July 30, 2008

Greetings Business Owners and Non-Profits,

    SantaCruzParent.com is the premier online resource for Santa Cruz County families.  We help connect businesses, non-profits and families.  Our site has over 600 business listings.  We offer tips and articles for parents, a wildly popular Calendar of Events, Classifieds, Local Perks (coupons and sales), Parent Chat and much more.  We are in the community -advertising in print and on radio, speaking to groups, and supporting non-profits.  Our colorful bookmarks are available for pickup at libraries and businesses that attract families throughout the county.  Thousands of parents (and grandparents) welcome our weekly newsletters into their mailboxes.

    When I discovered SantaCruzParent.com a couple of years ago I had two reactions: “What a great idea!” and “Darn, I was thinking of starting something like that!”  Having worked in print advertising for ten years, I recognized a winner which was capitalizing on the great migration to the internet.  I kept an eye on the website and one day a newsletter arrived in my inbox with the news that the site was for sale  -- the original owner was moving out of state. In October 2007 I became the new owner, a serendipitous fit with my passionate interest in helping local small businesses grow bigger.

    You are receiving this business newsletter because your business is on our site as a resource for families (Resource Directory).  We apologize if we have not yet reached you in person.  It’s simply that we have been growing too fast to get to you. 

    During an economic slowdown, it is tempting to cut the advertising budget, and yet, savvy business owners know that maintaining visibility is critical to growth. We can help with our outrageously affordable rates.

    We are committed to continuing to keeping advertising affordable. Our annual listing rates are less than the cost of a one day ad in a newspaper.

    We are reaching parents throughout the county  --parents who go online first. In just a few months our hits have doubled and our free weekly newsletter is reaching thousands of parents and professionals. I am glad to share those numbers with you when we talk (they change so fast!).

Right now we are gearing up for our BACK TO SCHOOL GUIDE.

 We have SPECIAL AD SPACE available to any listed businesses that would like to purchase an ad for the BACK TO SCHOOL Guide. Please let us know ASAP if you would like to reserve an ad space.  Newsletter Ads are $75 ($50 charitable non-profits) and will link to your site.

• Ad will run in 2 of our weekly newsletters - Aug & Sept
• Link on our homepage to the newsletter
• Link to your website from the newsletter
  
• Submit your ad by August 4th with the following format: JPG - 170 wide x 275 high. This converts to 2.3611 inches wide x 3.8194 inches high. Include a border, biz name & logo & contact info in ad.  For a fee of $50, an ad can be designed for you (we outsource this to a local graphic designer).
• Email info@santacruzparent.com or call me at 713-7026 or you can click here to reserve a space & pay with credit card.
  

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For those already listed on SantaCruzParent.com, are you taking advantage of all the free ways to get exposure?

• Events Calendar (new & improved)
• Local Perks (discounts & sales)
• Classifieds (job opportunities, internships, etc.)
• Santa CruzParent. welcomes articles on topics in which you have experience, interest and expertise.

Is your listing description up to date...

• Resource Directory

Non-Profits...

• Use the Families Giving Back page to post your needs for volunteers and donations
• Contact us about being highlighted as our Non-Profit Spotlight.
  
• Do you know of an individual mom or dad that you would like to recognize because of what they are doing to give back in the community? We can profile them as our Mom in the Spotlight or our MVP Dad.
  
  Would you like to be listed on SantaCruzParent.com?
• If you do not have a listing on SantaCruzParent.com but would like more details, please email us.
• Click here to view our rates.

To your prosperity! Cheers, Parmalee Taff

469.3234 or 713.7020