Brochures, Postcards & Business Cards...You Got Em?

It's an obvious question really, but sometimes in the frenzy of starting your new pet business, getting anxious to launch, putting together your budget, spreading the word little things like marketing materials may fall by the wayside.

Although you may be budget bootstrapping you can still find creative and innovative ways to keep you fresh in your pet parents minds. I'll share some good resources and ideas that you can use or add to.

-->1. Prints Made Easy.com - A fabulous website that I use often to print business cards and postcards. They have reasonable pricing and you can get your order sooner or later depending on your budget. If you can wait a couple of weeks shipping is on the cheap, if you need it sooner you may need to reconsider.

-->2. UPrinting.com - Yet another printing alternative that I use to prints larger volume marketing materials. Pricing here is darn good for when you're ready to order in the thousands. I like these guys because turnaround is especially quick and when I want something I usually want it yesterday so these guys really deliver.

-->3. Print Your Own - Yes there are still ways that you can print your own handouts and still be professional. It really depends on your design of what you're handing out. Personally I like to dabble with Adobe Photoshop and make all of my materials myself. This saves me in paying someone else to try to get my design vision right, only to have to make costly revisions along the way. There is time involved but in the end for me it was always worth it. Make sure to get cardstock paper and not just regular printing paper. This type of paper usually comes in many different colors and is measured in 'lbs'.

For instance a good cardstock is 115lb, it's heavy and feels sturdy in your hands. I've never really been a fan of printing your own business cards, simply because I have yet to see any that truly look or feel professional. If you can pull it off, than by all means go for it, and send me a copy I'd like to witness it. Business cards are so affordable now that if you can have them printed, I suggest you give it a try.

Or you might even try printing your own postcards on cardstock then taking them to a FedEx/Kinko type place and letting them cut them for you. Since cutting is where we run into postcards that look like...well like we cut them. You don't want that as your marketing message.

Having ready, professional marketing materials is not just a great way to spread the word about your awesome pet business, it's a way to keep potential and loyal pet parents informed about you and what you can offer them.

Now what are you waiting for, get to printing!

Traffic Boosting via Contests!

Who doesn't like a contest or the chance to win something that is pretty cool? Well everyone does, and best of all contests are a great way to drive traffic to your shop or website and gain new customers along the way. Here are a few tips and pointers about contests that will put you ahead of your competition:

-->1. What You Want -- What are your goals you want to achieve from your contest? Do you want to get your customers to interact more, get more incoming links, get to know them a bit better, get them to spread the word about you or all of the above? Define these parameters before you launch your contest so you haved direction.

-->2. Choose the Prizes -- So you're gonna host a contest now you need prizes that will make your contest smokin' hot. If you have goodies that your customers clamor for, use your items. Or if you're feeling generous and creative get some sponsors on board to donate goodies in exchange for the publicity. Having awesome prizes increases traffic, buzz and in the end your brand awareness which is always a good thing for you.

-->3. Make 'em Work For It -- So yes you do want to ultimately give something fabulous away of good value because it is an investment that is worth it. But don't just 'give it away'. You gotta make 'em work for it. Encourage them to leave blog comments, tweet to others about it and post a blog post on their blog. You're giving something away and in exchange for that you're getting some traffic, buzz and putting you and your pet business out there.

-->.4.Let People Know -- Once you have your contest in place and live, now you have to let your customers, and potential customers know about it. Get on your social high horse and let people know. Tweet about it, Facebook it, send out newsletter shout outs and email your members, followers and friends. Don't forget to encourage extra entries when they spread the word on your behalf.

Contests are just one easy way to increase traffic to your website but there are several other ways you can do it too! Real Easy ways that are fun to boot. Get creative and explore your ways.

Who Knew Color DOES matter...

Now you may be wondering color for what? Well I'm talking in terms of Your color scheme for your business. You know the colors that will define your business, your image, your perception to your pet parents and what will help them to remember you better.

So what color scheme are you using? What colors have you chosen to represent your pet business? You didn't just choose random colors off of a color wheel did you? Ok let's just break it down a bit and see why colors could mean more than you might think.

It's been said that IBM has such great early success because of the soothing yet comanding color of the 'blue' that has now become know as IBM blue. Could this really be true? Well let's look a few quick examples and you tell me what's your first impression about these make-believe companies.

EXAMPLE A: Solei Pet Spoiling - This company provides high end pet sitting, spa'ing, and spoiling when you cannot. You hear about this company while eavesdropping on some chatty pet parents at the dog park. You think 'hmm maybe Spudd would enjoy something like this when I have to put in extra hours at work. You get a visual in your head of their website and are excited to see what they offer and their pricing. You go and Google or Bing them and are greeted with a pleasant and soothing website that is adorned with simple yet elegant backgrounds. The color scheme is a muted eggplant, with grey and white and you immediately feel ( fill in the blank)

EXAMPLE B: Dawgsome - Similar in services you find out about them at your recent trip to the vet. You once again go home and Bing or Google them, when you're greeted with a ultraviolet color scheme of lime green, magenta, and royal blue. You're finding it hard to navigate, not to mention it makes you eyes pant from over exertion! It's enough to make you totally forget why you sought them out and then proceed to click the little red box with the white 'x' in it! Gone, never to be visited again.

So briefly you can sort of understand why colors do matter. When you start on your petpreneur adventures there are so many details you have to consider that could make just the difference you're looking for. When you pick your colors, seek out a color wheel. Study which colors compliment each other and play around with them. Play with the for real too. If you can get paint sample strips in those colors look at them in front of you. Do they make you feel warm and fuzzy or antsy and anxious.

Now how do you want your pet parents to feel when they see your marketing materials, your website and your promotional handouts? Of course you want them to feel at ease, comfortable and warm/fuzzy. The exceptions are (they're always are) if you're in business to make your customers feel antsy, anxious or jitty than by all means choose colors that envoke those urgency and fun feelings, but still choose wisely.

Try this little exercise: Browse around the net a bit and pay close attention to color schemes. Notice what colors companies are using, it doesn't even have to be pet related. See how the good ones make use of color and make a note of that. If they're doing it right see 'what' they're doing right.

Choosing your colors is actually a fun aspect of your business that you should enjoy. I take that time to kind of go out there a bit and seek colors I wouldn't have thought of and see how they work, you never know what you may find.

And remember it never hurts to get opinions...don't live by 'em, but you know grain of salt 'em.

~Enjoy

Kookin' up for K9's...Niche Idea #1

So you like to bake cookies, cakes and pies huh? Well there's a niche for that if you happen to be a pet parent or enthusiast and a whiz in the kitchen. Why not start a specialty diet bakery? You could offer yummy treats for sensitive stomachs, or diabetic pets.

Pet bakeries are another hot trend that you can start farely quickly with the right startup know how and informations. There maybe some bakeries already in your area why not offer your your specialty treats to them. It's a great way to get started with limited startup costs, and see if this pet business niche is a good fit for you.

You can start out with sample batches to share with friends and of course your furry member and see how well they go over. It's best to try it out first and get honest feedback, not the yeah my dog loved them from your friends - but honest feedback. There's no sense in getting that feedback if it's not genuine, you need the real deal. If Fido spit out every nasty bite ya need to know that. So encourage honesty with your samples.

----> Don't Chase Your Tail Action Point:
It's a good idea to get some proven techniques on this one, because you may think oh I bet chocolate cupcakes would be divine only to find out that it's not such a great idea to a doggies palate. Now this may not be true but you wanna be sure before you divulge your funds here.