Periodicals as Helps

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 30, 1902

Periodicals as Helps

In some parts of the field periodicals are being used successfully as helps. We hope the day will soon come when many of our periodicals will be used in this way; for doubtless all our agents have been conscious of one weak point in our canvassing work. We meet people, and have good conversations with them, sell them our books, and then go away and lose track of them. Very likely many of these people become interested in the truth, and would like to correspond with some one concerning it, and order further publications, but they do not know where to write.

We ought in some way to form a connecting link between our offices and the people. Agents can do this to some extent by preserving the names of their subscribers, and by collecting names of other interested persons. These names can be turned over to the State tract society, and good use be made of them for missionary work.

But evidently much more than this ought to be done. Every agent might be doing something to get one of our good periodicals before the people. I wish to mention in particular our Good Health journal and The Life Boat. The Life Boat sells for five cents a copy, and Good Health for ten cents. A liberal commission is offered on both these periodicals, both on single copies and on subscriptions for a year, or for three or six months. Either of these journals will make a favorable impression upon the people, and will help our canvassers. Agents can carry with them simply a sample copy, and take subscriptions, using the journal as a help, thus being relieved of the necessity of carrying a parcel of small books about for that purpose.

If agents wish to sell single copies, they can carry a small roll with them without much trouble. This is especially true of The Life Boat.

We particularly advise that agents selling our health books try one of these periodicals as a help. Write to your State tract society and obtain terms; and when you have given the paper a fair trial, let us know what your success has been. This is not a new plan. It already has had a very good trial, and has been quite successful.