TOTAL LOCAL TURNS 30 YEARS STRONG

Over its 30 year history, Total Local, formerly known as CRG directories, has learned to adapt and change with time. We’re breathing a heavy sigh of relief that we are able to continue to publish guides, despite the challenges we endured due to COVID and supply chain issues in the printing industry last year. In 2022, while we will continue publishing our long-standing directories/community resource guides, we are forging ahead to add new community guides, in addition to improving our digital marketing services.

EFFECTIVENESS OF PRINT

Print continues to be a strong advertising media, despite all the naysayers. With the advent of email, there is less and less in a homeowner’s mailbox for advertisers to compete with and people still respond to direct mail at cost-effective rates. Print is tangible in a way that electronic communication is not. And, our community resource guides, unlike other forms of direct mail, are kept by many people all year long.

In a recent survey, we found that 22 percent of respondents use our guides at least weekly, 33 percent use them monthly, 28 percent use them occasionally, and 17 percent look through them at least once. With a majority of respondents using our directories more than once, advertising in Total Local Community Resource Guides is not only a great way to reach customers, but also helps provide each community with valuable local information about their government, schools, emergency services, organizations, history, parks, and more!

NEW WEBSITE

In addition to our community resource guides, we launched this website in February 2022. Each community where we publish a directory has their own community resource section, featuring local government, school, and organization contact information as well as featuring a community history and each of our local display advertisers. For our community guide display advertisers, their ad is also posted on our website for free on their own listing page.

FACEBOOK PAGES

For each community where we publish a guide, we also host a community resource page on Facebook. This page not only features each of our display advertisers (for free) three times per year, but we also repost community events, local news, and more. Our pages are not meant to compete with other community Facebook pages and groups. But, our community Facebook pages are yet another way for local businesses and community information, easily drowned out by well-funded news sources and big-name brands, to reach more people on Facebook.

MARKETING SERVICES

For three years now, we’ve been providing website design, development, and hosting services, along with social media management, to our advertisers and other clients throughout the state of Michigan. We also offer direct mail services, brochure writing and design, and all the things a full-service marketing agency provides. To help clients stay in touch with their customers, for some of them we also create and publish email newsletters.

THANK YOU to all of our advertisers, website and social media clients, those that have submitted content such as photos and recipes to our guides, and most of all to YOU our readers. We hope to continue to improve and provide community resource guides for the next 30 years and beyond!

Best regards,
Teresa Miller
President & Publisher

OUR STAFF

Teresa Miller
President & Publisher

President and Publisher of Total Local, Teresa Miller has worked in marketing communications for over 25 years. She has a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and completed her bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University. Prior to purchasing Total Local in 2019, Teresa owned and operated Agile T Marketing, a digital marketing agency in Stockbridge. Teresa is married to Michael Miller and together they have three college-aged children.  When not in the office, Teresa enjoys working with her family on their 400 ewe sheep farm, training her dog Mitzi, and scrapbooking.

David Edmonds
Vice President of Creative Services & Production

David has been with Total Local for 26 years. He was originally hired in 1997 as a graphic designer by our original owner, Ed Shotwell. Today, he is our Vice President of Creative Services and Production, producing 14 directories a year and overseeing the print side of Total Local. In his free time, he is a voracious reader; you can usually find him browsing the aisles at a local bookstore. He lives in Lansing with his dog, Vader, and his cat, Rey.

Jenny Black
Writer

Jenny Black is a writer for Total Local. She has been with Total Local (and formerly Agile T Marketing, prior to the transition) for over four years. With a Master’s Degree in English and an interest in all aspects of writing, Jenny enjoys creating content for clients, whether it be for newsletters, blog articles, website copy, or social media posts. She also helps write the histories and community information in the Total Local Community Directories. When she is not writing, Jenny enjoys spending time with her family, baking, and hiking on the many trails in the area.

Icarus Caine
Account Associate

Our youngest member, Icarus, has experience in customer service, is very detail oriented, and has a knack for picking up new skills. He currently lives in Eaton Rapids with friends and their two dogs, Bean and Lily. In his free time, he enjoys gaming, writing, hanging out with friends, and attending a variety of festivals.

Jaspreet Singh
Senior Developer

A full stack developer, Jaspreet has been working with Total Local for two years. He handles all of our website design and development projects, as well as other online marketing and graphic design work. With more than 10 years of experience in website and mobile application development, Jaspreet is looking forward to developing mobile applications for Total Local and our clients. Jaspreet lives with his wife and two children. They enjoy traveling together on weekend adventures.