Author: Kasha Ford
As you may expect we have relationships with a number of print and online publications and websites in the equine industry.  Not surprisingly we often hear a common lament: "We don't get alot out of our print ads" or, "advertising just doesn't work for us".   When we review what the ads are, many though artfully designed, don't really give a compelling reason for the reader to contact the advertiser, are placed in publications that don't speak to the appropriate demographic, aren't in long enough, or there is a some other barrier that is preventing a sale from taking place. 

Ask yourself, what is my purpose in advertising?  Am I just branding my business for consumers to become familiar with my name, product or service?    Am I actively trying to sell something? Am I promoting something? Each will require a completely different type of an ad.  Then ask yourself: what am I hoping to get out of this? When you have those answers, build your ad appropriately.  We see lots of pretty ads, and websites for that matter, where it's difficult to understand actually what they're selling or how to go about buying it.

Another important factor is whether you're communicating to the right audience?  Who is your demographic?  If you're selling a product that is more suited to competitive performance horses, then your ad needs to speak to that crowd...and, be in the appropriate publication, website or venue.

Often businesses are drawn to cheap advertising.  Yes, it may not cost you much to advertise with a particular publication or on a particular website, but what are they doing for you?   If the venue isn't targeted towards the appropriate audience or demographic then the resources put towards that ad are just wasted.  You'd be better off allocating those resources elsewhere.

There is a definate ROI with advertising, but it's not typically the kind of thing where your ad hits the streets May 1 and by May 2 your shelves are clear of inventory.  Advertising should be sustained and consistent. Budget to be in for the long-haul with a definate consistent look that speaks to, not only the demographic, but perhaps even that month's editorial.  In other words, if that month's issue focuses on Performance Horses then you're ad should illustrate how your business benefits Performance Horses.   Even if it's a product or service that is quite generic-like Barn Building, for example.  Illustrate how your barns are ideally suited for Performance Horses, either by how their constructed or the care you take during the construction proces to ensure the safety of the customer's animals. The fact is you can "spin" anything to suit the situation if you present it correctly...there in lies the difference between pretty ads and effective ads.

Ultimately, visibility in your marketplace will lead to credibility with your customers.  And people will only buy from those they trust.  It's not enough to run a pretty ad, the ad has to compel a viewer to act on what they see. Send them somewhere: to a physical or online store, an event, a website, etc. A critical barrier to any sale is whether you're ready to act on the ad.  In other words, if your website is not ready to make a sale, or a phone call goes unanswered....there's a lost opportunity as a buyer will typically go elsewhere.  So, really it's not the ad that didn't work for you-it's another factor entirely. 

Ensure that all your marketing materials are designed appropriately and your business is prepared to take advantage of every opportunity. Feel free to contact us to review your advertising practices or any sales barriers to reaching your ultimate business goals!  And, remember...take time out to ride!

Author: Melissa Berschens
There are things that I use every day, without even thinking about it, things like makeup, jewelry and tack. Some of these things I have acquired through my clients. I just wanted to take a moment and share those with you. If I love them, you probably will too!

First, my makeup, everyday, I use my jane iredale makeup that I purchased from one of my clients, Transformations By Meredith. The makeup stays on even when I ride, show and exercise my horses. It looks natural and makes me feel pretty. I think of Meredith Gilbert of Transformations by Meredith every day when I use it and it the perfect little extra boost that I need each day to look pretty. Try any of the eye shadows - they are glittery and light and stay put. Feeling good is something that comes naturally when you take care of yourself and do nice things for yourself and others. You can order jane iredale makeup right from Meredith's website online at www.transformationsbymeredith.com. She also has a great skin care line available on her website, and did I mention the oils? They also make me feel good before I go to bed, I splash a little on before I go to bed and the smells lure me to sleep. Thank you Meredith for always making me feel pretty!

Second, my tack, I have a Richard Winters rope halter that I use every time I ride. I like to lunge with it on because it gives me the extra leverage when my big 1200 lb quarter horse decides he is going to jump around at the end of the lunge line. I can bump on it a few times and he settles down and I don't have to use a stud chain when I use the rope halter. My horse responds immediately when the pressure is put on it, he moves away from it and it is a great tool to teach your horse to do Halter class because you can get the soft and responsive at home. I have a black one, but they come in many colors. I have used many other rope halters and they are either too stiff, or not stiff enough, Richard Winters rope halters are just right. I paired mine with a pretty lead rope. You can purchase his rope halters and leadropes on www.wintersranch.com. Thanks Richard for a product that helps me with my horse, every single time I work with my horse!

