I wanted to publicly apologize for 2 posts/emails you received the last couple of days. I hired a couple of so called professional freelance writers who took advantage of the opportunity.
I respect you and your time and you. You have come to expect only high quality material from this site and that has not changed.
I’d like to do now what I should have done originally, and offer the opportunity to my readers to contribute.
If you have marketing or pet care information you think would be valuable to the Dog Business Daily community of readers please submit a sample of an article to me at: fran@dogbusinessdaily.com
When submitting an article consider what your fellow pet care business owners might appreciate. Share tips or tricks for marketing and promotions that have worked for you, especially anything unique and creative.
Any article accepted will be published on my site, marketed on twitter and emailed to the Dog Business Daily subscriber list. Your business and website will receive credits in the signature of the article.
I appreciate you and am dedicated to helping you build your pet care business. Hopefully this opportunity will translate into PR and increased authority for you in your market.
If you think your donations to the HSUS are going to Pet Shelters - you may be suprised to learn…
Less than 1% of HSUS’s funds go to Pet Shelters!
Just because an organization is large, powerful and seems to talk the talk doesn’t mean your donations are actually doing what you intend. If your intention when donating to the HSUS is to contribute to animal shelters you may consider diverting your donations elsewhere.
The HSUS has earned a C- grade from (AIP) the American Institute of Philanthropy because less than 1% of HSUS’s funds go to pet shelters. As did the Fund for Animals, which merged with HSUS in 2005.
In addition to the extremely high costs associated with fundraising, the HSUS failed for the charity’s excessively high percentage of money diverted to the pension plans…to the tune of millions of dollars directed into executives pension plans.
A second nonprofit watchdog organization, Charity Navigator, recently ranked the HSUS a one star (lowest ranking) reflecting its high cost of fundraising.
I suggest we send a strong message to the HSUS by bypassing them altogether and sending our donations directly to our local shelters.
Let the HSUS know that you want your money directed toward shelters, not lawyers, lobbyists and executive pension plans.
A Custom Vinyl Banner Can Give New Businesses Much Needed Attention
The area of town I live in is really starting to grow commercially . This is exciting, as many new national and local businesses are developing space and creating commerce and activity around our main square. We have all heard rumors about which business is going into which building , but until those vinyl banners go up to tell us , it is all pure conjecture . Luckily , most of the new businesses have temporary custom vinyl banners in place that say, ” Coming Soon - Ladles ” or similar pre-notifications . These custom banners really get people talking about the new businesses and make people avid to try them out once they open.
The restaurant, Ladles, is a great example of a good custom vinyl banner attracting the right kind of attention. For months, while they awaited the completion of their new building , a temporary vinyl banner sign hung in the window with its name and estimated date of opening. My family and I pass that building every day, and that custom vinyl banner teased us for what felt like forever . We couldn’t wait to try it! And guess what? A lot of people felt the same way, because the day they opened , there was a line going out the door to try Ladle’s offerings - just because the owners didn’t wait to make good use of an attention grabbing custom banner !
How Do Custom Banners Maintain Attention?
Ladles has been open for a few weeks now, and business as of yet remains good. The vinyl banners have also evolved lately , still urging people to come in and give them a try . What kind of custom banners are these? Well, for starters , that “Coming Soon” banner has been changed to a “Now Open” sign. It is still a temporary vinyl banner sign with those two simple words , but it tells people that they are something new to try . Also, some people may have missed the opening dates on the first temporary custom vinyl banner , and it never hurts to remind the public of your new business.
Ladles also has a custom banner out in front of its building, with a graphic of a soup ladle and the slogan , “Hot Soup For Cool People.” So catchy I remembered it without even trying! Ladles is tucked into a new brick building with several new businesses, so it must use custom banners to stand out . Otherwise, the public might think the whole building was office space or even idle . Using a few different custom banner signs to create curiosity makes people want to try out your product !
Design An Amazing Custom Vinyl Banner
Remember the soup ladle on the new restaurant’s custom business sign? It’s the perfect graphic - simple, recognizable, easy to remember, and representative of the business. The coloring of Ladle’s vinyl custom banners is also well conceived - black lettering on a pale yellow background. Contrast of colors is essential on a vinyl banner to ensure visibility, and yellow is a color known to inspire appetites.
And take their slogan, “Hot Soups For Cool People”. This slogan Ladles came up with is also a great one - relevant to the business, soups, and memorable with its opposite word usage - hot and cool. The phrase is also small enough to fit onto the custom banner without cluttering it up with too much distraction and leaving enough space for the lettering to be large enough for people to read from a distance. It is also very clever in that it compliments its customers - it says to them that they are “cool.” It’s a marketing tactic that works, and Ladles has created an excellent design for a custom vinyl banner . No wonder they are always packed with customers new and returning !
