Everyone knows that it’s important to have a website. It adds to your credibility as a business, and also helps potential clients understand more about you and what you do. But your website should also be a tool that helps drive new client inquiries. In this post, I’m going to go over 5 website strategies to increase client inquiries for equine professionals.
Create a Free Resource
People love free things. Especially horse people. We spend so much money on the animals and sport we love, that getting something for free is pretty appealing. When you create a free resource to share, you’re giving them a taste of the knowledge and solutions you can offer them. And yes, you do have something to offer.
No matter what type of equine business you have, there’s a freebie that you can create and share to increase your inquiries online.
Free Resource Examples
If you’re an equine bodywork specialist, you can provide a short workbook that helps horse owners determine whether their horse is muscle-sore. Trainers can provide a booklet with exercises to help deal with common problems under saddle (or on the ground). Sales barns can provide a cheat sheet on how to prepare a horse for sale, and the best ways to market and price them.
What to Include in a Freebie
Any free resource that you create should include your information, and the ways that your audience can work with you. Because if someone downloads your freebie and loves the information, they’re going to want more from you. And you want to make sure they can get it easily!
How to Offer Your Resource
You can offer your freebie for download directly from your website. If you want to go a step further, you can set up an email campaign that will prompt the user to enter their email address in exchange for your free resource. If you do choose this route, make sure that your resource isn’t just a sales pitch. Think of their email address as a form of currency. It’s valuable – so make sure that whatever free resource you’re offering is worth it.
Offer a Downloadable Pricing List
The topic of whether to place your pricing on your website is controversial. There are tons of people who think you should leave it off your site and tons of people who think you should include it. I’ve always been an advocate of placing pricing on your website, but I’ve learned a different method.
Offering your price list as a downloadable resource is a great way to increase client inquiries as an equine professional – if you do it the right way. The biggest trick is to request the user’s email address in exchange for your pricing. This grows your email list while also allowing you to get a notification of a potential client.
No matter what type of equine business you have, there’s a freebie that you can create and share to increase your inquiries online.
How to Create a Price List
If you have set packages or services, creating a price list will be easy. Add in all of your package details with pricing, as well as any other information potential clients might need (like travel details, scheduling information, etc.). You can also add a link to schedule a call or a session at the bottom of the PDF.
If you don’t have set packages or services, you can include information about the types of services you offer and different pricing options. Make sure you include details about next steps and how they can get a quote or exact price from you.
Regularly Post Helpful Content on Your Blog
Everyone tells you that you should start a blog when you create a business. And hey, it’s good advice. But starting a blog doesn’t just mean that you should throw up any post just to keep your website updated. It means researching and developing free information that actually helps your readers.
The best way to create helpful blog posts is to determine what your audience is struggling with. When you find real problems, you can offer real solutions. Before you start writing any article, you should do some research to see if your topic is relevant to your audience.
If you don’t have set packages or services, you can include information about the types of services you offer and different pricing options. Make sure you include details about next steps and how they can get a quote or exact price from you.
How to Research Blog Post Topics
There are a couple of different options when it comes to topic research. If you already have an audience on Instagram or Facebook, that’s where you should start. One of my favorite things to do is poll my followers to get an idea of what they need help with. I usually do this with Instagram stories, but you can probably get away with an Instagram or Facebook post. You can also browse Facebook groups full of people you’d consider your audience. Search for questions that come up regularly, and try to create one or more pieces of content around them.
If you don’t want to interact with anyone, you can use a tool like Answer the Public. This particular website will prompt you to enter a keyword, and will then shoot out a variety of different questions and statements that people commonly search for. While this is a fairly good way to come up with a variety of different topics, it may not serve your target audience. That’s why it’s always best to go straight to the source (like your social media followers).
The best way to create helpful blog posts is to determine what your audience is struggling with. When you find real problems, you can offer real solutions. Before you start writing any article, you should do some research to see if your topic is relevant to your audience.
If you don’t have set packages or services, you can include information about the types of services you offer and different pricing options. Make sure you include details about next steps and how they can get a quote or exact price from you.
How to Write Great Content
When you write your blog posts, make sure that you keep them easy to read. Avoid using industry jargon or language that your audience wouldn’t understand. Remember that you’re trying to help them, not confuse them. Assume that your audience has a limited understanding of the topic, and try to keep it as basic as possible.
You should always provide a call to action at the end of each post. Offer your readers a way to get in touch with you with questions, or a link to another helpful post or resource on your website.
If you don’t want to interact with anyone, you can use a tool like Answer the Public. This particular website will prompt you to enter a keyword, and will then shoot out a variety of different questions and statements that people commonly search for. While this is a fairly good way to come up with a variety of different topics, it may not serve your target audience. That’s why it’s always best to go straight to the source (like your social media followers).
The best way to create helpful blog posts is to determine what your audience is struggling with. When you find real problems, you can offer real solutions. Before you start writing any article, you should do some research to see if your topic is relevant to your audience.
If you don’t have set packages or services, you can include information about the types of services you offer and different pricing options. Make sure you include details about next steps and how they can get a quote or exact price from you.
Keep Your Posting Schedule COnsistent
Try to figure out a schedule that will work for you to provide blog posts regularly. It doesn’t have to be once a day, or even twice a week. You can post on whatever schedule you want, as long as it’s consistent. If you choose once a month, make sure you’re keeping up with that and showing up for your audience. Regularly providing free information will help to position you as an expert, which can increase client inquiries for equine professionals.
Be Strategic With Your Website Content
Great design and photos are an important part of your website, but so are the words you choose to include. When you are strategic with your website copy, you can speak directly to dream clients and give them specific reasons to work with you.
One of the easiest ways to get great website copy is to work with a professional. There are several equestrian copywriters to choose from, all of whom make the process pretty simple. If you don’t have the budget to hire a copywriting professional, there are a few tricks you can use on your own.
Focus on the Problems and Solutions Related to Your Equine Business
When you focus your words around the problems and solutions that you can provide to potential clients, you’re helping them see the benefits of working together.
If you’re an equine bodyworker, for example, you may be tempted to keep your website informational and describe the technical aspects of each therapy. While this may be interesting to some, it doesn’t necessarily communicate the benefits that horse owners can expect. If you provide clear problems and solutions, it can be easier for the owners to see how beneficial the different therapies can be for their horse.
Keep Your Copy Focused on the User
It can be easy to include text on your website that’s based around you and your story. But this doesn’t necessarily encourage clients to work with you. While your story is important, it should be framed around how you can help the user. Keep personal details to a few sentences, and focus more on your experience and how it translates to what you do.
Make Sure You Check for Spelling and Grammar
Mistakes happen, but that’s what spell check is for. Always double check your website content for errors before posting it. You want to make sure that everything is easy to read and presented professionally.
The best way to do this is to use a word processor like Google Docs or Microsoft Word to type up your content. This will help make sure that everything you present on your site is up to par.
Increase Client Inquiries as an Equine Professional with These Strategies
Your website can (and should) be more than a pretty digital brochure. It can be an integral part of your equine business! By implementing one or more of these strategies, you’ll find that you can increase client inquiries as an equine professional.
If you have questions about these strategies, or want to learn more about how you can grow your equine business, follow me on Instagram. I post tons of helpful content, and am also available to answer any questions via DM.
