Step by step instructions

Ready to promote local shopping to more of your community? Try an editorial or a letter to the editor. You can submit this to your local newspaper, share it in any organization newsletters, and post it on social media!

Step 1. Easily grab these 3 simple numbers for your state or territory.

If you’re in the USA, go to Small Business Profiles at the Small Business Administration. Scroll down and click on your state or territory. You’re looking for these numbers:

• Number of small businesses
• Percentage of small businesses
• Percentage of employees

If you’re in another great country, try searching for each stat, like “Number of small businesses” plus the name of your state, territory or most relevant region. I just tried “number of small businesses New Zealand” and found out that there are 546,000 small business that are 97% of all businesses in New Zealand, plus they employ 29.3% of all employees.

Hot tip: Keep the PDF or website for your data open in a tab on your browser or on your phone, and it will be simple to find the numbers to fill in the template.

Here’s an example for the State of New Mexico:

Step 2. Copy the template below to your favorite editor like Google Docs, Word, or even the notes app on your phone!

This template was provided by the Shop Indie Local promotion of the AMIBA – American Independent Business Alliance. They are a great resource for supporting local shopping all year long.

The Google Docs version of the template is here. (That link is subject to change in future years. If it’s no longer working, just copy the text from below.)

Step 3. Look for the sections in brackets {LIKE THIS} and fill them in.

You already know your state or territory name, and you just picked up those 3 simple numbers about small businesses. Just plop them into the note or document to customize it.

Step 4. Change any wording to make it sound more like you!

It’s ok to reword it, add something, or delete stuff that you would never say. The more personal you can make it, the better!

Don’t want to change a thing? That’s fine, too.

Step 5. Add a local story, or tell about a favorite local business.

The perfect place to do this is right after “entrepreneurial spirit.” Just start a new paragraph, and include a couple of sentences like this:

Holder Drug is the perfect example in our town. Not just the pharmacy, but also their amazing soda fountain! They’ve supported my family and yours for better health for generations, and they’re always one of the first donors to any local project.

Step 6. Submit it to a local newspaper.

Just email it to the editor or anyone you know at the paper. Check their website or a recent paper to find the email address. Or text a friend and ask!

Bonus points: Print it in organization newsletters.

If you belong to any club, church or organization, submit this for the next issue of the newsletter or email newsletter.

Double bonus points: Share on social media!

One super effective way to post on social media is to actually print out the letter on paper, sign it by hand, then post a photo of it to Instagram or Facebook with all the best local hashtags. And you can post the text in the comments. Multiply it by cross posting to local shopping or buy/sell groups on Facebook.

Don’t forget the #ShopIndieLocal hashtag! 

That’s it! Ready to go? Here’s the template:

DRAFT Letter to the Editor Template: Shop Indie Local

In {ADD YOUR STATE/TERRITORY}, we pride ourselves on our independent thinking, ingenuity, and self-reliance — qualities reflected in our entrepreneurial spirit.

According to the Small Business Administration’s latest Small Business Profile, our state{OR TERRITORY} is home to more than {ADD NUMBER} small businesses (employing fewer than 500 people), comprising {ADD PERCENTAGE} percent of all {ADD YOUR STATE/TERRITORY} businesses.

Our small businesses also provide the most significant source of jobs across the state{OR TERRITORY}, employing {ADD EMPLOYEE PERCENTAGE} percent of all private-sector workers, compared to an average of 48 percent nationally.

Whether you run a business or not, we all have an essential role to play in supporting entrepreneurial success and community wealth. As many of us look to share gifts with friends, family, and coworkers, we also have the opportunity to give a gift to our community. When making holiday purchases, we ask you to “Shop Indie Local” and choose to spend your dollars at locally owned and independent businesses.

Why Shop Indie Local?

When you spend your dollars at locally owned retail businesses, more money returns to your local economy than if you spend that same dollar at a chain store.  According to Civic Economics, when you spend a dollar at an independent business, about 48 cents returns to your local economy. (Spend it at a chain store and only 14 cents return; spend it at an online giant and only pennies return.)  That 48 cents recirculate through a local economy, generating ripple effects that strengthen jobs, charitable contributions, and community prosperity. Capitalizing on this local multiplier effect is key to creating jobs and wealth in our community.

On the flip side, purchasing from Amazon or other remote online retailers provides virtually no economic benefit to our community. The American Independent Business Alliance calculates that 1 percent of the cost of an online purchase will go back into your community — only if the delivery person is a local resident.

Local, independent retail businesses help employ many more people than just those on the sales floor. They’re more likely to bank with your local banks and buy from other local businesses compared to absentee-owned companies. They’re also more likely to hire local service providers like accountants, graphic designers, sign-makers, webmasters, and various skilled positions — jobs for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Local non-profit organizations depend largely on contributions from local businesses. This support builds relationships that cement commitment to civic institutions like schools, churches, and fraternal leagues that aid economic prosperity, community cohesion, and trust.

If most of us shifted even one or two more purchases to independent, community-based businesses this season, we would create dramatic, positive changes in our local economies and help induce new jobs in our state{OR TERRITORY}.

So do yourself — and our community — a favor this year by shifting more of your spending to your local merchants, service providers, artisans, and locally owned and independent businesses. Along with helping your neighbors and community, you may just find that the Shop Indie Local spirit turns holiday shopping into a far more relaxing and enjoyable experience: one that rewards both you and your community.

{SIGN YOUR NAME HERE}