Starting a business: how to open your own newspaper. News agencies are created, registered, operated and liquidated according to the general rules provided for all mass media. Where is the best place to start

The question of how to open a newspaper is asked by many people - these are professional journalists and advertisers, entrepreneurs and public figures. Whichever category you belong to, keep in mind: although the organization of the publishing process itself is quite simple, further “pitfalls” begin that can pull down even the most brilliant idea. Moreover, you will definitely not be able to “hook” one hundred percent of the target audience, as it could be ten or twenty years ago, because today some people do not read paper newspapers at all, preferring online publications.

Publishing your own newspaper: a short plan of action

According to Russian law, you can print any newspaper product with a circulation of up to 999 copies inclusive and distribute it without registration. But we will consider serious volumes, that is, from a thousand copies and more. You will need to do the following:

1. Study the target audience, agree with experts on the work on materials and start developing.
2. Contact the regional office of Rospechat and apply for registration of a new printed publication.
3. Prepare the first issue (or better, several at once), managing the process of creating and selecting materials in accordance with the structure of the newspaper. You can develop your own unique content, as well as use materials that are allowed for reprint (do not forget to indicate the author and source).
4. Finish editing and layout of materials to get a layout ready for printing. The layout of the first release can later be used as a template for subsequent releases.
5. Give materials to print and get a circulation on hand. At this point, you should already have a scheme for the implementation of the newspaper.
6. Distribute the circulation to the planned outlets in accordance with the conclusion of the relevant agreements.

It should be noted that the specifics of each item of the work strongly depends on the subject. For example, if you are thinking about how to open an advertising newspaper, then to collect material you will have to cooperate not with journalists, but with advertisers.

Possible difficulties

Most publications, with the exception of purely informational ones, create certain difficulties that will be faced already at the initial stage. Consider the possible "pitfalls" in more detail.

Payback, demand and advertising

Practice shows that publishing your own newspaper without advertising is a non-profit and most often unprofitable business. Firstly, the circulation is almost never sold out entirely. Secondly, if you include the cost of each issue in its wholesale price even before retail sale, then the final price will be too high, and no one will buy the newspaper. Advertising is the only way out, which is not difficult to guess by flipping through any newspaper: almost no one can do without advertising.

This means that you will need to negotiate with advertisers and maintain cooperation with them, while competing with other publications and tracking three processes at once:

• so that advertisers perceive your newspaper as a good dissemination tool and are willing to pay you;
• so that there are not too many advertisements in the newspaper and that it does not lose its attractiveness for readers;
• so that the subject of advertising materials corresponds to the general theme and "hit" the target audience.

Separately, you should work out feedback and collect statistics so that you can prove to the advertiser that he is not wasting his money in vain. If you are thinking about how to open a free newspaper (for whatever purpose), then you need advertising like air, because the alleged monetization of this or that information campaign is too random a process to be taken seriously. Without financial support in the form of payments from advertisers, the publication of a newspaper becomes unprofitable.

Information competition: way out of the vicious circle

The hardest thing is for a newspaper that has just appeared in the information field: advertisers do not consider it seriously, readers know little about it, and as a result, revenues are reduced to a minimum. The only way to overcome this is to launch your own advertising campaign to promote the paper and make it known.

For a newspaper to appeal to readers, it must be useful. If you want to occupy a solid niche in the information space, ensure that the material that is as unique and in demand as possible is generated. For example, think about how to open your own classifieds newspaper. This is far from what professional journalists usually represent under the publication of a newspaper, but it is really relevant for people.

But first you will have to be puzzled by two other problems: the study of information trends (what is most interesting to people and what is the least "explored" by other publications) and the collection of information (for example, the organization of an electronic or telephone service for receiving announcements). This will allow you to create your own regularly updated database for printing a newspaper with ads.

Media in politics, economics and social activities

If you still want your publication to have a specific topic related to events that are relevant to people, be prepared for great difficulties:

1. You should enter this area only after drawing up a business plan, since the first few weeks or even months the project will require investments, almost certainly not making a profit. Make sure you can afford it.
2. Get ready to participate in "information wars" even if you don't want to. Remember that any slightly resonant material can cause someone's dissatisfaction, and it is difficult to predict in what form it will be expressed.
3. Make sure you always have fresh materials. To do this, you will need not only to register the media, but also to establish a legal entity with a permanent staff.

It is important to combine professional efforts with marketing calculations, since a thematic publication is a complex information and market product that must be in demand and sold at the same time. Remember that reader reactions are always only partially predictable, and the calculation error here is much higher than when selling "real" goods.

