Bootstrapping your newspaper startup-backwards (Part 1)

Filed in archive Bootstrapping Opportunities on February 3, 2008

So you want to start a newspaper.

Whether your goal is a small community weekly, a large metro daily, an alternative paper or magazine or something else that defies any of the established categories, you're about where I was a few years ago when I decided to try my own hand at founding a publication.

At the time, what stopped me was the enormous amount of money needed and the complexity of the operation from delivery to advertising to printing, layout and editorial details.

The fact is nowadays a perspective publisher doesn't need to worry about all of these things at once and starting a news publication of any kind large or small then developing a source of revenue with which to grow it is easier than ever.

Here are some simple suggestions:
• Start with a blog and/or on line community. Citizen journalism has become a buzzword even in most established newsrooms these days. Put the idea to work for you. Pick your area of coverage, set up some Google News Alerts to search the web for potential stories and post regular links and commentary focusing on your niche market
• Set up some free advertising. Adsense is an obvious one but you can also try Bidvertiser, Crispads.com etc. and look for some opportunities for pay for post revenue as well.
• Hit the streets. Start canvassing the community yourself or look for some hungry freelancing ad reps to do it and try to bring in more revenue for your targeted local content.

Read the rest of the article "Bootstrapping your newspaper startup-backwards" in tomorrow's post.