Interview with Therese from PetSitUSA.com - How to Setup and Optimize Your Pet Sitting Blog

Filed Under Pet Business Success Circle, Pet Sitting Business Tips | March 10, 2010

Next Tuesday night I am going to be interviewing Therese Kopiwoda from PetSitUSA.com for our monthly Circle of Pet Sitting Excellence member call. As well as having her own successful blog, Therese also markets her services as a Social Media Expert and Consultant and helps others set up their own pet sitting blog.

On our call here are the questions that we will be discussing:

What are some of the reasons that you think that pet sitters should use a blog to promote their business?
What are some of the benefits of having a blog?
There are many different blog software programs - why do you use and recommend Wordpress?
Do you recommend that pet sitters set up a new domain for their blog - or tie it into their pet sitting website?
Which hosting services make it simple to set up a Wordpress blog?
How do you customize a Wordpress blog?
Are there any Wordpress plugins that you use and recommend?
What are the best ways to promote a new blog?
How do you connect you blog to Facebook and Twitter to make the most of your posts and raise awareness of your blog?
Do you have any suggestions for pet sitters who say they can’t think of what to write on their blog?
What type of blog posts do you find are most popular or attract the most comments?

If you have been thinking about setting up your own pet sitting blog - or have a blog but want to know the best ways to market your blog and get more reader interaction, then don’t miss our call. At the end of our call all listeners will have the chance to ask Therese their blogging questions and get her advice for way below her normal consulting charges!

Sign up to join us as a member of the Circle of Pet Sitting Excellence to get the call details and access over 12 months of recorded past calls, special reports, and pet care articles that you can use on your own blog.

If you have questions for Therese that you would like answered on the call but can’t make it live please leave them as a comment and I’ll be sure to ask them for you next Tuesday.

Here are your 7 quick Thursday tips for finding fresh ideas for your blog posts:

1. Read magazines – magazines are great for spinning information in a million different ways. Reading industry magazines will help you tap into the general public’s awareness and will help you come up with unique and fresh ways to look at ideas.

2. Read other blogs – other blogs in your industry or complimentary industries will help you generate fresh ideas for your own blog. You may decide to elaborate on a post written by someone else or take an opposing position.

3. Read industry publications – online publications like newsletters, whitepapers, case studies and the like are a great way to stay informed. You can write content about the data and information presented in these documents which helps establish your credibility and authority, it provides value and it helps generate a continuous stream of useful content.

4. Have a brainstorming/planning session - sometimes just letting go of all the outside distractions and allowing yourself to think out of the box can generate hundreds of new and unique blog post ideas. Set time aside to brainstorm.

5. Pay attention to forums and chat rooms – discussions on industry forums and chat rooms often generate some controversy but they also present new ideas, questions and room for elaboration on points you find to be valid or interesting. Use these sites to help you generate fresh content.

6. FAQs – what questions do you commonly hear from others? These make for great blog posts.

7. Ask your readers what they want to know – If you don’t know what to write about, ask your readers what they want to know.

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5 Steps to Launch Twitter for Your Pet Sitting Business

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | March 9, 2010

This is a guest post by Maggie Marton of http://www.ohmydogblog.com.

Twitter is projected to expand to over 18 million users this year. Businesses are getting savvy about leveraging Twitter to connect with their customers, expand their reach, and provide customer service. So should you use Twitter to grow your pet sitting business?

Let’s start with the basics: What is Twitter?
Twitter is a microblogging tool. Each update, or “tweet,” contains a maximum of 140 characters. Tweets can include status updates, links, and images. Through Twitter, you can follow other people, and people can find and follow your Twitter feed. You can also share, or “retweet,” content that you find on other Twitter pages, and your followers can retweet your content.

What can Twitter do for your business?
Like Facebook or LinkedIn, Twitter connects you to potential clients. Your business objective for using any social media tool is to convert online connections into real-life clients. Twitter enables that conversion to occur better than other social media tools because the format encourages active, real-time conversations.

Lindsay Stordahl owns a dog running and pet sitting business called Run That Mutt in Fargo, North Dakota. In addition to Facebook and her blog (http://www.thatmutt.com), Stordahl utilizes Twitter to promote her business. Her current following is over 2,500 strong. She offers this philosophy on her Twitter usage, “A goal of mine is to always use Twitter to genuinely interact with others, not to blab on and on about myself or to spam people about my business.”

So you’ve decided to tweet. What now?
Get your Twitter account up and running in 5 easy steps:

1. Create an account. Though you can use your business name, consider using your own name. Recent research has shown that Twitter users are more likely to follow a person than a company.
2. Refine your profile. Fill out your bio, location, site or blog link, and upload a photo. Potential clients can locate you based on your location or keywords in your bio.
3. Start tweeting! Set a goal for how many times a day you want to tweet. Test different types of tweets to see what responses you get. If you get stuck, try answering the following: What are you working on? What are your goals for today? Is there a question you can throw out for your followers to answer? It’s important to note that you’ll gain a higher-quality following if you tweet valuable content than if you overtly promote your business.
4. Find people to follow. To grow your local business, use the search bar to find people in your town. Search for terms like “pet sitter” or “dog walker” to find people who are actively looking for your services. “I look for other dog trainers, dog blogs, and pet sitters,” Stordahl said. “What I’ve found, though, is that the numbers aren’t important. It’s more about building relationships with individuals. I would rather gain two or three dedicated readers or “followers” than get 1,000 mindless clicks to my web site.”
5. Engage. According to Stordahl, “Twitter should be about learning more about your customers, answering their questions and getting their feedback. It should not be strictly self promotion.” Start a discussion. Reply to someone in your area who mentions their pet. Retweet an interesting link or comment. Leverage Twitter to create relationships that can translate to clients.

