5 Steps to Launch Twitter for Your Pet Sitting Business

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | 3 Comments

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.

How to Successfully Market Your Pet Sitting Blog

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | 2 Comments

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.

Tips for Making Your Pet Sitting Blog Stand Out

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | Leave a Comment

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 | 1 Comment

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 16th    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

 

Quick Tips To Improve the Value of Your Pet Sitting Client Newsletter

Filed Under Pet Sitting Business Tips | 3 Comments

If you use a client email or print newsletter to keep in touch with customers and prospective clients today I have some great tips to improve the value of your newsletters from Karyn Greenstreet Passion for Business:

Above all use, offer value. When you write an article for your newsletter (or your blog, or your Facebook Notes area), make sure you’re giving good information. (Read your past five newsletters…did you serve your audience well?)

Sixty-day rule. Remember that your subscribers are most responsive in the first 60 days of signing up for your list. Stay in contact with those folks more often than your once-a-month newsletter

Loyalty counts. Reward long-time subscribers with special freebies or discounts.

One of many tools. Ask yourself, “What are ALL the different ways I can communicate with my audience and share my articles, advice, offers, and news?”

One of many lists. Think of your email list as just one list of many. Your Facebook friends are a list, your Twitter followers are a list, and your blog subscribers are a list.

Combine with human contact. Don’t just have an email list and think that’s enough for people to get to know you and trust you. Offer free teleclasses. Be available via Facebook or Twitter for ongoing conversations. Give live speeches both locally and nationally. Get out there and be seen – everywhere.

If you are not yet collecting client contacts and building an email list which you use to follow up by sending a regular newsletter read my post fo find out why you should be and how to get started :

10 Reasons Pet Sitters Must Grow A List

Let me know what questions you have about setting up your email list and sending out a newsletter - I’ll make sure I answer all of your questions that you post here in the comments!

 

keep looking »