How long until business starts making steady income?

[Amber]

I feel like I'm burning out. I'm constantly updating, blogging and social media-ing, but business hasn't taken off quite yet. The business began in late October. Since then I've only had a couple customers and currently have just one regular customer. Here's my site now (one word)..... ambers animal care [dot] com.

Maybe my expectations are wrong but does it depend on the type of business you're in or how much money you have to spend on advertising? I admit I am trying to draw traffic organically and spend as little money as possible on advertising.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

[Paul]

I feel like I'm burning out. I'm constantly updating, blogging and social media-ing, but business hasn't taken off quite yet. The business began in late October. Since then I've only had a couple customers and currently have just one regular customer. Here's my site now (one word)..... ambers animal care [dot] com.

Maybe my expectations are wrong but does it depend on the type of business you're in or how much money you have to spend on advertising? I admit I am trying to draw traffic organically and spend as little money as possible on advertising.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

Amber,

I think you are depending too much on social media. I would guess that 99.9% of your prospective customers will NEVER see your blog or website. I’m sure there are hundreds of pet owners in a relatively small trading area near you. Try some more traditional marketing methods. Social media is somewhat passive, like a spider waiting for a fly to get caught in a web. Be more of a proactive predator and track down your prey. Sorry for the silly analogies!

But anyway, it may sound simplistic but some flyers posted on supermarket boards, at pet shops and put on door knobs may be much more effective. Even a magnetic sign on your car may be useful…somehow get in their face, don’t wait for them to find you.

[BNB]

You are advertising incorrectly. Blogging, social media, updating stuff, organic.... unless you have a TON of friends and you are wildly popular already, that is a dead end. It's something to do in the evenings, but it's not a real marketing strategy.

Paul suggested flyers and more traditional marketing, and that's exactly what popped into my head when I read your post. Continue focusing on internet marketing and learning it, maybe try very small budget Facebook ads, be creative. But don't start paying for ads without first reading about strategies, ad design, and what works.

Get out there and pound the pavement, so to speak. You should be putting flyers on doors. You might want to speak with some veterinary facilities and see if they will work out a partnership with you. I'm sure their customers ask about boarding all the time. Think about where you are most likely to find people who need your service and hit the phones and pavement. It's not hard, and it'll work.

I would also consider a very low budget and HIGHLY targeted AdWords campaign. But be careful. Learn about it. And only run very local ads that are highly targeted and possibly exact match. Go with a low CPC and low budget, take your time.''

So your question... "How long until business starts making steady income?" My opinion? Your type of business? 6 months. But not if you are just blogging. You have to advertise and hit the streets.

[Fulcrum]

I'm with the other posters. Put on a good pair of running shoes and start visiting the stores and professionals that can refer business to you.

[vangogh]

I generally agree with everyone else. I don't think you necessarily have to stop blogging and getting your name out there through social media, but I do think yours is a business that will mostly build itself through word of mouth. Pets are important to people and most will choose the pet sitter a friend recommended over someone they don't know and found online.

A friend of mine used to offer the same services you do. We built her a website and I think it helped pick up a client or two, however just about every one of her clients was someone she met personally or was recommended to her by another one of her clients. Ask your clients if they know others with pets. See if they'll recommend you to their friends.

I would try the hyper local advertising of a flyer on bulletin boards in your area. They don't have to cost much. Write some copy, print up a bunch of flyers, and carry a few around with you. Whenever you come across a bulletin board used to advertise, add your flyer. Maybe visit some pet stores in your area and see if they'll tell people about you. Maybe some connections with animal shelters in your area would help too.

I know you want to keep the cost of advertising down, but you may want to try advertising through Facebook. You can get hyper local with their ads. At the very least you should be able to target only the people in your area with pets. If the money isn't out of the question, you might try it for a limited time to see what results you get.

In general think local, think word of mouth, and think about making connections with people in person. One good thing about your business is once someone has become a client, they'll likely come back to you. One last thing my friend would do is before she's leave, she'd clean the house better than how it was cleaned when she arrived. I think that left a good impression for the homeowners. They might have gone away a little worried with someone in their house and taking care of their pets, but when they returned to a house cleaner than they left it, all their worries went away.

