Does LocalsGuide really work?

The quick answer:

YES!

Read below and decide for yourself

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The Locals Guide was such an incredible community organizing tool for the first year of the Siskiyou Challenge! There was a point a few months before the event where I would wake up at night terrified that no one would know about our event, much less take the time to learn about how great we hoped it would be and all in support of a wonderful and important organization, Rogue Valley Farm to School.

Once the first article appeared in The Locals Guide, I worried no more: you had great ideas for us as to how to present the information in a way that people would enjoy learning about, and it worked! Free delivery of our message to every reader of the Locals Guide, great presentation, helpful positioning and article design from your staff, it was all fantastic and beyond our wildest dreams! Great testimony to the effectiveness of the articles was the fact that “I read about it in the Locals Guide” surpassed any other media (conventional or social media) source for how participants learned about the event. Thank you so much, your help was huge and important to the success of our event!

Deborah Gordon

http://www.siskiyouchallenge.org

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I started receiving calls from new clients the day the issue came out. The response was positive from new and old clients alike. My existing clients liked knowing more about me and my practice, and new clients felt confident being familiar with me before their first appointment. My exposure in the LocalsGuide boosted my business in a traditionally slow season, and I continue to be complimented on the interview. Thank you so much for offering me the opportunity to connect with my community!

Helen Mahoney

http://www.ashlandcoloncare.com

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Marcus Scott

http://www.

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The interviews in the LocalsGuide have been the best promotion we have ever done at Hidden Springs. Each time someone has an interview published their phone rings off the hook for the next week or so. It’s been fabulous. I knew that everyone in the community gets a copy in the mail, but I didn’t know how many actually read it and act on it! Thanks a lot,

Rod Newton

http://www.

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Thank you for taking an interest in our business, and asking the insightful questions that help others to share in that interest.  The article came out today and we’ve already had 2 new patients schedule this afternoon!
Dr. Jordan Weeda

http://www.

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WOW!! People are still calling in and coming every day! This interview completely hit ths spot for me in brining in lots of new clients and introducing me to the community. All of my customers have told me that the write up was absoultely wonderul existing and new customers alike. It was absoltely perfect timing. I’ve very glad I did worked with you guys! This saved me big time in my slow months of winter and still is. I’ve probably had at least one new customers a day and they mention the LocalsGuide!

Cindy Bettencourt

http://www.

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Aaron’s Autowerks

http://www.aaronsautowerks.com

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Diarmuid McGuire

http://www.greenspringsinn.com

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Tree House Books

http://www.TreeHouseBooks.com

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Kimberly Hall
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Erin Pollinger
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Bump

http://www.BumpAshland.com

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In our 34 years as Hat People, Carol and I have been featured in several publications. The response to our interview in LocalsGuide was exceptional. For weeks we were stopped on the street by total strangers congratulating us on our years in business, and our comments on the importance of engaging in local community. LocalsGuide is a true community asset.

Jim Young

http://www.HatPeople.com

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As a new resident of Ashland, I needed all the help I could get in finding out about our community. The first publication I stumbled across was the Locals Guide. It was a fantastic introduction to town for an eager new resident. When I opened my own business – Ruby’s Restaurant – I returned to the LocalsGuide as an advertiser. I saw an immediate response! Advertising in the Guide is a sure fire way to reach a whole lot of people ready and willing to spend some time in your store or business. I would enthusiastically recommend the Locals Guide to any business looking to introduce themselves to Ashland!

Christian Senf
Ruby’s in Ashland
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Sequoia Pettengell

http://www.SequoiaPhotography.com

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Thank you Locals Guide!

I was featured in the Locals Guide as Practitioner of the month last September. It was a great opportunity to have my picture shown all over town and to have a focused interview about my work. I have a fairly broad practice so people tend to associate me with a variety of specialties. It was really neat to have an interview showcasing one of my passions, introducing me to new people but also informing my current clients about the breadth of my work.

I had so many positive comments about the article and had some new folks show up to my practice. Ashland is such a word of mouth town and social media acts as the spoken word. An interview is someone personally speaking well of your work. I don’t know of any better marketing strategy.

