I started my newspaper because I wanted to help the people of my area communicate more effectively with each other. The specific reason isn’t always as important as the willingness to take that first step – to actually start a paper. Newspaper publishing is both exciting and rewarding. It’s still work (and plenty of it) but it also provides opportunities and rewards most careers never will.
Newspaper work is at least as demanding as any other job. When you get tired of taking pictures, interviewing people, selling ads, building ads, writing stories and arranging pages (not to mention making deadlines), you will still need to crank out papers. Passion for the dream will help keep the business going, but you will also need backbone and a strong commitment to excellence. You will need heart. Good friends and strong allies are not a bad thing, either.
How to Make Good Money with a Small Newspaper?
Rule Number 1: The money made in newspaper publishing is not made by selling subscriptions. All the serious income comes from advertising. Now you know why your favorite magazines are so loaded down with ads. The concept is seen in television. Without ads, there is not much money in publishing. That’s not a real secret, and it is not true of every single publication. Some manage to exist and even prosper without ads. But it is the general rule. And it is certainly true of small publications and those with a limited number of readers. So why do newspapers and magazines bother to spend so much time, trouble and money selling subscriptions? And why should you, with your small newspaper put forth constant effort to increase the number of subscribers to your paper?
Rule Number 2: No advertising is effective without readers, or viewers, in the case of TV, listeners, in the case of radio, etc. And no readership statistic is more convincing than the number of paid subscribers. These are people who want the publication enough to pay for it. And everyone knows that we tend to value — and actually use — what we pay for. Newsstand “sales” numbers can be played with, complimentary subscriptions and other free distribution numbers can be puffed up, but the actual number of paid subscribers usually says something more substantial.
The subscription price does not need to pay for printing the paper. If it pays most or all the cost of distributing the paper to subscribers, then it’s doing well. The same goes for papers sold on corners and in vending machines.
Acting on this principle, many big city newspapers pay distributors all (or more) of what they take in for subscriptions and paper sales. The idea is to increase the total number of papers being sold, so that advertisers will be willing to pay well for ad space in the paper. A paper that sells 50,000 copies can (and will) demand much more money per column inch than a publication that has a total distribution of 200 papers.
From this perspective, then, actual paper sales by subscription and other means mean more to advertisers than mere claims that a publication produces so many copies or reaches a certain number of “readers.” Not that this really holds any news publication back from inflating numbers.
For example, it may be claimed that in an average household each newspaper will be read by up to 5 people. If you think that kind of figuring sounds far fetched, you should hear how radio stations figure their number of listeners. Mere availability does not guarantee use.
Many newspapers are, in fact, enjoyed by several readers before being tossed. On the other hand, quite a few daily papers end up getting tossed without ever being opened. And many more get read by only one person simply because other members of the household pursue other activities and interests.
One Good point: In all this figuring and averaging, it can certainly be argued that a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly publication tends to at least hang around the house or office a lot longer, and will possibly be read by more people, than the average daily paper. Why? Because it is not made obsolete by a new edition the very next day.
What This Means To You:
Even at a time when large newspaper publishing businesses are showing losses, you can expect to earn a good living with a small newspaper. If you cover the local news of a community or subdivision, a part of a larger city, or even several small towns, you should be able to show a profit in a short time.The laws of business success require you to offer a service or product that people around you find valuable and useful. For you to do well, there must be some demand, a perceived need for what you produce.
A local weekly or monthly news publication may not be an absolute necessity, but if readers and businesses in your area find it useful and meaningful, it will become a good source of income.
To make money with a small news publication you want to be careful not to spend more money on the business than it produces for you. Equipment should not be larger and more costly than is actually needed to produce the paper. Payroll should not be bigger than is really needed to do the job. Distribution should not be too expensive. And never pay cash (or credit) for anything that you can trade (barter) for.
If you have a regular home computer, a small digital camera, the software needed to build pages and work with graphics (such as photos and ads) then you will not need to spend a lot of money on more equipment. Later on, you can upgrade as necessary. But to start a paper, you need very little equipment.
You will not be printing a newspaper in your house or garage. For printing you will need to go to a nearby web press operator. Newspapers in nearby cities will be able to run your newspaper for you. Do not try and have your closest competition print your paper for you. Go to a printer in the next city or county.
Don’t try to start a newsletter-sized (pages of about 8.5×11 inches) publication unless you can produce a magazine of at least 32 pages. You must have adequate space for both ads and interesting content. A newsletter-sized publication of 4 to 8 pages, for example, simply won’t have room for both news and advertising. Without news and interesting features, no one will look twice at your paper. Without ads, you will not pay the bills. Even an industry newsletter or other subscriber-based special interest publication that goes nationwide must be well over 16 pages to pay the bills.
Remember: Advertisers Pay the Bills:
As I’ve already shown above, you must sell ads, usually to local and regional businesses, institutions and corporations. Your paper will be better, more useful and much more interesting to the readers you serve if you include a reasonable amount of advertising.
In fact, the only way to make your news publication profitable is to include paid advertising on your pages. Even the big popular magazines on the news stands rely on ads to pay the bills, no matter how much they charge for subscriptions and or sales from stores. Granted, a few do exist that are mostly subscriber-based, but even those look for grants and other income.
This website contains a lot of useful information that you can use in starting and running a newspaper. Take the time to visit all the pages and to read all the content. You will also find books listed, here and there, on these pages that can instruct you more completely in specific areas of interest, such as page design and regular business practices.
Every community needs a local paper. Every special interest group needs publications that offer news, announce new advances, and print pictures of key people and projects. Many of the best publications have been produced by men and women with little or no formal journalism training. All you really need is a strong desire, a will to work, and the time to give this new business.
Got a digital camera and a computer? You can start your own small town or community newspaper or regional magazine. Really.
