Dear Downtown CV Merchants,

Dear CV mechants suffering in the construction zone:

Here's a free service for reaching your customers with non-advertising information about unusual parking arrangements, unusual promotions related to compensating for your loss of business or other things you need people to know right now. It's free. It's for you and everyone else in Castro Valley.

If you want to promote your business in the way that an ad normally would, you need to buy an ad. But if you have unusual information or community-building information to share, the how-to instructions below will help you reach out.

Look at the tabs above this article. They say Home, News, Events, etc. That's where you can enter your own information, which people can see in two ways:

(1) When they look at our website

(2) In a daily email that readers can sign up to receive

It's all free, but it is self-service. You must enter the info yourself.  You must "sign in" to the website to access the services below. That requires a name and an email. (We don't use this email to send you junk. It's just for site membership.)

For announcements

1. Click on the News tab above.
2. Choose the second-to-last item from the drop-down menu, Announcements.
3. Look toward the top-right for a lime green note with a plus sign that says, "Announce it to everyone!"
4. Fill in the blanks and click "Post my announcement" at the bottom.

For events

1. Click on the Events tab above.
2. Look top-right for lime green note that says, "Put it on the calendar!"
3. Fill in the blanks and click, "Post my announcement!"

If you were at the in the Daughtrey Building, you know me. I'm Lauren and I'm the editor of Castro Valley Patch. Welcome to our community-to-community news and sharing site.

If you are a would-be advertiser, please contact Sarah Stocker. (Editorial and advertising are kept separate.)