Let's face it. Some people are finished with their holiday shopping. But for those of us who are left, we are starting to get a little nervous. We think about the people on our list and all the work that is left to be done before the big day, and most of us feel overwhelmed. This is an excellent time to provide the kind of helpful guidance that will create an army of loyal customers for you. It just takes a little marketing finesse.

So how do you get loyal customers in the last few weeks of the holiday season? You give them what they need in a way that is accessible to them and easy to understand. Now let's unpack that.

Labels Matter
No, we are not talking about the kind of labels on food that require a dictionary to understand. The labels that can help you build a loyal customer base are niche labels. You may even think of them as stereotypes, but they can be incredibly effective in helping potential customers see that you have what they need.

Begin by looking at what you sell and who it's good for. Who benefits from and/or enjoys what you sell? The more specific you are, the more effective your posts and marketing will be. Use what you know about your products or services and speak directly to those who will enjoy(or desperately need)them. For instance, if you own a cleaning service you probably use marketing copy like “Are you busy? We can clean your house for you.” This is a good start because it addresses a pain point that someone has, but you can do even more for the holidays.

To drive more sales, use copy that gets their attention and speaks to their immediate needs. Tie it into the season to drive action now such as, “Dreading that holiday visit from the in-laws? House never clean enough and tired of the criticism? Our detail-oriented cleaning crew can ensure your home is perfect. Even your mother-in-law will be impressed." This copy provides a little levity and helps a stressed person realize they don't have to do it themselves. You can help.

The key to making this kind of marketing work is identifying someone who needs your products or services and the why behind those needs. The “why” can even be a little comical like the example of using the stereotype about a hard-to-please mother-in-law. Even if potential customers have a wonderful relationship with their mother-in-law, they will acknowledge that a claim like that must mean you provide an exacting service.

One word of caution when using stereotypes: never use any stereotypes about race, sexual orientation, or anything that could be derogatory or hurtful.

Speaking to your ideal audience and conveying why your products/services can help with their struggles will drive action. No one acts when they have questions. Be clear about who and how you help.

In the last few weeks leading up to the holidays, time is at a premium. Shoppers don’t have the bandwidth to give a lot of thought to what they will buy in the eleventh hour. Instead, they’ll be moved by the easy decisions; the items and services that grab them. If you are explicit in your marketing about how you meet a need or what buyers you are perfect for, you will sell a greater number of products or services.

Christina Metcalfis a writer/ghostwriter who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She loves road trips, hates exclamation points, and believes the world would be a better place if we all had our own theme song that played when we entered the room. What would yours be?_______________________________________
Twitter: @christinagsmith
Facebook: @tellyourstorygetemtalking
LinkedIn: @christinagsmith

The annual ORK fellowship provides research opportunities in the watershed
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The 2023 ORK Research Fellow is Molly McKean, a graduate student at Georgia Southern University (Statesboro campus), pursuing a master’s degree in biology. She works in the lab of Dr. Checo Colón-Gaud. She worked as a research assistant under a National Science Foundation Research Experience for post-baccalaureate grant for a year prior to joining the master’s program in August 2022.

McKeon will conduct a year-long monitoring project focused on an upstream site at Rocky Ford, a site at the soon-to-be closed textile plant, and a site where Black Creek meets the Ogeechee River downstream of the new EV plant development. "Monitoring these sites particularly will help contrast and compare how the upstream site will compare with these two downstream sites and the health of the river," McKeon says.

​McKeon is a first-generation college student from the Metro Detroit area in Michigan. She started out her higher education journey slightly later in life. She first started attending community college courses, as well as working full time, in 2017. Her bachelor of science degree in biological science, with a minor in environmental science, was earned in August of 2021 from Wayne State University. While there, she worked with Dr. Donna Kashian in her aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology lab.

