If you are interested in finding out more about the advertising that is available through the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and the Valley East Today Community Magazine, please feel free to contact me at any time and we will see how we can help you.

In the meantime, please take a few minutes of your time to go through the description below to become familiar with the entire scope of the advertising package that I am offering at this time. The outline is long and detailed, but the information is important if you are going to take full advantage of what Valley East Today has to offer. 

Once you have gone over the information below, please contact me by phone or email so that I can answer any questions you may have. 
Robert Kirwan O.C.T., B.A.(Math), M.A.(Education)
Publisher/Editor-In-Chief
Valley East Today Community Publications
4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese ON, P3P 1S8
PHONE
(705) 969-7215		 EMAIL
rkirwan@infocomcanada.com 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
 
First of all, let me give you an idea of what I have created with the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine. It is important for you to know the background behind the development of this initiative so that you have full confidence in the strategies that I have put in place to promote your interests.
 
  1. When The Vision Paper stopped publishing in January 2010, Valley East was left without a print publication that was "dedicated" to the community. Besides creating a void in the community for news, it resulted in a severe problem for local businesses that lost one of their best methods of advertising to the Valley East market.
       
  2. I have been involved in a number of business and personal endeavours during the past decade, including the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre which was created in 2003. As a result of my writing with The Vision Paper, my involvement with the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre and the establishment of a private practice as an Independent Education, Training and Career Development Consultant, I have been able to publish and accumulate a wide variety of stories, articles, editorials, etc. on the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre. All of the material I have published in the past remains on the site in various sections. The site has been described as "massive" and has become a "Living History" of the Town of Valley East, forming a true Virtual Community Centre. 
      
  3. During the past several years, I have been distributing a weekly Valley East Today Community Magazine to a subscriber list that has grown to a total of over 5,000 individual addresses. Many of the people receiving the weekly publication forwarded the content to the people on their own email address list, resulting in a total distribution that is estimated at over 20,000.
      
  4. I never really had the time or felt that the opportunity was right to take Valley East Today to the next level since my time was taken up in a number of other areas. Nevertheless, I found that it allowed me a place to "store" all of the stories, editorials and features that I was accumulating for The Vision Paper, plus a lot of things that the Vision couldn't publish because of  lack of print space. I just kept organizing and re-organizing the site as time went on and it became so large that I didn't feel I could stop working on it. However, I continued to send out a weekly "newsletter" to the people on my distribution list and they have been receiving Valley East Today for all that time.
     
  5. Conditions have now changed. 
     
    The Vision Paper no longer exists, so the community is without a "dedicated" newspaper to meet its needs.
     
    I am now finished with my personal services contract at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre so this will free up a lot of time for me to devote to my own private practice.
     
    At the present time, the only two major print publications that are being distributed in     Valley East at this time are the Sudbury Star, Northern Life. Advertising space in those publications cost in the neighbourhood of $700 or $800 for just a quarter page spot for one issue only. The cost of advertising in these two publications is so much that most businesses in Valley East are unable to advertise in them on a regular basis.
     
    There are a few other smaller independent publications that are dropped off at various spots in the town, but even those publications are cost prohibitive for most businesses to consider. The least expensive option is still around $350 for a full page ad for a month of promotion with a distribution of only several thousand copies in total, not all of which are in Valley East.

    Therefore, when it comes to getting messages out to their primary market, Valley East businesses have few effective options available. This means that the advertising done by the larger multi-national corporations on television, radio and in the newspapers are all that local residents are seeing and thus, "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" is preventing local establishments from achieving their full potential.
     
  6. Currently, as a result of my involvement with the education sector in Greater Sudbury and the establishment of a Facebook group called Valley East, I am now sending Valley East Today as a weekly Community Magazine to over 5000 different email addresses and I am sure it is being read by up to 20,000 other people during the course of the month. 
     
    The interesting thing about the forwarding of this weekly newspaper is that I often get comments from someone living in     Valley East who tells me that they saw something on my site after they were told about it by a family member or a friend who is living out of town. Our VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CENTRE is not restricted by geographical boundaries. It encompasses everyone who has a connection to Valley East. It includes people who are currently living in Valley East; who have once lived in Valley East; who would like to live in Valley East; who have family and/or friends who live in Valley East; who work or go to school with people who live in Valley East; who work in Valley East; or who just have a general interest in what goes on in the community.
     
    The internet is an amazing way of communicating and I think we are witnessing the emergence of one of the greatest advertising vehicles ever to come along. The greatest benefit offered by the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre is that all of the articles, photos and features accumulate on the site and are never deleted. This means that once you know about Valley East Today, you know where you have to go to find out anything you need to know about Valley East. Furthermore, the people and businesses that make up the Virtual Community Centre are invited to make submissions and contributions to the site at any time.
     
