatest increase at the least
possible expense. This is an age of
bargain seekers. If you can convin ce
the people that you are Offering them a
bargain you will sell your papers. L
am thorough believer in advertising.
aud the best medium is the paper itself.
have little faith in premiums, club -
bling with other papers, or the coupon
| offers" for the average weekly paper,
and have serious doubts about the
practicabiIity of employing a canvasser
for this class of papers.
Some time since, in seeking informa-
ton on this subject, l ran across a
gentleman who had drifted into the
newspaper business. after making
failure of everything else he had
undertaken. He boosted that after he
had been in charge of ''his journal" for
three months twas necessary to print
two additional quires. Il asked to b @
enligh tened, and he replied:
"When took hold of the News it had
hardly any Exchanges. and do you
know that | have worked up a very
creditable X list of over fifty papers?"
And the old gentleman was highly
elated over his success in building up
his circulation.
A good exchange list is all right, but
it is only valuable as material for max
hot 4,
which to corral subscribers who pay
cash for news. These are the individu-
ais we require i'm our business.
The plan which believe to be the
best, and which have found to be the
most successful, is to secure the names
of the personal property taxpayer S
from the county auditors books, and
then check these names over carefully
with your list of subscribers. You will
then have the names of nearly all
the residents of your county not
already subscribers. Print enough
extra copies of your paper to send
to each one a copy. and also send
a circular letter, Offering the
paper for limited time at slightly
reduced price. enclosing subscription
blank and addressed envelope. There
are, in every community, a certain num-
Der of people who intend to subscribe
for the local paper. Make it an object
for them to act promptly, and with the
least possible trouble to themselves, and
You will be surprised to find how many
sach there are in your own locality. In
sen1lng out these extra papers it will
pay to start an interesting story, ito be
continued in our next" For the weekly
papers | think novelties are better
than serials, for the reason that
the average subscriber is liable to die
| of old age before the latter are COM
pleted. This plan has several advant-
| ages. 1t brings your paper to the notice
| of every resident Of your county, and
| gives him an opportunity to compare it
with your contemporaries. If you are
| publishing the kind of a paper that
ain talking about. this is just what you
want. This will start the people to
| talk about your paper, and the benefit
Will not stop for many months. be-
lieve that if this scheme was properly
worked, the subscription list of every
live and newsy weekly paper IN the
| state could be materially increased, and
more advertising at better rates OBJ
| tanned.
Another good point is to give the out
| Of-toWn people a pleasant notice when
| they come to town. If they are not
| subscribers, send them marked COPY
| of the paper containing any such per-
sonal mention. Also look carefully
| after your correspondents. and when an
| item appears about people not on your
list. send them sample copy. This
\,
| and it will pay. People like to see
their names in print. This may be
news to newspaper men, but it is just
as true now as it was when Adam
| worked off the first issue on the cider
| press. If the editor improves the op-
| portupity to extend his Acquaintance and
make friends he will find it an invalua-
ble aid in increasing the number of his
| subscribers.
Recently when well known st. Paul
editor was trying to discover whether
there was Happiness in Helf'--for
| future reference, doubtless wrote a
mention of the fact, calling attention to
| his famous motto. The intelligent COM
| position was either shocked or was I'M
able to read good writing, and when the
| proof came in Bro. Hall was quoted as
saying: praise we'll and sell newSpa-
| perS." / candidly think that the type
settlers accidental version is decidedly
more profitable for the country press to
follow than the original.
| 1t is also necessary to hold old SUBJ
scriberS as well as to secure new ones,
and to make them pay up. Premiums
can be used to good advantage with
those who are delinquent. You can get
some OF the best weekly papers In the
country for rs cents a year. and can
afford to offer such premium to induce
subscriber to pay one or two years.
back subscription and one year in adj.
vance. This is great deal better than
continually dunning subscribers in the
paper, which, under any circumstances,
is poor policy.
The amount due from subscribers is a
private matter between them and the
publisher, and should be so treated
The public has no interest i'm it.
Every man in the newspaper business
| Knnws that stthurQ q N 70