Whether you’re a teenager looking to earn some quick bucks during your summer vacation or a bonafide dog walking business, promoting your dog walking services is all about the right marketing.
Since most people are looking for dog walkers within their neighborhood, the best approach is to market in your area. And there are so many great ways to do it. In this blog post, we’ve put together some of the most effective promotional strategies for you to get more clients.
Let’s take a look!
Table of Contents
1. Hand Out Flyers In Your Neighborhood
Flyers are a great way to market your services directly to people. They help put a name to the face of your business and give people the opportunity to ask questions or details about what you offer.
There are a few places you can hand out flyers to get the most attention:
- Outside grocery stores and in grocery store parking lots
- Next to movie theaters (hot tip: check out the timings of all the movies playing on that particular day beforehand so that you can stand outside and hand flyers right when a movie ends and crowds of people are leaving the theater
- In public parks
- Outside government buildings and community centers
Apart from handing them out, you can also paste these flyers in the same locations. However, make sure to check with local authorities to see if you’re allowed to do so.
One great way to distribute flyers is to go door to door. Plan a route that you want to follow and then go up to each house and hand them a flyer.
When it comes to the content of the flyer, you have to make it both eye-catching and informative. Add some pictures, write down all of the necessary information including how people can reach you and your social media handles, and make it pretty and easy to read.
If you’re not sure how to create a good flyer, check out PosterMyWall’s dog walking flyer templates. You can pick something you like and customize it with your own text and images in minutes.
2. Place An Ad In The Local Newspaper
While it’s easy for an ad to get lost in a big newspaper, local newspapers are a great way to advertise your services. Lots of people, especially older residents, read them religiously. So if you create a good enough ad, you’ll get tons of clients from it.
Reach out to the newspaper and see if they can print your ad. They might charge a fee, however, the return on investment makes it worth it.
You can repurpose the flyer you create and get that printed in the paper. If you’re not able to do that and have limited space, try to keep your ad as straightforward as possible. Mention your qualifications, how to reach you, and what you’re offering.
3. Go To Local Dog Shows
If your neighborhood organizes a dog show or a pet show, you should be at it. After all, that’s where your entire target audience is going to be. Take some flyers and business cards with you and be prepared with an elevator pitch for your business.
Once you’re at the event, you don’t want to sneak up on people and start talking about your services. You have to make sure to find the perfect opportunity to advertise your services. Here are some ways you can do it:
- Talk to announcers beforehand and ask them to let people know about your dog walking services
- Purchase a booth and use it to advertise your services. To get people to come visit your booth, you can arrange some dog treats and fun little games that people can play with their pets
- Scan the area and see who has dogs – then find the right time to go up to them and talk to them.
4. Add A Listing For Your Nusiness On Google
Having a business profile on Google is a great way for you to show up in organic searches when people are looking for dog walking services near them.
It’s also incredibly effective because the listing only shows up for people actively looking for your services.
Creating a listing on Google is pretty simple. All you need to do is create a business profile with Google and then follow the steps to add in your details and get verified.
5. Organize a Pet Day
If your community doesn’t organize any dog shows (or even if they do), having your very own pet event can be a great idea. It’s an excuse for you to get all dog lovers in one place so that you can easily market to your target demographic.
Ideally, your Pet Day should be in an open space where dogs and cats can run around. Find a park or an empty parking lot, and make sure to get a permit for the venue before you start planning.
After this, all you have to do is circulate a Google form (you can do this through social media) and ask people to share it with other pet owners. People will be able to sign up to bring their pets. Make sure to ask for pet vaccination certificates so that no animals get sick at the event.
You can reach out to and partner up with local eateries and food stalls, and invite them to set up a booth at your event. Even better, partner up with other animal companies (for example, dog food companies, local vets, animal accessory companies etc.) and ask them to set up booths of their own.
Once the event is all set up, you can use it to advertise your dog walking services via flyers, a short introductory session at the start of the event, or word of mouth).
Final Thoughts
If you’re a dog lover, dog walking can be a dream job. Getting paid to hang out with dogs for a couple of hours? Sign us up! But to make this dream a reality, you need clients. And to get clients, you need to implement the strategies in this blogpost. So get to work!
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