12 Months ago SoWal Life published its first edition covering the Santa Rosa Beach communities along County Highway 30A. 12,500 copies have been printed and direct mailed each month to every homeowner and businesses in the 32459 Zip Code as well as the Rosemary and Inlet Beach areas. In addition, tourists can pick up a copy at local Publix Supermarkets, and a number of vacation hotspots like the HUB 30A and Watercolor Inn. At the time, SoWal Publisher Dave White said “The purpose of the paper is to let South Walton residents know what’s going on in the community- all year round… there’s a brand new community developing here and for the most part their interests and buying habits are under represented by established area news publications. I believe South Walton is ready for a paper all it’s own and represents its own niche.” White brought his “Hyper-Local” concept with him from the suburbs of Boston where many small town publishers were providing the community a service by direct mailing the newspaper to every home and business.
The idea was to provide a great advertising vehicle as well as an old fashioned news source that everyone in town receives. “ We’ve had a lot of fun and great success here in South Walton” White says. “The magical part of living here is just about everyone chose to live here. We are a burgeoning ‘local’ community, yet, unlike most towns and cities across the country, we didn’t grow up with one another. There’s a huge need for community and connectedness that traditional hometowns’ take for granted.
“We’ve built the paper around the unique flavors, fashion, art and music scene of this area. We don’t want to be the paper of record, we want to be a resource for events, highlight locals doing interesting things and relay important local matters to the South Walton community”.
Over 12,000 copies of SoWal Life will be printed each month and direct mailed free of charge to each household and business in Miramar Beach and Sandestin. This will bring total monthly distribution of SoWal Life to approx. 25,000 copies spanning 2 separate targeted editions.
“We especially love to highlight all the great work being done by our local Churches and community non-profit organizations”, White Said. “We invite all of our readers to submit story ideas, articles or events to: editor@southwalton.life.
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