One of the best ways that a dog walking or pet sitting business owner can grow their business and engage with their clients is through a blog hosted on their website. A blog on your website can help to improve your local search engine optimization (SEO), help you connect with both existing and potential clientele, and establish credibility for you and your company for being experts on pet-related matters. It can also be a fantastic outlet for your creativity, especially if you have a background in writing.
If you have yet to add a blog to your pet care business website, we highly recommend doing so! It’s an easy and fun way to engage with your clients, provide them with important information and tips about pet care and health, and distinguish yourself from the competition. We’ve got seven beginner topics that you can cover to get yourself started, plus a few bonus ones that can take your company’s blog to the next level. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
1. Review The Most "Pet-friendly" Places In Town
This topic could easily be an entire series for your blog! You can choose to start with a list of the most pet-friendly restaurants, parks, stores, and adventures and post them week by week to showcase different types of places, or you could highlight one place per week and do a deep dive on what makes that particular location an appealing place to go with your pets. You can even write individual reviews of places you’ve been to yourself and, if you have the opportunity, post photos of you and your pets enjoying them. You may even find potential clients this way if one of them searches for “dog-friendly restaurants in your area” and comes across your company reading your review!
Pro-Tip: Consider teaming up with local pet-friendly businesses in your area. By promoting them on your website and having them hang flyers or business cards for your company, you can mutually benefit each other and the pet parents who might frequent only one of your businesses.
2. Highlight A "Pet Of The Week!"
With so many good candidates to choose from, this topic is a no-brainer! Go through your photos from some of your favorite clients (or those who are okay with their pets being posted on social media), write up a quick blurb about why Fido is a fantastic pet, and then bam! You’re in business. You can even write a bunch of these at one time and then schedule them out for the next few weeks in advance.
Clients love their pets, and seeing how much others love them can be a lot of fun, too! Just be sure to receive explicit permission from your clients before posting them. Many of our customers will include some language in their Service Agreements about using pet photos in their marketing materials or include a custom client field that pet parents are forced to fill out when onboarding to their company that indicates to the company whether or not they are allowed to do so. For the clients that are okay with it, it can be a great way for you to show your appreciation to them and help solidify their connection to you and your team!
Pro-Tip: Stuck on what to include in your Service Agreements? Take a look at sample agreements here!
3. Behind The Scenes: A Day In The Life Of A Dog Walker/Pet Sitter
Many of your clients (or potential clients) may be curious to know what it’s actually like to be a pet care professional. Tackling this topic on your blog can be a wonderful way to pull back the veil a bit and give them a glimpse at what you usually do in a day. Be sure to emphasize how lucky you are to spend so much time with such amazing pets, and mention how much you appreciate your clients, their support for your business, and the trust they have placed in you.
4. Supporting Local Animal Shelters And Rescue Organizations
Any notoriety you can bring to the local animal shelters and rescues in your area will benefit them greatly. Whether you volunteer yourself, foster pets in your home, or donate, your blog is a great space to provide some insight into the type of support they need. You may even want to try to interview some of their staff members if you get the opportunity as a way to further highlight the incredible work these shelters and rescues do. Don’t forget to the link to the shelter or rescue you cover, as well, as it will help to boost their online presence. Doing so may also lead them to share your post on their social media pages or promote your services to the new parents that adopt or foster through their organizations.
5. Build Awareness For Good Causes
In addition to supporting your local animal shelters and rescue organizations, there are so many important causes that you can use your blog to raise awareness for and support, including animal welfare, education, and charities.
Time To Pet also a great blog post detailing all of the various Pet Holidays that exist out there, many of which are dedicated to understanding pet illnesses, dispelling myths about certain breeds, or providing more insight into what it’s like to have particular animals as pets, such as birds or reptiles. You can pick a few you like and write a post about why they’re important. Here are a few to get you started: September is Pet Sitter Education Month™, October is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month, November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month, and December is National Cat Lovers’ Month!
6. Announce Your Referral Program!
Your blog is an excellent place to bring attention to your company’s referral program! Using referrals is one of the most effective ways to grow your dog walking or pet sitting business. By using your blog to spread the news about your referral program, you can bring more awareness to your clients and maybe even some new ones checking out your website! This can help to boost the number of clients or staff members that will recommend your business to their family and friends, and in turn, lead to brand-new clients! In talking about your referral program, be sure to review the benefits of making a recommendation and let your clients know what they’ll need to do to get rewarded.
Pro-Tip: Having trouble coming up with a good referral program for your business? See our help article here for some tips on how to create one using Time To Pet: Best Practices For Creating A Promo Or Loyalty Program.
7. Talk About Your Pet Sitting Software
For many of our customers, intuitive software like Time To Pet plays a huge part in differentiating them from other pet care professionals, as it helps them manage their clients, staff members, and several other aspects of their business. Whether you use Time To Pet or another software, you can use your blog to discuss some of the ways in which it benefits pet parents and how it enables you to offer top-of-the-line care to their furry family members. Some of the benefits you might highlight can include transparency into the services and pricing the company offers, easy communication with you and your team, a convenient way to make payments, and the adorable and reassuring photos and videos that can be sent along with the visit updates clients can look forward to receiving after each event!
8. Refresh Your Old Content
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to utilize your blog (and one of the easiest) is to review your old content and update it with new information, links, and data points as needed. Doing so will ensure that the contents of your blog remain relevant to anyone who might come upon it and can give you the chance to bump up the article’s place within local SEO, which will draw more people to your website and leave you with more potential clients at your doorstep.
Bonus Ideas
- Pet Care Tips - Seasonal Safety
- Training Tips - Mastering Basic Commands
- Pet-Friendly Destinations Outside Of Town
- Pet Nutrition - How To Find The Right Diet
- The Importance of Regular Vet Check-Ups
- Fun and Easy Homemade Toys For Pets
- Favorite Pet-Friendly Recipes
