How to open a newspaper and work your way into the media world. How to Start a Newspaper: Best Ideas. Advertising newspaper business plan: what it takes to open a newspaper Business from scratch advertising newspaper

In the field of funds mass media newspapers have one of the places of honor. Now print media are actively being replaced by news sites.

However, there are still many people who prefer to hold in their hands the latest issue of their favorite newspaper.

That is why we can now observe the growth and prosperity of such publications. People who often read newspapers in society are usually considered intellectuals who value useful information and their own time.

It is the availability of relevant information that makes these publications successful. Compared to news sites, newspapers cannot afford to have a lot of unnecessary information due to their limited space.

Independent business

So, if you are interested in how to create a newspaper, then this question is worth considering. First, you need to register your business. After that, you should think about a suitable room. If we talk about what it takes to open a newspaper, then only large areas should be considered. For a start, you can limit yourself to a three-room apartment, which will be easy to convert into an office.

The lowest budget newspaper will require at least three rooms. The type of premises should be quite presentable, since over time advertisers will come to the editorial office, as well as citizens who simply want to submit an advertisement to the newspaper. The optimal location for localization may be something that is located near a bus stop.

No staff anywhere

If you are seriously thinking about how to create a newspaper, then you must understand that it requires a considerable number of people to fully function. You will need one accountant to begin with (but this number may well change as cash flows increase), operators computer typing, the task of which will be a direct set of articles and announcements.

You can't do without a professional designer. His responsibilities will include the creation of advertising layouts, if the advertiser is not presented required material... Depending on the periodization with which the newspaper you are creating will be published, you will need at least one layout designer, that is, a person whose task is to create a newspaper layout. In addition, you need to hire two advertising agents.

Speaking about how to create a newspaper, it should be noted that employees do not have to be in the office all the time, as their main task is to make calls and arrange meetings with clients to publish advertisements in your publication. Naturally, the most important workers in this case will be journalists. Creating a weekly will require you to hire at least three professionals in the field.

Newspaper content

If we talk about how to create a newspaper, it is worth noting that a regular newspaper in a small town, as a rule, is published no more than twice a week. This allows journalists to prepare quality material for publication. Almost every newspaper can be roughly divided into three parts: an information block, an advertisement and a TV program. It is important to understand that the significance of a publication is determined by its content. If a reader buys a newspaper once and does not find any interesting materials in it, he will not buy it again.

You need to prepare for the fact that the first time you advertise in the newspaper you will place for free, which will allow you to create its body. Until people find out that a certain publication exists, they will not submit ads to it.

If we talk about information pages, then most of the information can be obtained without any special efforts... Structures such as tax services, police, Ministry of Emergency Situations and others provide information completely free of charge, since it is beneficial for them that the newspaper tells about their activities. In most publications, information from various public services make up 60 percent of the content or more.

Branding

If you already have ideas for newspapers, then you should think about the name and logo of the future publication. It is these attributes that will take root in the minds of the readers. If the name is unsuccessful, it can simply ruin the newspaper, even if the materials in it are of very high quality. You should also think about the image of the publication. You can very quickly get a tabloid label from most people if you post substandard or fictitious material. Content of exceptionally high quality can lead to success.

Concept

If you are thinking about how to create your own newspaper, then first you need to decide on the main idea and format. Research has shown that at the moment 35% of readers prefer regional business publications. However, you should also take into account the real balance of power of the media in the city where you are organizing your business.

If we consider the question of how to publish a newspaper, then it should be said that, if necessary, it is possible to publish specialized editions of some specific topics (finance, construction, etc.). If the reader's market is already overloaded with serious projects, then you can try to start publishing an entertainment format newspaper. It is important to remember about profitability here, since a business publication can take 7-12 months to pay off, and an entertainment publication, quite possibly, will take three years for this.

The publication should be in demand among potential readers, as well as become attractive to advertisers. Successful competition and development require a lot of money, a lot of effort and time. All this will pay off only on condition of a serious approach to business. This is why it is important to create a newspaper advertising business plan.

The first steps

So you've made the decision to create a regional business periodical. Executives and business people can be your main potential readers. It is required to determine the volume of the publication, the circulation of issues and the frequency of publication, and then decide whether any supplements will be published, after which you can proceed to the design of the newspaper.

