Guide to Starting a Print Newsletter

By Mary Jo Brown
Published on November 1, 1985
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PHOTO: FOTOLIA/SAX
I'm convinced that just about anyone with a special interest (regardless of what that hobby may be) and some writing talent can create a profitable newsletter.

Want to be a writer? Tired of rejection slips? Why not use this guide to starting a print newsletter.

Two years ago I decided to combine a cherished hobby–the study of genealogy–with my urge to write for a living. The result? A ten-page monthly newsletter that has given me both an outlet for my interests and a monthly profit of almost $200. The money isn’t much (yet!), but the excitement and satisfaction I’ve experienced have been tremendous from the start. And I’m convinced that just about anyone with a special interest (regardless of what that hobby may be) and some writing talent can create a profitable newsletter. Here’s my guide to starting a print newsletter.

Selecting the Newsletter Subject

Probably the most important step in launching a newsletter is to focus on a subject that will appeal to a sufficiently large, but as yet untapped, audience. For me, that choice was easy. Genealogy is a passion in my life, as it is for many other people, and I felt there was a significant potential market to explore. The most successful publication in the field, The Genealogical Helper, has a circulation of over 40,000; I figured that even 1% of that figure would be plenty for me to handle.

I also knew, however, that dozens of fledgling newsletters on all sorts of popular subjects fail each year in the face of stiff competition from larger, long-established publications. So my genealogical newsletter needed to be not only interesting, but also unique. With this in mind, I narrowed my scope to cover genealogy only in the seven-state Appalachian area (which is my main interest). I already knew that there was little data exchange available for researchers in this part of the country, and figured that my creation would fit nicely between small, one-county newsletters and large national publications.

I chose a descriptive name, Appalachian Roots, and checked an index of periodicals at the public library to make sure the title wasn’t already in use. I decided to feature some how–to articles, a where-to-buy section listing reference books, and a sizable reader exchange section where subscribers could swap information on their family research.

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