Are there any other women out there!?

**SASiman11** · 12-17-2009 07:22 PM

Hi everyone. Seems like no one has posted in this section for awhile, so I'll be the first. My name is Samantha and I'm a college graduate that is struggling with finding a job in this economy. While working part-time jobs I'm not excited about, I decided to start my own business in pet apparel and accessories. Many other businesses like mine sell the same products from different wholesalers. As a pet owner, I often found those companies to sell "cheaper" looking products. I took matters into my own hands and started sewing harnesses for my dogs on my own. I found that my products were way nicer and more fashionable than those I had spent thirty or more dollars on. I'd go to pet stores and get many compliments. After awhile (and getting tired of job seeking) I started my own website - MaggiesBowWowBoutique.net. Almost everything is custom-made and is made for each individual order to make sure it will fit each pet perfectly. I also added some hand-set Swarovski collars.

My business is still small, yet I constantly get compliments... but not many orders. I guess my question to all of you is this: How do I drive more people to my site? I've added a Facebook group, update my status a lot, send out promotional emails to friends and family, and bought a booth at a pet expo. Problem is that I'm in an area that is reallllly feeling the economic decline. Most other pet companies have not felt a huge hit from the recession, but I'M still mainly local. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated!!

-Samantha

**InvestInPixels** · 12-21-2009 04:29 PM

Hey Samantha - I suggest you purchase advertising space. To gain high traffic levels you must be prepared to invest.

I suggest my company investinpixels because there are several advantages. Firstly, you purchase advertising space for a one off price, and they last for an infinite amount of time i.e. this isnt a yearly payment, this will be FOREVER (to some degree of course)! Secondly, you can re-sell your advertising space to other members if you're not happy with the traffic levels you are receiving. You also have the potential to make money, especially if demand is high! - it works a lot like a market, high demand = high prices, however we have set prices now.

Also, we havent sold many yet because we've only been live a number of days, therefore you're advert will be noticed much more - however we have high level of hits every single day due to an extensive advertising campaign.

Another great feature is our 'promoted adverts' section which you can see across the top - this allows the top 5 rated adverts to be placed in a 108,000 pixel block for 5 hours a day (yours will be more as there havent been many sales).

There are more features, but I suggest you visit my website displayed in my signature (investinpixels) - purchase advertising space and you wont be dissapointed!

Regards

Management
Investinpixels

**bizdev** · 12-24-2009 08:52 AM

Hi Samantha,

You should join as many discussion forums that target pet owners to get the word out about your website. Also, write and submit articles to many directories. That is a hugely simple, effective way to spread your url link to your target market. Other websites will place your articles on their sites and away you go.

Regarding your website, you need to get better photos of your products. I needed to click 3 times I think to enlarge the photos enough so I could see a better picture of the products. Too much work on the user's end. Your product needs to be showcased as nicely as possible on the home page to draw viewers in. Also, I would use a real dog to model the items. To me it cheapens your product to place it on a stuffed dog. Exactly the opposite of what you are trying to convey.

Good luck!

**antose9** · 12-27-2009 04:20 AM

Hi,
just my 2 cents...
Swarovski bling bling for pets when people are loosing jobs, money and have hard time put their ends together? You are kidding me.... Pretty soon they will start eating their dogs, nevermind that fella from poland,,,, whats his name...swarovski.. Its a wrong time,bad economy, budget deficit, war in afganistan, housing market, high unemployment and all that stuff makes your product not that important...
On the other hand, if you come up with something nice, useful (gets some kind of a job done, not just looks pretty) and inexpensive, and you will find market...good luck..
Sorry, i know this is ladies forum, I was just curious.....

**bizdev** · 12-27-2009 07:11 AM

I totally disagree with Antose9. I read and hear constantly that the pet industry is thriving during this difficult time. There are many industries and niches that are growing or at the very least, staying constant during the recession.

There are still a great many people doing well financially. While they may not be flaunting their good fortune by purchasing extravagant vehicles they are still pampering their pets. Even those that may not be well off, but still have jobs, treat their pets like family members and continue to spend money on those pets.