Use for personal interests

If your financial and personal capabilities allow you to invest in the mass distribution of any materials, then evaluate the feasibility of opening your own newspaper - primarily from the point of view of real efficiency, and not prestige. There are two more rational ways:

1. Pay for the placement of the materials you need in an existing publication.
2. If you really need it and if finances allow, buy an already existing edition.

Remember that prestige in the information space is short-lived, and finances must be managed wisely, even if your opportunities are really great.

Establishment of a legal entity and recruitment

Organizing a legal entity for publishing a newspaper is not a very difficult task, especially if you have the support of a qualified lawyer who will tell you how to avoid bureaucratic delays. Use a simplified taxation scheme based on the difference between income and expenses - this way you will protect yourself from having to pay taxes on unprofitable print runs.

If you are thinking not about how to open a free classifieds newspaper, but about a full-fledged information publication, then you will need:

• Chief Accountant;
• editor;
• layout designer;
• journalists - from two or more;
• photographers;
• newspaper couriers.

If successful, you can expand the publication and add new headings - then new editors and journalists will be needed, especially if you are going to do reports and interviews. If your newspaper will contain promotional materials and announcements, then you will not need journalists, editors and photographers. In addition, the best step is to involve a professional manager on a full-time basis or on an outsourcing basis for marketing optimization of the project and development of materials.

Perspective and estimated payback

The cost of a copy when printing in a professional printing house can be an average of 5–10 rubles with a relatively small volume. The cost increases as the number of pages increases and decreases as the circulation increases. The average cost of a thousand copies of a newspaper will thus be from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.

Travel costs vary considerably, and the included staff salary costs are divided by the number of times the newspaper is printed per month. Statistically, a weekly newspaper includes from 15,000 rubles of additional expenses. Thus, the publication of one thousandth circulation per week will cost from 20,000 rubles.

The wholesale sale of a circulation at a price of 15–20 rubles will bring you, respectively, 15,000–20,000 rubles. To get a profit, you will either need to raise the selling price or contact advertisers. Publishing an average of one ad unit for every two pages will allow you to double your income and get from 15,000 rubles of net profit from each circulation, that is, from 60,000 rubles per month. Of course, these are only approximate calculations based on statistical data.

Thus, the publication of a newspaper can be recommended as a business only to those who are ready to work on the project, optimizing it from a marketing point of view and maintaining contact with advertisers. Otherwise, it will be possible to count on the maximum coverage of expenses by income with a zero, if not a minus. To create a successful media, a full-fledged study of the project is required - just the desire to publish a newspaper is clearly not enough.

How are newspapers published?

A rake in the newspaper and magazine business.

As you know, in the public mind, the status of a publisher or editor of a newspaper (magazine) is immeasurably higher than, say, the owner of a shop or restaurant. Perhaps that is why so many people want to become representatives of the "fourth estate", and the number of newspapers and magazines will soon approach the number of readers.

Who usually comes up with the fresh idea to publish their own newspaper? Here are the main types of publishers:

1. You are a professional journalist.

And it is clear that you are extremely attracted to the opportunity to do what you consider it necessary to do, and not the owners of the publication in which you previously worked, not the editor-in-chief, not your immediate supervisor.

There is only one way to achieve such creative freedom: to become the chief editor yourself, and even better - at the same time the owner of your own publication.

The most business-minded media people also view the newspaper as a large number of empty pages that can be filled from top to bottom with advertising. Money for air, money in exchange for cheap paper - isn't that a wonderful business?

2. You are an entrepreneur.

You have been paying money for advertising your company, your products and services for more than one year. And one day an insight comes to you: why give your money to some foreign newspaper when you can make your own newspaper and place the necessary advertising for free, in any quantity, and besides, take money from other entrepreneurs?

For example:

You are in real estate. It is quite logical to think about the release of a specialized publication on the purchase, sale and rental of real estate.

You have a recruitment agency. If there were its own newspaper, then it would be possible to place paid advertisements on the offer and job search.

You are the owner of a chain of animal stores. Who is stopping you from becoming a publisher of a profile newspaper at the same time (“Four Paws”, “Dog and Cat”, “Our Furry Friends”, “Children in a Cage”)?

3. You are a big business owner.

I noticed that when a businessman rises above a certain level - in terms of income, business or political rating, then he almost always has a desire to become a media mogul. Having your own TV channel, your own newspaper or magazine is, firstly, prestigious, and secondly, you can “influence”. What exactly this "influence" will look like, the future Rupert Murdoch is extremely vague.

