How a business newspaper got started

Steve Jewett, one of the founders of the newspaper Inside Tucson Business, writes Friday about how the weekly business newspaper got traction.

Jewett writes, “However, this was our first attempt at starting a business journal from the ground up. Many of our initial decisions were based on community newspaper expertise and not business journal knowledge.

“One such issue was creating an advertising rate card. We based the initial rates on our circulation just like a community newspaper. We then discounted those rates considerably to get advertisers on board early, show success and then establish a long-term advertising relationship.

“That didn’t work very well. We had a couple of local business-to-business advertisers who were very successful advertising in Inside Tucson Business. But getting larger local businesses and national advertisers was a much tougher nut to crack.

“We needed help, so we turned to the Alliance of Area Business Publications (AABP).

“They spotted our problem immediately. Our advertising rates were much too low. They suggested we adopt an entirely new rate card basing our advertising prices on comparable business journal circulation, rather than community newspapers.”

Read more here.