Start a business in small town always hard. There are many reasons for this. The main snag is a small, as a rule, not very wealthy population, as a result of which it is rather difficult to find consumers for your goods or services. However, there are areas that, today, are profitable to develop in small towns.

For them, the obvious minuses of the province turn into pluses. Let's look at one such idea. It is about launching an advertising and information newspaper. Why exactly a newspaper can become profitable business in a small town?

Let's start with the fact that we live in the age of the Internet, which every year increasingly squeezes 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 are taking place, only much more slowly.

This is influenced 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 strive first of all to "huddle" big cities, while the province is not the lot.
From this we can conclude that the Internet, as a source of information and advertising, is ineffective in small towns.

Under these conditions, classical print media dominate. I think now it is clear to you why you should open a newspaper.

So, let's begin.

First of all, you need to study the market, paying special attention to your competitors. If there are many newspapers in your city, but you do not have large Money, 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.

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) it will have, what headings. Paid or Free? Look at the situation in your settlement, if there is no free newspaper, make a free edition; if there is both paid and free, analyze which one is more successful.

Keep in mind also that free editions live on money from advertising, paid 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 exactly free format... How to fill the newspaper? The most popular heading in the free newspaper is private classifieds. 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 you have time to prepare the material yourself, you can print city news and events. If there is neither time nor 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 at all in the city with local news, then it is imperative to make one.

A standard set of free newspapers: articles on business, cars, gardening, legal advice, construction. Useful information your city: public transport schedule, telephones and opening hours of government agencies, weather forecast. Well, unforgettable about the entertainment part: anecdotes, horoscope, crossword puzzle.

I deliberately did not mention the TV program, there are different opinions about it now, someone thinks that it should be inserted without fail, someone says 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, the time has come 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 we must register.

By the way, a little about the number of newspapers in circulation, the standard rule for determining the circulation volume is as follows: 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, a socio-political newspaper, advertising, electronic and decide on the territoriality: an all-Russian newspaper or a regional one.

The best option for us is to register an advertising newspaper.

Let me explain why.

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

Registration cost - 10,000 rubles.

Having submitted all the necessary documents, we are waiting for a response within a month. At this time, we do not sit idly by, but start making rounds, calling all businessmen in the city and suggesting placing advertisements in our newspaper.

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

At the same time, we are looking for personnel.

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

Who do you need?

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

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

With a certain skill, knowledge and talent, you can perform its functions yourself.

How to print a newspaper?

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

Why is it necessary to bypass all the printing houses?

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

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

For many years the newspaper was the only source of information about the surrounding world. And even today, when the Internet has become more and more accessible, and television has embraced the entire population of the planet, newspapers remain an important part of human life.
On the pages of such media you can advertise products and the effectiveness of such advertising is still beyond doubt.

The most specific and complete information is transmitted through the newspaper. A person can learn about new products in the trade, the cost of services and offered goods, as well as many other useful things. The newspaper is capable of reaching a wide range of audiences, and advertising in it can easily penetrate all areas of the public. In addition, newspaper advertising is very familiar and unobtrusive, durable and effective.

The aforementioned advantages of the newspaper make business in this area especially attractive. Today there are young businessmen and manufacturers who want to advertise their services and products. So why not give them that opportunity by creating a quality classifieds newspaper.

But it is not necessary to dwell only on the business area. Today, for most people, the issue of real estate, job search and car purchase is very relevant.

Against the background of rising unemployment, it is possible to publish a newspaper in which only the most relevant ads will be printed, allowing the employer to find a good employee, and to an ordinary person- a decent job with a salary that will satisfy his needs. Of course, in big cities there are usually several newspapers of this kind, but small regions cannot boast of having such information carriers.

Today, the problem of buying and selling cars is quite relevant for people, so you can create a newspaper in which advertisements with offers to sell, buy or rent a car will be printed. In principle, the list of operations that can be performed with transport is much larger.

At first, an apartment can act as an office, and announcements can be easily received by phone. Layout of a newspaper is also not a problem, and if there is a computer and the Internet, then this can be learned quickly enough.