Dr. Bonnie NedroW – Naturopathic Physician

Hidden Springs Wellness Center
Ashland, Oregon
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John Hacker

http://www.CoachHacker.com

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Thank you SO much for putting my article on the front page of the Local’s Guide. I received 11 phone calls in just the 1st week after my article was out. It gave a huge jumpstart to my new career as Yoga Therapist. And the word just keeps on spreading! I reaped more return for my investment with The Local’s Guide than with any other advertising medium I’ve used to date. Again, many thank yous!

Brooks Newton – Hidden Springs

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Mary Brooks and Tom
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Elise – Heart and Hands
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Just wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for the article you ran for me in the locals guide.  I have been so surprised at the response.   I still get people coming up to me and saying they read my article and it has been a few months since it ran.

I think the fact that you provided the framework and let me basically write my own article made the biggest difference.  I was able to tell my own story.  I feel that from the comments people have given me that they know a little bit more about me personally.

I had another article done for me when I completed building my house that was in a prominent magazine in town.  I had to ask people if they had read it.  Those that did just said, “nice article”.  I know why their responses were flat, the writer didn’t know me or my philosophy.  The writer was selling the magazine instead of telling my story.

Thanks for giving me a chance to put it out there in my words.
Steve Sirianni – Builder
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Fun Again Games
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My interview with LocalsGuide was a lot of fun and a great success! I received loads of calls and several new customers from my business feature in the LocalsGuide!

Heidi Carlson
Hempress Arise

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Carl Book Wagon

http://www.BookWagon.com

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Chad Moyer

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Mark Machala

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Being featured in the Local’s Guide was really great for my business, and it was fun to see my work in the press!  The article generated a lot of interest in our Retro PinUp portraits, as well as our photography business, in general.  We received many kudos, inquiries and even bookings from as far away as Klamath Falls, Shasta and Grants Pass.  Our Facebook fan base increased quite a bit right afterwards and whenever I tell locals what type of portraiture I do, quite often they say “Oh! You’re the pinup queen! I saw the article about you in the Local’s Guide!”    Thanks Local’s Guide!
Deborah Pin Up Portrait

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Brigid Crowe
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It was a great honor to interviewed in the LocalsGuide! I really appreciate getting to share with the local community and I know that the interview reached both fans and folks who had not heard my music before. Thank you LocalsGuide!
-Alice DiMicele

http://www.alicedimicele.com

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The process of writing my own article was truly enlightening. After many months of stalling, once I began writing, my words seemed to spill out onto the page (or screen). The response we’ve gotten since the article was written has been invaluable. Never before has any article or form of advertisement generated so much business for us. Thank you so much!
Celina Reppond

http://www.inwardboundwellness.com

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Joanne Lescher

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Lisa Rhode
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Hello, just wanted to say that though I never would consider getting a tattoo, if I DID by some remote chance decide to get one, I would definitely come to your shop. That was one of the most compelling, intriguing interviews I’ve read in a long time. I really appreciated your journey, your insights and the way you articulated your passion for your art form. Thank you, Chris, (an Ashland resident)

” I am so impressed with the LocalsGuide.  being interviewed was amazing.  the interview was accurate and went to print in its authentic form.  I can’t say that for any other paper.  what a great attribute for our community.  i am so glad we have a peoples paper.  congrats LocalsGuide, we the people love you!”

Mori INK

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Amy Godard Navickas
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Having my interview in the Locals Guide on DEcember 2010 really jumped started my business!  After the article appeared,    I must have had 10 calls for at least 4 days and people still remember it…..    Even though I do  quite a bit of marketing myself  word of mouth is wonderful and I believe in 2011 I’ve created almost $50,000 worth of local jobs  for the Service Providers who signed up with me.   I now have a web site and believe 2012 is going to be very rewarding for me and “my crew”. I now have 102 Service Providers signed up with me in 65 categories…. including some zany ones like horse boarding….

Wendy Eppinger
Ask Wendy
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Our annual ice cream social that we’ve throw in Ashland for the past eight years wouldn’t be possible without the help and promotion from LocalsGuide.  Most of our attendees find out about the social through LocalsGuide and we’re extremely thankful for all their help!