​McKeon has participated in the National Science Foundation’s Instars and Emerge programs for underrepresented students and early career fellows in STEM fields. She has a passion for urban community aquatic ecology and taxonomy work.
Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) created a year-long research fellowship in 2022. The fellowship is underwritten by investments secured from the 2011 fish kill settlement. 

About Ogeechee Riverkeeper: Ogeechee Riverkeeper 501(c)(3) works to protect, preserve, and improve the water quality of the Ogeechee River basin, which includes all of the streams flowing out to Ossabaw Sound and St. Catherine’s Sound. The Canoochee River is about 108 miles long and the Ogeechee River itself is approximately 245 miles long. The Ogeechee River system drains more than 5,500 square miles across 21 counties in Georgia. More at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.
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Permalink: https://www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/release-new-research-fellow-ork-plans-year-project/

11/15/2022
Ogeechee Riverkeeper
Contact: Meaghan Gerard
Communications and Administrative Director
meaghan@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org

ATLANTA – October 20, 2022 — Area Children’s Theatre, Inc. was awarded a Vibrant Communities grant from Georgia Council for the Arts, a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, for fiscal year 2023. The Vibrant Communities Grant supports a variety of arts programming opportunities throughout the state. As part of this year’s Vibrant Communities awards, 44 entities in 38 counties will receive almost $200,000 in funding.
“Rarely has arts funding been more needed than it is today, so Georgia Council for the Arts is particularly grateful for the support that the Georgia General Assembly is providing for our arts communities to help them carry out their mission,” said Georgia Council for the Arts Director Tina Lilly. “We hear firsthand about what this assistance can mean to an organization and a community, and we’re pleased to know that it will touch the lives of so many Georgians.”
Georgia Council for the Arts received applications from schools, libraries, cities, historical societies, community theatres, Boys & Girls Clubs, and arts and other related organizations from across the state. Entities that previously received a fiscal year 2023 Project, Bridge, or Arts Education grant, which were announced in August, were not eligible for Vibrant Communities grants.
“Area Children's Theatre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation working to bring arts to the Warren County area. We run 100% on ticket sales, grants and donations from the community. Help us make kids live more enriched with the arts! Every dollar goes to support the art programs at the Warrenton Cultural Center. We appreciate your support and patronage.” – Jeffrey Fowler, Director & Producer
Funding for these grants is provided through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. A complete list of fiscal year 2023 grantees in these program areas can be found at GAarts.org
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About Georgia Council for the Arts
Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) is a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development whose mission is to cultivate the growth of vibrant, thriving Georgia communities through the arts. GCA provides grant funding, programs, and services statewide that support the vital arts industry, preserve the state’s cultural heritage, increase tourism, and nurture strong communities. Funding for Georgia Council for the Arts is provided by appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit www.gaarts.org for more information.
About GDEcD
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, align workforce education and training with in-demand jobs, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. Visit www.georgia.org for more information.
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There was a time when the biggest concern a business had was bringing in customers. These days, we know you’re worrying about a lot more. You’re wondering where you will find qualified employees. When you do find them on paper or through an application, you keep your fingers crossed that they will show up for their first day of work, or better yet, the interview. Once you hire them, you hope they’ll come back the next day and the next. You worry about how you will sell items if you can’t get anything on the shelf. And you’re so very tired of hearing your suppliers talk about the supply chain. Two years ago, you didn’t even think about a supply chain in reference to anything more than toilet paper.
For More Check out this link. 

First Responder's were honored on Patriots Day, September 10, 2022 at Warrenton First Baptist Church. Members of Post 96 of The American Legion, Burkhalter Chapter NSDAR, Warren County Chamber of Commerce, and Hometown Warrenton, Inc provided food, goodie bags, and door prizes for this event. Warrenton First Baptist Church and Little Briar Creek Baptist Church joined together to serve the meal. We are so thankful for all the First Responders in Warren County and the counties that surround us! 

