Quick List of Basic Newspaper Startup Steps
So you've decided to start a weekly paper. Congratulations! Owning and
operating your own small newspaper is not only a profitable way to make a
living, it's also an effective way to contribute to your community.
What Steps Do I Take to get Started?
Here is a quick list of key start-up steps. (You'll find more details on
the
other pages of the www.newspaper-info.com site.)
Find a Reliable Web Press
If you are unfamiliar with the printing and publishing industries, then
you
should do a little research. For example, you need to know what a web
press
is, as opposed to sheet-fed presses. For example, most print shops in any
town operate sheet-fed presses. Copy shops (such as Kinko's) often have no
printing presses at all. They have electrostatic copiers, instead. A real
printing press uses ink, not toner, to reproduce an image on paper. A web
press is a very large (sometimes two or three stories high) printing press
that prints from giant rolls of paper, instead of stacks of pre-cut
sheets.
Confused, yet?
Newspapers, including the tabloid-sized papers this website is all about,
are printed on web presses, not on sheet-fed presses. Things didn't start
out that way, but that's how they are today. It's all about economics.
You'll typically pay less for 5,000 copies of a 20-page tabloid newspaper
—
run on a web press — than for the same quantity of a 12-page newsletter
(with only an 8-1/2x11 page-size) run on a sheet-fed press. Read that last
sentence a few times, and make sure you grasp the significance.
Web presses are located in two places. The local daily or weekly newspaper
is often one place. The other is the high end commercial printer, usually
located in an industrial park. The best deal will usually be found at the
newspaper publisher. News presses understand short deadlines, and can
produce your paper within hours instead of weeks. They also have a better
selection of newsprint paper stock, and offer better pricing, as a rule.
You
don't want heavy paper if you're paying for postage. You don't want to go
broke every issue, and you will need your paper produced within a day (or
over night), and not next week.
You will want to avoid going to your direct competitor, though. It's a
good
idea to find one in the next town or county owned by a different company.
Distribution: Direct Mail
Mailing addresses can be purchased from several sources. For a new local
paper, however, I suggest you do a saturation mailing in your area, using
"Standard" class (with your own permit number). Standard Class is a newer
name for the old Bulk Rate. As long as you mail out at least 200 papers at
a
time, you will qualify for this class. You can also study up on Periodical
Rate, but it has more restrictions, and may not lower your cost. Take the
time to understand your options, Sit down in the main post office with US
Postal representatives that can answer your questions and offer meaningful
options.
Saturation is the best way to go, to start with. Depending on the mail
route(s), you may not have to supply a separate address for each mail
stop.
Talk to the postmasters in the area you wish to cover. Postal boxes and
saturating whole neighborhood routes are the simplest (and generally least
expensive) way to cover every household in any local area. If you're not
ready to pay for mailing to every household, then you can rotate routes,
sending the first issue to one route, the next issue to another route,
etc.
And make sure you place papers in local stores and businesses.
Saturation mailing is also a great way to recruit new subscribers, if you
choose to have subscribers. People must see the paper if they're to decide
whether or not they like it. When this kind of direct mail is combined
with
free copies at local stores and other gathering places, everyone soon
knows
about the paper.
About buying mailing lists: I've never been impressed with purchased
lists.
But I know good mail lists are available for many areas. Be sure you get a
written guarantee for a refund on every dead address from any list
supplier.
Distribution: Selling the Paper
Another option, on making your new paper available locally, is to print a
nominal price right on the front of the paper. I did this, charging 25¢ a
paper. Make a big deal of how small the price is. Where can you buy a
newspaper for 25¢ anymore? If you can buy a local daily for 25¢, the you
charge only a dime for yours. I won't matter to you anyway, because you
won't be getting the money. Whatever you charge for the newspaper will go
to
the store that sells it. Why? Because that provides the store with
incentive
to have your paper on or near the counter. It makes a sweeter deal for
everyone. Readers get a great deal, the store gets a great deal, and you
get
your paper distributed — which helps you sell your ads! Everybody wins.
Permits, Licenses, and Legalities
Legalities are usually not much of a problem for starting and running a
local paper. You should obtain regular city and/or county business permits
for your business address. Be sure to register your business name with the
state and/or county. Any fees for such registrations and permits are
usually
nominal. Your county and state clerk can help you with any specific
information you need.
Money
Be sure to open a business account at a local bank for the paper. Shop
around, if needed, until you find a bank that is enthusiastic about your
business. This is a great time to talk about advertising to the banker,
and
the account makes life simple for your paper's bookkeeping. You may also
want to find someone to keep your books for you. Trading the bookkeeping
service for advertising is a good deal for both parties.
At some point, you will want to also obtain a tax id number from the IRS,
or
you can use your own ss# if you are the sole owner. Choosing to
incorporate
is a decision you can make any time. Be sure to consult with a good lawyer
before you make any final decisions along those lines. There are good
reasons to remain a sole proprietor as well as valid arguments for
incorporating. Liability, in the event of a lawsuit or business failure,
are
things to to consider.
Get Out There and Get Going
Mainly, you simply need to get out and meet the business people and
community leaders in your area. Let them know what you have in mind and
invite them to work with you. This is the real start of any newspaper. My
first day in the newspaper business was spent selling ads. You can use the
first couple of issues to make your pitch to the rest of the people.
Have Fun
Above all things, have fun. A great paper is fun to operate, and a
pleasure
for all the readers. There are lots of serious things to cover and do, but
even those are all good as positive changes are made. The people of any
area
can do great things when encouraged and assisted in small ways. And that
work is the greatest fun of all.
©2006 Jim Sutton
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This article taken from www.newspaper-info.com Other popular articles on
the site include: "12 Ways to get a Newspaper Going Strong"
While at the site, be sure to download your free 2007 printable calendar
Other good places to look for helpful information include your local
library, where you can also learn about city, state and county laws &
regulations.
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