my.nwi.com

General

What is Marketplace?
The Marketplace is an online community, a special place created especially for our readers to share and connect with other people in the Northwest Indiana area with similar likes, interests, issues and concerns. The Marketplace allows readers to share their experiences, join groups, and interact with businessesassociated with their similar interests.

Is Marketplace free?
Marketplace is free for registered members of the My.nwi.com community. For businesses, basic listings are complimentary. If you are a business and would like more information on the expanded business profiles please see the Marketplace for Businesses section or email mailto:mynwi@nwi.com?subject=Promote%20My%20Business.

Why use Marketplace?
For Readers: Marketplace gives you the opportunity to research businesses and their products and services as well as share the information with other members of the community. It can give you more information to make informed decisions about how to spend your money and your time.

For Brides: Marketplace is a virtual bridal fair. It gives you the opportunity to research businesses and their products and services as well as share the information about your wedding with other members of the community and wedding guests. It'll save you time and money planning your wedding and related events.

For Businesses: Marketplace is an all-in-one marketing platform you can use to reach out and engage with your customer base. Your business profile will help drive users to your existing website or can serve as your primary web presence, providing you with a lower cost alternative that is fast and easy to update. Please contact mailto:mynwi@nwi.com?subject=Promote%20My%20Business for more information on getting started today.

Who uses Marketplace?
Any member of My.nwi.com can use the Marketplace. Brides, grooms, their wedding parties, guests, friends and family use the Best Bridal Marketplace. Business owners who want to promote their products and services also use Marketplace.

Who should I recommend or give a Thumbs Up to on Marketplace?
You should leave feedback on any business that you have worked with or purchased a product or service from.

Who can see my profile?
In your Account Settings, you can set your preferences to show your profile to everyone in the community, just your friends or no one.

Can business owners message me after I friend their business?
Yes, you can receive news and offers from any business that you are friends with. You will see a Bulletin on your main profile page when you log in.

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Account Settings

How do I change my basic account information?
You can change this by clicking on My Stuff > Edit Profile. From here you can add or change any information on your profile page.

How do I change my email address?
You can change your email address by going to My Stuff > Edit Profile. From the box on the left click on Login/Password. Update field titled 'User Name'.

How can I add photos or videos?
You can upload either by clicking My Photos or My Videos on your main profile page under My Stuff and following the directions on each page.

What are acceptable video formats?
Maximum file size supported is 100MB
Acceptable file formats: MPEG,1,2,4, AVI, .mov, .wmv and .flv

What is a friend?
A friend is either a member of the community or business who you can attach yourself to. Your friends can send you messages, bulletins and give you a shout out on your profile page.

What is a Shout Out?
A shout out is a message from one of your friends that will be displayed on your profile page.

What is a Bulletin?
A bulletin is a group message from either a business or member of the community. You can disable bulletins from certain friends by going to the My Friends section and clicking 'Disable Bulletins' by their name.

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Invite

How do I invite friends to join the community?
Once you have logged in, you will see Invite Others in the gray bar at the top. Click Invite Others to invite friends and family to join the community.

How do I invite a business or other community member to be my friend?
Once you are on a business or user profile page, you may click Be My Friend. Once they accept, you will show up on their list of friends.

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Privacy

What does Marketplace do with my personal information?
Our No Spam Pledge: We won't share any information you provide with a third party without your permission. This means you won't receive emails from anyone other than the The Times as a result of registering. You may receive messages and bulletins from members and businesses you are friends with in the Marketplace community -- but can control these settings in your Account Settings and in your Friends section.

Who can see my profile?
You have several display options when it comes to your personal information. You may choose to share your profile with all registered users, only your friends or no one. You can change this at anytime by going to the Account Setting section.

Can I make my profile private?
Absolutely. Simply go to your Account Setting and check the box underneath Private Profile that says Yes (This setting hides your public profile).

How can I block a user or business from seeing my information?
You must set your profile preferences under Account Settings one of two ways: make your profile private to the entire community by selecting Yes or Only to be viewed by friends, making sure that business or user has been deleted from your friend list. The business will be able to see that you are a member of your community, but not access your profile, send messages or bulletins

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Log in & Membership

I forgot my password.
Please go here: http://My.nwi.com/, fill in your email address and then and click on "Email my Password". You will receive an authorization email at the email address you entered to accept the changed password.

I want to change my password, email address, or member name.
Please go to My Stuff > Edit Profile. From the box on the left click on Login/Password where you can change your member name, password, email address and other information.

How do I cancel my account?
You may cancel your account by emailing us with Cancel Account and your username in the subject. We will have your account deleted within 2 business days.

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Writing Recommendations

What makes a great recommendation?
A great recommendation is useful, detailed and honest. We want to hear about your experience and what made it so great. Was it a great atmosphere or place? Did you have excellent customer service or find an exceptional deal? Let us know why you liked the products and services that you used.