[Business Attorney]

I'll join the chorus of voices that already have pointed out keeping it local. But even posters at pet stores and local shops are passive, though certainly more targeted that a website and social media. I suggest that as Brad (Fulcrum) said, "Put on a good pair of running shoes" but don't stop with stores and professionals that can refer business to you. Go directly to the source - visit dog parks if you have them in your city and meet the owners in person. If you don't have designated doggy parks, find areas where there are a lot of people walking their dogs. Hand out flyers or perhaps even some type of useful ad novelty with your business information. Check for meetup groups of pet owners in your area. Once you get a client or two, give them an incentive to send their friends to you.

Think outside the box. Don't sit and wait for the pet owners to find you.

[tallen]

I think the others who are suggesting that blogging and social media are dead-ends don't quite have that right, rather those approaches are a "long term" investment.... But I agree that those approaches alone are not going to get you off the ground; they really only come into play once you have already gotten off the ground (that doesn't mean to stop doing them altogether in the mean time). As David says, you've got to go and get in front of your prospective customers where-ever they are, rather than waiting, hoping, for them to find you....

[Bobjob]

I would visit every veterinarian and pet store (maybe even dog pound) to see if they would allow you to leave business cards or put a flyer up one their pin board. I'd visit every pet related event and try and get my name out there. Some pet related events have booths, I would seriously consider having one. Do you have your business on your vehicle? The people who repaired my sprinkler system I found from their advertisement on their vehicle.

[Harold Mansfield]

I agree with what everyone else is saying. You're a local, physical business. You cannot do all of your marketing online, especially initially, unless you're going to spend on advertising. You still need to get out there and you need to target locally.

I took a quick look at your website and will say that you are not targeting well. You're going through the motions but aren't hitting anything.

Your title page is "Arizona Pet sitting from the pet nanny". That means little and doesn't help you get found for what you actually do which is "Pet Sitting, Dog Walking and Poop Removal. Serving Chandler, and Gilbert Arizona". I'd actually add the words "In home" before pet sitting. And all of your marketing copy across the web should draw on your core "elevator speech".

Then if I do get to your home page (from social media or search), you drop the ball telling me about your services and how you will help me, you go right to "Book your appointment" ( call to action) without ANY sales copy what so ever.

Your service pages don't get to the point. You're writing them like a college report and not like a service page. I had to scan by 4 paragraphs before I got to the chase. Most people won't do that.

You are also not using calls to action well.

If you're trying to get the most bang for your buck organically, you have 3 main problems. Design, Copy-writing and On site SEO. Pretty much the big ones.
All of which is easy to fix. Design may be have some cost if you can't do it yourself, but at the very least you can buy a template, some high quality images, and follow some basic design, copy writing and marketing tips.

You've done enough to get something online, but not enough to compete and generate leads. You really just need a lot of fine tuning so that when you do get website visitors ( provided you're targeting correctly) that they are compelled to take an action.

[Amber]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts/advice. The reason I have been focusing on online advertising is because of reputation. I hear conflicting opinions about using unsolicited traditional advertising methods like handing/dropping out fliers... I want to avoid appearing as a cheap/fly-by-the-night type of business that only attracts customers looking for deals.

There are several dog parks, non-chain pet stores (big box stores DO NOT like advertisers that compete with them) and vet clinics (most aren't network-friendly either) around my area. However without a very attractive incentive, I imagine handing out fliers to pet owners and store managers would likely get a head-nod, then thrown out. I want to avoid coming across as a pest. Or am I missing a particular method to go about this?

[Amber]

I agree with what everyone else is saying. You're a local, physical business. You cannot do all of your marketing online, especially initially, unless you're going to spend on advertising. You still need to get out there and you need to target locally.

I took a quick look at your website and will say that you are not targeting well. You're going through the motions but aren't hitting anything.

Your title page is "Arizona Pet sitting from the pet nanny". That means little and doesn't help you get found for what you actually do which is "Pet Sitting, Dog Walking and Poop Removal. Serving Chandler, and Gilbert Arizona". I'd actually add the words "In home" before pet sitting. And all of your marketing copy across the web should draw on your core "elevator speech".

