Date: 30 Aug 2006 19:11:11
From: Jim
Subject: own the newspaper that publishes the ads
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12 Ways to get a Newspaper Going Strong
Got a digital camera and a computer? You can start your own small newspaper
business. Even you already have several news publications in your area that
cover lost of what is going on, you may be surprised to learn that there is
still room in your area for you and your newspaper.
1. Pet photos - Have a pet lover's column where readers send in photos of
their pets. You can even have a weekly, monthly or annual contest for the
very best photo. Photos can be graded on clarity and quality of the image
itself, rarity of the pet, beauty of the pet, cutest pet, or other criteria
of specific interest to your readers. Make sure you get a 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. Fishing contests - Just like the above pet photo contest, you can include
a special column for fishermen and their sport. They can send a photo of
them with their prize catch of the season or month. For local events, you
can get your own photos of special fishing events. An interesting
alternative is to include photos of readers' favorite fishing boats.
Remember to get local businesses involved to donate and award prizes.
3. Parades - Always make sure you cover local parades. Get photos and
details of every float and participant. Get comments and info from
organizers and leaders. Look for interesting history on each float, vehicle
or participant in the parade, these little details can not only make your
coverage more interesting and newsworthy, they can often spin off into other
special stories about the community or area you cover.
4. Landmark and tourist info - Stay current on the tourist value of your
area. Know every park every trail, every tourist draw. Cover the seasons
of greatest interest to tourists. Make your paper an important source of
fresh information about the special attractions in your area. Consider
providing a special section for the tourist related businesses in your area.
Give some special attention, now and then, to the museums and other special
efforts of clubs and civic groups in your readership to highlight the
history and other points of interest in the general area.
5. Graduations - 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 the very root of
some of the best news coverage you may ever be able to provide.
6. Holidays - Never miss a holiday in your newspaper. There is a reason
(and a good story) for every holiday of the year. And some holidays are
very big productions, even worthy of a special issue or two. As well as the
traditions common to the community as a whole, dig for historical stories
about holidays in the 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 meaning of spirit of the occasion.
7. The unusual and unexpected. Make room every issue for any 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 as
dwellings, or any industry or practice specific to your area.
8. Used Car Sales - You may surprised at how many people all around you are
offering up a used car for sale. Consider a special section in your
classified page(s) for used cars — with a single low price for ads with
photos. This should be lower than the regular price of a display ad -- so
long as an individual is selling the car. You can also do a special deal
for dealerships that want to display, say six or ten of their best used
cars. Make some money, but make it competitive enough to draw the business
your way.
9. Promotional 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. Take a photo or two (or invite
promoters/organizers to send a photo) of very special things. Include
contact information, such as a phone number or location. Do this without
charge, but keep it brief. While contacting event organizers/promoters, you
can suggest an ad, but leave the size up to them. They may surprise you,
from time to time, by ordering a whole or half a page ad, so don't undersell
yourself.
10. Newly wed, engagements, and newborn babies - Help people celebrate the
good things that happen in their lives. 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. You can also get businesses 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 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 of the local mall or shopping center, new locations
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 ordinary and recurring events and stories gathered in
day-to-day newspaper publishing are the seedlings for bigger stories, or
even a 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.
Jim Sutton
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For additional free information about starting and running a small
newspaper, visit the site:
www.newspaper-info.com
Free 2007 Calendar at: www.jimsgraphix.com
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