7 Tips for Coming up with Pet Business Blog Content

What’s the difference between just a regular pet business website, and a pet business website you actually want to spend time on to learn more about the company and visit again and again?

The answer is interesting and engaging content.

So in a way pet biz websites are just like people. Some are dull and boring and you dread ending up sitting next to them at a dinner party. Then there’s the friends who know how to listen, and are full of interesting stories and anecdotes.

Who do you want to hang out with and spend more time with? Whose name is most likely to come up in conversation?

That’s right – the friend who listens and shares the most interesting and engaging ‘content’.

The moral of the story is that you want your pet biz website (and your pet business) to be the really good friend your pet parents would trust their pet with.

Writing a pet business blog is a good way to establish yourself as an authority in your field (whether that’s being an expert in fish tanks, or dog training) and make prospective customers feel like they know and can trust you.

Writing a blog allows you to bond with your new and existing customers – and it can really help bringing your brand to life and differentiate you from your competitors.

The trouble is of course finding the time to come up with interesting and engaging content – and actually sitting down to write the blog posts themselves.

Here are 7 tips that will help you come up with great content for your pet business blog!

7  Tips for coming up with Pet Business Blog Content

1. Define Your Ideal Customer

Always start with your customer in mind. Who is going to read your blog? If you haven’t already done so, it might be worth spending a little time creating a customer persona and think about what your ideal or typical customer would be interested in reading about – and how you can help them solve any problems they might have.

For example if your typical customer owns big bouncy dogs with too much energy – then they will love you if you share useful ‘how to’ articles about activities that will help them manage their dogs’ energy levels’ – for example ‘mentally stimulating brain games, or ‘how to safely fit your dog with a backpack’

2. Answer Your Most Common Questions

When I worked in my friend’s doggie boutique, I noticed that there were certain things that almost all the owners of small dogs asked about – such as ‘how long will it take to groom my dog’, and ‘will he need a coat for winter’.

Both those questions would have made for excellent blog post topics. so, when you spend time with your customers, show them that you’re listening and make note of their most common questions.

For My Brand Buddy, I’ve added a link to a Survey Monkey survey at the bottom of every page asking my readers to let me know what their marketing questions are (and this actual blog post is inspired by one of the questions asked!).

Here are some more suggestions for collecting customer questions:

• If you’re the owner of a pet store or veterinary clinic, why not put a note pad in the staff room and ask your employees to write down one question they’ve received from a customer each day.
• If you run an online business – make note of the questions people email you, or post on your blog.
• If you’re a dog walker or trainer and do phone consultation before you meet the pet parents and their dog, make sure you note down any questions they might ask.

3. Be the Local Pet Resource

Make your pet biz blog the ‘go to resource’ for anything pet related in your geographical area. Take photos and write about local pet events, review your favourite dog walking areas, hiking trails, beaches and restaurants and your views on any news related stories.

By doing this – over time you will become the local pet resource and people will start thinking about you (and your business) as their go to person for any questions relating to pets.

As a bonus – because you’re writing about local events and your blogposts will include the names of local areas, over time Google will pick up on this and help you rank better for local search.

4. Customer Stories and Case Studies

Pet parents love reading about success stories and before and after case studies. So go ahead and show them how you go about doing your job as a pet professional – I bet you have lots of success stories where your business helped your customers solve a problem or need?

By sharing these stories (with the pet parents permission),  you’re not only showing off your excellent work, but also sharing your knowledge and help establishing trust with new customers.

• If you’re a dog groomer, you could take before and after photos of dogs of different breeds and write about how you groomed the dog, talk about alternative hair styles, and how to look after the coat for that particular type of breed.
• If you’re a veterinarian you could show the ‘before and after’ photos and weights after introducing a diet food to an overweight pet.
• If you’re a dog trainer you could write about how you stopped that big bouncy puppy from jumping up on everyone.
• If you’re a dog baker, like my friends over at the Black Dog Bakery – then why not share your four legged customer’s reactions to your treats? Check out this adorable video of Humf the Cocker Spaniel’s reaction to his first ever taste of their Famous Liver Fudge for inspiration.

 5. Reveal a day in the life of….

If you’re a dog walker, pet sitter, or veterinarian or other type of pet service business, consider sharing what goes on behind the scenes and show your customers what your pet is likely to experience when spending time with you.

Perhaps this could be in the form of an interview with a staff member, perhaps its a video from a dog’s point of view on a walk. Make sure you include lots of photos, introduce your members of staff and most of all – make it fun and interesting.

6. Give out Awards

A little while back a friend posted a photo of their dog Inga on Facebook. Her dog had just come back from doggie daycare where they were running a customer appreciation week, and she had received a little golden star sticker and I think she even got a certificate for good behaviour.

As you can see on the right, the photo was adorable and of course all friends clicked like and commented on her post.

People love knowing that their pets have behaved well and been given awards, and writing about them on your blog is likely to get your customers to visit your page over and over again.

7. Curate other people’s blog posts & make something new

Pet parents love lists that are useful, interesting and helpful – and you can easily curate other people’s posts on topics that are related to your business.

But hang on – I don’t mean that you can copy other people’s work!

You’ll first need to introduce a topic or question, and then link to a list of useful resources that help answer a particular question.

For example – if you’re  a dog trainer you could make a post about called ‘5 Irresistible Homemade Training Treats Recipes’.

Then you write a short intro paragraph about the benefits of homemade treats and variation in flavour, and introduce each recipe with a sentence or two before linking to them.

Here’s a similar example of a curated post from my dog blog where I shared recipes for peanut butter treats.

Do you blog for your pet business? What’s your best tip for coming up with great content? Let me know in the comments section below.

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