  7. As it stands, I've been able to create a strategically developed network which allows me to help businesses, professionals and organizations penetrate this target market in Valley East in such a way that you will naturally establish a much higher profile in a very short period of time.  
     
    At the risk of making this sound like a sales pitch, the fact is that my personal connections in the local education sector, the public and private organizations and businesses, and through my Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine, I am confident that I can deliver on my promises regardless of the nature of your business.
     
  8. I guess the best thing about this situation is that I know I am able to provide my particular services for a fraction of the price you would pay other advertising firms or media sources because I run my own private practice and am therefore not tied into any large national franchise or chain which inflates prices to pay for fees, salaries, overhead and other expenses which have made it unaffordable for many businesses to advertise in print, radio or television.

Now you have some background information on how the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine  have developed over the past seven years, and you also understand why the conditions of the day are now ideal for offering advertising space to local businesses, professionals and organizations.

OBJECTIVES OF VALLEY EAST VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CENTRE

1.        To help residents of Valley East become more aware of the goods and services available to them from local businesses, professionals and institutions;

2.        To recognize the accomplishments and achievements of the businesses, professionals and institutions such as expansion of facilities, introduction of new products, etc.

3.        To highlight the contributions of the business sector with respect to sponsorships and donations for worthy causes;

4.        To recognize the accomplishments and achievements of the people living in Valley East ;

INVITATION TO APPEAR ON LOCAL RADIO SHOW

In an effort to raise the profile of businesses, professional offices and public-sector institutions that contribute in so many ways to our community, a local live radio talk show hosted by Robert Kirwan will feature representatives of the business sector of Valley East .

The radio show will give people a chance to hear how people have been able to build their business while at the same time fulfilling their responsibilities as a good corporate citizen.

The radio show is part of a strategic campaign designed to help us achieve the goal of raising the profile of the Valley East business sector among local residents. It is our belief that if residents know more about local businesses, they will take more pride in their community. It will also be a great example for students of how the business sector is meeting their civic responsibilities.

We have now begun the process of arranging meetings with representatives of all of the businesses, professionals and institutions that have made a significant contribution to the character and growth of the community of Valley East . It is our intent to give these representatives information on the following:

1.       The live radio talk show that is broadcast from Laurentian University every Monday evening;

2.       The publication of written profiles of local businesses, professional practices and institutions which will be a new section that we are planning on building on Valley East Today;

3.   The all-inclusive promotional package that is available to goods & service providers who wish to use Valley East Today to promote their businesses.

ALL INCLUSIVE ADVERTISING PACKAGE

 
All goods and/or service providers who wish to advertise with Valley East Today will meet with Robert Kirwan. After the meeting, if you wish to advertise with Valley East Today I will begin the process of preparing your particular package, which will include the following: 

CORPORATE PROFILE

  1. First, I will spend some time at your place of business taking photos and gathering information so that I can prepare a comprehensive Corporate Profile that will clearly explain the nature of the goods and services you provide to customers and clients. This profile will be in the form of a magazine article that will allow people to actually see the inside of your operation. It will be the equivalent to up to six pages of information and photos.
     
    If you have your own web site we will provide     a direct link to it as well. We will also include all of the contact information you wish, including phone, fax, email address, location, hours of operation, etc.  
     
         You can make changes to this profile during the year upon request 
      
    You can see examples of existing corporate profiles by going to the following links:
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/Corporate/fantasticfloors.htm  
     
     http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/Corporate/heatwave.htm
       
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/newsmagazine/Corporate%20Profiles/new_orleans_pizza.htm

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

  1. I will then place your company logo and a bit of information about your business, along with a link back to the Corporate Profile, on the Business Directory that has been created for all Valley businesses and professional service providers. You can see what I mean by going to the link below:
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/Directory/VETHome.htm

    DISTRIBUTION

  2. Each week when I distribute the Valley East Today Community Magazine to over 5000 individual addresses and an estimated readership of over 20,000 people, there will be strategically placed references and prompts for readers to visit sections of the site that contain the profiles of the advertisers. 
    In addition, on the email that is distributed, there will be a direct mention of each of the advertisers with some kind of one or two sentence "teaser" designed to encourage readers to link directly to your profile. This will give you the same effect as delivering a "flyer" to over 5000 addresses each week.