Don’t Limit Your Use Of Custom Banner Signs
The owners of Ladles did not order just a couple custom vinyl banners to promote their business. They used several - both temporary and permanent - to indicate that they were coming, when they were coming, what they are, and when they opened. Their clever use of multiple custom signs and effective custom business sign design piqued people’s curiousity and made them eager to check them out. So when opening your own business, think about how useful custom banners are in creating anticipation and excitement. Before you know it, you’ll have a line out your door too!
You chose a product based on it’s demand and your knowledge of the product. That was the first step. Now you need to be sure you can find a source for your product.
If you chose a physical product the two best places to start are Amazon Associates Program and E-bay. If you chose a digital product or a specialty item you will need to go direct to the source of the product or a distributor or find them on an affiliate management site like commission junction.
Either way, you are going to set yourself up to receive a commission on the product by getting setup as an affiliate.
Amazon and E-bay are straight forward. Set yourself up for both sites even if your first product isn’t going to be sourced from either place. Sign up for Google Adsens as well as from Kontera. I am going to show you how to generate additional income while you are selling your chosen affiliate product.
If your product comes from abc website, simply visit that site and search for an affiliate signup link. It can usually be found at the bottom of the website, along with the terms and conditions and contact links.
If it is not at the bottom of the site, you can sometimes find it in the contact us or about us links. Not all sites offer affiliate programs - so if your chosen product doesn’t you can either choose another product or contact the site and ask them if they have a program and if not, if you could work something out to promote their item.
Many times, site owners are slightly more educated about online marketing than you are right now. They don’t even think to setup an affiliate program even when they have a terrific product.
For the sake of speed - let’s find a product that already has an affiliate program. The other option is to get setup to buy from a drop ship wholesaler. The best place to do that is Worldwide Brands, One Source.
They are the “official” wholesale source for E-bay. It is a source for drop shippers, light bulk, liquidations and importers that have been pre-screened, safe and reliable.
Go setup your affiliate accounts right now - it may take a day or so to receive your approval emails from Amazon and E-bay and possibly longer from other sites.
After you have setup your affiliate account, come back and look for the next article. We are going to get your business online in the next article.
The much anticipated series…How To Make Money Online with Your Dog Business is officially open!
Woof Woof!
We are going to take you through a simple step by step process of making your first $1000 online. If you don’t have a website yet - no worries. This is really simple stuff. You won’t have much of a learning curve at all.
The most important piece of this lesson is to just do it. Once the money starts coming in you will be free to tweak and learn and refine. For now, it is all about getting started online fast.
The very first step is to find something you want to sell. I know that might seem obvious, but the internet is full of websites people built to make money with that have absolutely no monetization strategy at all.
First, pick a product you want to sell.
It can be some information product like a “how to groom your dog” book or video (it doesn’t have to be your own creation! It can be a video or book you have created or something you intend to create in the near future or someone else’s product - we’ll talk about that soon); or it can be some physical item, like a dog toy, dog food or a dog bed.
All that matters is that you choose a product people want to buy.
No rocket science here!
Do not be afraid of choosing the wrong product. This is all about getting started fast. It is more important to start making money than it is to pick the perfect product or create the perfect video. Besides, there just isn’t a thing as perfection.
Getting it done. Making the decision is the most important step here.
So, pick something you know something about, something you use, something you purchased that you can recommend to someone else. Which means, a product you actually like and can feel good about endorsing.
That is all for step one. Decide what you want to sell. Tomorrow, we will discuss step #2, you’ve picked a product, now what?
Warm Waggles,
Fran
fran@dogbusinessdaily.com
IF YOU WANT TO EASILY AND EFFORTLESSLY PUT VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE -This is the camera I currently use to quickly and effortlessly take video and upload it to my blog.
IT IS SO SIMPLE…YOU POINT, PUSH THE RECORD BUTTON TO START AND STOP, PLUG THE ENTIRE CAMERA INTO YOUR COMPUTER’S USB PORT AND YOU HAVE A VIDEO!
THERE IS EVEN A BUTTON THAT ASKS IF YOU WANT TO SEND YOUR NEW VIDEO TO YouTube. Say yes, and you can immediately go to YouTube and grab a link to your video and put it on your blog post just like I have done dozens of times on this blog.
If you haven’t yet put your pet care business online - this is the time!
I am going to dedicate a series of posts to help you get online and profitable in the new year. Keep a watch out for the series - better yet, subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss a single post. I am going to start with a simple strategy for getting profitable fast - you won’t want to miss it.
Meanwhile, register for the free video’s below. They don’t start until January and are for already established online businesses but the information is invaluable and you can save the free videos for future use.
These are the guys I pay 10’s of thousands of dollars a year to learn internet marketing from.
