Dog trainers probably have the hardest time when it comes to blogging because they find themselves struggling with how much ‘free’ training information to give away on their blog.
So, I thought I’d offer up some blog post ideas for the dog trainers out there because believe it or not, the more information you give away, the more likely people will want your 1:1 help to either expedite the process or make sure it’s done right.
1. Give Away More Info Than You Think
Contrary to your instincts, the more information you can give away to dog owners, the better. You want to give them the impression or thought that, 'Man...if she’s giving away this information for free, imagine what she could do if she was working with my dog one-on-one!' The more valuable the information you share for free, the more likely they’ll trust you and want to see ALL the results that come from working directly with you.
This is SO essential and a thing that’s really missing from a lot of dog trainers' content. This may even be the BEST thing to take away from this blog post.
The information we’re talking about here is actual training tips and guides like:
How to get your dog to stop pulling on the leash
How to teach X trick
The difference between stay and come and how to teach your dog
Helping your dog through separation anxiety
You name it. A great example of this is Kaelin from All Things Pups. Check out her Instagram for ALL of the free information she shares. This only makes people want to work with her even more!
2. Post Something Polarizing
Obviously, we don’t want to go toooo crazy with this so as to not isolate yourself or anger anyone in your audience; however, more controversial posts are the ones that typically get the most engagement (good and bad). In fact, it’s a-okay if some people don’t like your opinion on this post. This helps you refine and connect on a deeper level with the clients you want to work with because they resonate with you and your message.
Many dog trainers out there have drastically different methods and practices when it comes to dog training, and while promoting your specialty may make some potential clients go the other way, it’s honestly all for the best. You want to appeal to clients who agree with your methods and you’ll make the dream clients resonate with you all the more because you’re promoting what you (& they) believe in!
3. FAQ Post
Pet Marketing Unleashed is ALL about providing ways to make your life easier and one of the best ways you can do that is through your own content. If you have clients asking you the same questions over and over, it’s time to get them into a blog post. This is something that you can send to new clients or include in a Welcome Packet (I have a template for dog walkers/pet sitters you may find super helpful, too!). Or, you can simply link to it for more guidance when you get the question.
4. Tutorial on How to Use Your Booking Software
This one is GOLD, especially when you’re transitioning to new software or have people struggling with how to begin using your software. This can create headaches for you as you try to educate your clients on how to use the software. The best way to help with this is by creating a step-by-step blog post on everything they need to know about the software. This can be how to get started, how to book a training package and schedule sessions, how to cancel a training session, how to make a payment, and how to update client or pet information.
5. Ask Your Followers What They Want
This is one that’s not often used but can be so valuable because your current clients are the best insight into what potential clients may want to learn about. You can ask them directly, whether it be in the form of posting on social media, DM’ing clients individually, creating a survey, asking people via email, or creating a poll on Facebook. Ask them what they want to learn or hear about and go from there!
6. Create a Pet-Friendly Guide for Your Area
Time and time again, this blog post topic becomes the most popular blog post for my
VIP Day clients.
Divide the blog post up into categories: pet-friendly restaurants, dog parks, pet food or supply stores, veterinarians, groomers, photographers, dog walkers / pet sitters, boarding facilities, you name it! I highly suggest using places you actually love, frequent, or recommend as the point here isn’t to showcase every single pet-friendly business. It’s to share ones you recommend, which adds to your trustworthiness and personality as a business.
Bonus points: When you share about this post on social media, be sure to tag these businesses so they know they’re featured and can reshare!
7. Tell The Story of How You Got Started
As Simon Sinek famously said,
‘People Don't Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It.'
This is true more now than ever as people are wanting more ‘humanness’ in their purchases whether it’s products or services. The more they can relate and learn about who’s behind the business, the better! Be vulnerable and show people your story and how you founded your dog training business.
8. Share Upcoming Events Around Town
This is a great option for a fun and SEO-enhancing blog post. The more you can link to other websites, the better as that shows Google you want to share other reputable information for your audience, which in turn makes you more reputable. It also showcases your involvement and care for the community. This is a wonderful trait to have because as I’m sure you’re already aware, the pet industry is a very personal one built on trust and love.
9. Outline Your Booking Process And/Or What It’s Like to Work With Your Business
This can give potential clients the inside scoop on what it’s like to work with you. This can help in a multitude of ways:
It can weed out clients who aren’t the right fit
It can motivate the clients who are the right fit to reach out and already be sold on your pet business
It can help you save time (because of all the reasons above) AND you don’t need to hop on unnecessary calls or send unnecessary emails
It can build your trustworthiness and transparency as a business in the community
The best way to do this is through a welcome packet or info packet. Check out our Welcome Packet Templates for Dog Trainers here!
10. Create a Client Spotlight
If you have a dog or cat that you’ve worked with that has significantly changed as a result of working with you (i.e. separation anxiety, leash pulling, fear aggression, etc.), this is a GREAT way to make those pet parents see themselves in your business. This is one of the best tools marketing has to offer. If they can see their leash-pulling dog become a calm and confident walker in your blog post success story, they could also begin to imagine the possibilities that could come from working with you.
