Population was a factor in deciding where to put a paper. Another was how stable the town seemed to be. A large percentage of women in the town was a sign of stability. Many also set up in railroad or mining towns. There also needed to be businesses to provide advertising revenue. Some also looked for political agendas such as promotion of a new territory or county seat or candidate. Some started their hand at prospecting but failed, so they returned to their vocation. Some were men who just financed someone else's operation. A famous publisher was Legh Freeman. He moved his press along the route of the transcontinental railroad as it moved west toward Promontory Point, Utah. He published from at least 16 different locations. Others had other occupations before becoming publishers, such as teachers and farmers.
To entice subscribers, publishers would print ads appealing to the town's civic duty to support the paper. Their agents went door-to-door to sell subscriptions, especially in areas where people lived far apart. They hired others to pound the pavement for them. They gave away free copies. Some offered free gifts or discounts when paying for a year's subscription in advance. Agents were given awards for getting a prescribed number of subscribers. Many papers published puzzles to interest readers.
Both youths and adults delivered the papers. Some offices opened at specific times for customers to come by and pick them up. They also sold papers on the major railroads. The average cost was $5 a year for a weekly and $12-16 for a daily. Just as today, there was difficulty in collecting subscription fees. William Byers of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver used an unusual manner of collection. He published the names of all those in arrears and the amounts they owed in an attempt to shame them into paying. Many of them did. Some papers accepted gold dust for payment where cash was scarce. Some would even accept local produce, though cash was still needed to buy supplies to print the paper.
Publishers also used salesmen to sell advertising space. Some even hired agencies to do this for them. Some of these firms represented several papers so it was common to see ads from far-away cities. Patent medicine companies were the first national advertisers and actually sent out prepared metal plates for printing. Most papers carried at least one-third ads. Ad sales were so successful that many had to expand the size or number of pages to accommodate all the ads. Some issued supplements to accommodate the ads. The Deseret News of Salt Lake City used a smaller type face for the ads.
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