How To Break Into The Directory Publishing Business
Publish your own Advertiser (Ad Sheet), TV schedule or business directory. It is no longer absolutely necessary to have a printing press to be a publisher, although you may decide to get one once you get started. Printing can be contracted with commercial printers in your area, or even out of town. Another alternative that is growing leaps and bounds these days is to use a desktop publishing system to produce "copy ready masters," which printers or copy services then duplicate inexpensively (off set printing from copy ready masters is the cheapest, providing your need 2,000 copies or more).
You can either produce your own or hire a desktop service to finalize your copy. You can also use the services of one or several different printers for different types of jobs.
A local AD SHEET is usually given out free at supermarkets, local stores, mailed out (bulk) and/or delivered door-to-door.
Your income is from paid advertisements in your publication. Prices charged for advertising is low for classified ads (a dollar or so each), with higher rates for contract and display ads.
Advertising rates are proportionate to the circulation - the total number you print distribute to people (not the extras you throw away). Therefore, the more you print and either sell or give away, the more you can charge for your ads!
A BUSINESS DIRECTORY is a booklet or pamphlet that is sold, subsidized (bought and given away) or given away free to local citizens, visitors or tourists.
The Directory contains a wealth of information of interest to visitors and is also enticing to the advertisers. It too, is financed by primarily by the ads it contains.
A small directory publisher works out a plan to list all restaurants, sights to see, banks, motels and/or groceries (so the list will be of value to the reader) then sells ads to the merchants who are listed. For a small amount, they can have their ad in bold letters; a little more will get them a slogan or log; or they can purchase space for a separate advertisement, coupon or what-have-you.
Some publishers will include an article about an advertiser if the ad is a certain size. The number of copies each merchant gets to give out or sell also may be governed by his financial participation, especially if the publication has a printed price.
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