Let's take a brief intermission to say—if you need a home for all of these blog posts that not only displays your awesome content well, but also helps you onboard clients while you're sleeping, teaches you how to set everything up, and helps you nail your SEO, copywriting, and more, you need to head to the Pet Marketing Unleashed shop! Read more about the templates and Unleashed Website Academy here.
11. Share Secrets!
Nothing gets us to hit the 'Read' button more quickly than seeing the words ‘Secrets’ pop up in a title. Think of some things that people would want to know that no one really talks about in the industry or in the dog training field. These are great ways to increase interest and readership.
12. Create a Training Client Need-To-Know Checklist
Again, we’re coming back to the fact that anything you can do to help ease your client process will be beneficial on so many levels! This is a blog post you can share with clients when they first start working with you. It can help you avoid mishaps, back-and-forths, accidents, and unnecessary stress. It’s also great for the reasons listed above under blog post idea number nine. Not to mention these types of blog posts increase your professionalism and legitimacy, which is invaluable. This is the opportunity to let them know things like:
A lot of the work will be done by them, not you
Little training sessions throughout the day after better than one long one
Things they should have on hand: clickers, training treats, etc.
13. Safety Tips for an Upcoming Holiday
Most pet businesses prefer to write more general blog posts like these when it comes to finding topics. They can certainly be great; HOWEVER, I highly recommend finding some way to make it more relevant to your specific community and ideal market. To do this, you can mention your town, certain holiday events, or offer suggestions only relevant to your town. Yes, an increase in web traffic is always positive. BUT, what is the point of getting someone from New Zealand to click on your blog post if you’re located in San Francisco??
NOTE: This is the case for only physical/location-based dog trainers and not dog trainers who offer online courses/training.
14. Interview a Behaviorist or Veterinarian
Dog trainers, more than several other pet businesses, absolutely need to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise. You are the knowledge base for essentially anything dog-related, even though nutrition or health may not be your specialty. It’s just the territory of being a dog trainer. So, the more you present yourself as an expert or at least show you care about educating your audience outside your wheelhouse, the better.
And honestly, this is the way to take some of the pressure off when clients ask you all sorts of questions that have nothing to do with dog training (i.e. refer them to your blog posts or other specialists like nutritionists or veterinarians).
Try topics like:
How to read your dog’s subtle cues
The importance of puppy socialization
What’s really going on if your dog has separation anxiety
How to set your dog up for success from the beginning
Bonus points: Ask whoever you interview to share the blog post on their social media! This can also be the beginning of a beautiful partnership! For help crafting your partnership email to them, get my FREE partnership email template for pet businesses.
15. Highlight a Local Citizen or Business
Nothing’s better than showing your love and involvement in the community. When you support others, people will support you. Simple as that. I’ve written blog posts for clients on interviewing local artists who paint pets, veterinarians offering affordable weekend clinics, or those who are fundraising money to help rescue animals. The options are endless here.
16. Teach Something Fun!
I’m sure you’ve heard it from other marketing professionals out there. Engagement is key when it comes to producing content, so why not have a little fun with it? Perhaps you can share how to create paw print stamps and encourage readers to tag their stamp photos on social media. Create a step-by-step guide on teaching your dog a fun new trick and encourage them to share videos. Also endless options for this type of post.
Bonus points: Create a blog post or Instagram post that offers custom training feedback to those that implement your training tips and share it on social media (and tag you).
17. Share Pet-Friendly Restaurants
While we have the full pet-friendly guide to your town, there’s a time and place to get a little more specific, especially for my favorite SEO-boosting blog posts for doggie daycare and pet resorts. This is a highly-searched phrase in Google, so it’s time to use it to your advantage.
18. Share Dog Parks
Same as number 17. There are endless ways to get more specific on all sorts of pet-friendly options in your area. Think about what people would search for in your area and go from there to create blog posts relevant to your town and their pets.
I hope this was SO helpful as you navigated through the ideas here. I highly recommend bookmarking this page, so you can come back to it when you’re struggling with ideas on what to write. If you’re looking for some Instagram ideas for your pet business, I have 33 creative Instagram post ideas just for you here.
However, while we're on the topic of blogging, I wanted to tell you a bit about my course, Blogging For Your Pet Biz. This course walks you through the steps of:
- Getting in the right mindset to produce content that attracts your dream clients
- Selecting the RIGHT blog post topics for your pet business for a year
- Writing your blog post titles, outlines, and CTA's
- Implementing blogging SEO
- Marketing your blog posts
And SO much more! If you're at all interested, I highly recommend clicking here to check it out. It is JAM-PACKED full of tips & tricks, perfect for those who know nothing about blogging (or even for those that know a bit more) and need some help creating a process that saves time and increases strategy!
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