Warrenton's Area Children's Theatre was awarded the Premier Partner award at the 2022 Georgia Downtown Conference in Downtown Macon for their partnership with Hometown Warrenton, Inc. The Category was in the 2022 Organization Awards. 
Pictured (left to right) are Angela Wilkerson- Secretary, Erica Dawson - Chairman, Cindy Rivers-McGraw - Founder, Danyelle Rus - Board Member and Assistant Director; Jeffrey Fowler - Treasurer and Director. Presenting the award is April Norton, president of Georgia Downtown Association. 

From GDOT:
​Warren County detour off GA 16 starts Sept. 6 to replace 85 YO bridge
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6, E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc. will close the GA 16 bridge at Short Creek south of Warrenton. This off site detour will remain in place for 120 days.
Please prepare and adjust your daily plans accordingly. The signed detour follows all state highways to accommodate truck traffic.
**Detour map duration listed was for outreach in 2018. The contractual detour duration is 120 days. Penalties begin if it goes past that time.**

Member to Member Discounts
These discounts are exclusively offered by members for members. The chamber works with businesses to bring savings to its members with exclusive deals. Depending on your spending, you could recoup a sizable portion of your dues with this program.
Even if you’re not interested in saving money, being a part of this program will also expose your business to members and discounts could bring you new customers that you wouldn’t otherwise have. This not only brings in new revenue on whatever they spend, but they also may tell friends and family and may return to your business in the future.
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The Sticker on the Door
If you have a brick and mortar space and a chamber membership, you likely have some sort of physical designation of your membership. In today’s world where “know, like, and trust” is essential to getting more customers, that designation helps you establish trust before the potential customer has any interaction with your business. The same can be done through an icon on your website.
People often view chamber membership in the same light as a listing on the better business bureau. Their confusion can be a boon to our business. No one wants to do business with someone they don’t trust and that designation helps illustrate your dedication to the community, which makes you trustworthy.
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Membership Directory or Town Map
The chamber has a local membership directory and maybe even a town map that provides free, or very low-cost, advertising. These resources are used by citizens, visitors, and those new to town. These lists are smaller than a phone book so you get more exposure. You can upgrade to be featured to get even more views. Your chamber can tell you what their readership or web hits are for their directory but it’s not uncommon for chamber web traffic to be quite large each month because the chambers is widely recognized as the local resource for business.
Being seen by people in a small segmented list, means more customers and you don’t want to miss out on being part of the community list.

Social Media Followers and Connections
The chamber provides its members with exposure on its social media channels. Often the following of these pages is quite large, even in small towns. Being a member means an expanded audience that you don’t have to pay for by buying followers. They’re also more likely to be engaged with you because they are people you know. If you’re not a member, you’re missing out on this nearly free exposure. Exposure and engagement can bring new customers to your business.
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Discounted Business Tools and Services
Are you interested in the latest tools to grow your business? Look online. What will that kind of learning cost you? The chamber provides very low-cost learning sessions and best practices to its members. It may also provide space or copier services for less than it would cost you to get a larger office (or an office in the first place) or rent a copier. Businesses succeed when they grow “smart.” If you want to expand but aren’t quite in the place to move to a larger office, go to that social media conference, or purchase the office equipment, a chamber can fill those gaps for you and still allow you to grow. Or you could continue at the level you are and miss out on that additional revenue. The chamber can provide you so much for a very small dues payment. But it’s not just the dues payment you’re out when you don’t use the membership to the fullest. It’s all the additional revenue you can generate through participation. Are you willing to throw that away?
 
Christina R. Green teaches small businesses, chambers, and associations how to connect through content. Her articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives’ Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, and Socialfish. She is a regular blogger at Frankjkenny.com and the Event Manager Blog.
She’s a bookish writer on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere.
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Hometown Warrenton, Inc is hosting our next Market on Main Summer: Grill Off. There will be a variety of different vendors, from food to crafts. We hope you will join us downtown on Main Street. A family friendly event that begins at 10AM. This event will go until 2PM. There will be a little for everyone of the family to enjoy. Come Join us.