Control your PR: Start your own newspaper and make money in the process

by David Amerland

Good PR is harder to get than ever these days. There are many good reasons for this and the proliferation of PR agencies and one-man bands play only a small part.

The real culprit is technology. In the good ol' days (if they ever existed) getting some really cool press coverage depended on two things: A. Having a product to sell or announcement to make which would fall into the category of newsworthy items. B. The relationship that existed between the PR agent and the beleaguered editor of the publication targeted.

Within that matrix it was relatively easy to get good press coverage. You provided the product and chose the right PR Agency and they did the rest.

Not so today.

Each editor of each publication in every corner of the planet is laboring under tight deadlines, low costs, hardly any time at all and so many press releases and product placement offers hitting the newsdesk that they could easily fill most landfills in the country.

Why?

Well, the shrinking of newspaper and magazine staff for one has seen a glut of PR Agencies springing up everywhere. You'd expect that.

Journalists have to make a living through writing and their contacts and Public Relations offers a relatively easy route to a full fridge at the end of the month. For professionals who struggle with deadlines and challenging subjects on a daily basis, knocking up copy that makes some new type of "green wallpaper" sound the hottest thing to have been invented since sliced bread is a relatively easy task. Selling it successfully is, these days, relatively harder and because journalists (and PR Agencies) operate under tremendous strictures of time, they reach for the ubiquitous, easy, hi-tech solution that has spoiled the market for everyone: some automated mailer software that will "blast a Press Release on the desk of every magazine and newspaper editor in the country".

So they write, charged their clients, click, send and pray that the sheer percentage of numbers will do the trick.

Joined in their prayers by just about everyone else in the industry it means that a press release, these days, will see the light of day only if one of two things are happening: A. The PR journalist has a personal relationship with the editor in question (it happens, though not frequently), or B. The editor in question puts together a survey cobbled from the mountain of press releases overflowing the newsdesk and features a product alongside that of its competitors.

What has all this got to do with starting your own newspaper?

Well, a lot actually. If you really want to control your PR, impress your customers, add gravitas to your business and open doors wherever you go, starting your own newspaper is the way to do it.

I know the prospect sounds daunting. A newspaper requires a name, office space, equipment, an editor, subs, a graphic design desk, photoresearchers, journalists, publicity, a circulation manager, printers and someone to make the coffee.

The latest foray into national paper publishing in the UK, The Sportsman, burnt 15 million British pounds in just three months and failed to find a circulation, an audience or pretty much anything at all.

Greenslade's comments (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/greenslade/2006/07/the_sportsman_a_gamble_that_ha.html) make for somber reading.

So why am I suggesting it at all?

Well, because it's feasible, for one and makes sound business sense for another and, handled right, does not need to burn up a truckload of money the way The Sportsman did. If we leave cats and skinning alone for a mo (old clichés should be locked away sometimes, particularly if they upset animal lovers), there's always more than one way to do something.

If you launch a newspaper to just make yourself feel good, then maybe the first step is to find a reliable printer you can trust who can get his hands on some really good quality printing plates because printing your own currency is the easiest way to fund it.

But if you are thinking of launching a newspaper to promote your business, gain exposure, increase the reach and power of your networking efforts, open negotiating doors, impress customers, sell more products or services and make some money while doing all this, then there is a way to do it which does not cost the Earth. In fact, with so many high-quality, experienced freelance journalists and editors knocking about praying that their expertly written, electronically filed press releases get through to an editor who will use them, finding the right people for the job should be easy.

Easier still if you go to someone who already has a network of such people in place, can bring sound expertise to bear on the project, can advise you whether it will work or not and can assess its full potential without looking to the bottom line of their own account first.

This is called a value-led transaction. They value you as a prospect but recognize that things will only work out if they give honest, up-front advice that will cement the tone of your mutually beneficial working relationship.

If you have found the right company (and hopefully you've talked to us at Amerland Enterprises about this) they will give you a FREE report outlining the advantages and pitfalls of launching a newspaper, a good expectation of the costs (because they are largely predictable) and a reasonable assessment, based on their own research and experience, of the performance you should expect.

It's rarely that someone starts a newspaper never expecting to make money.

There are a number of ways your own newspaper will help you do this: * It will sell your products and services * It will open doors for you in government and professional organizations * It will lead to new, creative partnerships (more on this later) * It will give you a vehicle for your own thoughts and ideas * It will allow you to sell advertising * It will catapult you into the ranks of a media mogul

Selling your products and services is the easiest thing to talk about. You could, for instance, take out double-page adverts in your paper or, better still, run a double-page editorial advert. Provided you give free copies to all your customers, not just for them, but also to give their customers as a value-added service, you have just created a massive sales force working for your business for free.

Owning a newspaper automatically opens doors. As the owner of means to propagate messages to the reading public you will find that professional organizations and government services will want to cultivate your friendship. You will be put on guest lists, mailing lists and even interview lists by other journalists.

A newspaper is the perfect vehicle for starting up creative business partnerships. Give it away for free, for example, to all the tourist hotels in your area and offer them reduced advertising or even free advertising and see if you can then link up with them to promote your business or services. Offer reduced advertising in it to all your clients. Use it as a vehicle to sell complementary products or services from businesses outside your own. The list of possibilities here is limited only by your own ability to negotiate a creative business deal.

Use the newspaper as a platform (but not a pulpit) for your thoughts and ideas. As a business professional you re in tune with your market. You know the challenges, its developments, what makes it tick. You probably have theories, untested ideas, suggestions. Used wisely, a newspaper platform, can turn you into a media star in your own circle.

Make money from advertising. This is a no-brainer. Depending on how you circulate your newspaper you can make it work directly for you by generating ad revenue. This can be from small-scale ads designed to fill the 'Classifieds' section to full-page ads given to practically anyone you care to approach.

Last but not least you will, through the 'magic' of having your own newspaper be classed as a media mogul. Someone who has clout in the world of mass media, able to highlight specific developments, give profile to specific business and attend glitzy events.

All this, of course, is just a pared-down version of the advantages and possibilities offered through the owning of your own newspaper. The reality of it, properly handled, can catapult your business into the stratosphere, enable you to take advantage of possibilities which would have slipped past your fingers and help you have a far greater impact upon the business world than you would normally have thought possible.

Because starting your own newspaper is a feasible idea it doesn't mean you should go ahead and start it (though we'd love it if all our clients did just that!). Talk to us first. Tell us what you hope to achieve, why you think it will work for you and we'll be happy to give you a FREE, obligation-free assessment outlining not just the possibilities but also the pitfalls.

That will give you a good overall picture of the way newspaper publishing works.

About the Author: David Amerland is the manager of a web design studio and the CEO of Amerland Enterprises Limited, a quality content provider for web and print and everything in between. Over the past 20 years he has seen publishing and content provision from both sides of the divide. He is passionate about the empowering use of technology to break down barriers and create a more accessible worldSource of this article: www.goarticles.com