GRAND LEDGE AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCE GUIDE
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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER CONNECT COMMUNITIES PROMOTE LOCAL BUSINESSES DISCOVER GRAND LEDGE TOTAL LOCAL TURNS 30 YEARS STRONG & LAUNCHES A NEW WEBSITE! Over its 30 year history, Total Local, formerly known as CRG Directories, has learned to adapt and change with time. We’re breathing a heavy sigh of relief that we are able to continue to publish guides, despite the challenges we endured due to COVID and supply chain issues in the printing industry last year. In 2022, while we will continue publishing our long-standing directories/community resource guides, we are forging ahead to add new community guides, in addition to improving our digital marketing services. EFFECTIVENESS OF PRINT Print continues to be a strong advertising media, despite all the naysayers. With the advent of email, there is less and less in a homeowner’s mailbox for advertisers to compete with and people still respond to direct mail at cost-effective rates. Print is tangible in a way that electronic communication is not. And our community resource guides, unlike other forms of direct mail, are kept by many people all year long. In a recent survey, we found that 22 percent of respondents use our guides at least weekly, 33 percent use them monthly, 28 percent use them occasionally, and 17 percent look through them at least once. With a majority of respondents using our directories more than once, advertising in Total Local Community Resource Guides is not only a great way to reach customers, but also helps provide each community with valuable local information about their government, schools, emergency services, organizations, history, parks, and more! NEW COMMUNITIES Since our guides are still a strong advertising vehicle, we are continuing to add new issues for new communities. In 2020 we added Howell and Haslett/Okemos and had planned to add Pinckney and Whitmore Lake as well. However, due to Covid, we were temporarily shut down and many of our advertisers were struggling so we had to push out publication of Howell and Haslett/Okemos to 2021 and we are publishing Whitmore Lake and Pinckney in 2022. This year, we are also adding Adrian, Ionia, and Portland to our publication schedule. NEW WEBSITE In addition to adding new community resource guides, we recently launched a new website at www.TotalLocal.com. Each community where we publish a directory has their own community resource section, featuring local government, school, and organization contact information as well as featuring a community history and each of our local display advertisers. For our community guide display advertisers, their ad is also posted on our website for free on their own listing page. Go to www.totallocal.com/GrandLedge, or follow the QR code on this page, for more information about Grand Ledge and to visit our website. FACEBOOK PAGES For each community where we publish a guide, we also host a community resource page on Facebook. This page not only features each of our display advertisers (for free) three times per year, but we also repost community events, local news, and more. Our page for Grand Ledge is not meant to compete with other community Facebook pages and groups like We Are Grand Ledge. But, www.facebook.com/totallocalgrandledge is yet another way for local businesses and community information, easily drowned out by well-funded news sources and big-name brands, to reach more people on Facebook. MARKETING SERVICES For three years now, we’ve been providing website design, development, and hosting services, along with social media management, to our advertisers and other clients throughout the state of Michigan. We also offer direct mail services, brochure writing and design, and all the things a full-service marketing agency provides. To help clients stay in touch with their customers, for some of them we also create and publish email newsletters. Likewise, next year we are set to launch our own email newsletter for each community, which you may subscribe to at www.totallocal.com/subscribe or by following the QR code on page 4. THANK YOU to all of our advertisers, website and social media clients, those that have submitted content such as photos and recipes to our guides, and most of all to YOU, our readers. We hope to continue to improve and provide community resource guides for the next 30 years and beyond! Best regards, Teresa Miller President & Publisher
