About Just a Small Town Girl
Marketing Success with a small marketing budget ~ that’s what Just a Small Town Girl is all about!
Lake Arrowhead, CA.
I truly am just a small-town girl. I grew up in a small, rural town in Southern California; moved to the big city (Los Angeles) after college and eventually came back to a small Southern California resort town, high in the San Bernardino mountains called Lake Arrowhead. I spent 21 years marketing the area with very limited funds and sometimes with absolutely NO marketing/advertising budget. Over the years the community successfully held its own in the Southern California tourism market against destinations with huge, multi-million dollar marketing budgets. Oh, by the way, I was officially the Director of Marketing and Tourism for the Lake Arrowhead Communities – I did this part-time.
In March 2013 I was hired as the tourism consultant for Visit San Jacinto Valley. Together with the community, we’ve been building a multicultural tourism program, from the ground up, showcasing the Native American, Hispanic and Agricultural cultures that have shaped the area. This program won its first economic development award in Feb. 2015 as a finalist in the Inland Empire Economic Partnership’s “Red Tape to Red Carpet” awards.
Ramona Pageant, San Jacinto Valley
I don’t only do “destination marketing” on a small budget though. Over the years I’ve marketed entities with very small budgets such as a retail shopping center, a resort hotel, a school district, consulted with a couple of other cities, a yearly summer concert series, a film festival, countless small businesses, a ton of events, worked with the marketing of the Inland Empire region of California, a startup theatre company, and am a consultant/trainer for a county’s Nonprofit Resource Center to name a few.
Along with founders Becky McCray and Sheila Scarborough, I’m part of Tourism Currents. We are a 3-person business that trains tourism and hospitality professionals how to attract their perfect visitor.
Marketing with a small budget is certainly a challenge, but for me, it’s always been totally FUN. If it wasn’t fun, I never would have done this for most of my adult life. A perk of this job is that I do spend a bit of my time speaking at various tourism and marketing events.
I’m in the Trenches Daily, Just Like You!
Most small towns and small businesses are overwhelmed with marketing. This is where I come in! Here are 3 reasons why I hope you will follow my blog and join the Just a Small Town Girl community:
* I have been marketing with little or no budget and competing successfully with entities that have huge budgets for over 25 years.
* I’m in the trenches, the same as you, day in and day out, walking the walk, talking the talk.
* I know what it takes to run successful small-budget (or no budget) marketing programs. I know how to share my experience and expertise to help you build your own successful small-budget marketing program, and have a track record to prove it.
You, Too, Can Market with a Small Budget!
Thanks for taking the time to read about me – I look forward to connecting with you along this wild and wonderful digital journey we’re traveling together.
To do marketing properly (and especially with no budget) you have to continually learn, continually connect with people, never stop looking for new, cutting-edge angles to generate interest. I hope that we can connect and talk about what works, ask questions and contribute new ideas to help each other.
Remember, you can successfully market with a small budget, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!!