In any business, you need to be purposeful and clearly see the goal. If you set yourself the task of making a high-quality and popular newspaper, then everything will definitely come out.

In the days of technology and the Internet, print media often endure all sorts of difficulties. But having fed up with radio, television and the Internet, people still return to books and newspapers over and over again. For an entrepreneur, such an idea can be an incredibly profitable business, but only if an advertising newspaper is drawn up. Often newspapers and magazines have to go for tricks, attracting attention to themselves, but publications with advertisements and announcements always remain in demand among the population, because many companies, even in the Internet age, continue to print ads in newspapers in the old fashioned way.

Relevance of business ideas

The relevance of such a business as printed matter always exists, but in some periods it can diminish significantly. All publications sold on the market work according to the same principle - paid newspapers, often with paid articles and 40% of the content is occupied by advertising records. Decreased relevance is often associated with this principle, people get tired of reading the same advertising posts and articles about sponsored products.

90% consists of advertisements.
Distribution is free.
In the long term, the costs of printing and publishing the newspaper are covered by advertisers' funds.
Reach a large target audience at the same time.

The relevance of the printed edition exists even in the age of the Internet and high tech, because the newspaper is always at hand, no special tools are needed for it. Also, the newspaper is used for household purposes, people often save paper in order to pack something in it afterwards: thus, the advertisement can be seen even after several months from the date of issue.

How do you make money from an advertising newspaper?

The whole principle of an advertising publication is very simple - an entrepreneur creates an information and advertising publication that attracts potential advertisers, who, in turn, buy space to place an advertisement for goods and services.

The income received from the publication of such ads covers the costs of printing and production, additionally generates a net income for the entrepreneur.

Competition analysis and possible risks

The business plan of the newspaper publication should contain an analysis of the competitors' market, it can be carried out as follows:

Determine the number of advertising publications that are distributed in the selected region.
Divide competitors according to the topics of their publications (construction, repair, electronics, private advertisements and complex newspapers).
Assess the level of demand for each category.
Choose the most demanded topic.
Choose a distribution method - by mail or by hired employees.
Solve the issue with the frequency of publication (usually 1 or 2 times a week) and with the format (brochure, newspaper, magazine).

After conducting such an analysis, it will become clear which products are in maximum demand, the reasons for such demand and how to achieve it. All the key points, disadvantages and advantages of competitors should be used when starting a business.

No business exists without risks. Printed products have the following hazards:

Lack of demand for the services offered.
Business expenses exceed the profits earned.
Long business payback period.
Possibility of opening a unprofitable enterprise.

To minimize risks, you need to think over a marketing campaign in advance, make a reserve stock of funds, and conduct a market analysis.

Organizational structure

After analyzing the market and demand, you need to proceed to the following points of the business plan. Each subsequent step must be treated with due responsibility, because in business every little thing is important.

Business registration

First of all, an entrepreneur must choose a form of business registration - it can be an individual entrepreneur or an LLC. To register a business, you need to contact the tax office with a list of these documents.

To register an individual entrepreneur you will need:

Application form R21001.
Receipt for payment of the state fee.
Passport, its copy, TIN.

To register an LLC:

Application form R11001.
The organization's charter in duplicate.
Organization creation protocol.
Receipt for payment of state duty.

The deadline for processing documents does not exceed 5 working days.

After that, you need to register the printed publication with Roskomnadzor, for this you will need a package of documents:

Application for registration as a mass media.
Receipt for payment of the state duty (2,000 rubles).
Registration documents for an LLC or an entrepreneur's passport for an individual entrepreneur.
A free-form letter with the specified return address to receive a decision.

The application must indicate:

The name of the newspaper.
The language used.
Editorial office address.
The form of the printed matter, its subject matter.
Distribution region.
Frequency and circulation.
All sources of funding.

Consideration of an application can take up to 30 days, at which time it is worth doing the following steps.

A suitable form of taxation for this type of business is the STS (simplified form with a tax rate of 15% of the difference between income and expenses).

You also need to indicate the appropriate OKVED codes:

1 - publishing of books, periodicals and other types of printed matter.
13.1 - publication of newspapers in print.

Choosing the format of an advertising newspaper

Determining the format of the newspaper is a very important and difficult stage. The format includes:

The number of pages of the publication.
Layout.
Choice of color or black and white printing.
The presence or absence of a glossy cover.
The size of the pages of the publication.