    SALES FLYER
     

  3. I will be creating a Special Sales Promotions section as part of the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine that will contain special offers on goods and services that are being provided by individual advertisers. This will take on the appearance of an online "weekly" flyer. Links will be made to this "flyer" from several high traffic locations on the Community Publication. It will actually take on the appearance of a flyer insert. 

    Each business will be linked back to their Corporate Profile where the items on sale will be displayed at the top of the page. Your corporate profile will follow below the listings. 

    You will be able to put up to six (6) "fantastic offers" on this page. Each listing may include a photo plus pricing and a brief description.  
     
    I will change these specials for you whenever you send me the necessary information, so you could be changing them every week if you want. 

    YOU WILL BE PERMITTED TO ADD one (1) additional item to the page each week if you wish. Eventually, this will turn into a virtual "catalogue" which will contain photos and descriptions of most of your goods and services. We will be able to move the items on "sale" to the top of the page or mark them in some other manner as you wish.
    If you go to the following link you will be able to get a general idea of how this is being set up:
      
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/newsmagazine/Weekly%20Flyer/flyerhome.htm 

    BUSINESS-FOCUSED ARTICLES
           
  4. It is my intention to include in the main Special Features Section of the Community Magazine into a human-interest publication with a strong business-focus.

    In other words, we will be asking you to send us as many articles as possible that involve your business. For example, if you hire a new employee, that is a story; if you change the interior arrangement of your store, that is a story; if an employee retires or wins some kind of award, that is a story; if you paint your building, that is a story; if you expand your store hours, that is a story; if you sponsor a team or make a donation, that is a story. 

    We will still encourage groups and organizations to send us stories and photos, but we will go out of our way to include as many news stories as possible about our business sponsors. This is just another way we will be helping increase awareness about your business.
     
  5. Whenever I put a story on the community news section that pertains to your business, I will also add it to the end of your Corporate Profile. If you go back and look at the examples I gave you for Fantastic Floors, Heatwave Tanning, and New Orleans Pizza, you will see that there are articles at the end of their profiles. I will be doing the same for your company every time there is an event happening at your place.
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/Corporate/fantasticfloors.htm   and
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/Corporate/heatwave.htm
      
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/newsmagazine/Corporate%20Profiles/new_orleans_pizza.htm

    VIRTUAL TOUR
     
  6. I have also created a special section that will take on the appearance of a "community-wide" Virtual Shopping Centre with the store-fronts of many of the businesses operating in Valley East. This is a work-in progress since there are so many businesses in the community. For all advertisers, whenever I come to their storefront location, I will be creating a very high-profile, observable link to their corporate profile. Check out the Virtual Mall below:
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/newsmagazine/Virtual%20Tour/tourhome.htm
     
     FACEBOOK GROUP SITE
        
  7. I have also created a group on Facebook called Valley East. By the end of March 2010 it had attracted over 980  members and is growing steadily. Each week I send out information and a link to the Community Magazine along with encouragement for people to forward the publication to all of their "friends". 
       
    Since each of the members     of the group have well over "100" friends of their own, it is safe to say that the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine is being read by thousands of different people each week. It is safe to say that with so many people connected to so many others, there are at least 10,000 people linking to Valley East Today each week through Facebook alone! 
     
    It expected that a large number of them will visit the web site and have a chance to see your company logo and corporate profile. When they need your goods and services they will know where they can find your information. There is also no charge for this service. It is just another way I am trying to draw attention to Valley East Today. If you belong to Facebook, you can see the group by going through the following link.

    http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=256858112327

         RADIO PROGRAM
  8. I also host every Monday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on CKLU 96.7 FM from Laurentian University. The show is called The Learning Clinic and is a spin-off of my education web site www.thelearningclinic.ca The show is about education, training and career development issues and trends. 
      
    I try to invite guests each week to discuss various aspects of their particular career/industry in order to provide insight to students and parents who are trying to find out about careers that they may wish to pursue. 
      
    If you decide that you would like to appear as a guest on the show it will give you a chance to help people understand more about your industry and how your goods and services can help students and parents. This is added exposure for your company and merely involves being on the show for about an hour or doing the interview over the phone from your home. All of the shows are archived so that you can download them to your computer and save them. I will be inviting businesses from Valley East, including my advertisers, to take part in several shows during the year to share their words of wisdom with my listeners. 
      
    This will give added exposure to the show and will attract a larger audience from the Valley. 
      
    Once again, there is no charge for appearing as a guest on the radio show since the interview will be designed to provide listeners with some background educational information about how to start and run a successful business and also how your kind of products and/or services can be used to enhance learning.     You are free to participate or decline the invitation as you wish. I need special guests on my show and since you will already be known to me, it makes sense for me to bring you on the show. 
     
