FREE Promotion for Perry Businesses
It may sound too good to be true, but it's the real deal.
A note to regular Substack readers: this column is hyperlocal, aimed at spreading the word about a free service being offered to local business owners.
One of my more charming qualities is my tendency to be suspicious of things. I chalk it up to having worked so many years in the news business — a field in which there are far too many examples of the bad things that can happen when people let down their guard. In my experience, things that seem to be “too good too be true,” typically are and anyone too trusting can find themselves in a heap of trouble.
More than a few times I’ve found myself viewing the world through the eyes of a police blotter and it’s not until I’m around someone who doesn’t, I realize how skeptical I can really be.
As it turns out, not everyone has feared becoming the subject of an episode of “Dateline” and not everyone has a hierarchy of preferred correspondents they want assigned to their story — Keith Morrison first (obviously) then Josh Mankiewicz, Andrea Canning followed by Dennis Murphy.
I bring all this up because there is currently an offer on the table for Perry businesses that definitely sounds too good to be true, but it’s not.
It’s really good and it’s totally legit.
This fall, the Perry Main Street Association board (which I was drafted into invited to join in the spring) entered into an agreement with Sarah McGinnis Photography. The goal? To have someone who could consistently create and share content online to better promote Perry and support its businesses.
Sarah’s job is twofold: create content for social media and take updated photos of Perry businesses. The pictures will be used to update Google listings and highlight businesses on social media. Additionally, and this is key, all the images Sarah takes will be given to businesses to use for their own promotional needs: brochures, ads, posters, social media posts, decorative cakes — we don’t care. The photos are theirs to keep and use as they wish.
This service is available to all Perry businesses and… are you ready for it? It’s FREE. Business owners don’t have to pay anything to have these professional photographs taken of their businesses. All they have to do is reach out to Sarah and set up a time when she can stop by and capture the images.
So, why have I devoted an entire column to this? Well, judging by the response so far, we knew we needed to do more to make sure all Perry business owners knew about this incredible opportunity. It’s easy enough to miss the emails or social media announcements, so I offered to use this platform to help get the word out.
Additionally, I thought it might be helpful to hear it from someone who is often the first to ask, “What's the catch?” I’m here to tell you: there isn’t one. PMSA is a non-profit organization staffed by volunteers. Its mission is to support Perry and help it thrive. Knowing that social media presence and digital assets are important but, realistically, many small business owners just don’t have the extra time or money to devote to that kind of promotion, we agreed this was a valuable benefit PMSA could provide.
Any Perry business owner can schedule their photoshoot with Sarah by sending her an email: sarah.mcginnis.photography@gmail.com. She can also be contacted via Instagram: @sarahmcginnisphotography.
To learn more about the Perry Main Street Association or to become a member, please visit the PMSA website: iloveperryny.com and follow @iloveperry on Facebook and Instagram.
One more quick note: PMSA initiatives like this are funded by donations. Coming in December: a silent auction fundraiser at Holiday DeLights for the chance to win custom home illustrations by in.site:architecture senior downtowns designer James Reynolds. Proceeds benefit PMSA.
Thankful for the opportunity to share this important information this week.
Cheers everyone and here’s to a wonderful holiday season!
This column originally appeared in the Perry Herald in Perry, NY in the Thursday, November 28th edition.