The press-clipping business is misunderstood by most people, thus, there are many who are very skeptical about it as a method by which ordinary people can make extra money at home. If you explain to friends or neighbors that you operate a press-clipping business, most of them will think you pore through the obituaries, funeral notices, and wedding announcements, clipping these out and sending them to the relatives of people featured in the notice. In reality, this is but a very small part of the home-based newspaper and magazine clipping service. The really successful press-clipping services have contracts with companies and organizations that want to keep current on any number of matters reported in the press.
Some companies hire clipping services in order to keep track of what their competitors are doing.
Other companies, businesses of all kinds, use clipping services as a means of locating sales leads and new customers. To set yourself up in this business, you need only a pair of scissors and subscriptions to as many different newspapers and magazines as you can afford. If money is short, contact a magazine distributing company and ask if you can arrange to purchase, on a monthly basis, copies of many different magazines and newspaper after the display period has expired on the newsstand. A visit to your local public library will provide you with a large list of newspapers and magazines available to subscribers. You should also visit your local wholesale paper house or make a deal with your local stationery store to buy labels at a discount price.