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The Profitable Horseman's Newsletter Helping Horsemen with Solutions, Growth and Change in Business
January 11, 2006

This newsletter is written by Doug Emerson who specializes in helping professional horsemen find new and better methods to add to the profitability of their businesses.

in this issue
  • Looking for a Speaker about the Business of Being in the Horse Business?
  • Horse Bliss
  • Others have said
  • Back at the Barn
  • More Profit in Less Time
  • Getting to the Point

  • Horse Bliss
    d wetherill farrier

    Just like many other people, I am fascinated by the deep well of information and entertainment provided by the Internet, in particular, Blogs. You have probably heard of Blogs. No, not the swamps! A Blog is short for “Web log” and is a Web page that has frequent updates made to it. It’s like a Web journal or "what's new" page.

    The variety of specialized business blogs available for reading are countless. Lately, I’ve been taking time to sift through some of the highly read business blogs out there for my evening entertainment.

    A favorite blog, gapingvoid is written by a dry witted Brit named Hugh MacLeod. Hugh has a large international following of readers for his daily posts and daily cartoons drawn on the backs of business cards. If you take a look at his site, be warned he uses an extra strength locker room version of the Queen's English and his language may offend some.

    As I was reading Hugh’s marketing rant one day, I came upon a picture and reference to a horseman Darren Wetherill’s horse training blog. Don’t go away for long because the rest of this article is about making more money, but click here to see what I’m writing about.

    Darren’s Blog, Horse Bliss is a collection of photographs and horse training tips Darren uses as a marketing tool for his training business.

    I had the opportunity to have a telephone conversation with Mary Risavi who maintains Darren’s blog and website. She has a computer background, but found that she had a few things to learn about web publishing. She has gotten help from others and is also self taught to create the electronic web world for Darren’s business.

    Mary told me that Darren’s philosophy about training horses is developed from the work of many of the “natural horsemanship” trainers. He is a“level 4” Pat Parelli graduate. I asked Risavi, who has a marketing business background, what made him different from other trainers and riding clinicians.

    She told me Darren Wetherill’s brand focuses on:

    1. The fun of horses
    2. Being happy at training clinics and making people laugh and telling jokes
    3. Spending time with each person individually
    4. Being passionate about his business

    His mission is to share with people how to understand the way horses communicate and to help them develop the skills to be effective and happy in their relationship with horses!

    His blog, admittedly by Mary to be in the “learning” stage, does a good job of presenting that brand to me. He gives away some tips about horse training, uses photos to show how to have some fun with horses and suggests that training your horse does not have to be complicated if you follow his philosophy.

    My question for professional horsemen this week: Is your business’s marketing plan ready for a blog, website or electronic newsletter to tell your story?

    Consider the electronic path about how I (and you) found out about Darren Wetherill, horse trainer.

    Kathy Sierra, blogger and horseman, convinces her friends Darren and Mary to start a blog. Sierra, friend of crazy blogger Hugh MacLeod in UK mentions Darren’s specialty horse trainer blog. Hugh mentions Horsebliss blog in his blog, gaping void. Emerson, with thousands of others, reads the post, e-mails Darren and sets up interview with Mary. You, wherever in the world you are today, now know of Darren Wetherill and Mary Risavi.

    That path only took about three weeks. Yeah but, you say, having an electronic presence on the web is hard work. Of course, I answer, but if you had a problem with hard work you wouldn’t be in the horse business, would you?

    Life is short. Ride hard. Doug


    Others have said

    "Whoever controls the media--the images--controls the culture." -- Allen Ginsberg

    "Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

    "Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it." -- Stephen Leacock


    Back at the Barn
    back at barn

    I am confident in the growing potential for blogs in business and I write a blog, (click here), too. It gets about 10 views a day. Darren is getting about 60 views a day in blog traffic. If you took a look at it, you noticed he is offering useful information about training for FREE but also offers for sale his videos and e-books. The blog becomes a collection point for his latest thoughts about the horse training business and if you like his brand, click away to buy more.

    For lack of a better description, its pretty cool marketing. As horsemen, we deal in a low-tech world of simplicity controlled by leather and a little steel, but the Profitable Horseman business direction is high-tech and electronic for communication, advertising and providing additional products for sale in an industry thousands of years old.

    If you have a blog about your horse business, let me know!


    More Profit in Less Time
    Deewochagall

    I show Professional Horsemen how to use 8 key strategies to build a business that creates more profit in less time. Call me and we can talk about how your business can benefit.

    If you know other horsemen who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to them! I am on a quest to tell 1000 people what I do and I need your help.

    The purpose of this publication is to help professional horsemen also be Profitable Horsemen.


    Getting to the Point
    banner

    I write another weekly newsletter about the business of life. Curious? Click here


    Looking for a Speaker about the Business of Being in the Horse Business?
    megaphone man

    Have Voice, Will Travel. I am available to speak to your horsemen's group about making money in the horse business. With a 39 billion dollar industry, there are plenty of opportunities to make a profit.

    I speak to horsemen's groups about ways to improve profitability in the horse business. I'm also available to present a half or full day workshop for groups interested in making money in the horse business.

    Call or email me today about your meeting needs.

    Click on these links for more information

    Past issues of Profitable Horseman newsletter

    My blog. Bet I can make you look! Click here.



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