As an independent local business selling to consumers, you need to look for every edge you can find. So when I tell you that a major credit card company is spending millions to help promote local small businesses, you've got to at least be a little curious about how it works and what's in it for you.

Here's the deal: American Express wanted to help small businesses do more business, so they came up with a way to encourage holiday shoppers to support their local merchants on the Saturday after the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday shopping frenzy. They dubbed it "Small Business Saturday," which falls on Nov. 28 this year, and made available tons of free marketing and advertising materials that more and more local retailers across the country are capitalizing on.

The trend toward buying locally produced goods and services is definitely increasing. The Small Business Saturday campaign gives you a low-cost way to cash in on that buy-local interest. The call to action could make that special Saturday become your biggest grossing day of the year, if it isn't already, or boost it even more if it is.

The first Small Business Saturday took place Nov. 27, 2010. Since then, governors, mayors and senators across the country have spoken in favor of Small Business Saturday. Even President Barack Obama has expressed his support of the effort.

If you have a store, whether it's brick and mortar or click and order — or both — you can't not take a test-drive with this innovative and successful program. After all, it's free. As a small business owner, AmEx considers you to be automatically part of the Shop Small Movement and charges no fee for participation.

And if you’re still skeptical, check out the vibrant Facebook community with more than 3 million "likes" and see how other merchants have profited.

Get your fair share of the estimated $14.9 billion spent at small independent businesses by the 88 million holiday shoppers who showed up on Small Business Saturday last year — up from 79 million in 2012. Become one of the more than 1,400 neighborhood champions who have signed up to rally their local businesses.

Click here to register by Nov. 16 to make the most of the array of free "Shop Small" marketing materials such as tote bags, social media updates to share and downloadable store signage. If you are a qualifying American Express Card accepting small merchant, you can unlock additional resources.

Consumers are ready to support their neighborhood businesses like never before, so do your part to solidify the day as a holiday shopping tradition.