- Printed advertising
- Word of mouth
- Public speaking
- Yellow page advertising
- Direct mail
- Website
These forms of marketing have been proven to be
reliable in getting results when used correctly.
I’ve written in the past about using a new tool
for marketing which is the Weblog or ”Blog”. A
blog is an electronic online journal posted on the web
available to the public and the raving fans of your
horse business to get a feel for how you think and
act, what you do and your philosophy.
Blog entries are brief chronicles of business and
personal life experiences, sometimes accented with
photographs. In an entertaining or educational
format, they allow the reader to make a judgment
about how much they like and trust you as they get
to know you.
When recently reading Darren Wetherill’s blog, Horse
Bliss I ran across a link to another
horseman’s
blog, Gallop On
written by Beverly Hamerdinger of New
Mexico.
Beverly’s engaging writing style quickly hooked me on
following her daily chronicles about her horses and
family ranch life.
Beverly writes about her experiences with the
ordinary and extraordinary things that happen every
day in a humorously punctuated descriptive way that
keeps her readers returning frequently. From
vaulting practice at age forty-something, to new
tractor fever or catching a runaway horse, she tells
the story from a horsewoman’s point of view.
I had a chance to speak with her about her blog and
the new business she launched with it. Beverly uses
affiliate marketing to fill the margins of her blog with
advertising for horse related products. By using an
affiliate marketing agreement with the “advertisers”
in the margins, she will get a small commission for
sending a reader to the advertiser’s website.
Based on what Beverly told me, I don’t think she will
be retiring next year on the income earned in the
first six months of operation of the blog site. She
does, however, provide a shining example of a
creative way to combine interests of horses, writing,
and computer knowledge to create a pioneering
business in affiliate marketing. Her creativity and
talent jump out at the reader so have a look at the
site and go buy something from one of her affiliates.
If you like to write and have a story to tell,
creating
a blog for your business and for the
development of
your personal brand might be the low cost
marketing
engine you have been searching to find.
Subject material for blogs by professional horsemen
might include:
starting a colt, training a reiner, conditioning a rider
or horse, training for an event, self built barns,
building a business, promoting a clinic or horse show,
teaching riders how to overcome fears, competing in
a horse show series, selling a horse, teaching a horse
to drive (not your truck, silly) designing a jump
course, hauling horses, trail riding and overnight
camping.
The list is endless. If you can write a sentence,
then you can be a blogger. When you are not
riding, start writing.