There is no reason why Samantha shouldn't continue with her new business.

**shoestringventure** · 12-29-2009 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by SASiman11

Hi everyone. Seems like no one has posted in this section for awhile, so I'll be the first. My name is Samantha and I'm a college graduate that is struggling with finding a job in this economy. While working part-time jobs I'm not excited about, I decided to start my own business in pet apparel and accessories. Many other businesses like mine sell the same products from different wholesalers. As a pet owner, I often found those companies to sell "cheaper" looking products. I took matters into my own hands and started sewing harnesses for my dogs on my own. I found that my products were way nicer and more fashionable than those I had spent thirty or more dollars on. I'd go to pet stores and get many compliments. After awhile (and getting tired of job seeking) I started my own website - MaggiesBowWowBoutique.net. Almost everything is custom-made and is made for each individual order to make sure it will fit each pet perfectly. I also added some hand-set Swarovski collars.

My business is still small, yet I constantly get compliments... but not many orders. I guess my question to all of you is this: How do I drive more people to my site? I've added a Facebook group, update my status a lot, send out promotional emails to friends and family, and bought a booth at a pet expo. Problem is that I'm in an area that is reallllly feeling the economic decline. Most other pet companies have not felt a huge hit from the recession, but I'M still mainly local. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated!!

-Samantha

Hi samantha, i would suggest you to use some PPC ( pay per clip) services of search engine and independent sites. This is really great stuff especially for a small time businesses like you.
This system is approved world over and have great results. The best part about this is, you don't have to take any expert help or any professional help. For example...google adwords, it is very user friendly and have every thing mentioned to run your campaign.

Thanks
Shoestring Venture

**OCool** · 01-05-2010 08:37 AM

Samantha,

First, congrats for having the gumption to start your own business when job hunting wasn't working out for you. I haven't put my master plan into motion yet (still have a few important things to learn), but based on my research, I do have some suggestions. Some of these have been mentioned by others, I believe, but here they are anyway.

1. Create a marketing plan. Find a site, some software, a paper and pencil, whatever, that will help you to create a plan. This will include activities that you will do to promote your products, tracking which of those activities are working, and setting traffic or income goals based on this plan.

2. If you do a lot of local business, or want to improve your local business, improve your local presence. Take your dog or dogs out as much as possible in your creations, and keep business cards on you at all times with your website and contact information as well as a brief description of your products. Check with local vets, rescuers, and shelters about either placing products there, or at least flyers. If the vets have office dogs or cats (most of the ones around here do), offer a free collar or harness in exchange for the staff telling their clients about your business. Check with the local rescue organizations about doing fundraisers with them. If you don't have one already, consider a decal for your vehicle promoting your business. Check for dog and cat events and shows in your area, and make yourself seen and known.

3. If your products are handmade, consider opening a shop on Etsy. It is a very low-cost way to get your stuff out there more - you can even link to your main site from there. Same with eBay - place an item every now and then, or open a store, and use this to advertise your site.

4. Consider targeted online advertising. Check out sites that are pet-related, especially popular blogs about dogs and cats. Look into Freekibble, The Hunger Site, and Care2 - they all allow users to donate to pets by clicking.

5. Place ads on free or low cost internet sites, like Craigslist.

6. Find forums, groups, etc., that deal with pets and get social. Most of these places will not allow outright advertising, but you can have a signature with a link to your site, and lots of them allow you to post pictures.

7. Consider building a list or advertising with other pet-product creators that already have a list (like someone that has training products, or fencing products).

That's all I have off the top of my head, but I have been researching this marketing stuff for a while. I believe the most important part of marketing is a plan or system, and consistently just doing it.

I hope you find something in this post helpful. Me, I need help learning accounting. That's where my focus is right now.

**THERESA** · 01-09-2010 01:50 AM

A lot of it is just people being interested or trying to make conversation. They assume you're thrilled about your pregnancy and will jump at the opportunity to talk about it... they don't realize how personal pregnancy is, because society is so "open" now. There are no boundaries when we have entire channels dedicated to sex advice.

