SELLING WINNSBORO

By
Maryann Miller

 

The Main Street Committee of Winnsboro has accomplished a lot in the years it has been in existence, but perhaps this latest marketing initiative will become a standout.

In simple terminology, the initiative is a "portal" that will utilize primarily Internet marketing to increase awareness of the many wonderful businesses in Winnsboro and bring more visitors.

On Thursday, May 28, Anita Williams, (L) outlined the concept to area business owners.

She is the secretary of the Mainstreet Partnership Board and has a 30-year career in marketing. She first approached Cheryl Ford and the Main Street Board last summer with idea of developing a site Online to promote Winnsboro and "Sell the town."

From there, the idea went to the Winnsboro Economic Development Committee (WEDC). The WEDC Board not only liked the idea, they asked Anita if she could do an evaluation of how their monies could best be spent to support all the businesses in Winnsboro. "Through the years the WEDC has funded a lot of events," Anita said. "And that was good in some respects, but people sometimes would come for the event, but never come back to Winnsboro. The board was interested in ways to encourage people to come again and again, and the portal is one way to do that."

Anita and her husband, Lew, have owned property in Wood County since 1980 and were "weekenders" until 2002, when broadband became available and they could move their marketing and publishing business, Imagine Works, Inc. from Dallas.

The portal site doesn't have a name yet, but a banner headline at the top of the home page will read "The Winnsboro Online Guide". One of the things this marketing initiative plans to do is level the playing field for all businesses in Winnsboro.

* All merchants can benefit – those catering to visitors as well as those who primarily serve local residents; businesses in the historic downtown area as well as along the Coke Rd., along Hwy. 37, Broadway and elsewhere in town.

* Merchants who will benefit from those who are considering Winnsboro as their new home, have direct access to retirees through the mailings and the Relocation Guide section of the site.

* Ad rates are extremely low to encourage participation by as many businesses as possible.

Barbara Hums, a consultant with WSI Internet Marketing is responsible for the technical side of making this all happen and she spoke at the meeting about eFusion, the company that offers the technology she will be using to create the portal. One or two people in the audience actually know some of what she was talking about, but the simple explanation is that eFusion is a company that integrates e-tools with business. "It's what's going to make this puppy run," Barbara joked.

This marketing initiative is open to all businesses in Winnsboro, including service industries. "If you need someone to fix your air-conditioner, you can find them on the portal," Barbara said. "So it is important that people who provide electrical, plumbing and any other kind of service become a part of this."

The WEDC is funding much of the start-up costs for the portal to help make this affordable to all business owners. A featured listing is only $15.00 a month, with a one-time set up fee of $90.00. For that fee, clients can be part of bi-weekly targeted mailings, a weekend planner, weekly pushes to shop locally, and well as special interest mailings.

Anita stressed that the plan will only work well if every business participates, and to that end Larry Knight, (R) president of the Winnsboro Chamber also offered an endorsement. "This is a great opportunity to bring more exposure to Winnsboro," he said. "And businesses do not have to be a Chamber member to participate.

"I'm excited about the potential," he continued. "Just think, we have one of the biggest attractions in Texas out at Lake Fork that brings people from all over the world and the visitors there don't even know about Winnsboro. This is a way to reach those visitors and many others."

"This is something that the WEDC (Winnsboro Economic Development Committee) has wanted for some time," Mayor Carolyn Jones said. "It is a marketing plan that evens the playing field for all businesses in town. We just couldn't act on it before as the city could not afford to pay a marketing expert what they are worth to develop a plan. Anita has generously donated her time to this project, and we are so grateful to her for that."

Anita said that she volunteered because she loves Winnsboro. "I always have," she said. "We looked in a lot of places across the country before we decided to buy property here years ago. When we first saw Winnsboro we fell in love with it.

"I also realized that it takes a special set of skills to do this and this comes naturally to me," she continued. "My husband asked why I'm doing this, and the simple answer is, because I can. It's a lot of work, but I'm having a blast. I haven't had this much fun in years."

Here is a link to a site with more information about the portal and how to participate. http://www.think-outside-the-dot.com/ Check back often as this exciting project takes shape.