The perfect holiday marketing strategy for profits and exceptional pet care!
This is the time of year that pets are given as gifts, and pet parents spoil their little furry friends with gifts, toys, treats and luxuries.
As a pet care business owner, it is easy to see the opportunity for gift items…if you dig a little deaper you can tap into a way to not only support pet owners but acquire new clients in the process.
In addition to the usualy Holiday discounts and pet accessory sales what you do to market your business during the holiday season differentiates your business-establishing you as the pet care leader in your community?
I’ve listed a few of my favorite Unity Dog holiday marketing strategies below (for more great ideas visit our services page):
Design an elder visit package
The elder visit package is a customized service that involves you or a staff member along with a well balanced, mild mannored dog visiting the ederly in their homes, at nursing homes or retirement communities.
The program can be tailored to be sold to individual families or retirement communities. What family wouldn’t love to be able to send their mother, father or grandparent a gift of a visit and an adorable dog?
The visit lifts spirits and improves the state of mind of the recipient - truly an invaluable gift.
Create a new puppy potty training program
What a blessing it would be if the new puppy mommy and daddy were planning to bring home for the holidays already had a head start on potty training. Think of the stress reduction for the new puppy owner. Your program could incorporate in home or in your store potty training sessions.
If you accept puppies in your store who have not completed their puppy shots - you must provide a safe place to work with the puppy away from other dogs in your care.
The program does not have to guarantee potty training by the Holidays. A jump start on potty training along with continued support after the family brings the new puppy into their home is a valuable gift.
Obedience before Christmas program
In a similar vein as the puppy potty training program, you can offer a basic obedience program for the new dog or puppy that can be performed with or without the initial participation of the new pet owners.
In this way, you not only help the puppy get a head start on obedience, regardless if the new pet owners are willing to make time to attend an obedience class, but you also almost assuradly guarantee that the parents will attend a future obedience class.
If the pet care owner knows the puppy already understands basic obedience, they may be more inclined to attend an obedience class to learn the commands for themselves. Either way, you have given the new puppy a much stronger chance of staying in the new families home.
All three of these unity dog marketing strategies are designed for optimal benefit. Revenue generation, acquisition of new clients, client retention and client skills development.
All required elements of a successful pet care business and successful pet care ownership.
Warm Holiday Waggles,
Fran
fran@dogbusinessdaily.com
Boomer arrived yesterday, full of fun, love and play. He is a Lab/Golden Retriever mix (we think). With a sweet face and disposition, this dog will make a wonderful family pet. He loves the cold weather we are having here in Alabama.
He is very well balanced, without any formal training, very smart and just as sweet as can be. We will be working on basic obedience while he is with us and will also provide a 6 week beginner obedience training manual for the adoptive parents.
Meet Boomer in this this short video and then contact me if you are interested in more information on adopting this sweet boy…
Unity dog strategies are always focused on strengthening your dog care business and the pet owner simultaneously. This strategy adds a community component as well.
Client education is an extremely important component of business stability and should be an ongoing project for your business. Whether you hold monthly or quarterly educational classes or provide ongoing education through a regular newsletter…just do it.
Part of that educational training should be dedicated to the safety and care of pets in the community. Your clients aren’t likely to be the target demographic to talk about abuse, neglect or risky behavior but they may witness it if you can raise awareness.
Even though our clients are the most dedicated pet care owners, they don’t always know some of their actions that may put their animals at risk. Educate your clients about the potential for abuse when advertising to give away puppies or dogs for free.
Our well intentioned clients may be putting animals at risk if they advertise free dog or puppy to good home in the local classifieds or with a sign in their yard.
The risk is quite high that a less than caring and loving person will take the dog and neglect them. An even worse fate if an unethical breeder (puppy mill) or dog fighting enthusiast gets ahold of the animal.
By keeping your clients informed and always increasing their pet care knowledge you are creating a healthier community for animals. The more your clients know about pet care, and about your expertise, the less likely they will be to take a shot on the new, inexperienced kid on the block or opt to allow their neighbors to be their defacto pet sitter.
Healthy pets and wise clients make profitable business.
Should you live the same old story tomorrow as today?
Now is the time to make a change for your business. The economic woes are no excuse to hunker down and hold on tight. It is the worst thing you can do. Now is the time for creative thinking and business growth.
The potential for your business is within you - only you can provide the unique and creative solutions for your community. Find your own opportunities by awakening to all the potential that surrounds you every day.
Look at every one you meet, and every conversation you have as a potential trigger for your next great idea. You are the keeper of the future. Keep your heart and mind open and destiny will find you.
Fran Horvath is a marketing advisor and business coach showing dog business owners how to benefit their business and clients from leading edge marketing strategies.
Visit the services page for ways to hire Fran.
