Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1907-02-15
Country Newspaper Advertising.

paper space properly used is an interest
paying investment. Many times a
merchant will crowd full page ad into
quarter page space, thinking that he
is saving money by SO doing. On the
contrary, he is cheating himself and he
will find that instead of saving money
he is producing a loss in his business.
People like to read large, we'll displayed
ads, and they hesitate long time about
reading condensed or crowded ads
poorly displayed. The value of page
ad in newspaper varies according to
the territory in which the paper il
published and the circulation it has.
both as to quantity aud quality.
The trouble with the majority of
country editors is not that they ask
too much for their space, but that they
ask too little. Newspaper space is
usually worth every cent that the news
paper man asks for it, and as rule it
is worth more. When the editor of the
local paper asks merchant for an ad
he must remember several things in
placing it. First. that the local editor
is the best thing the town possesses,
even if he is the most abused. The To-
cal is the official booster, self.appoint-
ed, ior the towu. its Inhabitants, and
that notwithstanding the fact that the
editor has to take out his subscription
in carrots and his advertising in trade,
he is doing great work and is entitled
to the highest possible consideration
and respect. The merchant must figure
that when he places his ad he gets the
benefit of the boosts that the editor
gives the town and himself as we'll as
interest the rest of the paper arouses
in the minds of the readers. The value
of the ad doesn't lie wholly in the ad
itself, it lies in the whole paper and
the amount of interest that the
paper can arouse in anything is tie
thermometer which should decide the
price for advertising space and
and which should guide the mer-
chant in placing his copy. The news
paper is continuous ad for the mer-
chant and town all the time. whether
the merchant pays anything or not, and
! there are very few merchants in this
country who really want something for
nothing; most of them are good sports
enough to want to pay for what they
get.
The only way that the editor gets any
pay for his work is the profit he de-
riyes from his actual paid advertise
ments inserted by the local merchants.
A town with a good live newspaper is
always better town in every way than
one which lacks it. 1t is better town
to live in, better town to buy in and
better town to advertise in. The pa
per does more for the town than any,
thing else. 1t is the medium of inter-
course between the inhabitants and the
surrounding country. 1t is the medium
through which the people express their
views and get the views of others as
well as the means by which they keep
in touch with the outside world. With
out the local paper the average country
town would be an insulated and de-
serted place. The local paper is an ed
ucator. Every Saturday or Monday, or
whatever day it is printed, it carries to
the readers all the news of the world
and matters they would otherwise new
er hear about. The newspaper is the
/ one bulwark of American freedom
which has not been gobbled up by the
trusts and which still waves the flag of
freedom free and untrammeled and it is
the only real preserver of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness that eX-
lists for the American people. Therefore
the local newspaper should receive the
the hearty support of every merchant
and be well patronized by all. 1t not
only serves in all the capacities enum-
Grated above. but it is the real, logical
means of bringing the advantages that
the local merchants present to the no.
tice of the readers. The local paper is
what keeps the people coming to the
store and to the town. The local paper
is what generates a feeling of interest
in the general store and it is the medi-
UNI that should be used to the very
} limit. Remember that the local paper
is doing great work for you and no
matter what the local newspaper man
asks for his white space, it is none too
much. 1t is worth every cent he re-
quires and you should gladly pay the
price and pay it often. Do not let the
chances that the local newspaper pre-
sents to you go by unnoticed. Take
! advantage of it and make it make
money for you. Remember also that
the newspaper man is business man.
} He understands his business as we'll as
you understand yours, and he under
stands his business better than any,
body else does. He knows how to run
his better than any one else in the uni
verse if he is of the right kind, and
when you ask him for advertising rates
or when he tells you whether you want
to hear or not, remember it is bust
ness proposition and that he knows
how that paper should be run and nine
times out of ten he will run it that way
/ if given a chance. Just because
. you happen to advertise with him, do
not expect him to give you half the pa
per in free readers and boosts. That
space is worth something. too. Do not
. think that just because you spend some
money with him that you can tell him
how to run the paper. You can't. The
writer has been there himself Get be-
hind the editor and push. Help him
t and he will help you. Spend a dollar
with him and he will return you five,
. The "get together" spirit can be worked
! to as good advantage nowhere better
than between the local merchant and
/ the local editor.-Wesley A. Stan ger
: Western Publisher.