    I have been doing the show for over 2 years.     It is something that gives more exposure to my publications, elevates my public profile and will establish you as an "expert guest". You can find out more about the radio show and see a list of guests who have appeared by going to the following link:
     
    http://www.valleyeasttoday.ca/thelearningclinic/Radio%20Show/radiohome.htm
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
  
  1. Preparing the Corporate Profile and setting up the links will take up to two weeks. This means that you can be up and running with this promotion pretty well any time you make the decision.
     
  2. With over 5,000 direct email addresses receiving the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine each week; plus the number of email addresses that those first 5,000 are forwarding the message to; plus the number of people receiving the Facebook message; plus the number of people reading the print newsletter; plus the number of people who are attracted to the radio show, there are thousands upon thousands of people each week who have a chance of seeing your advertisement. 
      
    This is a far more effective penetration strategy than any other media source can promise in your target market area. When you add in the special offers on the "flyer page" it won't be long before Valley East Today has a tremendous profile in the community.  
       
    We estimate that Valley East Today is being read in whole or in part by over     20,000 people each month and this number is increasing steadily    .
           
  3. It has been estimated by various sources that at least 70% of households in Valley East have internet access. This means that your primary market will have easy access to the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre & Community Magazine at any time. It also means that when word-of-mouth information is exchanged, people can simply go to their own computer to see your promotion. There is no more need to carry around papers or flyers.
     
  4. Your advertisement never disappears. It is always there. Furthermore, potential customers will always know where to find it. They can never lose the "paper". And they can access it from any computer, whether at home, work, school or even on their mobile device.
     
  5. You can make changes without additional costs being incurred. And if something changes, it isn't the same as a printed brochure where you are stuck with what you select until the brochures are gone. Making a changes is a simple procedure. You just call me or email me and it is done for you.
     
  6. Everything is in full colour. Your space will always look attractive and realistic. Your potential customers will see exactly what you have to offer and people like to check things out today before they visit.

If you have any questions give me a call and I will answer them for you.

My goal is to eventually have "every" business in Valley East promoted through my Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre Publications. For that reason I have decided to keep the cost as low as possible.  

I think you will agree that the price is set at a level that is low enough to allow all businesses, large and small and even home-based businesses to take part. This is definitely one of the best advertising values your money can buy.
 
There is no question that the internet is growing popularity and more and more people are using the internet to influence their shopping decisions. I think the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre and Community Magazine have excellent potential to become one of the most effective communication vehicles this community has ever seen.
 
CONTACT ROBERT KIRWAN TODAY...
  
If you operate a business, professional office, or an organization that considers Valley East as an important market, please at the very least contact me immediately so that we can have a brief discussion about the information I have provided you with above.

If you plan on doing ANY advertising in Valley East, you MUST consider the benefits of including advertising space in the Valley East Today Virtual Community Centre & Community Magazine. The cost is low and the impact is tremendous. Combine this with any other advertising you are doing and you will be certain to be successful in Valley East.
  
Robert Kirwan O.C.T., B.A.(Math), M.A.(Education)
Publisher/Editor-In-Chief
Valley East Today Community Publications
4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese ON, P3P 1S8
PHONE
(705) 969-7215		 EMAIL
rkirwan@infocomcanada.com 
     

THE LEARNING CLINIC
One-on-one, In-your-home tutoring for students of all ages
Part-time employment for instructors
Over 100 tutors available
For more information ENTER HERE

969-7215

 4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese
Must call ahead for an appointment

 

VCCNET.CA
Long Distance Phone Plans
Internet Service.
Computer Repairs.
For More Information ENTER HERE

479-5017

 Located on Elm Street in Sudbury
Call for an appointment

  

FANTASTIC FLOORS
For all your flooring needs.
Carpet, laminate, hardwood...you name it!
Free Estimates. Affordable Prices. Installation.
For More information ENTER HERE

897-3567

 2914 Hwy 69 North, Val Caron
In the Bingo Plaza

   

HEATWAVE TANNING SALON
Four locations to serve you in the City of Greater Sudbury.
Stand up and Lay down beds available.
State of the Art equipment. Safe and reliable.
For more information ENTER HERE

897-4006

 Located in Norm's Plaza
Hwy. 69N in Val Caron

 

New Orleans Pizza

 NEW ORLEANS PIZZA
Six locations to serve you in the City of Greater Sudbury.
Eat In or Take Out - Free Delivery
For more information on Lasalle & Val Caron Locations
 ENTER HERE

523-8080

 Located at 3049 Hwy 69N 
in Val Caron

 
 

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Valley East Today is published by
Infocom Canada Business Consultants Inc.