Advanced Twitter tips: Once you’ve mastered tweeting and retweeting, test out some of Twitter’s other features. The right-side toolbar offers several more advanced options.
Utilize the Direct Message option to send targeted clients a personalized message.
Try assembling a list of your favorite followers. Or search out other lists that you’d like to follow.
Use hashtags to join in on trending topics (two to try: #pettiptuesday and #woofwednesday).

How have you used Twitter to network with other pets sitters or local pet lovers? Tell us your story by leaving a comment.

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How to Successfully Market Your Pet Sitting Blog

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | March 8, 2010

A blog without an audience operates in a void. To grow an audience you do need to have some degree of patience. However, in addition to patience, planning and action also help to market your blog and drive traffic.

Here are a few useful tips to market your blog successfully:

#1 Comment on other relevant blogs. One great way to start getting your name recognized is to post useful and insightful comments on blogs which relate to your industry and are where your potential readers might hang out.

Get active in the blogging community. When you post create a profile that enables you to link to your blog. Many people will click through and subscribe to your blog.

#2 Guest blog. Guest blogging is wonderful marketing tactic and like commenting on other blogs, is builds awareness for you and your blog.

#3 Post consistently and post often. This is where patience comes in. Posting regular and valuable content will help your blog to grow, to be recognized by other movers and shakers in your industry and will motivate people to link to you.

#4 Make it easy for readers to Digg, Tweet, StumbleUpon and post your content on Delicious.com. Social networking is growing and it pays to take advantage of this useful medium.

#5 List your blog with relevant directories. Registering with some notable directories can help boost your traffic and put you in front of people who are looking for your information

If you want people to become aware of your blog, marketing it is essential. If you have a pet sitting blog and would like to get some links to it to help with SEO - I am happy to feature you in an upcoming post here at Working with Pets. Please leave a comment with the name and the website address of the home page of your blog.

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Tips for Making Your Pet Sitting Blog Stand Out

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | March 8, 2010

It’s not enough to simply have a blog, your blog needs to have some sort of impact – you want to stand out – so you attract readers, subscribers and ultimately profits.

Here are a few tips to make sure your blog is the best it can be:

Tip #1 – Be personable. Each blog post is a unique opportunity to connect with your audience. Make them laugh, make them cry, inspire them and motivate your readers. In addition to your blog content, your blog design also impacts the connection you make. Include photos of yourself, audio and video blog posts and even the colors, layout and images you choose will help create a personality.

Tip #2 Make your blog easy to read by adopting user friendly formatting, fonts and type size. Images, short paragraphs and subheadings also make your content much easier to read.

Tip #3 Provide superior content. While your blog posts can be entertaining they must also provide value, educate, and inform.

Tip #4 Mix it up. Use audio, video and print content to keep your blog active and interesting.

Tip #5 Take advantage of useful widgets and plug-ins. For example, if you participate on Twitter or Facebook you can include a widget that prompts blog readers to follow you or one that posts your Twitter conversations on the side bar of your blog.

Tip #6 Market your blog. Use blog directories, social networking, search engine optimization and other marketing tactics to drive traffic to your blog and build readership.

Tip #7 Encourage comments. Active blogs are well read blogs. To encourage participation and comments, ask questions, acknowledge comments and encourage discussion.

Finally, blog consistently. This is paramount to a successful blog. Utilize PLR, guest bloggers and your own content to keep the posts consistent and up to date.

Join me on March 16th when I interview Therese Kopiwoda from PetSitUSA to find out how she keeps her blog fresh and unique. Sign up for your membership of the Circle of Pet Sitting Excellence to join us on the call!

Free Special Report - How to Setup Your Pet Sitting Blog

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips, Pet Sitting Excellence | March 6, 2010

It’s Freebie Friday so I’ve put together a short special report giving you tips on starting and writing your own pet sitting business blog.

The report tells you :

Why You Need A Pet Sitting Business Blog

How to Set-Up Up Your Blog and

How to Use Your Blog to Attract and Build Relationships with Customers

Here is the info that you’ll find inside:

What Is A Blog And How Do I Use It?

Does Your Business Need a Blog?

7 Great Reasons to Set Up Your Own Pet Sitting Blog Today

How to Start a Blog

Why Owning Your Own Blog Is Important

Why WordPress Is a Great Blogging Option

How to Choose and Register Your Blog Domain Name

How to Get Hosting For Your Blog

How to Install WordPress

How to Easily Create Blog Content

How to Get More Tips to Improve Your New Blog

To download free special report click here:

How to Setup Your Pet Sitting Blog

During the remainder of this month I will be posting a series of new articles here at WorkingwithPets.com that explain how to:

Market your blog
Get traffic to you blog
Encourage your readers to post blog comments
Make your blog stand out
Automate your blog
Create an RSS feed
Build a loyal following of readers
Find ideas for blog content
Make money with your blog
Find guest bloggers

Our Circle of Excellence topic for March is “How to Setup Your Pet Sitting Blog”. Become a member for just $9.95 per month to join me on our live call on March 16^th 2010 to discuss how to setup and get your blog started. At the end of our call you will have the opportunity to get all of you questions about setting up and writing your blog answered. If you can’t make it live to the call – all members will receive the recording and transcript of the call.

Find out the other benefits of membership (including over 12 months of call recordings, articles and special business building reports) at http://www.petbusinesssuccesscircle.com