Going to PSI’s Quest for Excellence 2009?

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I just submitted my early bird registration for PSI’s Quest Pet Sitting Conference that will be held February 18-21st 2009 in Orlando Florida. Quest is Pet Sitting International’s annual conference and is a great opportunity to network with other pet sitters and increase your knowledge about the pet industry and pet care.

Some of the events at Quest include a welcome networking dinner, and crowning of Pet Sitter of the Year, speakers, worskhops, breakout training sessions and their charity auction. This year they have several extra workshops available including Pet Saver First Aid training by Pet Tech, disaster planning, customer service, and pet sitter safety. You can take a look at the full schedule here.

I have expressed my interest to PSI in teaching a break out session of my own - Creating Systems to Streamline Your Pet Sitting business, but I’m not sure if they still have any openings for speakers. I would also love to host a get together of all my blog readers and coaching students at the event - I’ll be announcing this in the next couple of months.

A new feature of Quest 2009 will allow attendees to earn accrediation CEU’s for every session they attend that can apply toward their pet sitter accreditation program. I completed their accreditation program in 2008 and would recommend it to every pet sitter.

The conference venue is the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando Florida. Of course in Orlando there are plenty of other activities and sites to see such as Disneyland, Seaworld, wildlife parks, shopping, nightlife, and many golf courses.

I also plan to attend the Pet Tech Pet Saver Instructor training so that I can expand my business by offering Pet First Aid classes to customers here in Dallas Texas. If you are interested in adding this to your pet sitting business take a look at their course curriculum at Pet Tech Instructor Training.

Top 5 Tips for Attention Grabbing Press Releases

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Tonight I interviewed Rachel Monroe - pet industry copywriter - to learn her tips on writing press releases this holiday season. It was a great call - I took 5 pages of notes and wanted to share with you just a snippet of the information she was generous enough to share.

Here are Rachels top 5 tips to ensure that your press releases grab the attention of the editor:

1. Use statistics in your release. These could be statistics from a survey that you have performed, or from studies published by trade journals, or pet industry associations. A good example of this is the recent PSI survey that you can find right here. Statistics must be related to the topic of your release and of interest to the audience of the publication.

2. Keep your release short (2-3 paragraphs). A short, concise press release will stand out from the crowd and won’t take editors long to read.

3. Make your releases newsworthy. Tie in your stories to holiday topics or events that are currently in the news - or make sure your release tells a news story.

4. Interests the publicaiton audience. Make sure that you story not only interests you but it is also of interest to the readers of the publication that you are submitting your release to. Do some research by reading the publications and looking at the type of stories they print to get clues.

5. Include a photograph or product sample. Including a photo or sample lets the editor experience your story first hand.

Getting your business in the press this holiday season can inform readers about your services, position you as a pet expert, or announce a special holiday event that you are hosting. Publicity is free and is a great alternative to advertising as stories published in the press typically carry much more credibility with consumers.

To hear the full interview with Rachel and discover :

1. her secrets for creating an angle or hook for your release

2. how to format your press release to ensure it is read by the editor

3. the top 3 mistakes made when writing press releases

4. the research you should complete before sending out a release

5. how to find the contact information of editors for local and national publications

6. her checklist for polishing a press release prior to submission

7. the right time to send your release to editors

8. ideas for press release topics for the holiday season

Just sign up for a trial membership to the Pet Business Success Circle. Members can download the recording of the interview, my action checklist that shows you how to apply the tips to your pet business, and a full written transcript.

Promote Your Pet Sitting Business with Holiday Press Releases

Filed Under Pet Business Success Circle, Pet Business Tips | 3 Comments

Holliday dog Tomorrow night I’m hosting the Pet Business Success Circle September call and will be interviewing pet business copywriting expert Rachel Monroe. Rachel specializes in writing press releases for pet business owners that get them free publicity in local papers and on TV shows.

Here are some of the questions that I’ll be asking Rachel:

What are some of the ways that pet sitting business owners can use press releases to market their business this holiday season?

What types of news stories make effective press releases?

Do you have some examples of holiday releases used successfully by your clients?

What are your top 5 tips for writing a press release that gets attention?

What are you tips for fiinding the contact details for editors of local magazines and newspapers?

What type of research should you do before submitting a press release to an editor?

Should you customize your press release for each publication that you submit to?

When is the best time to submit holiday related press releases to editors?

If you want to boost sales this holiday season by getting free publicity to thousands of readers in your service area writing a great press release is just the ticket you need! To join the call join up for the Pet Business Success Circle $7 trial membership and ask your questions on the call. When you join you will also get immediate access to the recordings and transcripts from all past calls. I look forward to hearing you on the call. To sign up and join us click here now!

Win a Full Scholarship to my Pet MATCH Marketing Course

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I have delayed the launch of the Pet MATCH Marketing course until next Wednesday 10th September so I can finish up the final touches and have everything in place and ready.

Having this extra time now gives me the opportunity to offer 2 lucky readers the chance to get their seat in the 12 week e-course for free. Just like getting a full paid scholarship!

All I need you to do is to email me at daniellechonody@gmail.com and tell me how an why your pet business will benefit from having your own customized marketing system that attracts a consistant stream of new clients and saves you money. Make sure that the title of your email is “Pet MATCH Scholarship Application” so that I can track all entries.

Entries will be accepted up until Tuesday 9th September at 5pm CT. On Tuesday evening I will select the 2 winners and they will be receive their first lesson next Wednesday when the course is released.

The only competition rule is that the winners will submit a short testimonial about the course after they complete the 12 course lessons.

If you are not familiar with the Pet Match course please take a look at the details at http://www.marketingyourpetbusiness.com and sign up for the free 5 part introductory ecourse.

Send me your entry today and don’t miss out on your chance to win!

Do You Have A Disaster Plan for Your Pets?

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This weekend I evacuated from New Iberia, Lousianna because of Hurricane Gustav. I was scheduled to stay in Louisianna for another week to teach a class but got out before the mad rush to leave New Orleans on the weekend.

Luckily my pets were still safe and sound with my husband in Dallas. I was concerned about all the animals that had to be evacuated from the region. Some of my work colleagues were asking me if I knew of any hotels in the Dallas area that allow pets. I could recommend Motel 6 as I remember them doing an advertising campaign to tell people about their pet friendly policies. I wish was able to make more suggestions - a list of pet friendly hotels would have come in very handy. I’m thinking that putting together such a list may be added to my to do list for next time.

As I drove home I got a call from Irving animal rescue asking if I could take in any evacuated pets. I think that they thought that as part of my pet sitting business that I had a boarding facility. I wish I did and could have helped but I had to turn them down.

If you had to evacuate from your home would you know what to do or take to care for your pets? It is very timely that my friend Diana Guerrero has released her new Disaster Preparedness plan for pets. You can get your free copy by clicking the picture at the top left or clicking here

Make sure that you have a plan and are not scrambling at the last minute to find a safe place for your family and your pets. Grab her free planning guide and put together you plan. If you are a pet sitter you should also have a disaster plan that spells out how you will manage your clients pets if a natural or man made disaster occcurs.