Great free stock photo sites

Are you looking for some great photos for your website and blog?

Here is a list of my favorite free stock photo sites. Many have great shots of all kinds of pets - dogs, cats, birds, lizards, hamsters and more. Be sure and check each sites terms of use before utilizing. And enjoy!

StockXCNHG
morgueFile
StockVault
Free Range Stock
Pixel Perfect Digital
Photo Rack

Don't be left behind. Learn how Twitter can help your pet business!

Everyday I get questions from clients and prospective clients about Twitter, the pioneer of microblogging.

What is it? Why is everyone doing it? I don't know anything about it. Help!!!!

Well, help is here.

For nearly a year now, my dog Johann, has been interacting on Twitter. Yes, my dog tweets!

What marketing I have done for 'Johann The Dog' has been an experiment of sorts over the past few years: an experiment in branding and marketing. And it's really paid off for my pet business clients. They have been able to reap the benefits of all my experimentation, testing of social networking sites, blogging and other marketing tactics that I have tried out over the years.

One of my favorite experiments with Johann The Dog is Twitter. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, you have undoubtedly heard of Twitter. It seems to be everywhere. I turn on the news, there's Twitter. I read the news sites on the Internet, there's Twitter. Businesses are twittering, celebrities are twittering, regular individuals are twittering, and even dogs (and yes, cats, and birds, and even moose) are twittering.

So naturally, I get a lot of questions from my clients and prospects about Twitter.

They ask:

• What's the big deal with Twitter?
• How do I Twitter?
• I'm on Twitter, but how can I utilize to it's fullest for my business?
• And most importantly, should I Twitter?
  

My answer, after experimenting through Johann The Dog over the past 10 months? If you are a pet business, you need to be on Twitter. And it needs to be a big part of your marketing plan. Not only can it help build your business, it's an amazing way to connect with, share info, help, and enjoy your customers and your prospects.

The New York Times calls Twitter "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet." Time Magazine says, "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app." Newsweek noted that "suddenly, it seems as though all the world's a-twitter," and Gartner, in a July 2008 report, added microblogging to its list of technologies that will transform business over the next two to five years."

But knowing how to utilize Twitter to help build your business can make a big difference in the success of this powerful social networking tool. Over the past 10 months, I've learned a lot about the ins and outs of Twitter, how to utilize it to it's fullest advantage, and how to generate more business - plain and simple.

With all this 'to do' about Twitter and because of the mountains of requests from my clients and prospects to help them with and understand Twitter, I've decided that for the month of April, I will offer Twitter tutorial consultations to pet businesses that contact me. These consultations will be 30-minutes in length via telephone, completely private and exclusively customized for your business.

Because of time constraints, I will have to limit this to the first 25 individuals, so be sure and get your reservation in early.

In addition to the consultation you will also receive my "Get Started with Twitter for Pet Businesses" handout which will provide you with step by step instructions on everything from setting up a Twitter account and customizing your profile (important for branding you know), to what and what not to do on Twitter, to a guide to Twitter lingo, to how to find and get followers, and more.

The total cost of the consultation and the handout is $30.00, payable via PayPal.

This 30-minute phone tutorial will provide you with the ins and outs of Twitter-dom, including:

• How you can utilize Twitter to engage and connect with your customers and potential customers, gain valuable knowledge and trends, and build strong relationships.
• How Twitter can drive traffic to your website and create more visibility for your company.
• What are the 'ethics' in twittering, and what is the best way to Twitter to help (not hurt) and build your business.
• How Twitter can help you provide a high level of customer service; interact and receive valuable, instant feedback from customers.

All you need to do is email me with your name, business name, website address, physical address and phone number; and let me know suggested days and times you will be available for your private consultation during the month of April. Please list at least two days and two times each day you will be available. I will email you back to set a specific time, and a link for payment via PayPal.

Don't be left behind. Learn how Twitter can help your pet business!

Pawsible Marketing in Pet Style News!

Earth Day is just around, coming up on April 22nd.

So when Pet Style News decided a few months ago they wanted to prepare an article for their April/May 2009 issue on how boutiques could raise awareness about the environment and celebrate Earth Day, they gave me a call to provide not only information as a marketing consultant, but also provide information as author of my blog, Raise A Green Dog.

The article arrived in our mail box today. I think it turned out great!

The article, "Celebrating Earth Day: Pet boutiques can raise awareness about the environment," and written by Wendy Bedwell-Wilson, focuses on nine ways pet boutiques can utilize Earth Day as an opportunity to educate their customers about the range of earth-friendly merchandise now available for pets, and how they can be more green.

Here is a link to the article. (Click on the image to enlarge).

Social networking for pet businesses - the latest trend!

In our previous post we talked about 'grass roots marketing' and how it can help your business during tough economic times.

A big part of 'grass roots marketing' is social networking. What is social networking?

Social networking is connecting with people within a network; a network of people with like interests. And this networking can be done in person, but is frequently referred to and done online through a growing number of online social networking sites - like Twitter, Dogster, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, forums, and more.

What can social networking do for your businesses?

I have a perfect example: My dog, Johann, is on Twitter. As a matter of fact he's one of the most followed dogs on Twitter. (Yes, I know, you may be surprised that there are dogs on Twitter). If you don't know about Twitter, we highly recommend it.

One of the very first dog treat recalls was announced because of the potential of salmonella in peanut butter last month. And Johann Twittered about it to get the word out to other dogs and dog lovers. Later that afternoon, he received a Tweet from an individual in California that the recalled dog treats were still on the shelves at a PetSmart store in California.