Then if I do get to your home page (from social media or search), you drop the ball telling me about your services and how you will help me, you go right to "Book your appointment" ( call to action) without ANY sales copy what so ever.

Your service pages don't get to the point. You're writing them like a college report and not like a service page. I had to scan by 4 paragraphs before I got to the chase. Most people won't do that.

You are also not using calls to action well.

If you're trying to get the most bang for your buck organically, you have 3 main problems. Design, Copy-writing and On site SEO. Pretty much the big ones.
All of which is easy to fix. Design may be have some cost if you can't do it yourself, but at the very least you can buy a template, some high quality images, and follow some basic design, copy writing and marketing tips.

You've done enough to get something online, but not enough to compete and generate leads. You really just need a lot of fine tuning so that when you do get website visitors ( provided you're targeting correctly) that they are compelled to take an action.

Thank you Harold for your quick assessment on my site. I'm trying to appeal to a higher income clientele so I used a uncommon keyword "pet nanny" over a more popular one. But yes, using a more common/specific keyword would most likely aid to the site's seo. I'm also having problems deciphering between design/seo/content. What looks good isn't always best for search ---i.e. the homepage. I think it looks clean without a lot of content but, lack of content means lack of good seo optimization as you said. As for some of my services pages, I may have too much content or perhaps the content should go on the bottom with the call to action on the top. Ugh. Anyway I agree with a lot of what you said. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[Amber]

I would visit every veterinarian and pet store (maybe even dog pound) to see if they would allow you to leave business cards or put a flyer up one their pin board. I'd visit every pet related event and try and get my name out there. Some pet related events have booths, I would seriously consider having one. Do you have your business on your vehicle? The people who repaired my sprinkler system I found from their advertisement on their vehicle.

They must have a presentable vehicle then ;) I thought about adverting on my car but it's a 17 year old civic...hardly worth drawing attention to.

As for events, I think that's great. Looking forward to setting up a booth soon.

[BNB]

Thank you Harold for your quick assessment on my site. I'm trying to appeal to a higher income clientele so I used a uncommon keyword "pet nanny" over a more popular one. But yes, using a more common/specific keyword would most likely aid to the site's seo. I'm also having problems deciphering between design/seo/content. What looks good isn't always best for search ---i.e. the homepage. I think it looks clean without a lot of content but, lack of content means lack of good seo optimization as you said. As for some of my services pages, I may have too much content or perhaps the content should go on the bottom with the call to action on the top. Ugh. Anyway I agree with a lot of what you said. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

You can keep the content, but have your well defined call to action at the top. You can use one of my pages as an example: https://www.bestnamebadges.com/printed-name-badges.php

I could critique my own as well, it needs more product images in the bottom copy and the top graphic is maybe getting a bit dated. Regardless, notice the copy and subtle things? Pricing right there, and for my industry that is VERY good pricing... so I know it gets people interested. Then "Start A New Badge Design," but that's not all it says "Use our QuickCreate™ tool and setup your badge in minutes!" That tagline is very important, because it lets you know that after clicking, it's going to be easy and you get to do what you came to the site to do.

How that translates? Have your services, clearly shown with pricing. With a call to action. In your case it could be something like "Request a Free Appointment" "Meet me in person and see why your dog will love me!" - I suck at copy, but you get the point. I'm sure others have different approaches, but Harold is very much right on target with his critique.

Don't be afraid to get out there and be a pest. We all have a natural hesitation when it comes to sales. We look for excuses to not do it. Why? Because sales is uncomfortable. Walking around a dog park with flyers and talking to people is uncomfortable. Those that get out of their comfort zone are the ones who succeed. Go, be a pest. It's really ok. If you are a likable person, people will be interested. Also consider just a simple business card so people can put it in their pocket as opposed to a flyer they have to hold. Have pricing, or at least tell people "affordable" on the back along with bullet points of the services. Be very clear and short.

[Harold Mansfield]

Thank you Harold for your quick assessment on my site. I'm trying to appeal to a higher income clientele...

Then you need to spend some money on your website. You aren't going to attract them with what you have.