This desire is cultivated in every possible way by close journalists and writers who hope to receive money from a rich uncle to publish a newspaper. As a rule, they have their own vision of the future publication and it rarely coincides with the vision of the investor. Strictly speaking, they are not at all interested in his opinion, but before receiving the money they express their full consent to him and listen with enthusiasm to any nonsense.

results

Nine out of ten publishing ventures end in losses. Their size depends on the size of the initial capital, the ambitions of the initiators and their financial capabilities. If investors get tired of maintaining a loss-making media six months after the launch, the losses are less; if, out of stubbornness, they hold out longer, then the losses increase accordingly.

How to avoid losing money?

The answer is simple: do not publish a newspaper unless absolutely necessary. And before you rejoice at the opportunities that await you as the owner or editor-in-chief of the newspaper, you should scrupulously calculate the cons and potential losses.

First, it must be taken into account that the sale of an edition (even if it is completely sold out) at best covers only the production costs. Rare exceptions do not count, they do not make the weather. To make a profit, you need to have advertising.

If you are an optimistic believer in an influx of advertisers, then ask yourself: where will you take your ad - to a well-known newspaper with a large circulation or to a newspaper that you have not heard anything about before? Will you risk your own (not someone else's!) money?

Of course, you can attract customers with low advertising rates, but low rates mean low revenues.

And it takes time for your publication to become known. With luck and an accurate marketing hit - at least six months, a year and a half - optimally. And all this time have to publish a newspaper at a loss, and even invest in advertising to promote it (this is an indispensable condition: in order to receive advertising money, you must first give it away).

If you have an annual margin of financial strength (that is, money to pay for paper, printing services, journalists, editors, typesetters, designers, staff distributors, etc.), then you can try. Of course, without a guarantee of a positive result.

Secondly, publishing media is an extremely time-consuming and difficult task compared to other ways of making money.

You will find the most difficult work to create from scratch the original, unlike other publications. And this includes the development of the general concept of the newspaper, design, marketing strategy, the choice of a printing house, the establishment of a production cycle, indispensable jobs on the day the newspaper is delivered (it's good if the newspaper is weekly, not daily).

You will have to manage the so-called "creative people" that is, individuals, by definition, little disciplined and optional; achieve timely delivery of materials and news.

You will need to create a distribution network, including persuading free distributors and newsstands to sell your newspaper - in addition to the dozens and hundreds of publications that are already on the shelves. And they do not want to get involved with the new newspaper at all, because it is not clear whether buyers will take it.

You don't want to sell the newspaper, are you willing to give it away because you have enough advertisers, because the newspaper is filled with your own advertisements?

Giving away for free is a big headache. Imagine for a moment what it's like to give away even 5,000 copies. Do you have a list of addresses where the newspaper will be distributed by distributors (which, by the way, also have to be paid)? There, it is easier for them to leave 30-50 copies in one place, in one organization, than to knock down their legs, running to hundreds of addresses. And you will not have any confidence that part of the circulation is not thrown into the nearest dustbin from the editorial office.

In order not to depend on hired and often not very motivated employees, you will independently negotiate with the largest advertisers. The difficulty of this work can be easily imagined if you are an entrepreneur and have already encountered advertising agents or requests to place your ad in one publication or another.

What was your reaction? - "Tired!"

Now it's your turn to get bored and not offended by potential advertisers' aggressive reluctance to meet with you and your employees.

In a word, if we compare the efforts required to publish a newspaper (I mean a real, full-fledged publication, and not a primitive collection of advertising modules that are of little interest to anyone, and this niche has long been occupied), with work in other business sectors, then with the same labor costs you will earn several times more.

Thirdly, if you don’t want to deal with the publication of a newspaper yourself, but decide to limit yourself to the role of an investor and owner, then tune in to the fact that the return on your money (and it will take much more than expected) will be very slow - no matter what the hired editor promises you.

He did not deceive you, just most often he is a person who is far from real business. He looks at the newspaper from one side of the barricade - from the side of the writer. And making newspaper materials and making a newspaper are two big differences.

Here the qualities are required not so much of a journalist as of a marketer, manager, organizer - preferably in one person - who can ensure the release of a newspaper, and the uninterrupted work of the editorial team, and the sale of the issue, and attracting advertisers.

It is certainly possible to find such a person, but it is just as difficult as finding a talented manager for a trading or manufacturing company.

Fourthly, if you are a Big Man and you really want to influence public opinion, then again think about it: maybe it’s more expedient to pay well-known, promoted media for PR articles or, if you have a lot of money, buy an already working and profitable publication?

But do successful publications exist? Certainly. Many of them have existed for a very long time, since Soviet times. And this is the established audience, accustomed to the promoted brand, and, accordingly, advertisers.

