Using Flyers To Grow Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business

How To Create And Use Flyers To Attract New Pet Parents In Your Area – Updated for 2024!

Are you looking to expand the current client base of your dog walking or pet sitting business? If so, you have come to the right place! While there are several marketing strategies out there that you can implement to accrue new clients, especially those utilizing online platforms, sometimes the best route to take is the tried and true. When it comes to pet care, one of the oldest (and most effective) means of marketing one’s services is through the use of flyers.

Flyers are a highly versatile form of advertisement that you can use to target pet parents in your community by placing them in the places where they work, run errands, and take time to relax—with or without their beloved furry family members! This versatility opens up a wide variety of places and opportunities for you and your business to appeal to prospective clients.

For example, a pet parent is taking their dog to the park and is feeling a large amount of guilt because Fido didn’t get enough exercise the previous day due to back-to-back meetings. As the two of them pass by the community board next to the dog park, the pet parent spots an eye-catching flyer advertising a dog walking company that offers daily walks filled with lots of exercise and one-on-one attention for the pets in their care. For a working pet parent who doesn’t always have time during the day to give Fido the time and attention they wish they could provide, this seems like the answer to all of their pet-related woes! So they decide to grab a tear off, scan the QR code, or dial the number provided and set up some walks with your team. From there, they become a regular, recurring client that books 45-minute walks Monday through Friday and maybe even requests one-off walks here and there when they plan to be out for the day. And to think, all you had to do was strategically place a poster!

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The Benefits Of Putting Up Flyers For Your Pet Care Business

Using flyers to advertise your pet care business is a fantastic way to attract new clients and promote your services, and it has persevered even though we’re at the height of the digital age. “But why?” you may be asking yourself. “What makes flyers such an effective marketing tool?” Well, there are four main reasons for why that is:

• Cost Effective - Unlike many other forms of marketing, flyers are relatively inexpensive to produce and print, making them an affordable marketing tool for small businesses. With so many free templates and programs available online to assist you in developing your flyer’s design, you have many tools at your disposal that make the entire process that much easier.
• Targeted Advertising - Flyers can be put up in areas specific to where pet parents in your area are most likely to congregate. This could mean placing them at dog parks, pet stores, veterinary clinics, or local cafes, stores, and community centers. You can also use aspects like the time of year or the services you want to highlight to determine where you hang your flyers.
• Highly Customizable - The visuals and copy used for your flyers can be tailored to suit your business, the services you offer, and the image you want your brand to project. You can also include pertinent information on your pricing, special promotions, or contact details (such as a website or a phone number). You can customize your flyers for various events or times of the year and create several flyers to correlate to the different types of services you provide.
• Tangibility: Unlike digital marketing materials, flyers are tangible objects that clients can see and interact with in the flesh, creating an impression that can last much longer than the Facebook ad they saw while scrolling through their feed. Especially if your flyers have business cards or tear-aways attached for people to take with them that contain your contact information, potential clients will be left with a physical piece of your business. With that tearaway in tow, they will be much more likely to reach out and inquire about your services later. Their physical presence also adds a particular “locality” to your business, which can be a huge selling point for pet parents when choosing a pet care business to walk their dogs or look after their pets while they’re away.

Creating The Perfect Flyer And What Comes Next

When it comes to using flyers as a marketing channel, there are three main steps to take. The first is designing your flyer. When constructing your flyer, there are five main components you will want to consider five main components.

1. Contents - What information about your business should you include in your flyer, and what information should you leave out?
2. Design - What will the layout of your flyer look like? What colors and art will you incorporate? Will you include cute cartoon images of some pets, or will you use stock photographs of some real cats or dogs?
3. Target Audience - Who is this flyer for? What clients are you looking to attract, and how can you achieve your desired results? Where would it most benefit you to hang your flyers to help you reach your intended audience?
4. Printing & Prepping - How will you print your flyers? How many should you print? What else does your flyer need before you start hanging it up?
5. Distribution - Where will you hang your flyers, and do you need permission before doing so? Will you hand them out at a local dog park or arrange to partner up with a local shelter during an adoption event to distribute them to new or aspiring pet parents? How will you ensure your flyers stand the test of time and can withstand the elements if you hang them outdoors?

Once you have designed the perfect flyer, you need to plan where to hang it and how to print, prepare, and distribute it.

While we’ll briefly touch upon the basics of designing the perfect flyer for your business and how to distribute it below, if you would like more in-depth information on these particular steps, we recommend reviewing our Academy Article about Using Flyers To Grow Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business.

