10 steps to becoming your own media magnate

Tired of reading the news? Print your own!

As the old adage goes, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. Or “if you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em”. Something like that. The fact is, many people are feeling disillusioned at the standard of today’s printed and online news content. Too many (or too few) celebrity stories, too politically biased, or perhaps just plain old boring. Whatever it is, there are many reasons to be unhappy with the state of the news today. But why settle for this? Do something about it. Make the news. Be the news. Grab yourself an ivory tower and control the global flow of information with these 10 simple steps:

1. Find your angle

Are you writing to inform or to entertain? Do you want to be Megyn Kelly or Milton Jones? Christopher Hitchens or Chris Rock? Katie Hopkins or, erm, a journalist? Whatever you’re writing, you need to think about purpose. If you want to make people laugh, go for gold. If you want to adopt a more serious tone, make sure there’s a message behind it.

2. Find your audience

Newspapers have a clear target audience. A Guardian reader probably isn’t too fussed about the cup size of the latest I’m A Celeb contestant. But a Daily Star devotee perhaps won’t be too fascinated by the intricacies of the Slovenian economy. What are your readers interested in?

3. Find your writers

Will you be taking guest contributions? Or are you a one-man (or woman) band? Large media organisations have many writers (obviously), and every writer added is an extra channel of marketing. But be careful that your core message doesn’t become compromised – if you’re getting more people on board, stick to your vision. That is utterly crucial.

4. Design your content

Good news needs good pictures. If you aren’t a budding photographer, worry not. There are plenty of snaps out there, and with initiatives like Creative Commons, you’ll ensure that you’re never on the wrong side of copyright.

5. Develop the idea

So you’ve got your angle, your style, and your target audience. Are you just sticking with news? Are you only reporting on dressage techniques, or the flavour of crisps the audience like to eat too? Major newspapers include puzzles, horoscopes, offers… plenty of bits and bobs alongside the news. Have a think, and get creative.

6. Get it printed!

Let’s make this happen. Our online tool will help you see exactly how much it’ll cost you, exactly what it’ll look like, and how your vision can become a reality. You need to choose your format too, so decide if you want to go for Tabloid or Broadsheet. Maybe you want to go all out and create an A4 Magazine? You might like to order some basic Paper Zines to begin with, and move on to something a little bigger once you’ve got the ball rolling.

7. Spread the word

Get it out there! Speak to local newsagents, libraries, dentist surgeries… whatever you see fit. Unless you only want your friends to read it. Which is fine. Unless you don’t have any friends. Which is also fine. Sort of.

8. Respond to feedback… or don’t

People may love you, people may hate you. It’s down to you to decide whether or not to shape your content based on feedback, or stick to your guns and refuse to compromise. They say the camel is a horse designed by committee, but it also only took one person to start the Fire of London, so you do the maths.

9. Don’t just get readers, keep them

It’s not enough to simply have someone read your newspaper. You need to keep them coming back. Can you offer loyalty schemes? Membership packs? Serialised cartoon strips with MASSIVE cliff-hangers? Retention is crucial for business no matter what industry you’re in. Once you’ve got someone to pick up your paper, don’t give them an excuse to put it down.

10. Expand

You’ve covered local. Maybe national. Now it’s time to go global. The fact is, many people are feeling disillusioned at the standard of today’s printed and online news content – just 32% of people say they trust news reported by the media. If you want to make it like Murdoch, you need to get serious. What scandal have you got the inside scoop on? Which story is going to get you your big journalistic break? It’s out there, it’s waiting for you. Find it, write about it, publish it. You’ll be the central focus of Twitter’s moral outrage in no time.

Now that you’re ready to take over the world, we’d love you to print your papers with us.