Starting a dog kennel or breeding program is one thing, but successfully promoting it and establishing your name is a whole another story. Breeders with years of experience already know what it takes to reach the level where other breeders know you and respect you and how to build your potential customer/client list.
With the help of the Internet, you can reach a much larger audience than ever before in a much quicker time period and at a lower cost. You can still use the traditional methods of advertising such as posting ads in your local newspaper, at your local pet store, supermarket, etc. These all work but are only targeted at your local community. If you want to reach even further and establish national or international recognition, then the best way to achieve this is using Internet marketing.
What are some of the things you can do to promote your dog kennel or breeding program?
- Create your own website with your own domain name. Register a domain name with your kennel name (e.g. KennelName.com) and also one containing the dog breed that you are involved with (GermanShepherdBreeder.com or GermanShepherdPuppies.com). Then direct both domain names to take the visitor to the same website. Always register .com for the top level domain if it is available because people remember it easier than .net or .org. Registering a single domain name will cost you around $10 a year and Web hosting is usually also around $10 a month for a personal website. Many Web hosts will also offer you free templates so that you can quickly build your website.
- Make sure to keep your website updated. An outdated website will not attract new visitors and search engine crawlers/spiders will start to travel your website less often. Outdated information will just make your potential customers or clients less interested in what you have to offer or say and will just leave your website in the search for a more serious breeder.
- Submit your website to different directories and dog breeder websites like K9Ring.com where thousands of people looking to find a breeder in their area and puppies for sale come.
- Join the breed club in your area and your national breed club. This way you will build many connections with other breeders breeding the same breed of dogs that have a wealth of knowledge which they attained through many years of being in the business of breeding and showing dogs. Sometimes, people will also look for breeders in these breeder club directories so it is a great way for someone to find you and your kennel. Being a member of a breed club also gives you more credibility since to be a member, besides paying a fee, you usually have to follow the club's rules and regulations that are designed to keep dog breeders responsible and ethical.
- Participate in dog shows or agility. Again, this will allow you to build connections with other experienced breeders and other like-minded people.
- Join forums about dog breeders and dogs in general and contribute useful information. Also, post a link to your website in your signature so that people visiting the forum can click on the link and find more information about your breeding program.
- Join social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and start looking for people to befriend. The power of such networks lies in the number of people that you can reach and that are interested in the services that you offer and what you have to say. Once you become an authority in your field by providing helpful information, many more people will recommend you to their friends.
Using the methods outlined above to promote your dog kennel or breeding program is great for people who are just starting to breed dogs. They can also be helpful to experienced breeders by showing them how to advertise their kennel online and reach an even greater audience. It all comes down to whom you know and how many people you are reaching with your message. The Internet allows you to build a solid puppy buyer waiting list from which you can choose the best homes for your dogs or puppies.