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Designing Your Flyer

While constructing the flyer for your dog walking or pet sitting business, it is essential to ensure that it is both professional in its design and appealing to potential clients. This means you should be very deliberate in the images, information, and design elements you choose to include, even in the colors you incorporate or the typography you use. In addition to the visual aspects, many flyers include a “tear-off” section along the bottom of the poster where clients can take a piece of paper containing your contact information. Ideally, every flyer should contain tearaways for potential clients, as it not only provides clients a way to get in touch with you later on but also acts as a physical measure of the interest your posters are garnering.

When it comes to designing your flyer, there are many programs and other great tools online that can help you create the perfect poster. Many of them are free to use and come equipped with additional design resources. Whether you want to use something simple to make your flyer, like Google Docs or Microsoft Word, or if you decide to use a free design program that packs a little more punch, like Canva or Gimp, you must choose a program that fits your level of expertise and can help you make something that appeals to pet parents in your area and is aesthetically (and professionally) pleasing to the eye.

If you want to use a tool with more capabilities than something like Google Docs or Microsoft, try out Canva. Canva has a multitude of tools that are well-suited for businesses and can help you create graphic designs that are both beautiful and professional-looking. It’s an excellent choice for design projects like creating logos, brochures, pamphlets, social media images, and other promotional materials. It’s also a fantastic tool for creating flyers. Here is an example of what using Canva looks like:

Canva has a wealth of options if you are looking for some templates to work off or need something to inspire your flyer’s own layout. It also comes equipped with a hub of design tools and tutorials to help you create a unique flyer tailored to fit your business in no time! There is a bit of a learning curve, and it may take you a couple of tries to get the hang of it but keep at it, and you’ll be a pro before you know it.

What To Include On Your Dog Walking Or Pet Sitting Flyer:

As with many elements of starting your own dog walking or pet sitting business, it’s usually best to keep things simple when creating a flyer for your company. While it may be tempting to overload your flyer with all of your service and pricing information, you want to ensure that the details included in your flyer are the most pertinent for a potential client to know and are easily digestible. How clients can connect with you and inquire about your services should be one of your highest priorities, so taking measures to emphasize and highlight this information visually is strongly recommended.

Here are some of the essential details and elements you should include on your flyer:

• Business Name & Company Logo - These are must-haves! Your company name and logo are how potential clients will first come to know and recognize you and your brand. Memorable names or eye-catching logos may be just what prompts a pet parent to reach out to you first over other pet care companies.
• Catchy Headline - Your flyer’s headline should immediately grab a pet parent’s attention and instill in them a desire to learn more about your services. Some examples of catchy headlines might include: “Need a Pet Sitter? We’ve got you covered!” or “Going on vacation? Let us take care of your furry friends!” or “Don’t leave your pets home alone—hire a Professional Pet Sitter instead!”
• What Services Your Company Provides - Be sure to highlight your company’s privacy services, such as dog walking, overnight sittings, cat visits, etc. It’s also helpful to be specific about what sets your services apart from others. If you have any staff members with vet tech experience who can handle complex medical administration, experience with certain breeds, or flexible scheduling options - let potential clients know! That could turn the tide and make someone choose your company over your competitors.
• What Areas You Service - If you only service certain areas of a city, for example, you want to be sure to make that as clear as possible.
• Contact Information - Ensure that you indicate how potential clients can best reach you with questions or service inquiries. Whether you have a client form they can fill out on your website, or if you prefer that they contact you directly by phone or email, be certain to include the necessary phone numbers, email addresses, or website URLs. Depending on how you utilize them, you may even want to include links to your social media pages, as well.
• Eye-Catching Graphic/Illustration - Cute pet photos, colorful illustrations, or stunning artwork can help make your flyer more visually appealing and stand out among other advertisements. If you don’t already have photos you would like to use, images are easy to add using sites or programs like Canva.
• Call-To-Actions - Encourage potential clients to take action when they see your flyer by including a call-to-action (CTA). Some examples of great CTAs to include are: “Call us today to schedule a free Meet & Greet!” “Visit our website to learn more about our services!” or “Don’t wait—book your holiday pet sitting services now!”
• QR Code For Your Website Or Social Media Pages - While entirely optional, a QR code makes it straightforward for anyone to open up a QR scanner on their phone and be taken to your website or social media page immediately without typing in the web address. In an age where instant gratification is at an all-time high, this can be an excellent way to prompt potential clients to visit your website or inquire about services with your company all the sooner. Hubspot has a superb guide that can help you easily create a QR code for your website here.