The second part of your question, "Steady income" is a little harder to answer. No one can say. I pay the bills every month and live reasonably comfortably, but still never feel like I have a steady income. I do have monthly clients, but I still need new clients. When you're a service provider, "steadiness" comes with regular and return customers, but even with contracts they can generally come and go as they please. Nothing is absolute.

I have a buddy in the poop scooping business. His steady income came from getting agreements and contracts with community parks, home owners associations, apartment complexes, monthly home owner customers and so on. All of which took some time to build, but after while the contracts were bringing in more than the one off new calls.

It takes a while to build that type of clientele, but the first thing is that you have to make it easy for people to do business with you that way. Pay online, recurring billing, maybe contracts and of course you have to be selling and promoting that service on your website and your other marketing. No one will just know, nor will take the time to ask if you do monthly service contracts.

It's a different kind of sales, but it's still sales.

Technically I guess you could consider recurring customers as steady income, but it's definitely not the same comfort level as getting a steady paycheck that someone else is guaranteed to write and sign every week. But even that is no guarantee because you could get fired tomorrow.

[Amber]

You can keep the content, but have your well defined call to action at the top. You can use one of my pages as an example: https://www.bestnamebadges.com/printed-name-badges.php

I could critique my own as well, it needs more product images in the bottom copy and the top graphic is maybe getting a bit dated. Regardless, notice the copy and subtle things? Pricing right there, and for my industry that is VERY good pricing... so I know it gets people interested. Then "Start A New Badge Design," but that's not all it says "Use our QuickCreate™ tool and setup your badge in minutes!" That tagline is very important, because it lets you know that after clicking, it's going to be easy and you get to do what you came to the site to do.

How that translates? Have your services, clearly shown with pricing. With a call to action. In your case it could be something like "Request a Free Appointment" "Meet me in person and see why your dog will love me!" - I suck at copy, but you get the point. I'm sure others have different approaches, but Harold is very much right on target with his critique.

Don't be afraid to get out there and be a pest. We all have a natural hesitation when it comes to sales. We look for excuses to not do it. Why? Because sales is uncomfortable. Walking around a dog park with flyers and talking to people is uncomfortable. Those that get out of their comfort zone are the ones who succeed. Go, be a pest. It's really ok. If you are a likable person, people will be interested. Also consider just a simple business card so people can put it in their pocket as opposed to a flyer they have to hold. Have pricing, or at least tell people "affordable" on the back along with bullet points of the services. Be very clear and short.

True. True. Thank you for the reference. Your page does get to the point quick and details pricing straight off the bat. As pretty as I think my homepage is, I think it does need an update to include more copy. Need to work on moving those CTA above the fold too.

lol good points about sales. I think I'm one of those oddly-defined Extroverted introverts. I have no problem pitching to people behind the computer screen but when it comes to person I kind of get nervous. All I can do really is be persistent and keep on keeping on. Thanks for the tips!

[BizAdvisor]

How involved are you in your local community? Do you belong to any social/professional clubs or organizations; i.e. Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Toastmasters, or any other local club(s) that meets regularly and are active in the local community?

If not, and you have some free time to invest, I highly suggest you look into professional/social clubs in your community to participate in.

In a way, these clubs offer business owners a rather "fraternal" support structure; i.e. they help and support each other, they buy from each other, they refer each other... and so on. They understand by helping each other, they ultimately help themselves and their communities.

[Amber]

^ Not very much at all. I thought about joining Toastmasters to improve my pitches and maybe a few local shelters to network.

I've joined a couple of business networking groups but find most wanted to 'keep business in the group' and pressured for referrals. Perhaps it's just about finding the right group but I didn't seem to mesh with those ideas. I'd rather see what I can do for the community around me or perhaps create a kind of community myself, then stick to a referral dependent business group. But who knows, maybe I just need more experience with networking.

Thanks for the reply. I agree it really would be an advantage as a local business to be active in the community. Especially for starting businesses like me who have more time and less money.

[BNB]

^ Not very much at all. I thought about joining Toastmasters to improve my pitches and maybe a few local shelters to network.