Third, my jewelery, along with looking and feeling pretty, I put on my Dos Fannies jewelry. Even if I am just going to the grocery store or to pick up the kids from school. I still like to look good. Anne King, the founder of Dos Fannies, has a gift of piecing together old jewelry, she takes a bead off of this and that and a charm from a bracelet and puts it together to make unique artistic jewelry. I wore my new vintage cuff made out of an old leather tooled belt with an old rhinestone shoe clip with an embellished old earring top on Easter and got several compliments. You should see the ring she made for me, an old cabochon with horse head on it set in around rhinestones, simply the prettiest ever! Anne's work is all one of a kind and made from vintage jewelry, we love Dos Fannies, you can view more pieces at www.dosfannies.com. Thanks Anne for all my lovely pieces.

Fourth, my stirrups, I have a lovely pair of silver stirrups that I bought used to put on my saddle just for fun. I have fun using them and boy do they look pretty, even when I am just riding around at home, I enjoy them. Life is short, do something nice for yourself and pamper yourself. You can see a wide variety of used and new show equipment on Carolyn Dobbin's our long time client on her e-commerce website www.itsallforshow.com. Thank you Carolyn for my fun stirrups.

Last but not least, my show halter, I have a beautiful crystal inlaid show halter from Kathy's Show Equipment which is literally the nicest thing I have ever owned. It has tooled silver that has an almost 3D appearance, it is very different looking from the old tooled silver that used to be around. I opened right out of the box - it came in a special bag to keep it in and it was already pre-softened and had this smell of leather that was like no other. It was already pre-shaped as well so when I put it on my boy, Tucker, it laid very pretty on his head. I felt like a princess in my halter class at my horse showed my horse with a new confidence, he is worth it, and I am worth it and we are going to try our best today! Kathy's Show Equipment has fine quality halters, bridles, headstalls and saddles, check out their website at www.kathysshowequipment.com. Thank you Stacy for my beautiful halter!

These are just a few of my favorite things. We not only promote our clients products, but we also use them and share them with others. If you are thinking of selling online, we can help. It is the way of the future and with the price of gas these days, you can't beat giving your clients a way to buy directly online 24x7. Contact us regarding our e-commerce options and solutions.

My parents were over visiting with us this weekend.  My Dad and I were discussing how we wanted to move our hot tub from next to our back porch to out beneath a beautiful grove of trees in our yard.  My Dad made the comment; "be sure you make a footpath or something going there, we're creatures of convenience and if it's not convenient for you to walk out there, you'll never use it." I thought about that for a moment, and realized he's absolutely right.  It also struck a parallel with something I've been preaching for quite a while: you have to make it EASY for customers to BUY from you!

Yes, everyone loves a deal.  And, in today's economy (I'm so sick of saying that!) people are looking for bargains even more than ever!  However, think of your own purchasing habits.  Do you go to several different places to buy your items or do you tend to shop where it's quick and convenient?  I would venture to guess "quick and convenient" because your time is valuable.  The old adage, time is money is as true today as it ever was.

Whether you're an online, catalog or brick & mortar business you have to make it convenient.  I spend a great deal of time doing online research. I've run accross some fabulous products in the various nooks and crannies of cyber space.  Many of the products, like supplements for example, may be less expensive than what I'm currently paying.  However, there is no means of purchasing them conveniently at 11 pm.  I go to a beautifully made website and decide on an item only to find that I have to call back during business hours and place on order over the phone or fax them my credit card information, or worse have to find a local dealer.  Then, if I do actually go through the extra effort to call them during business hours in their time zone, much of the time I get an answering machine.  Then they have to call me back, etc.   It is not convenient to shop this way.  Eventually we get sick of the phone tag and we buy our item elsewhere.

