How to Earn Money as a Desktop Publisher
Purchase a printer., Who are the Customers and How to Find Them: Almost any size company and organization is a potential customer., Join one or more Chambers of Commerce in your community and other surrounding communities and other organizations...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Purchase a printer.
Quality laser printers which a few years ago sold for 40,000 to 50,000 can now be bought for less than 12,000.
The laser printer is key element in making desktop publishing possible.
The laser in the printer is activated to “paint” a picture of the computer file which was created through desktop publishing software.
As such it acts as a photocopier, by scanning back and forth at high speeds while the drum containing the toner rotates back and forth.
The toner is similar to that used in photocopiers.
It is attracted to, repelled from the imaged or ‘un-imaged’ areas of the drum.
As it passes the rotating drum it is transferred onto a piece of paper.
This is called “camera ready” material.
It is taken to a printer to be reproduced. -
Step 2: Who are the Customers and How to Find Them: Almost any size company and organization is a potential customer.
Many of the large companies have down-sized their P.R. and Advertising Departments during this recession.
And medium-sized and small companies rarely have the equipment or personnel to perform this very specialized work in-house.
Potential customers are, for example: restaurants which require menu design, a painter who needs flier to pass out, a legal firm which requires hundreds of different forms, a hotel which needs brochures, and a writer who needs a cover design for his book, and we could add hundreds of other situations to this list. , Advertising in daily newspapers, business section, or in the classified section under “Business Services” will be very worthwhile.
An ad in the Yellow Pages will give your business additional visibility.
Advertising in other business related publications in your community will also be beneficial.
Direct mail directed to businesses and organizations will also be highly beneficial in most businesses, once you have found your first few customers, especially the “the first big one” it will be easier to find other clients.
Word of mouth of a satisfied client will go a long way and it will be your most effective advertising.
The quality and eye-appeal of your brochure and other sales material will be of vital importance.
After all you are a desktop publisher and therefore your brochure should be very professional looking.
Clients will also want to see some work (“your portfolio”) which you have prepared for clients. , Much of this material will not be very professional in appearance.
You can gently and diplomatically suggest to a potential client how much effective their sales campaign will be with professional looking material.
Since potential graphic material is too expensive for their budget they will be pleasantly pleased and surprised when they learn from you that it can be prepared in less cost per page. , To become truly proficient will take about 2-3 months.
This business lends itself well to be operated from your home.
Since you will be receiving clients it is important that your home-office be presentable and well kept.
As your business grows you can move to larger quarters in an office.
Your initial expenses in addition to the equipment itself will pertain to basic office supplies, the preparation and reproduction of your sales material, advertising, postage and miscellaneous expenses.
If at all possible get a second telephone line just for your office so you can insure it will always be answered professionally.
Owners of new businesses will spend the majority of their time, during the start up phase on finding new business.
Your new clients will look for quality graphic material which is prepared in a relatively short time span (generally from 2 to several days depending on the project – larger projects may take substantially more time) at a reasonable price.
The costs of your services are determined by what your competitor’s charge which is pretty well determined by general cost of living expenses in your community.
It will be a good idea if you do some snooping around and visit some of your competitors as a “potential client”.
You will find their advertisements in local business publications and the Yellow pages.
Since you are selling a service most of the revenue will go to bottom – line and will become profit to you.
Operating expenses will be relatively small for general office supplies, paper, laser printer toner, etc.
Of course, you may have to finance the purchase of your equipment. -
Step 3: Join one or more Chambers of Commerce in your community and other surrounding communities and other organizations which allow you to meet potential customers.
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Step 4: One of the best leads for new business will be the never ending flow of junk mail which you will receive from both local and out of town companies.
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Step 5: Operating your business: Basic knowledge of most software programs
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Step 6: including desktop publishing software can be acquired in about 20 hours.
Detailed Guide
Quality laser printers which a few years ago sold for 40,000 to 50,000 can now be bought for less than 12,000.
The laser printer is key element in making desktop publishing possible.
The laser in the printer is activated to “paint” a picture of the computer file which was created through desktop publishing software.
As such it acts as a photocopier, by scanning back and forth at high speeds while the drum containing the toner rotates back and forth.
The toner is similar to that used in photocopiers.
It is attracted to, repelled from the imaged or ‘un-imaged’ areas of the drum.
As it passes the rotating drum it is transferred onto a piece of paper.
This is called “camera ready” material.
It is taken to a printer to be reproduced.
Many of the large companies have down-sized their P.R. and Advertising Departments during this recession.
And medium-sized and small companies rarely have the equipment or personnel to perform this very specialized work in-house.
Potential customers are, for example: restaurants which require menu design, a painter who needs flier to pass out, a legal firm which requires hundreds of different forms, a hotel which needs brochures, and a writer who needs a cover design for his book, and we could add hundreds of other situations to this list. , Advertising in daily newspapers, business section, or in the classified section under “Business Services” will be very worthwhile.
An ad in the Yellow Pages will give your business additional visibility.
Advertising in other business related publications in your community will also be beneficial.
Direct mail directed to businesses and organizations will also be highly beneficial in most businesses, once you have found your first few customers, especially the “the first big one” it will be easier to find other clients.
Word of mouth of a satisfied client will go a long way and it will be your most effective advertising.
The quality and eye-appeal of your brochure and other sales material will be of vital importance.
After all you are a desktop publisher and therefore your brochure should be very professional looking.
Clients will also want to see some work (“your portfolio”) which you have prepared for clients. , Much of this material will not be very professional in appearance.
You can gently and diplomatically suggest to a potential client how much effective their sales campaign will be with professional looking material.
Since potential graphic material is too expensive for their budget they will be pleasantly pleased and surprised when they learn from you that it can be prepared in less cost per page. , To become truly proficient will take about 2-3 months.
This business lends itself well to be operated from your home.
Since you will be receiving clients it is important that your home-office be presentable and well kept.
As your business grows you can move to larger quarters in an office.
Your initial expenses in addition to the equipment itself will pertain to basic office supplies, the preparation and reproduction of your sales material, advertising, postage and miscellaneous expenses.
If at all possible get a second telephone line just for your office so you can insure it will always be answered professionally.
Owners of new businesses will spend the majority of their time, during the start up phase on finding new business.
Your new clients will look for quality graphic material which is prepared in a relatively short time span (generally from 2 to several days depending on the project – larger projects may take substantially more time) at a reasonable price.
The costs of your services are determined by what your competitor’s charge which is pretty well determined by general cost of living expenses in your community.
It will be a good idea if you do some snooping around and visit some of your competitors as a “potential client”.
You will find their advertisements in local business publications and the Yellow pages.
Since you are selling a service most of the revenue will go to bottom – line and will become profit to you.
Operating expenses will be relatively small for general office supplies, paper, laser printer toner, etc.
Of course, you may have to finance the purchase of your equipment.
About the Author
Charles Jordan
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in DIY projects and beyond.
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