Pet parents are very careful about who they trust with pet care. Pets are very important members of their family. Pet parents want to know you will treat their pets well and take excellent care of them. Even though they might not have met you yet, your blog can start building trust before they reach out. Here are some ways to build trust through your pet care blog.
Share Your Expertise Simply
Your blog is a great way to communicate your pet care expertise to build trust:
- Focus on common pet parent questions and concerns, answering questions in simple yet knowledgeable ways.
- Explain the why behind what you do. This shows pet parents your experience and thoughtful approach to pet care.
- Use real-life examples based on your own pets, or share general examples based on your work with pets.
When pet parents can see your experience and expertise up front, they will feel more comfortable letting you care for their pet.
Be Transparent about Your Services
Pet parents often hesitate about hiring a new pet care service when they aren’t sure what’s involved. Bring them in behind the scenes through your blog to build their trust and confidence:
- Create a blog post that explains in simple terms what kinds of services you offer. Be clear about what you don’t offer as well.
- Help pet parents know what to expect when working with you. Give them real-life examples from your workday. Walk them through the process of what their pet will experience. This can be done through a featured service highlight in your blog post.
- Set clear expectations for your client process and communication style. Make it easy for them to know how to engage with you. Show them where they can get more info or ask questions. This can also be clarified on your website FAQ page.
Transparency is a big way to help pet parents be willing to try your service. When they feel like they’ve already done an online walk-through, they will be more confident to reach out.
Show Your Genuine Care for Animals
You might be surprised at this, but when you run a pet business, pet parents don’t necessarily assume you are a pet parent or that you can relate to their concerns. And you might not be a pet parent. That’s okay! Maybe you love animals and enjoy working with them, but you can’t have a pet at home.
I was in that same situation for several years. I couldn’t have a pet in my rental home, but I was able to provide pet-sitting services in my community. I had my own pets before and after, but not during that pet-sitting season. I simply loved animals and wanted to work with them.
Because pet parents don’t know if you have a pet or how you relate to pets, it’s helpful when your blog shows your care for animals. What are some ways you can show visitors how much you care?
- Share lessons learned from a pet, whether yours or someone else’s. This approach shows your affection, attentiveness, and appreciation for animals.
- Talk about the ways you work with anxious pets. For example, one of the dogs I worked with as a pet sitter was very anxious, so a story about how she and I worked through that would help prospective clients know how I am with animals.
- Describe the extra steps you take in your pet care work, things you don’t really need to do, but you do them anyway for the sake of the pet.
Those are all examples of how your blog can demonstrate your love for pets.
Share Your Pet Care Values
Pet parents want to know if you can relate to their questions and concerns, and if you have a similar perspective or can provide a helpful new perspective.
- In your blog, focus on values you believe are important in pet care, like safety, positive reinforcement, patience.
- Share your thoughts, reflections, and approach to pet care in simple ways.
- Invite readers to observe how you make decisions in pet care. If you don’t have a real-life scenario you are able to share, think of a hypothetical situation and describe how you would handle it.
Building trust through your blog happens a little at a time. You don’t need to create the perfect posts. Just keep showing up consistently and transparently. Over time, your words and honesty will connect. Pet parents will start to see how they can trust you with their pet.
You can start this week by sharing one helpful insight on your blog, keeping those key ideas in mind. That’s how you start building trust, one blog post at a time.
Janet Eriksson 