Why are companies like SmartPak (again using supplements & supplies as an example) so successful?  Because their convenient to both shop with and use. You can buy right on line, call them and re-ordering is easy.  Look at your own business practices.  What would make it easier for your customers to buy from you?  This holds true for all types of businesses, not just horse supplies.  Yesterday I got a call from a horse trainer client of ours who sells alot of high end show horses.  We recently completely revamped her website and all her marketing.  We made it extremely easy for people to A) find and reach her B) see and inquire about what she had available C) Buy it.  She called to thank me for convincing her to set her business up the way did.  Not only is it easier for her regular training customers to pay her in a timely manner because she accepts credit cards and online payment, she sold a big dollar horse because of it!   A key to success is making it easy and convenient to shop.  Give us a call and we'll review what you're doing! 

This is always the first question everyone asks. Typically, you need to know a basic outline of what you want in your website or print project. If you are starting on a logo project, then we need a rough idea of what you are looking to have created and we can pull together design ideas for you. Whether you are doing a web or print project, you need to think about the color schemes you might like, the style you are going for, example; rustic, elegant, crisp, old west, english, grunge, hip or classic. This helps us to narrow down your design preference. If you are having a website designed, you want to first look at your competition or comparable websites, this helps to illustrate what your looking for. We often ask our clients to send us links of sites they like so we can get a feel for likes and dislikes.

Don't worry, we aren't going to ask you every little detail and we often work best when we have more loose reins so to speak to get the job done in freely artistic manner. We know the industry, the latest trends, what is a good idea, and what isn't on a website and we can give you suggestions for what will work for your target audience.

Here is a basic outline of the things we need for a website project;

1. An outline of how many pages and what they will be called.
2. A few color choices to use.
   
3. Photos that you want to have on each page - it works best if you email us one or two emails with the photos or send us a CD, it takes us longer and is more expensive if you email us 20 emails for 20 photos, it would be better to send one email with all 20 with a list of how to identify the photos.
4. Text for each page - again send us one email with a MS Word document for each page. It is most efficient if you send us the final copy of your text and not a draft. It ends up costing you more if we have to revise the text or add it multiple times and we charge extra for writing or editing content. You are better off sending us the final copy to save you money.
   
5. Site Style - send us a example or a description of the type of style you are looking for.
6. Site examples - send us a few examples of links to websites that you feel best fit the look or the feel you are going for.
7. Timeline - let us know your expectations and when you need to have the site completed by.
8. Functions list - let us know the type of functions you would like on your site. (Contact Us form, simple paypal payment buttons, store front/e-commerce system, photo galleries, videos, slide shows or flash intros).
9. A deposit - we require 50% deposit upfront and 50% when the project is completed. We take Paypal and credit cards. Visit our Payment page to make a payment.

Depending on the size of the project, we will prepare a quote for you and get you a breakdown of costs. We usually can complete small projects in 2 weeks and larger projects with in one month.

Contact us to get started on your project!

Elizabeth Alvord is a hunter/jumper trainer out of Gig Harbor, Washington. A long time client, who had a website before, that we just redid in an easy to update format so Elizabeth can update her own site.
url: www.ccfsporthorses.com

Silver Buckle Services Named One of Constant Contact’s 2010 All Stars
...Company’s use of Constant Contact products and services helped increase its overall marketing performance and deepen its engagement with customers

Austin, Texas & Sacramento, CA — March 30, 2011 – Silver Buckle Services, a leading provider of marketing, advertising web and consulting services for the equine industry has received the 2010 All Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc., the trusted marketing adviser to more than 400,000 small organizations worldwide. Silver Buckle Services has been recognized as one of Constant Contact’s 2010 top performers and most prolific user of its tools, whether within Constant Contact’s email marketing, event marketing, social media marketing, or survey products – or a combination of all four.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Constant Contact,” said Kasha Ford one of Silver Buckle Services, principles, “ The equine industry as a whole is comprised of so many ultra-niche markets, having a tool such as this makes it considerably more effective and more affordable for our clients to reach their targeted markets. We look forward to our continued relationship with Constant Contact and making the most of this system in the future.”

Constant Contact looked at various criteria including when selecting this year’s All Stars. “We work hard to listen to our customers, and we use that feedback to create products and services designed to help them better engage with their customers and prospects,” said Gail Goodman, chairman, president and CEO of Constant Contact. “The Constant Contact All Star Awards are our way of recognizing those individuals that have successfully used Constant Contact to market their companies. We have some of the most committed, passionate customers out there and we’re proud we can be a part of their continued success.”

We just launched the new American Paint Pony Registry website. Take a peek!
http://www.americanpaintponyregistry.com