Why should I make a recommendation?
Pay it forward! Your recommendations and the recommendations of others in the community make My.nwi.com Marketplace a great and useful place because people like you take the time to share thoughtful insights on local businesses and services.

Who should I recommend?
You should leave feedback on any business that you have purchased products or services from.

Can I recommend a business I'm associated with?
If you are connected to a business either personally or professionally, you may recommend that business -- as long as you are clear in the recommendation about the details of your affiliation.

What if the business I'm recommending gave me something for free or at a discount?
It is important to disclose any "extras" you received for writing the recommendation for the business.

What if I had a bad experience? Can I say something negative?
Marketplace's mission is to accurately portray both positive and negative aspects of all of our members' experiences. We are an open forum; however, we strongly recommend you try and work out any problems with the business directly before writing a negative review.

Can a business remove my recommendation?
Yes, a business may remove your recommendation if they feel it is unfounded or untrue. They may remove your review if it is hearsay, a personal attack or outright slander. We encourage our business members to let the free flow of information occur knowing that not all reviews will be the most positive. We also encourage them to contact the negative reviewer directly to work out any problems or issues that might have caused this bad experience.

Does Marketplace ever remove recommendations?
No, Marketplace will never remove a recommendation from a business profile page, unless it violates our Terms of Use

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Marketplace for Businesses

How can I take control of my own listing?
Search for your business listing in the directory and click Sign Me Up! Fill out the form and you will be contacted in less than 2 business days with more information. You may also email to get started right away. If you want to read more about this, please click here to be directed to our Business Owners Guide.

How can I make an employee an Admin of my listing?
You an assign an administrator to help you manage and update your business profile listing. Go to My Stuff > Administration, locate your business and click on (Manage). Click on Manage Customers in the gray box on left (employee needs to be a registered user of My.nwi.com.com and have clicked on "be our fan" from your business profile page. Within this section you can click to add them as an Administrator.

How is this different than my ad in the yellow pages?
Marketplace is an interactive, two-way conversation between you and your customers. Although the yellow pages are important, the habits of how people find and consume information are changing rapidly. In most cases, the data that's available consists of your business name, address and phone, mined from another database that you have no control over or may not even know exists. Marketplace has no deadlines and never closes - you can change or add to your listing whenever you need to get information to your customers.

How will Marketplace help my business show up in search results such as Yahoo! or Google?
Marketplace's pages, including your business profile page, are "optimized" to direct users to your profile when a search is performed about you in major search engines. What does that mean exactly? Our directory was built to make your listing display in search results. Your Marketplace listing gives your potential and existing customers an even easier way to find your information online.

How can I post special offers or coupons?
You can post store news and events by clicking on My Blogs under My Stuff and locate your business blog. Click on Add New Entry next to your Business Blog. Fill out with Title and Description, or upload a graphical coupon by using the tools available to you in the editor. To edit, click on 'Past Entries' and select the offer or event you want to edit from the list provided..

How can I upload photos and videos?
You can upload either by clicking My Photos or My Videos on your main profile page and following the directions on each page.

What are acceptable video formats?
Maximum file size supported is 100MB
Acceptable file formats: MPEG,1,2,4, AVI, .mov, .wmv and .flv

How can I message all of my customers?
You now have the tools to reach all your customers in one message. Simply go to My Stuff > Administration, locate your business and click on (Manage). Click on 'Post a Bulletin' in the gray box on the left. This will send an email message to ALL users who have friended (become a fan) of your business. You can reward your loyal customers by sending them previews to events or special offers and coupons.

How can I view recommendations?
From My Stuff > Administration locate your business. If a new recommendation has been written, you will be notified here with the number of pending recommendations.

How can I recommend other businesses?
You are able to recommend your other favorite businesses. Locate this businesses by searching for them by category or name here: http://My.nwi.com/community/bridal.htm. Click on the business to pull up their business profile page and click on "Be our Fan" button on the right side of the page. You will be prompted to "friend" them as your personal account (your personal avator) or as the business owner (your logo). Choose one or both. If you chose to friend them as the owner of your business, your logo will be displayed on their page under "Businesses Recommending Us".

How can I find out more information about My.nwi.com Marketplace Bridal program?
With My.nwi.com Marketplace, you now have the tools to reach your existing customers and the ability to engage with new ones. The future of person-to-person marketing is here! To find out more about this program please email us at mynwi@nwi.com.

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SUPPORT/HELP

Are you looking for more information on advanced settings?
Want to become an expert user? Please check out our extensive HOW TO Tutorial.

Who can I contact about feedback or suggestions?
We value your feedback and suggestions. Please email us with your feedback, comments or suggestions.

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