**Michy** · 01-10-2010 10:46 AM

I have 4 words for you - "Google Pay Per Click" - brilliant and cost effective way I have found to send qualifies and targetted people to your site. Personally I get a lot of mileage out of business cards too - but they need to be handed out (min 1k a time) in targetted areas. I was just talking about my website business on here in another post (about SAS Freedom Solutions and how it works) and as part of the back office support there was a guide on Google Pay Per Click which was really helpful. I am sure you can get info on the net about how to get started, but it is not difficult and like I say a really terrific way to get great leads feedback into your website that are searching the key words relevant to your business. Good luck!

**pjakesmith** · 01-11-2010 02:00 AM

I really love to read articles which are very informative and the topics are based or concerned with the current issues in our society. I admire these writers in sharing their views and or opinions that can enlighten the mind of the readers. Great job!

**cynthiarose** · 01-25-2010 11:01 AM

Hi! There are many forums in which we can participate. Have a look at other threads too!

**stellamary** · 02-16-2010 01:52 AM

I thank to God for the chance to mingle with the correct community in the correct time.I am searching for a forum such this.
Basically I am interested to the home outsourcing jobs.I hope can get here a lot of opportunity.keep sharing.

**creditnet** · 02-17-2010 01:29 AM

Try leveraging the power of social media. Open a twitter account and start connecting with other pet lovers. Design a collar for a specific type of dog, nickname it something cute and catchy, and post the pic on twitter for all chihuahua (or terrier, or whatever) lovers to see. Include a link back to your website and you'll be amazed at how your traffic spikes around the time you tweet.

Dog lovers aren't restricted to your location, they are EVERYWHERE! And if a dog lover sees something they love and can picture on their dog, they're going to buy it. I agree with the poster above, make sure to have great, detailed, professional pictures. Consider hiring a student photographer for dirt cheap (or nothing, many students need practice hours) to come and take pics of your inventory, then tweet away!

**lcalaway** · 05-07-2010 08:30 AM

I also disagree with antose9 - the response is thoughtless and naive. As part of a business school project, some colleagues of mine conducted research into the pet "scents" market - people would be shocked at what pet owners are willing to spend for their pets.

If you could swing it, I would take a trip to LA, hang out in some swanky cafes and try to get a celebrity to notice your pup's bling.

**Hermedia** · 06-12-2010 01:58 PM

Before you invest in ANY advertising you need to have your site adjusted (I did look at it).
I spend hours EVERY day following how visitors interact with a site after landing on it and how to convert visitors to Saless
(it's been my job for over 7 years).

Your products are GREAT your site isn't (sorry) it is very web 1.0. Look at WORDPRESS it will give you control over your site - its very user friendly.
Remove the visitor button (unless you get 10 000 + visitors a month it doesn't install credibility but the opposite.

Here's my list of things

1) You need a new web 2.0 up to date design that brands your business and a professional up to date logo.
2) You need to clearly list your FULL contact details (not just a number) - transparency is not just important but it installs trust and encourages sales.
3) You need to learn about SEO. You have keywords but only in your one meta tag - I see some top keywords missing and no tages on your secondary pages - titles like 'dresses' instead of 'unique pet boutique pet supplies - dog dresses'
4) Your product photos need to be a higher resolution and more then one view - maybe' off the pet' and on the pet.
5) Blog - you need a blog - where you post about industry events (maybe dog shows ? Pet non profit news ect) Google likes blogs it will get you spidered more. Post EVERY DAY)
6) Create a marketing plan. If your budget is small you can still have a plan - include ideas that cost time over money (like social media), set actual time frames for each task item. leading to re investing a percentage of all sales back into advertising via PPC - make sure you track ALL your advertising to measure the performance. Other wise you will waste your money when it could be spent on what works.
6) Create a PR plan - focus on print magazines/websites in the stores your audience will be found.

Good luck !
You have a great unique quality product ... but you have to wear TWO hats 1) designer/pet retailer 2) Internet business owner (which means learning the industry stuff