WRITTEN BY ANELYSE MORRIS
The past few months have been a whirlwind of uncertainty, particularly for local restaurants and stores. That’s why, at Bellingham Alive, we’re striving to increase our support for locally owned businesses in any way we can.
Beginning in March, we altered our Weekend Agenda to feature up to 12 local brick and mortar businesses each week, highlighting those offering takeout, online services, or alternative deals — all free of charge.
“Supporting our small local retailers and restaurants was, and continues to be, vital to helping them survive the pandemic. By changing our Weekend Agenda to promote them, and offering it for free for three months, we helped do our part to support them,” says Lisa Karlberg, publisher of Bellingham Alive.
After promoting more than 170 businesses for free via this e-blast, which was sent out to 8,500+ opt-in digital subscribers and posted across our social media channels with over 12,000 followers, we recognized the need for ongoing support and decided to change things up.
In Phase 2, we began offering MENU Talk, a digital blast featuring up to eight local restaurants, highlighting their special hours, deals, and a favorite menu item. Going forward, we’re offering these listings for only $100. If you’re a business owner and want to be included in the next MENU Talk promotion, email sales@bellinghamalive.com for more information.
“By keeping [MENU Talk] valuable, it offers [businesses] a way to continue to be front and center and help drive business, keeping our local economy moving. They are an important building block and we all need to do our part to support them,” Karlberg says.