I've joined a couple of business networking groups but find most wanted to 'keep business in the group' and pressured for referrals. Perhaps it's just about finding the right group but I didn't seem to mesh with those ideas. I'd rather see what I can do for the community around me or perhaps create a kind of community myself, then stick to a referral dependent business group. But who knows, maybe I just need more experience with networking.

Thanks for the reply. I agree it really would be an advantage as a local business to be active in the community. Especially for starting businesses like me who have more time and less money.


I've never had luck with business networking events. They have always been kind of a joke. It's a bunch of people who just want to sell you but have literally zero interest in what you are selling. They don't even want to hear it, and when they do, placate you for about 10 seconds and resume their pitch. Most come off as desperate. And they are all realtors....

[Amber]

^ ...or Mary Kay women :P

For the most part I agree with you. I think forming your own networking group with complimentary businesses may be a better alternative.

[Michaeljsmith]

I am an IT professional and have recently taken up learning SEO to try and start up an online business. I took some time to analyze your website and major competition. The most important thing when it comes to organically ranking in google is to do more than the competition.

Below are the keywords you need to focus on:
pet sitting 210 $4.50
overnight pet sitting 10 $24.76
pet sitters phoenix 70 $8.75
dog sitter 110 $540
pet sitting phoenix 110 $7.75
dog sitting 170 $6.84
pet sitting 170 $6.84

I recommend:

You modify you title header and description and incorporate "Pet sitting" and "dog sitter" as users will then easily be able to recognize your services and will contact you, and they are the highest searched terms within your region for your profession. You want to compete for these words without investing heavily.

Secondly, when you type 'pet sitting phoenix' your top competitor is arizonapetsitting.com. They are ranked high in most searched terms for your area which I have listed above without them having had forked out any paid advertisement. You can easily beat them within 2 weeks and make a lot of money as they only have one back link.

Go to a school in your region and offer them a discounted services as gratitude. If they are able to update their website and put your website link that alone should be enough to put you high in the ranking next time google crawls your website. You can get other back links from other sites in your niche by guest blogging for them, and this will further solidify your position.



There is a lot of worked needed on your seo, social media campaign or future direction of your business, but based on what I can see from the analytic, you can dominate without having to worry about that for now. Congrats on having worked so hard thus far and best of luck for your future endeavors.

[MosheC]

Getting organic traffic takes time, but I agree thats the way to go for new businesses. You don't want to spent too much money especially when your not making a lot.
Owning a business will require you to open your mind and come up with new ideas, ideas that your competition has not thought of. I have a blog for new business that focuses on expanding you point of view. I hope it helps you.

[Amber]

I am an IT professional and have recently taken up learning SEO to try and start up an online business. I took some time to analyze your website and major competition. The most important thing when it comes to organically ranking in google is to do more than the competition.

Below are the keywords you need to focus on:
pet sitting 210 $4.50
overnight pet sitting 10 $24.76
pet sitters phoenix 70 $8.75
dog sitter 110 $540
pet sitting phoenix 110 $7.75
dog sitting 170 $6.84
pet sitting 170 $6.84

I recommend:

You modify you title header and description and incorporate "Pet sitting" and "dog sitter" as users will then easily be able to recognize your services and will contact you, and they are the highest searched terms within your region for your profession. You want to compete for these words without investing heavily.

Secondly, when you type 'pet sitting phoenix' your top competitor is arizonapetsitting.com. They are ranked high in most searched terms for your area which I have listed above without them having had forked out any paid advertisement. You can easily beat them within 2 weeks and make a lot of money as they only have one back link.

Go to a school in your region and offer them a discounted services as gratitude. If they are able to update their website and put your website link that alone should be enough to put you high in the ranking next time google crawls your website. You can get other back links from other sites in your niche by guest blogging for them, and this will further solidify your position.



There is a lot of worked needed on your seo, social media campaign or future direction of your business, but based on what I can see from the analytic, you can dominate without having to worry about that for now. Congrats on having worked so hard thus far and best of luck for your future endeavors.

I just popped back in here and noticed you response. I am trying to rank first for my primary area in Chandler, but Phoenix as well. As far as the competition goes, I realize I need more reputable backlinks but I'm not sure where to get these -- whether the links should be from local sites. ?