Whatever you settle on as the final design for your flyer, you should be sure that it reflects the personality and values of yourself, your company, and your brand. However, you also want to let your creativity shine! That can be a great way to establish a foundational connection with potential clients and create a favorable first impression for your business. So have some fun with it!

Planning Where To Put Your Flyers

After you have designed your flyer, the next step is to plot out where you are going to display it. There are two primary things to consider here. Firstly, where are the best locations to advertise your business? Secondly, do you already have permission to put up your company posters, or do you need to acquire permission to do so?

Let’s tackle the first question. The best places to put your flyers may vary depending on the area you live in, the areas you serve, and the potential clients you are aiming to target. Typically, however, you want to advertise your services where pet parents who could be your potential clients live, play, and work. You should also consider where pet parents are most likely to congregate. As we mentioned earlier, places like dog parks, vet clinics, and pet supply stores are all great locations to target because, at some point, every pet parent will most likely wind up at one of the aforementioned venues. Most of these places, especially dog parks, will have a bulletin or community board specifically meant for people to hang flyers or notices to promote local events or small businesses.

Other popular spots pet parents frequent and where you should consider hanging your flyers are walking trails in the neighborhoods you serve, bigger parks that see many pets and their parents coming through, and dog-friendly restaurants or other local businesses. You can also consider collaborating with other local pet care businesses (such as a doggy daycare, boarding facility, or grooming place) and offer to hang flyers for each other’s businesses in the other’s back room or bulletin board where they will be visible to staff members or existing customers.

If there is a particular business where you would like to hang flyers but don’t know if it’s allowed, you can call around to see about opportunities to display them. Some other locations that would be good to reach out to are neighborhood centers or pet-friendly apartment complexes. Just think about that big bulletin board seen in the lobby of so many apartment buildings and about all the people passing through that lobby. These places can be some of the best places to hang flyers precisely because of this potential outreach. Whether or not you have tearaways on your flyers, wherever you hang them, you should pin a few business cards in places with bulletin boards so that people can take and share them. If you wind up in a location that you think would be a great place to hang flyers but don’t have any with you, it can also be a good idea to place some of your business cards on their own until you have the opportunity to return with your flyers.

Once you have some ideas or a list of places you think you would like to put up your flyers, you must ensure you have permission to do so. Most “community boards” type bulletins allow anyone to place a flyer and won’t require explicit permission to do so. However, local businesses or community centers may require a signoff or approval before you can put anything up. If you have any doubts about whether or not hanging up a flyer in a location is okay, reach out to the appropriate manager or other leading authority to double-check. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so be sure to think before you act! Most local businesses and community leaders are happy to support fellow small businesses or companies they believe will significantly benefit their customers or residents.

Printing And Preparing Your Flyers For Display

Now that you have a fantastic flyer design and have planned out where you want to hang them throughout your company’s service area (which may be a small community, an entire town, or several neighborhoods of a larger city, depending on your location) - it’s time to get them printed out and prepare to put them up!

If you have a reliable color printer at home capable of printing high-quality flyers, you don’t need to look any further than your living room or office to get started immediately. Just be sure you have the right sort of ink and paper! If you don’t have a printer capable of delivering professional-looking posters, consider going to your local Staples, UPS Store, Office Depot, or even the public library to print your flyers. They will be able to print out your flyers in bulk and will provide excellent quality. You can even use Canva, as they offer a great printing service available for use!

If you have created flyers with tearaway elements, before hanging up your posters, you will need to cut the different sections to ensure it is effortless for a potential client to tear them off and have your contact information on hand.

Lastly, once you hang your flyers, be sure to check on them regularly. If they are weather-worn or don’t have any tear-offs left, then it’s time to replace them with newer ones. If any information may no longer be accurate or if you were advertising a special promotion that is no longer in use, you should also be sure to update them with new flyers. Most importantly, if your contact information differs from what is posted on your flyers, you should be sure to swap them out as soon as possible so potential clients aren’t hitting a dead end when trying to reach out to you about scheduling services.

Growing your pet care business can feel daunting sometimes, and finding new ways to market to prospective pet parents in your area can take some time and effort. Advertisements through social media are beneficial, but managing multiple online ad campaigns can quickly become stressful and expensive, which is why offline marketing options are a great option. Especially if you’re just starting out or are newer to the pet care industry, flyers are a solid marketing option for your business to utilize. Just be mindful of your flyer’s design, the information included on it, and where you’re hanging them, and you should see the new clients pour in!