Others had the necessary margin of safety and calmly, sometimes for two or three years, worked at a loss, gradually gaining a place in the market.

And there are publications, the owners of which have already tuned in to the fact that their publishing business will always be unprofitable. They need a newspaper or magazine for political or representative purposes. They run a newspaper like others run a stable or a football club.

Starting a business in a small town is always difficult. Many reasons contribute to this. The main snag is a small, usually not very rich population, as a result of which it is quite difficult to find consumers for their goods or services. However, there are directions, which, today, are beneficial to develop in small towns.

For them, the obvious disadvantages of the province turn into pluses. Let's look at one such idea. We are talking about launching an advertising and informational newspaper. Why can a newspaper become a profitable business in a small town?

Let's start with the fact that we live in the age of the Internet, which every year is increasingly crowding out the usual sources of information and advertising media from the market. This is especially noticeable in large cities. In small towns, the same processes occur, only much more slowly.

This is affected by:

a) the general high cost of the Internet in the province;
b) in some small towns it simply does not exist at all;

This is due to the fact that large providers tend to first of all “spud” big cities, while the province remains out of their lot.
From this we can conclude that the Internet, as a source of information and advertising, is ineffective in small towns.

Under these conditions, the classic print media dominate. I think now it is clear to you why it is worth opening a newspaper.

So, let's begin.

First of all, it is necessary to study the market, paying special attention to competitors. If there are a lot of newspapers in your city, and you do not have large funds, then I do not recommend you to get into this market. And vice versa, if there are few competitors, one or two, then you can safely start with 100 - 200 thousand rubles on hand.

The next step is to decide on the concept of the publication, which means, it is necessary to decide what kind of newspaper will be: paid or free, how many pages (pages) will be in it, what headings. Paid or free? Look at the situation in your locality, if there is no free newspaper, you make a free edition, if there is both paid and free, analyze which one is more successful.

Also keep in mind that free editions live on money from advertising, paid editions from circulation sales, respectively, and their content is somewhat different. By default, I still recommend leaning towards the free option, since for a small city this is still the best option.

Further, all recommendations will concern the free format. What to fill the newspaper with? The most popular heading in the free newspaper is private ads. They will always read it, even if they don’t want to buy anything, just out of interest. Therefore, announcements must be present without fail, this is the core around which the rest of the material will be built.

If you can afford to keep a journalist on staff, which is very doubtful at first, or if you have time to prepare the material yourself, you can print city news and events. If there is no time or desire, then give up this venture. Again, this is not an axiom, and in each case everything is individual, for example, if there is no newspaper with local news in the city at all, then it is necessary to make one.

A standard set of free newspapers: articles about business, cars, gardening, legal advice, construction. Useful information for your city: public transport schedule, phone numbers and opening hours of government agencies, weather forecast. Well, let's not forget about the entertainment part: jokes, a horoscope, a crossword puzzle.

I deliberately did not mention the TV program, there are different opinions about it now, some people think that it should be inserted without fail, others say that it is not necessary. In this matter, make decisions yourself, starting from the specifics of your area.

Well, we have created the image of the future newspaper, it's time to bring it to life.

First you need to officially register our publication. By law, a newspaper can be published without registration if its circulation does not exceed 999 copies. Our circulation will be larger, so be sure to register.

By the way, a little about the number of newspapers in circulation, the standard rule for determining circulation volumes is as follows: we divide the population by three, that is, if 30,000 people live in your city, then the circulation of the newspaper should be 10,000 copies (30.0000/3).

When registering, you will need to choose the format of the publication, socio-political newspaper, advertising, electronic and decide on the territoriality: an all-Russian newspaper or a regional one.

The best option for us is the registration of an advertising newspaper.

I'll explain why.

Public political publications have restrictions on advertising placement (40% of the total area), advertising newspapers do not have such restrictions.

The cost of registration is 10,000 rubles.

Having submitted all the necessary documents, we are waiting for a response within a month. At this time, we are not sitting idly by, but we are starting to go round, calling all the city's entrepreneurs and offering to place advertisements in our newspapers.

If you are not lazy, then by the time you receive the registration documents, you will already have a database of advertisers who are ready to place their ads in the first issue.

At the same time, we are looking for staff.

Initially, it is enough to have two employees, some get by with one, and especially fanatical ones generally do everything themselves.

Who do you need?

A layout designer, a person who will create the face of your publication, depends on him whether your newspaper will look like a tabloid sheet or a serious media.