PetSmart is one of Johann's followers, so we sent them a private message that we heard the treats were still on the shelves in that particular store. Within 20 minutes, PetSmart had called the store and had the treats removed from the shelves to protect their dog customers. Good work PetSmart!

This type of communication would never have happened without online social networking, at least not that fast. Yes, the individual that sent Johann the message could have called the store and told them, but by sending a tweet to Johann, and Johann fowarding the info directly to PetSmart corporate office via Twitter, the treats were removed much more quickly, potentially saving a dog from getting sick, or even saving a pup's life.

Powerful stuff.

Another example: During the month of December, I held a photo contest giveaway - Johann's Howling Howliday Giveaway - as an experiment to increase traffic on JohannTheDog.com. I frequently experiment with marketing, advertising and social networking to learn and help my pet business clients.

I utilized Twitter and other online social networks to get the word out about the contest. During that month, traffic to JohannTheDog.com increased over 500% over the previous period in 2007 and over the previous month in November. An amazing increase. And yes, I also had an increase in sales, a very good increase.

And the best part is the increase in sales and awareness is now spilling over into January and February of this year, increasing my traffic and sales over the previous time in 2007.

Awww, the power of social networking.

It can help you increase awareness of your company, provide an amazing avenue for great customer service, help you increase and build your sales and revenue during tough times.

But there are specific and ethical rules to utilize social network to build (and not hamper) your pet business. We've been experimenting with social networking for several years now and know the ins and outs, the latest and greatest social networking sites to build your specific business, and the ways to social network to communicate effectively with your current and prospective customers.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to grow, create awareness, enhance and build your business through social networking and social media, contact us today. We look forward to teaching you what we have successfully learned, and help you with your marketing during these tough times.

Pet business marketing in tough economic times

There is no doubt that times are tough. The economy is severely hampering many businesses. So, what's a business to do?

I was meeting with a new prospect yesterday and we talked a lot about their marketing - what they've done in the past and sharing ideas about what they need to do for the future. But most importantly, we talked about the tough economy and how it is effecting their business, their marketing plans, and how they can still market with the resources they have and meet the goals they need to survive, and even thrive, in this desperate business climate.

One important item I shared with my prospect may or may not surprise you; what I see regularly from businesses is that during tough times, marketing is frequently the first to go. Many businesses believe that marketing is expendable during tough times. But in reality getting the word out about your business has never more important than during downs in the economy. You are now fighting, and fighting hard, for prospective customers, customers and customer loyalty.

During tough times, connecting with your current and prospective customers has never been as important as it is now. Businesses must provide the highest levels of customer service, have the utmost respect of prospects and customers, stand out from the competition, and build awareness and connect with prospective and current customers; because if they don't, those prospective customers and current customers will go somewhere else to fulfill their needs.

But how do you market when you have less resources? I say, market smart.

During my meeting with my potential client yesterday, I talked a lot about 'grass roots marketing.' What is 'grass roots marketing?'

'Grass roots marketing' is building awareness of your company from the ground up, connecting with customers the way they communicate, it's creative, it's personal - and the biggest benefit is you will learn much more about their wants and needs, you will be exchanging ideas, you will learn about your products and services and how they may or may not fulfill your customers needs.

By analyzing your business, your competition, your resources, your marketing options, and then taking that information to formulate a good 'grass roots marketing' plan that not only meets your goals, but meets your budget, really is possible. You just need good, experienced advice to help you. Contact Pawsible Marketing today to find out more.

We will be posting more about 'grass roots marketing' in upcoming posts so stay tuned, and subscribe to our blog vis RSS Feed or email to keep up to date on great ideas to help you market your business in tough times.

News: According to APPA, pet spending topped $43B in 2008

Looks like if you're in the pet business, you're in the right business!

According to an article just released yesterday by the American Pet Products Association:

Pet ownership and pet quality of life continues to rise. Despite the recession and cuts in discretionary spending, the pet industry is robust and resilient, according to the American Pet Products Association.

APPA’s latest pet industry spending figures show that total pet spending reached $43.2 billion in 2008, with no declines in any category from 2007. APPA forecasts that it won’t stop there either, estimating that total pet spending for 2009 will reach $45.4 billion.

APPA released the data Feb. 13 at Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Fla.

Leading the way in the health care-related pet spending categories is veterinary care. Total spending in this segment in 2008 was $11.1 billion.

Medical advances have made for a much broader and more elaborate menu of services, such as cat scans, root canals, cancer surgery, antibiotics and grief counseling. This leads to an anticipated 9.9 percent growth in this category to $12.2 billion in 2009.

With the added costs of pet health care comes an increase in pet insurance, currently estimated at $271 million and projected to grow to $500 million by 2012.

Pet services is the next fastest growing category. This includes grooming, boarding, training and pet sitting, among others. In 2008, total spending reached $3.2 billion. This category is expected to grow 5.9 percent to reach $3.4 billion in 2009.

Other reported categories include pet food, which reached $16.8 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 3.6 percent to $17.4 billion in 2009, supplies and over the counter medication, which reached $10 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 2.1 percent to $10.2 billion in 2009, and live animal purchases, which reached $2.1 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 4.7 percent to $2.2 billion in 2009.

“These numbers further demonstrate that people are more willing to sacrifice on themselves before trimming back on their four-legged friends,” said Bob Vetere, APPA president. “People want to reward their pets in human terms and even in this economy are still demanding the highest quality products and services.

“The pet industry continues to grow at a record pace and has proven to remain strong during times of change, stress and setbacks. As pet ownership and pet quality of life continues to rise, so will the pet industry.”

APPA is a nonprofit trade association serving the interests of the pet products industry.