You need to invite an experienced layout designer who will design the layout of the newspaper, based on the preferences of the entrepreneur.

Selection of headings

Real estate.
Electronics.
Construction and repair.
Various services.

Each of these topics should be broken down into subsections from individuals and organizations, and sections of a narrow focus should also be included.

Selection of premises and purchase of equipment

It is important to understand the differences between a typography and a newspaper editorial office. An entrepreneur does not need to open his own printing house if he can use the services of third-party campaigns.

The editorial office is an office space, the size depends on the number of hired staff. The main requirements for the premises are:

Location on the first floor, maximum on the second, to ensure convenient delivery products from the printing house.
The presence of all communications, the main thing is telephone line and the Internet.
A place for arranging a utility room for storing products.
Area - from 25-35 square meters.

The equipment that needs to be purchased includes office equipment and furniture - telephone, computer, fax, necessary furniture.

Staff recruitment

At first, the entrepreneur himself can be responsible for everything organizational matters Having hired several assistants, it is desirable that the hired workers have experience in this field (journalism and print production).

But in the future, for the full-fledged work of the editorial office, the following specialists will be required:

Corrector.
Journalist.
Advertising specialist.
Accountant.
Layout designer.

The employees you will be hiring in the future must have competent speech and writing skills, understand all the principles of publishing and advertising in general.

After the opening, while there are still not enough people willing to order advertising, the content of the newspaper will have to be filled with articles about the life of the city, free reports of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Ministry of Emergencies. This will be necessary to fill the empty space in the newspaper, as well as to create visible activity for the authorities.

Choosing a typography

An entrepreneur should conclude an agreement with a printing house to print publications in the selected format and quantity.

Choosing a printing house is based on the following criteria:

Service prices - you shouldn't enter into an agreement with the most expensive company.
Experience of typography.
Recommendations.
Print quality is a very important point that you should pay maximum attention to.
Additional services offered by the printing house.

Pay attention to the companies used by your competitors, choose the most suitable from this list.

How to distribute the newspaper?

The business plan for the development of the newspaper includes a distribution method finished products... In most cases, such products are targeted at multi-storey buildings. To ensure the delivery of newspapers, you need to hire several people, you can use the services of distribution agencies or negotiate with individuals.

You can also distribute the newspaper by free subscription through the Russian Post, but there is one caveat - the newspaper cannot be just advertising, it must contain useful articles, otherwise no one will subscribe to it.

The financial part of the business plan

To open successful business you need to calculate in advance the amount of the initial investment, operating costs, expected profit and, of course, the profitability of the project.

Initial investment and running costs

At the start of a business, an entrepreneur will need to invest in the following items:

Business registration, newspaper design in the media - 10,000 rubles.
Rent of office space - 20,000 rubles.
Redecoration of the premises - 40,000 rubles.
Purchase of equipment and furniture - 150,000 rubles.
Additional expenses - 50,000 rubles.

In total, you will need to invest 270,000 rubles.

Operating expenses include:

Premises for rent - 20,000.
Salary for 3 employees - 75,000.
Payment for printing services (circulation of 5,000 copies twice a week) - 300,000.
Additional costs - 20,000.

Total - 415,000 rubles.

Profit calculation and project payback

At first, an entrepreneur will have to invest additional funds in the development of a newspaper, because the psychology of a person who wants to buy an advertisement is quite simple - why advertise in a new publication, if you can pay for a service in a promoted newspaper.

In the future, income will completely depend on the number of advertisers and the cost of placing ads.

The business will pay off at least in 12 months, when the recognition of the print edition will be at the level, and the circulation will increase. In this case, the net profit per month will be 50,000-75,000 rubles with the possibility of further income growth.

Based on the foregoing, a newspaper's business plan is not new idea but still relevant enough. Many entrepreneurs are afraid to face difficulties, but there is no risk-free business, not a single profitable business. Creating your own printed edition requires a large investment, with subsequent additional investments, while the payback period is quite long. Few business people have the strength and patience to be successful in this area. But, if you still wait for the moment when the newspaper becomes famous, the profit itself will flow into your hands, just on the machine.