If you could not find a layout designer in your city, you can use the Internet and hire a freelancer. Advertising manager, the person who will promote your newspaper among advertisers.

With a certain skill, knowledge and talent, its functions can be performed by yourself.

How to print a newspaper?

We find everything, underline all the printing houses in our region, request a price list and choose acceptable prices.

Why is it necessary to bypass all printing houses?

As a rule, the price in different printing houses fluctuate greatly, by contacting the first one that comes across, you run the risk of overpaying. Well, that's all, now you have an idea how to open your own newspaper.

Finally, I would like to say that the newspaper is still a creative business, so do not be afraid to experiment and implement your ideas.

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Classmates

Many talented journalists and bloggers may be seriously interested in their own business - a newspaper.

To achieve maximum success in this matter, you must follow two basic rules - to make your publication as interesting as possible, as well as to organize the entire workflow very competently and responsibly.

Opening of the editorial office of the printed edition. Where should you start?

The success of your business is largely influenced by the correct choice of the subject of the future printed edition.

Keep in mind that today advertising and information newspapers and advertisement newspapers are in great demand, but social and political publications are of much less interest.

To open a newspaper editorial office, you must:

• determine the topic and audience;
• choose the appropriate format;
• choose a characteristic title that can maximally interest and intrigue future readers;
• decide in what language your newspaper will be published (or it will be bilingual);
• register your private publication with government agencies.

Registration of a private editorial

Novice businessmen who want to open their own editorial office of a printed publication can register individual entrepreneurship.

However, in the event that the newspaper will be published by several founders, such forms as CJSC or LLC will become more preferable options.

It should be borne in mind that if you are interested in a business plan for a small-circulation free newspaper, the circulation of which will be no more than 999 copies, there is no need for state registration.

True, in this case there are certain drawbacks - due to the fact that a small number of advertisers will agree to cooperate with a small-circulation publication, the profit that such a business will bring will be minimal.

Also keep in mind that every major Russian newspaper must be registered with the Federal Communications Service.

Stages of creating a successful edition

For your newspaper publishing business to be as successful as possible, you need to go through several important stages.

1. Thinking through the concept of your future publication should be taken with great responsibility. The brighter and more interesting the idea of ​​your newspaper, the more potential customers it will be able to attract. Therefore, even before the first release, think carefully about what your target audience should be.
2. After carefully studying the interests and needs of the audience, choose the most appropriate direction and nature of the future edition.
3. It is very important to correctly determine the format of the future edition - most often there are such formats as A4 and A3, but you can choose others.
4. Circulation volume also plays an important role here. If you are interested in making a good profit, it is recommended to start from about five thousand printed copies.
5. Next, determine how you plan the future edition - color or black and white.
6. The next step is to determine what will be the distribution method of the newspaper - it can be distribution by subscription, traditional sale in newsstands and stalls, as well as free distribution.

Recruitment

At first, the staff of your editorial office may consist of a minimum number of employees:

• journalist
• photographer
• proofreader;
• typesetter.

Moreover, at the very beginning, all these functions can be performed by one person - the one who is the owner of the business.

But in the future, it is desirable to hire different specialists - this will optimize the workflow in the best possible way.

Printing the first issue and choosing a printing house

The next step is to consider how your newspaper will be prepared and published.
Novice entrepreneurs can prepare a newspaper for publication even at home, using one or two personal computers for this purpose. At least, such equipment is quite enough to prepare materials for the first issue.

In the future, you will have to acquire your own office - this is necessary for constant meetings with advertisers, readers, and business partners.

The choice of printing house for cooperation should be taken very responsibly.

To find the best option, you should pay attention to the current price list, as well as technical capabilities.

Take care of the effective methods of distribution of the printed edition - the faster a fresh issue sells, the more advertisers you can attract. This, in turn, guarantees high real profits.

Approximate costs and expenses

In order to create your own newspaper business, you will need start-up capital, the amount of which depends on a number of parameters - staff, frequency of release, format, color, circulation of the publication, and others.

But some types of costs are mandatory and the same in any case, so consider an example with calculations:

1. the size of the state duty for the issue of a printed publication may be approximately 20,000-25,000 Russian rubles;
2. about 1,000 rubles must be paid for registration with the tax authorities;
3. the purchase of computer equipment will cost about 25,000-35,000 rubles;
4. for the purchase of equipment for the editorial office - laptops, cameras, voice recorders, etc. - you will have to spend about another 100,000 rubles;
5. printing the first five thousand copies can cost approximately 20,000-25,000 rubles.

When planning your own newspaper business, analyze all real opportunities and prospects. Treat this activity responsibly - and then significant success will be provided to you.

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