17 Aug Spotlight on Nisha Nagji, founder of Local Directory
Spotlight on Nisha Nagji, founder of Local Directory
headshot of the local directory owner and director
What began 12 years ago as a means to escape the rat race and find a job that would fit around her family, has transformed into a thriving marketing and advertising business for the founder and director of Local Directory, Nisha Nagji.
After investigating a few options that would allow her to work from home more, it was a chance conversation with a friend that led Nisha to the launch of the first Local Directory in 2006, with just one edition delivered to 3,000 households in Amersham. She has obviously hit on a winning formula because now, in 2018, Local Directory has 12 editions that arrive every month through over 100,000 letterboxes in the Herts and Bucks region.
With its mix of editorial, local news and local advertising, with Local Directory not only has Nisha successfully redefined the concept of “hyper-local” marketing, she has proved that printed advertising can still flourish in these days of everything and everyone seemingly being online.
Nisha’s background is in accounts, finance and bookkeeping, so she obviously knows what it takes to make a company successful. In the early days Nisha worked with a “team” of one other local mum, managing all the sales and administration while her husband Raj worked on the design of the magazine in his spare time. Distribution was slowly growing, and in 2008, after Raj was made redundant, Nisha and Raj decided to both work at the business full-time and the rest – as they say – is history!
Since 2008 a new edition of Local Directory has been launched every year, with its reach and support for local communities now stretching far and wide around the two counties. What’s the secret of their success?
“The social media world was in full swing”, Nisha says, reflecting on the early days, “but for us it was print media advertising that was gaining ground. Through trial and error we have learned what works for our advertisers, and what doesn’t. Getting the content right means that the magazines are retained and read, which is why about 35-50% of the content is editorial.”
six purple circles surround title of the 6 unique selling points to advertising with the local directory magazine
Nisha’s passion for her readers, customers and advertisers is evident in the growth of Local Directory. Nisha spends time getting to know her advertiser’s needs and helping them grow their businesses. Delivery of the magazine is monitored by a mobile GPS tracking app, recording distribution every 4 seconds with a date and time stamp. This is how she guarantees distribution for her advertisers, which is why local businesses trust Nisha with their marketing and why they repeatedly invest in Local Directory campaigns.
12 new magazines in 12 years is impressive growth, and Nisha is looking forward to what the future holds for the company. “When I decided on a change of direction all those years ago, I never dreamed Local Directory would become the life-changing affair it is today,” she muses. “No two days are ever the same and there is always something new to learn. All I can say is a huge thank you to everyone who supported us along the way. It’s been amazing!”
And all of this came from a chance conversation with a friend 12 years ago!
Author: Helen Say, CBL Copywriting & SEO https://www.cblservices.co.uk/
Author: Raj
Owner
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