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Ashcroft businesses get small town love

Ashcroft businesses invited to upgrade their image with new marketing program.

Small Town Love is growing.

The program started last year as a pilot and included the communities of Logan Lake and 100 Mile House. This year it has grown to 19 communities,  with Ashcroft and Lytton joining this year. It is designed to show off grass roots businesses through pictures and stories  that will be part of a dedicated website promoting the local businesses and their community as one.

Ashcroft will be holding an information meeting on Sept. 17 in the Lady Minto building on Bancroft, 7:30 pm, to explain how it works, what it does and who is eligible.

The program is a partnership between Small town Love and the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT). Eligible businesses include independent, non-franchise businesses in Ashcroft, and certain kinds of home-based businesses including artisans, crafters, artists, food producers and farmers.

For a one-time investment of $100 businesses receive a customized online profile that is placed on the Ashcroft Small Town Love website. The profile links them to social media, maps, and other internet marketing tools. The businesses also receive professionally-done photos for their use and to accompany the profiles on the website.

“It’s designed to give brand awareness and get the owner’s face out there,” says Ethan Anderson, Ashcroft’s ambassador for Small Town Love.

“There are so many home based businesses out there that could benefit,” he says. “It’s aimed at artisans, too, and I think that’s a perfect fit for Ashcroft which is known as an artist’s community.”

The program’s websites ( http://smalltownlove.com/towns ) in Logan Lake host 31 local businesses, and 49 in 100 Mile House.

Anderson says there should easily be 25 to 30 businesses on Ashcroft’s page, but he’s hoping for more.

He invites everyone to attend the Sept. 17 information meeting where they can hear details of how the program works and ask questions.

More information as well as applications can be viewed at http://loveashcroft.com/contact .