quick-list of newspaper start-up steps

What Steps Do I Take to get Started?



So you've decided to start a weekly paper. Congratulations!

Here is a quick list of key start-up steps. You'll find more details on the other pages of this 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?



Newspaper Info Bookshelf

Be sure to visit the Newspaper-Info Bookshelf for books and guides containing valuable newspaper and business information. Learn how to interview, write articles, sell ads, write ad copy, take photos, and keep the books straight. You can also discover detailed startup & operation information. Go Now.


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: Newspapers for Sale

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.

12 Ways to Get Your Small Newspaper Going Strong


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.

The Business of Making 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.

Newspaper Sales 101

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.

Sell in person. Telephone calls on behalf of a well-known, long established business may work. Especially, when trying to set up an appointment with a in-house corporate buyer. But for a brand new publication you need to go visit with business owners face-to-face. So take a shower, comb your hair, make proper use of deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc., and put on clean clothes. Then go out and meet your new customers.

You can only hope to get out of any sales call what you put into it. Business people only feel harassed when "bothered" by the phone in the middle of a busy day. But many will give up a little of their time if they see you also investing your time to be there in person. Your presence contributes as much to the sale as anything you could possibly say.

New in sales, with virtually no business-to-business experience? I suggest you begin with very small businesses, where there is not a "personnel barrier" around the business owner, such as an office manager or receptionist. Get in front of as many people as you can. Allow your confidence to grow with success, then move on up to larger businesses.

You are now a business owner. You're not talking to potential advertisers as someone else's representative, but as a fellow member of the business world. They will listen to what you have to say. And you're talking with them something they both need and want — even if they don't know it yet.

Every business wants more buying customers. Every business needs to increase their exposure to the public in effective and appealing ways. They need to improve and expand their "local voice." A good local paper is a valid and effective means of doing just that — especially when you include free exposure on your newspaper's website. The double exposure reaches all kinds of people.

Confession: Before I started my newspaper I always hated sales. But owning my own business, and talking about it was easy and stimulating. The same is true for the potential advertisers you meet. Business owners will not mind telling you the story of their success, so far, and what they hope to get done in the coming year, etc. Listen carefully and take notes. Learn about them and work with them to help make it happen.

We're Having Fun ... Right?

Above all things, have fun. A newspaper should 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.


Common Sense Business

Owning a newspaper publishing business is like owning any other business. Ok, there are some really big differences. But some things are always the same.

Before starting any business, you need to research the local laws and regulations that may apply. While newspapers are not usually subject to any special licensing in a free society, they are always subject to the laws, taxes, and regulations that affect businesses.

Do your homework and start your paper out right.

Your research can begin at the local library, or you can simply call the city, county and state agencies in your area that regulate, inspect or tax local businesses. You can get financial advice at your local bank or credit union, and bookkeeping information and help at a local accountant's office.

Keep accurate records of all daily business-related income and expenses. Be sure to file and pay taxes properly.

Be smart and you will help to guarantee your own success. Be stupid, lazy, or shoddy in your preparations and you will be sorry later on.

Here's a simple thought to keep in mind: If the simple research and legwork required to properly start a business is too much trouble for you then you won't make it as a newspaper publisher.

News reporting of any kind is time-consuming work, and it always includes lots of research, as you chase down and organize facts. Just think of the info you need to start a business as your first big story. After all, it's the story you will be researching, testing and living for years to come if you start your own newspaper.