Matt Allen – Ice Cream Man
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Maud Powell
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Marcella Ruikis
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Matt Case
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The interview about Willow Witt Ranch that ran in the Locals Guide brought an amazing amount of attention and interest to the ranch.  We couldn’t believe the number of folks who stopped by or called to say they had read the article and were interested in our products or visiting the ranch; seems like 5-a-day for a few months.  Thanks,

Suzanne Willow & Lanita Witt
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I am grateful to have had the opportunity to have been featured in the Locals Guide! I had a great experience with the article… Overnight my chocolates sold out all around town, although I was caught a little unprepared:):):) The article inspired me to change my sweetener from agave to raw honey, and refine my packaging for greater freshness and recycle-ability. Even went to a smaller four truffle box, also new labels for truffles and bars. So lets just recap here … everything got shakin up:):):) the article has kept me quite busy with perfecting the making of the chocolates and the business side of things since the article came out. I learned a lot, and the chocolates are Great! Thank You Shields! and Many Blessings!
Zorba (Todd Bjornson)

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Being featured in Locals Guide was good exposure for my work and contribution into this community. I appreciated being able to be such an integral part of what was printed.  The feedback I got was excellent and I think it gave Wilderness Rites a voice that it didn’t have before.  I appreciate very much that Locals Guide is giving such good support to different individuals and businesses in this valley.  It’s an important step to deepening what is already a strong community base.
Anne Stine, MA, MFT

http://www.wildernessrites.com

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Unfortunately, we never heard a word about it.

J.Larkin
Roxy Ann Lanes
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Jean Bakewall
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Ed Warr
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Cecily Michal
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Dear LocalsGuide, We got a lot of positive feedback and interest in our work as a result of the article you published about us in the LocalsGuide. It is evident that locals read the LocalsGuide and it is a great contribution to the Ashland Community. Thank you,

Paula Baker-Laporte
Eco nest

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Thank you for printing the interview with Tom Ward, Permaculture Counselor.  This publication raised awareness of Tom’s work throughout the community and many new and old friends commented on it.  It was a great help in increasing the visibility and appreciation on Tom’s work in the local area.

Tom Ward

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Kris Daly

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Maria DiMagio

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Pegi Smith

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Katerina Meister

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Steve McLaren

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Shelly Jillson
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We’ve been advertising in the LocalsGuide since Be Cherished opened a year and a half ago. Advertising in the locals guide was a natural fit for our business because it is read and appreciated by our ideal guest, Ashland’s amazing local community. Our success as a business is due to the support our community has given us and the locals guide had a great deal to do with that!

Be Cherished – Ashland, Oregon

http://www.

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The response we got from our Locals Guide interview was absolutely nuts! The first day it came out: “Hey, I saw your article.” Everyday for the next three weeks: “Hey, I saw your article.” “Hey, I saw your article.” We think this is a major reason that this is best December we’ve had, probably ever. Our monthly display ads have been very successful also.

Dan Shulters
Dan’s Shoe Repair

http://www.RepairMyShoes.com

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I can tell you this, on the subject of testimonials, I had remarks from people I barely knew, for a good three months after the interview appeared. People DO read your Local’s Guide. Lots of them! And they keep it around to read!

Perii Owen
Ashland Public Library

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Thank you for the opportunity to have an article – I got great responses – People loved the article – Found it very personal, charming and informative (” I did not know you did..) I loved the layout – to follow the article, pages to pages with my first name( no last name) was very nice – I also appreciated that nothing had been cut , respecting and honoring my writing -
It also brought some people at the First Friday Art walk – It was perfect – A woman even came and asked for me – She wanted to meet me because she had read the article – It was a very nice encounter -

Isabelle

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Thank You Locals Guide for Noticing my business! The article you all did for Abasha skin care Boutique brought so many new customers. It is a pleasure to work with your paper, and this community.

Jessica S. Dunn Schubert.
Owner, Asthetician

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Thanks for a great publication that also boosts our business. Every time you publication goes out, our phone ring like crazy for a week.

Clif Schieck, owner
Dr. Networking Computer Services
Ashland, Oregon

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Being featured in LocalsGuide did wonders for our little shop. We were featured months ago and we still get people coming through the door on a regular basis who say “We read about you in LocalsGuide!”

The Yellowcupboard

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Thank You LocalsGuide for offering such a rewarding experience in sharing my passion for my work in Traditional Thai Massage. The interview you did with me felt very honoring and gave me the space to fully express what I love with our community. I have received numerous calls and emails after the article hit the streets and continue to this day, months later, to get new clients whose interest had been perked after reading the interview you guys did with me. I love that there is a local paper that is helping the community get to know each otherand all the wonderful gifts our neighbors have to offer.’

