Advertising That Will Work When You Start a Pet Sitting Business

 

I have been a pet sitter for nearly 20 years. During that time, I have used many different forms of advertising for different reasons. In my opinion, the best form of advertising for your pet sitting business startup is useful advertising.

One of my favorites are the high quality magnetic business cards – I don’t mean the type where you stick a printed business card to cheap magnet stock which looks bad right after you make them and absolutely horrid a few weeks later on someone’s refrigerator. So of course it goes in the trash and your dog walking business is immediately out of sight and mind. Get online and shop! You can buy really decent all-vinyl magnetic cards that will stay shiny and new for years for about 23 cents each. Know anyplace else you can buy years of in-your-face customer advertising for your pet sitting business at 23¢ a pop? Me neither! And they can use your business cards to hang up kid’s drawings on the fridge.

My all time favorites are laminated place mats for food dishes and water bowls. With my pet sitting business startup, I used to have 11 X 17 inch paper place mats printed; they were very cute with a dog or cat in the sitting position with crown, a cape and a caption that said “My Pet sitter Treated Me Royally while You Were Away.” Right below this was the logo and phone number of my pet sitting business. Customers loved these and my pet sitting startup got more business.

 

Unfortunately, the mats were paper, so they got messy pretty quickly and then thrown away (again, out of sight, out of mind). I decided to look into having them laminated, which of course would extend their lifespan for years and keep my pet sitting business name in front of customers every time they gave their pet’s food or water. Unfortunately the cost was prohibitive to have someone else do this and when I decided to start a pet sitting business, I certainly wasn’t rolling in the dough (18 years ago it was 1.89 each – today, it’s relatively cheap to buy a 50 pack of self-laminating sheets at any office supply store).

Never let a great idea go away without a complete investigation. I went looking for a laminating machine and supplies. After some searching I bought a machine that would accommodate 11 X 17 for 169.00 and I still use the same machine today. Supplies are readily available online at good prices, and this is a dead easy item to make. My only other suggestion is to place two of them back to back and laminate them as one. That way, no matter which side is used, the customer will see your dog walking business and the mat has a quality thicker feel to it.

You will not believe how these simple ideas will help boost your pet sitting business; useful advertising can be extremely low cost yet provide your pet sitting startup with tremendous long-term benefits.

Pet Sitting Success: The Critters Choice Way

About the Author

John A. Corey created his own highly successful pet-sitting business, Critters Choice and is the author of Pet Sitting Success: The Critters Choice Way. His goal is to share the hands-on knowledge he has gained over the last 19 years, which makes it possible for others to avoid many of the common pitfalls all pet sitting startups experience and quickly move on to achieving success.

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Pet Sitter Forms

Now that I have chose to start a pet-sitter business?

I have decided to start a pet sitting service! I made up some business cards. I am going to make flyers and pet intake forms. I have made invoices. Now I need to start advertising. I was wondering if anybody had any tips on starting a pet sitting business?

1.1
Get a business plan together. For the pet sitter, this means deciding what areas you will cover. From an economic standpoint, choose towns that are within seven miles of your home or wherever you'll be working from. These are the places you will target for business.

2.2
Decide which animals you'd like to work with. You can limit yourself to just cats or just dogs, but you'll make more money if you service both. Consider whether or not you're comfortable working with all breeds and whether you'll work with birds, ferrets, rabbits and other small animals.

3.3
Become bonded and insured. The bond will cover theft if you employ any pet sitters to work for you. The insurance will cover the client's pet and property. You can get both of these through either of the two professional pet sitting organizations, Pet Sitters International and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.

4.4
Decide what you want to charge per pet visit. The average is between $12 and $16. Consider how many and what kind of pets the owner has and how much work is involved in each visit. Some are simple feedings and walkings while others may involve giving medications and light brushing.

5.5
Design a business card and flyer. Choose a cheery layout with an animal picture on it, and include your company name, email address, phone number and state that you are bonded and insured and a member of one of the professional pet sitting organizations.

6.6
Visit local veterinary offices and pet stores and ask if you can leave a batch of business cards and flyers with them. You can also post them at supermarkets or other high-traffic places you feel pet owners would visit.

7.7
Consider setting up a website to give yourself more exposure. List your basic information but entice them enough to call you to get more information. Leave a professional outgoing message on your voice mail or business phone. Many pet sitters use their home number for business as well.

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