As a pet business owner, you might wish you had more time to come up with blog topics. You want to create helpful content, but you are already so busy helping your clients on a daily basis. It’s hard to find that window of time to focus on your blog.
Consider this: As a pet professional, you spend your days engaged in activities that pet parents really want to know about. The things you do every day will be insightful, useful, and reassuring to them. Instead of setting aside time to come up with topics for your blog, look at your daily pet care activities. Those are blogworthy topics!
What Happened Today?
Keep a mental or written list of moments from your day. If your business is walking dogs, what happened on those walks today?
- Did you discover the perfect new route?
- Did the weather affect your route?
- Did a dog react to something in a different way?
- Did you walk two dogs at the same time, and what was that like?
A simple post topic can be something like this:
- My favorite new dog walking route.
- Tips for walking dogs in warm weather.
- How to walk an easily distracted pup.
- Tips for walking two dogs at once.
The key is to find the most helpful lessons for pet parents within your daily activities.
What Happens Behind the Scenes?
Pay attention to those behind-the-scenes activities that seem boring to you, but might be interesting for pet parents:
- If you’re a dog walker, what do you do when a dog gets muddy on a walk? That post topic could be From Muddy Paws to Cozy Clean with simple tips for pet parents cleaning/drying their dogs’ feet after a muddy walk.
- If you’re a boarder, how do you prepare a dog for pickup? That post topic could be What to Expect at Pickup Time, letting pet parents know exactly what to expect in the big reunion moment.
- If you’re a pet sitter, what supplies go into your pet visit bag? The topic could be My Pet-Sitting Must-Bring Items. The things you take for granted might provide new ideas and tips for pet parents and other pet sitters.
- If you’re a groomer, what does your end-of-day cleanup or morning setup look like? That topic could be Getting Ready for Another Pet Salon Day. That will showcase your knowledge and experience and at the same time sound inviting for new clients.
Pet parents like to know what happens behind the scenes. These kinds of blog posts answer their unspoken questions and build trust.
What Do Pup Clients Love?
Your everyday activities with dogs can provide helpful suggestions for pet parents:
- What’s your favorite enrichment activity? Your topic could be Top 3 Enrichment Activities Dogs Love.
- Which activities keep a bored dog occupied? You could write about Bored Dog? Activities to Keep Your Pup Busy.
- What is your perfect rainy day activity? Your topic could be Rainy Day? Here’s How the Pups Play Inside.
- Which activity adds variety to a pup’s day? You could post 5 Activities Dogs Love or suggest one new activity with a deep dive: Has Your Dog Tried this Actuvity?
Pup parents are always looking for activities to keep their dogs engaged. Those activities you trust and take for granted will be so insightful for pet parents reading your blog.
What Surprised You this Week?
When things come up that surprise you as an experienced pet professional, those things are sure to surprise your clients too:
- What came up this week that was a surprise? Your topic could be My Surprise for the Week. You could even repeat that topic periodically with new surprises.
- Did you see an unexpected pet behavior? You could write about A Fascinating Observation. Again, that’s a repeatable topic as new and interesting observations come up.
- Did a client ask a question you hadn’t heard much before? That question becomes your blog topic, and your answer becomes the blog post content.
- What new change did you make to a routine? Your post topic could be I Tried Something New, where you explain why you changed something, what the change looked like, and how well it worked. This kind of post really shows your expertise, and clients appreciate that. It also might give them new ideas for their own pet care routines.
- Did you encounter an exception to a common assumption? This may not be a surprise to you, but it might surprise your readers. For example, you could write about My Dog’s Nose Is Dry and explain that the way a dog’s nose feels can change due to many factors. Then share other indicators pet parents can look for regarding possible illness.
The surprises you experience and your responses to them will attract your readers’ attention and show them how deeply you engage with your work. That’s a great way to build trust.
Observe, Reflect, Explain
A simple way to create a blog post from your daily activities is to Observe, Reflect, and Explain.
1. What did you observe today?
2. Reflect on how you handled it, how it’s helpful, what it means, what it changed, or why it’s your tried-and-true way of doing things.
3. Then explain it simply to your readers.
Pet parents will appreciate how you turn your everyday experiences into helpful tips and insights they can immediately use.
Next Step
This week, instead of trying to carve out time to work on your blog, keep a list of daily activities and surprises. At the end of each day, write down one activity you did, one observation you made, and one question someone asked. At the end of the week, look over your list and ask yourself, “Which one of these could help my clients today?” That’s your next blog post.
You don’t need to step outside your workplace to focus on your blog. Your best topics are right in front of you in your daily pet care routines. That’s where your expertise shines. Pet parents can benefit when you share those pet care activities you do every day.
Janet Eriksson 