Is getting press coverage something youโd love to achieve for your pet business?
You might see other people in the industry getting brilliant media coverage and wonder โhow do they do it?โ
Well, the good news is you donโt need a huge budget and a fancy PR company to appear in the media and make sure your business is seen.
In this podcast episode Iโm sharing five simple steps you can follow to if youโd like to Get Your Pet Business in the Press.
Thereโs five steps to get your pet business in the press PDF you can download here that takes you through each step, with space for notes and ideas and additional resources.
You can listen in on the player link below or carry on reading as a blog post.
Step One: Who do you want to reach?
When you’re looking to get publicity for your pet business, it’s really important to think about the audience you want to reach.
If youโre a dog walker, groomer, pet sitter or cat behaviourist, people who are living in the local area where you operate need to know about your services.
As an online business, you might want to reach people on a wider scale – it could even be global?
Maybe you make breed-specific products, like one of my clients, Michelle Burgess from Scruffy Little Terrier.
She has an accessory and lifestyle brand for terrier owners, so itโs vital sheโs known by people who have terriers.
So who do you want to reach?
Step Two: Where do you want to be featured?
You know who you want to reach so the next step is how to reach them.
Who are they tuned into? What are they reading? What do they listen to? Who do they follow? Are there any social media influencers they admire?
Letโs say youโre a trainer and you specialise in working with Dachshunds.
Is there a podcast or blog for Dachshund owners?
If so, this is the perfect place for you to reach your ideal client.
Maybe your research has revealed your ideal client reads Woman and Home magazine.
This is where you would aim to be featured.
If youโre a local service provider, go to the media outlets that cover your area, so newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and TV.
Learn more: How to find places to pitch stories to for your local service business
Step Three: Whatโs your story?
If you go to the journalist and say โwrite about my businessโ theyโll tell you to take out an advert.
Itโs vital to be creative and think of something around your pet business that people will find interesting and craft a newsworthy story.
You might be thinking, โI donโt have a story, how on earth do I do that?โ
So here are a few ideasโฆ
Did you have a lightbulb moment that led to you starting your pet business?
Is there something in the news you can relate to? A rise in naughty puppies? A report on increased spending on pets?
Do you own or have you worked with an inspiring animal?
Maybe you left your former career to work with animals?
Are you involved in supporting a charity or community project?
You might think that you donโt have a story because your life is โnormalโ to you but I promise you will have something interesting to say!
Step Four: Find the right person to pitch to
Great, so weโve worked out who we want to reach, weโve chosen the places where their eyes and ears are, and weโve figured out the story we want to tell.
So who do we send it to?
You must find the journalist working on the publication whoโs going to be interested in what youโve got to say.
If you go on the website and find an e-mail like editor@ or news@, chances are itโs not monitored and your message will vanish into the ether.
Take some time to research and find the right person you want to approach and if youโre stuck, call the news desk and ask.
Another tip is to find a writer who covers your โpatchโ which could be a village or suburb.
This is exactly what Karen Boyce, owner of Beastly Thoughts Professional dog services, did when contacting her local magazine in Wrexham.
She landed a regular monthly column – meaning she can attract new clients for her training services and pet shop.
Once youโve established a relationship with these reporters, you can work on becoming their go-to person like Karen has.
Step five: Writing your pitch
This is really simple, please donโt overthink it!
All you need to do is give a summary of what your story is about.
Here are some prompts for you to follow.
โข Start with a friendly introduction, keep it short and simple
โข Your pitch should be no longer than 150 to 200 words
โข Include your phone number because the journalist may need to chat
โข Be prepared – often you get a call straight away. This can sometimes throw you off guard, so do your preparation.
You can download my Five Steps to Get Your Pet Business in the Press eBook that takes you through each step and has additional resources.
Click here to get your copy.
Want to work on this?
My Pets Get Visible membership is an affordable way for you to get support in approaching the press, with coaching calls and resources to make the process easy.
Inside is a Press Release Template you can follow which has helped over 1000 business owners feature in the media.
It’s the place to be if you want to get your pet business noticed and be around like-minded pet professionals.
Learn more and join for just ยฃ30 a month here: https://publicityforpetbusinesses.mykajabi.com/pets-get-visible