The basic membership at $240 per year includes a presence in the directory and a “custom developed large banner ad in up to 5 categories”. Where do I find the banner ad?
When you click on any category, the banner ads will appear just below the links. Many links do not have banner ads today, as they have chosen the "economy" option. You can also have text as an alternative (the short description you mentioned) , which believe it or not, some studies say text is more effective. Perhaps the best place to see an example of a banner ad is in the "agents& realtors" category. You will get an ad like this in 5 categories.
Where will articles, press releases, and announcements appear?
Articles, press releases and announcements will appear right on the main page as any article. I add 3 or 4 stories a day to the site, so it will last about a week there. It will also be filed in the appropriate section and remain there much longer. How does Free E-mail Marketing work? Do we get the e-mail list? Do you send regular e-mails to which we can contribute?
Free Email Marketing is as you guessed it the 2nd time. I have a list of 2500 or so subscribers, and I will send links to the latest articles to them weekly. If you provided an article that week, your article will be included in this email. I will also send messages exclusively for your business, but this requires that you provide the email database. If we sign up might our competitors sign up later, or do you regulate and limit that?
I do not regulate or limit advertisers in any category, but I do order them on the list on a first come, first served basis. You can always outshine your competition by providing regular articles, or purchasing ads on the main page