D’vorah Swarzman, LMT
Owner of Thai Therapeutics
Ashland, Oregon

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After having a featured article published in the LocalsGuide I have had dozens of strangers, aquaintences, and close friends alike contact me to contratulate and share how much they enjoyed and were inspired by the interview. The outreach has been tremendous, I have had all kinds of new students attend my class, and I truly feel more a part of the Ashland community after sharing my story and my vision through this local gem of a resource.

Monique Manning

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I had more response to the LocalsGuide article then any other event or show that I have done in my over forty years of art shows and performing music in Ashland. Everyone’s response was that it was a wonderful article and I personally enjoyed having a part in your publication.

Daniel Verner – Artist

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Thank you so much for all you did to promote the 12th annual Bike It. I spoke several people in the community who saw the awesome write up in The LocalsGuide. This is the perfect way to get the word out about a community support event, as it’s easy to read, positive and well distributed.

Much appreciation,
Dave Nourie
Bike It

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As a local paper, guide to events, and networking tool, I find the Local’s Guide unpressidented! Recently I had the pleasure of being featured in it. In the wake of this article I have been amazed at the amount of recognition and appreciation I have received from the community. Few other periodicals have the warmth and personality of the Local’s Guide… I look forward every month to receiving the latest issue.

Jon Carlson C.H.
Herbalist Ashland, Oregon

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Thank you, Shields, for making LocalsGuide available to showcase amazing individuals in the community, as well as great businesses. Now during difficult times, we need to–more than ever–hear about extraordinary achievement, kindness and goodness. It gives us all hope that the world is a very good place to be in right now.

Pauline Townsend,
Sente Center,Inc

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When I first started advertising in locals guide my business landed a great resteraunt account and since then I have gotten great feed back from regular customers. The ad is way for me to communicate with customers and also a platform to have fun and be goofy if I want to. Since running the ads I can think of at least a dozen new customers that told me they had never even heard of us, and we’ve been in business about 7 years. They are now regular purchasers of our products. LocalsGuide is a great platform for exposure and the editorial bent is right up my alley so its really a no brainer.

Courtlandt Jennings
Pickled Planet | Ashland, OR

http://www.pickledplanet.com

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When you published the interview, “Staying in the Moment with Grief” with the big photo on the cover, people commented about it to me for months afterward. They were curious about my grief transformation work and about my first book, Dancing in My Mother’s Slippers,and I can’t even count the number of people who said, “Hey! I saw your picture on the front of the Locals Guide.” I always take copies of that issue with me to book and author fairs. I still get a comment once in a while, two years later. I’m glad to know people are reading your paper. It’s another way to see how much the folks in our community really do pay attention to each other and care about each other. The Locals Guide helps us get to know our neighbors. It’s a great thing you’re doing for Ashland and the Rogue Valley and beyond, and I thank you for it.

Fayegail Bisaccia – Author
Ashland, Oregon

PS FYI, here are some comments people sent via e-mail after the interview came out:
I will save it for you….the article was fantastic…I read it on a break from studying.

What a joy it was to grab my mail, only to see your beautiful smiling face on the Locals Guide. It is a wonderful picture of you and quite an article as well. Congratulations.

What a treat to open my mailbox and see your beautiful smiling face on the Locals Guide! I thought the article was wonderful too. Congratulations!

Congratulations on your beautiful photo and article in the Locals Guide. You look lovely and happy. I am so glad that this dream came true for you.

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Advertising with The Locals Guide has been easy and fun. The staff is very personable, and I love that the articles are written by regular people. I plan to continue doing business with The LocalsGuide.

Maya Moore, Director
The Language Spot.

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“As avid readers of the Locals Guide, it was wonderful to get such positive responses from their readers and seeing the other side of media as a feature article! We are so pleased to see the Locals Guide truly dedicated to community and are honored to be a part of it all!

The EcoTeas Team”

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Just having been in the Local’s Guide this month my experience is fresh and new, and the wave created from it is not over for me.

My experience: Shields ask me if I wanted to be interviewed, and I knew that it was a YES for me, and it was a YES, not without concerns.
My work is in the area of feminine sexuality, and I am so much inside that world, that I no longer trust that I will recognize the boundaries of propriety that the community has. What is normal for me to talk about one on one and in classes may be too much info for the general consumer of local publications. Shields let me know that the paper was to support my voice getting out into the community. We spoke over the phone, and then he sent me some e-mail questions. I wanted to have editing power, and he reassured me that would be true.