Almost every second person would like to open their own business today. Working for yourself, getting not only benefits, but also pleasure from your efforts - is this not the ultimate dream? Another question: "What kind of business will it be?" Newspaper as an object entrepreneurial activity- is this a good idea?

Who needs it?

This question can often be heard today. Indeed, all information has moved to the Internet, and radio and television are trying to replace all media. It seems that no one reads the newspapers anymore. But here's the paradox - this source of information not only does not die, but is also gaining momentum. Every day the collapse of periodicals is replenished with new titles.

This means that the newspaper is still needed, if not for the reader, then for the publisher, who is going to establish his newspaper business... Either a journalist who considers himself capable of producing his own product, or an entrepreneur who is impressed by the idea of becoming not an ordinary owner of a store or a taxi company, but also a media mogul, is thinking about his publication. And both have little idea of how troublesome this business is - the newspaper.

Where to start

You need to start with the concept of the newspaper: what direction it will have - departmental, entertainment, socio-political or advertising, what audience it is intended for, what is the expected circulation. Having decided on these points, you need to send documents for registration to the regional branch of Rossvyazokhrankultura. If there are no complaints about the paperwork, the content of the charter and the title of the publication, the license will be obtained within a month.

While waiting for a response from the RSOK, you can solve many problems: draw up a business plan for a newspaper, find and equip an editorial office, recruit staff, prepare materials for the first issue, study the conditions of all geographically available printing houses and choose the one with which it is better to work. By the way, a circulation of up to 999 copies is allowed to be released without registration, so that a trial number can be launched without problems, at the same time, we can study the demand and advertise.

How to fill a newspaper

This is a question of questions. When starting to publish a newspaper, many make the same mistake. Even a professional journalist who thinks to write all the materials on his own will soon fizzle out. And the entrepreneur naively believes that it is very easy to find and recruit talented newspapermen, in fact, there are very few good writers. And therefore one of the most difficult moments is the selection of employees.

We will also have to say that most of the new newspapers do not live up to the age of one and are closed. The main reason for bankruptcy is the inability of publishers to decide on their target audience and related topics. For a newspaper to arouse interest, it should not work for everyone, but for a certain category of readers - the intelligentsia, youth, peasantry, housewives, and so on. It is much easier to decide on the content of an advertising publication.

Hope and reality

Most newspapers are focused on advertising content. Moreover, inexperienced print owners and editors-in-chief are confident that advertising revenue will cover all expenses, and even make a profit. Unfortunately, such bright hopes are rarely met.

A newspaper as a business can only generate income if it is already well promoted and a line of advertisers is lining up at its office. But a freshly baked publication must go through a difficult path from obscurity to fame and at the same time suffer losses, continuing to publish number after number only thanks to the stubbornness of the founders, their ineradicable ambition, and maybe the availability of free money.

From the experience of those who have swung to a glossy magazine, it is known that the very first issue can have success - the curiosity of buyers will trigger, then an inevitable decline will come, and the first 18 issues will have to be published at a loss. If you survive this period, then you can count on the rise. Roughly the same is the case with the newspaper, only the account here will go not by the number of issues, but by the time, and it will be at least a year. During this period, many are simply closed, but there are those who overcome the dangerous threshold, and then, in fact, the media business begins.

Newspaper advertising: how to do it

It is a mistake to think that anything can be included in a commercial newspaper indiscriminately. In this case, you can get a banal message board. And for a full-fledged print edition, a meaningful and clear business plan of the newspaper is required, which will include:

circulation;
number of stripes;
sections;
thematic pages;
prices for all types of advertising - banner and photo advertising, ads, etc .;
periodicity;
printing and other expenses, including office maintenance and staff salaries.

Even such a broad area as advertising has its own priorities. And with great competition, several main topics will always be in demand: the sale and exchange of real estate, work, and the sale of cars. A separate newspaper has the right to exist for each direction. But you can place them in the same newspaper under separate headings - this will help to attract the attention of buyers and promote your business.

A newspaper can be considered valid only when advertisers do not need to be "promoted", and they themselves will cooperate with the publication. However, this is already from the realm of fantasy: advertising agents of even the most serious publications are forced to work tirelessly on the phone.