EssexHeritage.org, the flagship website of the Essex National Heritage Area, is maintained by the Essex National Heritage Commission (ENHC). The site promotes the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Essex National Heritage Area by providing information on non-profit sites and organizations within the Essex National Heritage Area. A major resource to visitors and residents, EssexHeritage.org receives an average of 10,000 unique visitors per month.
To recognize and support the contribution of businesses that represent or incorporate the Area’s heritage, the ENHC has created a new component of EssexHeritage.org to promote for-profit heritage based businesses in the Area.
The Heritage Business Program (HBP) extends the promotional benefits of a listing on EssexHeritage.org to profit enterprises whose sites or activities promote and preserve the historic, cultural and natural resources of Essex County, Massachusetts. Participation in the HBP allows Heritage Businesses to benefit from the online presence of EssexHeritage.org, its outreach to regional, national and international visitors and its online ticket sales opportunities.
EssexHeritage.org has a highly visible web presence via its connections with such popular sites as www.nps.gov, (the National Park Service Site) and www.recreation.gov (the one-stop recreation initiative of the Federal Government). EssexHeritage.org pages featuring Area non-profit organizations frequently top results in popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Heritage Businesses are able to receive the same promotional benefits as non-profits – for a fee – through new EssexHeritage.org pages.
Listings
EssexHeritage site pages are organized into thematic lists such as:
- Sites by Community
- Sites by Theme: Natural, Cultural or Historic
- Sites by Season (for example: “Best places for kids in winter”, “Activities on the water”)
All listings will include:
- Photo or logo
- Hyperlink to homepage from listing title
- 30-word description (maximum!)
- Address and phone number
Heritage Businesses, in turn, are provided with an appropriate ENHC Heritage Business icon to use while providing a link to EssexHeritage.org from the enterprise’s home web page. Reciprocal links provide both EssexHeritage.org and the Heritage Business’s website significant boosting in web search engines such as Google.
Pricing
Discounted fees are available for Heritage Businesses who also participate in the Essex Heritage Explorers program. Enterprises that host an Explorer event or provide a discount or promotion to Essex Heritage Explorers or are Corporate Members are eligible. Information on the Explorer program is available by contacting Elizabeth Rankin or Kate Fox .
Special Introductory Rate:
$125 ($85 for Explorer participants) For 1 year
Application
Enterprises interested in being listed on EssexHeritage.org as a Heritage Business should complete this form. Please note: the ENHC reserves the right to select the businesses for the Program that the ENHC believes represent the natural, cultural or historic resources of the Essex National Heritage Area. Alternative support programs, including reciprocal linking with EssexHeritage.org, are available for businesses in other fields. (Please contact Mary Williamson, 978-740-0444, for more information.)
Heritage businesses may:
- Operate in historically or culturally significant buildings (for example, the building has an historic designation by an agency such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation);
- Provide a regionally authentic service or product (for example, a restaurant that sells a type of food invented at the restaurant);
- Preserve or promote the stories and history of the Area in an accurate and appropriate way;
- Preserve or promote art created by regional artists or representing the region;
- Preserve or promote the natural landscape or seascapes of the region, including naturalist-guided whale watching;
- Preserve or promote historic structures in the Area.
Non-profit sites and organizations that preserve and/or promote the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Area are eligible for free listings on EssexHeritage.org. Please contact Jeanne Pickering for more information.