Ok, it takes a little more than that.
But you really can start publishing with little more than a camera and computer. Most of what you need is already inside you. As for equipment and software, you can usually find what you need for very little, at least to start with.
Worried about the existing competition? It may not be as bad as you think.
Even if you have several news and/or “shopper” publications in your area that seem to cover just about everything, you may find there is still room (and a need) in the local marketplace for you and your new publication. Don’t give up on the idea without making sure the market is fully covered and properly served.
1. Pet photos: Have a pet lover’s column where readers send in photos of their pets. You can have a weekly or monthly contest for the best photo, ugliest pet, cutest animal, etc. Make sure you get a local business or two involved, to award the prize. (Get a newspaper photo of the winner at the business or with representatives of the businesses involved. This photo and the details will make a nice little feature article for the paper.)
2. Fish stories: Just like the above pet photo contest, you can include a special column for fishermen and their sport. They can send a photo of themselves with their prize catch. For local events, you can get your own photos of special fishing events. An interesting alternative is to include photos of readers’ fishing boats. Remember to get local businesses involved to donate and award prizes.
3. Politics: Always cover local politics. Get photos, stories and details on every politician and local leader. Cover school board and town meetings. Get comments and info from all participants. Look for some interesting history on important decisions to flesh out the story and to provide better insight. These details not only make your coverage more interesting and newsworthy, they can often lead to other feature and human stories.
4. Landmarks, tourist info: Stay current on the tourist attractions in your area. Know every park, every trail, every attraction. Make your paper an important source of fresh information for tourists and visitors. You may also consider providing a section for tourist related businesses in your area. Give some special attention to the museums and the special efforts of civic clubs in the area.
5. Graduations, promotions: Preschool, high school, or college graduations are great material for any local paper to cover. Get plenty of photos, and get background on the schools, teachers, and students. Try to include a photo of every graduating student in your paper, even if it takes several issues. be sure (and double sure) to spell the names correctly and to get the right name with the right photos. This is easy journalism, and at the very root of some of the best news coverage for any local paper.
6. Holidays: Never miss a holiday. There’s a reason (and a good story) for every holiday of the year. Some holidays are very big productions, worthy of a special issue or two. As well as the traditions specific to your community, dig for historical stories about holidays in decades past. Every family and every town has a great holiday tale to tell. Always include fresh photos of the season, and try for images that help to capture the spirit of the occasion.
7. The unusual and unexpected: Make room every issue for a photo or story that stands out as unusual and out of the ordinary. Along these lines, you can include fillers or even a special little column on words and their meaning, as well as the origins, history and usage through the years (that is, the etymology. The same can be done with automobiles, houses (styles), or any industry or practice specific to your area. (Be sure to see On Assignment: Getting the Story)
8. Sports, Music, Theater: You already know that entertainment is popular. Sports events, from peewee games to high school and college games, theatrical and musical events, both inside and outside at civic parks, and other crowd-pleasing special attractions are both fun to cover and of interest to readers. Rodeos, baseball games, races and runs and walks, all these and other occasions can fill a whole issue of a small paper with photos, stories, historical bits and interviews.
9. Event calendar or page: Conventions, church events, business sales, seminars and promotions, college campus events, and other community efforts and events deserve a push. Provide a section or column that mentions all such special activities and events. Include a photo or two of very special events. Include contact information. Do this without charge, as a public service but keep it brief. Touch base with event organizers/promoters to suggest an ad.
10. Newlyweds, engagements, and newborn babies: Make room in the paper for readers to announce their happy times. Be sure to get connected with hospitals and stay up with marriage licenses, etc. so you can publish notices of upcoming weddings, even if family members forget. Provide concise details free of charge and offer to run a small photo for a low price to cover the cost of the space. A number of businesses will want to advertise in this section of the paper.
11. New stuff: You may want to include news of new home construction, new business permits, and other such signs of commercial growth in your area. Obviously, you will want to run stories on new businesses in town, and to cover existing businesses whenever they have some significant new product or service to offer. Big expansions at a local mall or shopping center, new locations/ownership for long-time businesses and even seasonal changes to hours are worthy of some mention.
12. News stories galore: Whenever you get a bit of information for one of the columns of features listed above, always be looking for the bigger story.
Many of the most ordinary and recurring events and stories gathered in day-to-day newspaper publishing provide the seedlings for bigger stories, or even a whole series of stories in your newspaper.
When you get wind of a local crafts fair, you may not have to dig much to gather some great stories on local artists. And then there is the “where are they now?” stories to run on some of the high school and college grads you mentioned a couple of years ago.
The more you get to know the men, women and children, the people-behind-the events and celebrations, the more in touch you will be with your community, and the more you will be able to tell about what is good and growing and positive about your area.
Small Newspapers Can Mean Big Business
Don’t be fooled by the term “small newspaper.” Small newspapers are big business in many parts of the country.
A small (tabloid-sized) newspaper can soon become a large and successful business. And many that never become “big business” newspapers still provide a decent income for owners and several employees.
Facts:
Never think that only large daily newspapers are taken seriously or that only big papers generate serious income. Weeklies are in the running with the big boys. While the 1,600 daily papers in the United States have a combined circulation approaching 58 million, the 7,000 weekly papers also reach a combined circulation of more than 50 million. Over all, weeklies are reaching nearly as many readers as the big city dailies. (In fact, more people in a household, waiting area, or coffee shop may read the weekly, since it’s around longer, whereas the daily usually gets tossed after just one day.)
A big daily newspaper will charge more for advertising (a lot more), and typically reach a wider readership than the average weekly paper. That means there is a healthy market — and a real need — for the serious weekly newspaper publisher. You can do what then big papers can’t.
Read 46087 times Last modified on Saturday, 28 January 2017 15:24
