Promote Your City

Never underestimate the power of your yapper. There have been countless case studies done to understand and to tap the power of word of mouth. A study done in North America in 2008 showed that 83% of participants trust the word of a friend. So what does that have to do with Newburgh? I was prompted to think about promoting Newburgh from one of the responses from the business survey we did a few weeks back:

“Promote the good parts in this city… Why isn’t the affordability of this city promoted? There are plenty of nice homes for under $200,000 in this city- hard to find in the surrounding areas. But people just hear about the bad things that happen here.”

This got me thinking. What is your normal reaction after telling someone you live in Newburgh? Are you boasting about all the change going on trying to get others to consider moving too? Or, do you shy away? If you are reading this blog you are probably socially connected on the tons of social websites that exist today and, you probably have dozens of “friends”. I am constantly reading updates about an awesome restaurant, looking at someone’s pictures from a relaxing vacation spot, or hearing about everyone’s new favorite song or artist. What if you promoted Newburgh with the same hype as you do everything else that you are excited about?

One second though. I know that home is where the heart is, which equals home being a really personal place. Where each of us make the decision to settle down and buy a home is personal and in essence a reflection of us. Being that Newburgh gets bad publicity, fighting the negative perception of Newburgh can be really offensive or just tiring. You might feel like you don’t want to be defending Newburgh all the time or you just don’t want to put your personal life out there on the internet. I understand, I can easily get offended too sometimes by negative comments. But if you already have a good size group of social friends, why not use the power of your mouth to spread the word about the good things about Newburgh like: the history, the architecture, the affordability, the houses, the diversity, the location (60 miles North of NYC), the river, the views, the mystery, and the hundreds of possibilities that lie ahead for anyone with a little elbow grease and a vision.

I’m trying to do my part with the blog. I am happy to say I have a nice bunch of loyal readers from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, who are looking to relocate into a historic home (Thanks for following by the way ?). Could you do something too? It wouldn’t hurt to once a month let your social network know about an affordable house, your community events, your own renovations, or simply how much you love your city. Since the power of the yapper is so great, you never know what kind of influence these updates might have on other people. You might get a new neighbor out of it. A friend of mine moved down South and ended up bringing 3 other families with them! The City needs more homeowners. We have already seen how the Newburgh crush starts.

Something else to mention is that business owners and employees are first the encounters many out-of-towners have with Newburgh when visiting. What better way to draw in customers than talk about productive things? One of the first things that got me hooked on Newburgh were the great conversations I had with business owners. So make sure that you and your staff are Newburgh ambassadors and speak well of the positive things going on. Every little bit helps.

So, what are you waiting for? Promote your city!

2 Comment

  • Thanks for the uplifting post! I am a city transplant living in Kingston NY. I also feel tired of defending why I choose to live here. Kingston and Newburgh have a lot in common. Thanks for reminding me to focus on all of the wonderful things my city has to offer 🙂

  • You are quite welcome Tess. All Hudson towns are beautiful and should get the same amount of attention. Thanks for the comment 😀