Printers' Ink, January 2, 1901 (Vol. 34, No. 1)
The first Printers' Ink of the twentieth century, 48 pages.
What it is
The first Printers' Ink of the twentieth century, 48 pages. The cover sells the Philadelphia Record on circulation figures and a line rate. The lead article, "On the Boards", is an unnamed advertiser's account of a year of billposting: posters never put up, pasted on the backs of boards, or covered by Wild West bills within a day, found only because he paid local reporters to inspect. S. H. Busser profiles Dr. Cornell's five-cent medicine show, which pays its way from door receipts and sells mainly through druggists. Short pieces tell a furniture dealer to explain what quartered oak is, let the Directory editor answer a publisher who wants credit for circulation he cannot count, and tour a theatrical poster factory. The editorial pages report George P. Rowell offering his business for sale, a reader who shopped straight from a newspaper ad, and a trade paper refusing agency commissions.
Why read it now
The billposting story is the reason to read this issue. Its conclusion, that advertising you can check is the advertising to keep, is the same verification problem found now in outdoor, programmatic and influencer buying: paying for delivery nobody audits. The writer's fix, independent inspectors in every town, is what third-party verification and proof-of-posting photos do today. The "Tell Them Things" note still holds: explaining a feature in plain words, such as why quartered oak costs more, justifies a price and shows expertise, which fits research that specific claims are believed more than vague ones. The editorial line that a good advertiser follows up replies as carefully as he gets them anticipates modern lead handling and speed-to-lead. What has dated: medicine shows and cure testimonials are now regulated, the trade-mark registration fight is settled law, and the claim that weeklies are "played out" was wrong for decades. Use: for any placement you cannot see yourself, name who will check it and how before you pay.
Passages worth keeping
I can check advertising in those mediums, and advertising that can be checked is the kind of advertising to stick to.
بعد تجربة سيئة مع الملصقات، صار الكاتب يفضل الصحف وإعلانات عربات الترام لأنه يستطيع التأكد من نشرها، والإعلان الذي يمكن التحقق منه هو الذي يستحق الاستمرار.
every buyer likes to be able to judge for himself or herself.
المشتري يحب أن يملك المعلومة التي تمكنه من الحكم بنفسه، فشرح تفاصيل المنتج يخدمه ويقنعه.
The great bulk of the trade must go through the druggist. I am advertising for him.
العرض المتنقل ليس مصدر البيع الأساسي، بل وسيلة لخلق الطلب الذي سيذهب إلى الصيدلي، فالبائع المتجول يعلن في الحقيقة لصالح المتجر.
THE successful advertiser pays as much attention to following replies as he does to getting them.
المعلن الناجح لا يكتفي بجلب الردود والاستفسارات، بل يتابعها بالعناية نفسها حتى تتحول إلى مبيعات.
But the vital question to be asked as the finished advertisement is contemplated is not "Does it look nice?" not "Is it grammatical?" but "Will it sell goods?"
السؤال الحاسم أمام الإعلان المكتمل ليس جماله ولا سلامة لغته، بل قدرته على البيع، ثم يأتي تحسين الباقي.
The scanned text has OCR errors. The passages are quoted from it, with only obvious slips fixed.
What it teaches best
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