He also suggested that I ask myself the question “Where do you want to direct the reader”. This is an opportunity to direct them somewhere.

Shields was positive and relaxed in his approach to me always. Not expected from the stereotypical “Publisher” or “Editor” deadline oriented personality profile. I started to write the answers to the questions, and it felt somewhat choked up. Definitely not as fluid as talking to Shields had been.

Got an idea:

I sat down with my “Dragon Speaking Naturally”, pretended like Shields was in front of my desk talking to me, and answered the questions into the headset, as if I was talking to him. I cleaned it up, and sent it off by e-mail. Easy. The biggest surprise for me is that having people in the community know what I do has been Relaxing for me. The guy at the local Japanese takeout says “I read the article”, my yoga instructor at the racquet club, my daughter in law, my sons, all have seen it, know my views and stances, and come back with compliments on the voice and the content. The medical community knew what I did already, and the local Sente community did somewhat, my friends knew too, but not really as much detail as was in the article. I expected to feel exposed. I do not feel exposed, I feel seen and more relaxed. How cool is that.

I received calls and e-mails from so many people, physicians, therapists, counselor’s, women with concerns and women with curiosity. Some calls from men wanting to learn more. Shields let me know nothing in the article was in offensive territory, and that afterwards he only received positive feedback.

The article created a positive wave of attention that came back at me. The wave is not over yet…………

Susan Kay Preslar

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We had just gotten our feet under us with opening our newest business, Boulevard Coffee, when Shields asked if the Locals Guide could do a review. We hadn’t tackled full blown advertising yet so this felt like a good way to get the ball rolling and get our name out there a little more aggressively. The day after the review was circulated in the LocalsGuide, our doors were flooded with new faces and lots of questions about our business from our local community. Boulevard Coffee is located in the Stratford Inn, on Siskiyou Blvd, and since 1981 we have only opened our doors to Ashland visitors. We were incredibly excited to finally be able to share our concept of including locals into our family businesses, rather than just out-of-town guests. The locals haven’t stopped coming in since the article and several months after Bouelvard Coffee’s write-up, people are still saying that they saw that article and that’s why they decided to come check us out. The review was kind and generous about Boulevard Coffee and a very accurate account of our business: atmosphere, menu, service and overall experience. What a huge gift being included in the LocalsGuide was to our business!

Allison Hamik
Boulevard Coffee
Family Owned & Operated

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Well, I’m not an advertiser, but I have gotten lots of reactions and comments from the cartoon I do in LocalsGuide. Yeah, I ruffled a few feathers before, but it got people talking.

Curt Evans

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We’ve had nothing but positive comments on our article in the LocalsGuide. Friends and neighbors were thrilled to see us featured, existing customers loved the opportunity to learn more about our farm and our philosophy, and we were able to attract a significant number of new customers. Thank you for including us in your paper.

Ken Muller
Rogue Valley Brambles
Talent, Oregon

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Thank you so so very much for the article in your paper. I was so amazed that you printed everything and so grateful.

For me, it was so refreshing to have an editor who prints what one says and asks so many pertinent and important questions. It means you did your investigation of the subject, and responded to dig deeper into what I was saying and more thoroughly than anyone I have worked with to date. Thank you, Shields for the LocalsGuide!

JoAnn Lewis

LMT, CEIM, Infant Massage USA Trainer

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The Locals Guide is an inventive publication with it’s finger on the pulse of our Community…with it’s friendly staff and intelligent and humorous commentaries The Locals Guide is a great resource. We appreciate all the support The Locals Guide has shown us over the years. We send out a big thank you to them for being a part of our Rogue Valley family!”

Inger Jorgensen & Nicole Hurley
Bohemia Gallery &Framing

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The Locals Guide Works!
Thank you Shields and staff at the LocalsGuide for the interview with my wife and I.

Being featured in the Locals Guide was like being able to walk up to every Ashlander and say “hello.” So many people commented on seeing us in the article. We felt as if we were living in a Norman Rockwell painting. For our business, the LocalsGuide has been a perfect way to reach our customers. Dollar for dollar, no other form of advertising is anywhere near as effective. Our customers and potential customers really see the ads. What’s even better is that the advertising money stays local. Thanks LocalsGuide. It’s wonderful that you are here!

John Heaslet

Lithia Springs Veterinary Care

http://www.cheerfulvet.com