What do you mean "go to a school in your region"? I do think reaching out to other local businesses, like vet offices and offering them discounts to link to my site might work. Thank you for your insights.

[Harold Mansfield]

I just popped back in here and noticed you response. I am trying to rank first for my primary area in Chandler, but Phoenix as well. As far as the competition goes, I realize I need more reputable backlinks but I'm not sure where to get these -- whether the links should be from local sites. ?


You don't just "get" back links. They are earned. No one does link exchanges anymore, buying links will get you nowhere, and people don't just link to a site out of the goodness of their hearts. So, the question you need to ask yourself is "what do I need to do to make people WANT to link to me, share my content, and recommend me to others?".

Also, don't put all your eggs in black links. It's one aspect. You still need to do all of the other stuff too.

[Amber]

^ I disagree. I believe you can "get" backlinks. I was referring to blog comments, answering questions, forums, etc...I'm just trying to figure out the ones to tackle.

There are several different kinds of backlinks. The ones you referring are actual website links like referral partners. I agree these would take time. And local networking could get you there. I'm also not saying this is the end-all be-all of ranking a site.

[Harold Mansfield]

^ I disagree. I believe you can "get" backlinks.

OK. How?

It's great to have a theory and believe that something is possible, but when it comes down to execution reality tends to rear it's ugly head.
Many failed businesses started with the words, "I think people will...." with absolutely no research or data to back that up. It's really easy to talk yourself into believing that other people will behave the way you want them to when you don't learn, or investigate any other options or possibilities.

You can definitely get links. People do all of the time, millions of times a day. But it is not without work and having something that people want to recommend to others.

So you're asking the right question, pretty much the same one that I just proposed. And the answer is, "all of the ones that are right for your particular business and strategy".

There's no set formula that works for everyone the same. But I can easily tackle the ones you've listed.

Blog comments are time consuming. Much more time consuming than the value of the reward. Just like with social media, commenting purely for the link or traffic is transparent, and blog administrators are hip to it. It's also an outdated strategy.

The bad thing about blog comments purely as a link strategy is that most any blog administrator worth their weight screens comments before they are posted, links are "no follow", most no longer allow website links, and they will delete comments at will. Also the kind of sites that you want have reversed the process as to get something from you like social media connections or your email in order to leave a comments so that they can market to you.

Forum posts: You just need to look around here and see how fast we delete and ban people who try to use the forum as a place to mine for customers or that link drop. Yes, many members do business with each other and places like this are great for engaging, sharing knowledge and expertise, and actually helping people. But for SEO purposes forum links don't carry the juice they used to. You can thank spammers and fly by night marketers and automated scripts for that.

What I'm trying to get it is the answer is all of the above. Internet marketing and SEO is a culmination of many things done over time. Not a few things that you can hammer away at and expect results. Back links are one aspect and the one I worry about the least. If you do all of the other stuff and create something truly great, are honest with your engagement with others, and have a real interest in all areas it will show in what you create and the back links tend to take care of themselves.

Just think of it like this, a site like Mashable doesn't have to worry about back links, because they are a source of information. An authority in what they do. So others want to link to them by the thousands a day. Be awesome and helpful to people, and present it well and back links will happen all by themselves.

You cannot self manipulate your site ranking like you could 5 years ago. At least not with any longevity. These days you have to actually create something good and execute an actual marketing plan. There are no substitutes or shortcuts.

[Bobjob]

You just need to look around here and see how fast we delete and ban people who try to use the forum as a place to mine for customers.

I was floored with the number of people who do this. I thought more people would want to engage and learn from each other.

If you are not going to involve yourself socially (clubs, church, etc) then I still believe an ad on your vehicle is the best bang for the buck. All your vehicle has to be is clean, not new or expensive. I did not join my local chamber because I have no customers in my city. I did join a club for German companies in Alabama, and while it is a lot of people trying to drum up business, I have made worth while connections.

If I were looking for pet sitting in Phoenix, AZ - that is what I would Google. And if you weren't on the first page, there is a 99% chance I would never know you out there.