Planet Planning

Welcome to our newest Artist Gallery. Artist Jonathan Romain is opening a new gallery on Sheridan Road just north of Nebraska.

Learn more about Jonathan at his web site at:

http://www.jromain.com/home

Welcome to Peoria.

http://artistrelocation.blogspot.com/

Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and MySpace

I have been using Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace to market the City of Peoria, and to get the word out about the great opportunities available for development and redevelopment. It is a free way to tell people our story. And the price is right - Free. We like Free.

Now, how effective is it? That is a little harder to know for sure. My associate and friend Chris Setti tells me I am talking to myself. That is, of course true, but I also know that some others are reading the blog. Developers call me and ask me about things that they have read on my various blogs.

I use a counter on some of my blogs, so I have an idea about how many people read it. And I use it a great deal when someone calls me with questions about Peoria. I simply tell them to go to my master blog,

http://peoria.blog.com/

and click on an entry that interests them or that they want to discuss.

Then we can discuss. They don't need to take copious confusing notes about our programs - they can read about the Enterprise Zone or TIF on line.

I have been at the blogging business much longer than the other programs, and know the most about that. Blogging about your organization is of course somewhat risky - you always have the chance of offending someone. But the medium also lets you talk a little more directly to citizens. You can put a little more of your personality and humor into the blog - the City Web Site is of course invaluable, but it takes some time to get content on the site.

Citizens will of course be talking and blogging about you and your government. By getting the word out yourself you can provide the straight scoop, at least as you know it.

I am learning on the job with the other programs. They reach a somewhat different market, and so are worth pursuing.

How much time do I devote to these blogs? About 10 minutes a day. So it does not take much time. And if I land one more redevelopment of our inner city as a result of this effort, it will be time well spent.

Master Blog Address - All My blogs are listed in the link below

http://peoria.blog.com/

The Scoop on EDA Grants

http://www.eda.gov/

Great national exposure for our area. And it is all true

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4887228n%3fsource=search_video

Revolving Loan Fund

The City’s revolving loan fund began in 1988 with a grant from the Federal Economic Develiopment Agency (EDA) in the amount of $500,000, with a match of $269,232 from the City’s capital funds. This $769,232.00 has been used to leverage $23,013,806 in private investment in the City and has resulted in the City loaning a total of $3,477,966.50 over the past 20 years to 40 businesses.

Borrowers report that 604 jobs have been created initially and 1,278 have been retained as a result of the City’s Business development fund. Of course if the business is successful more jobs were subsequently created. The fund currently recapitalizes at approximately $22,122.25 per month. The interest rate on each loan is 4% below the prime rate on the date of approval, with a minimum rate of 4%.

More info at:

http://peoria.blog.com/

Look under incentives

http://www.peoriaincentives.blogspot.com/

Aurora Art Walk

For more information check out

www.AuroraArtWalk.com

The info below describes the Local Business Center, the free tool from Google that helps businesses appear on Google Maps. By encouraging businesses in your region to use Local Business Center, your whole town will benefit from better content on the map, and individual business owners will benefit from free exposure on the world's #1 online map.

Here are a variety of resources we encourage you to share with your business community:

1) Introductory video explaining Local Business Center and how to sign up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lviDz8fUMTE

2) A printable PDF postcard for distribution to business owners.

3) An online resource center with FAQs and step by step sign up instructions:

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=143059

4) A written description of Local Business Center to customize and
include in your next newsletter (below):

"How does free, no-strings-attached promotion on Google sound to you? Sign up right now for Google's Local Business Center. Local Business Center allows business owners to control their online listing on Google Maps, the #1 online mapping service in the world. By visiting Local Business Center onlinez:

http://maps.google.com/localbusinesscenter

and claiming your business, you will be able to edit details, like opening hours and services, upload photos of your business, and much more. If you have a website, you can link to it. If you don't, think of this as your first spot online!

We'd love to hear about your Local Business Center experience. To provide feedback and share success stories of businesses in your town, reply directly to this email (localbusinesscenter@google.com).

Enjoy,

The Google Maps team