So I'm a volunteer at a rescue and a city shelter, where I walk dogs and help out at adoption events. Primarily, though, what I do is post ads for our dogs online, and network to breed-specific rescues.
I have a list of adoption websites, but mainly use Craigslist (it works, and most people know about it.) I don't know if I'm allowed to post my list here, but would be happy to share it if it's allowed to post, or via PM.
Anyway, I was curious how other rescues & shelters handle marketing? I'm pretty much the marketing department for my rescue (for adoptions, which we're not focused on as much - mainly we do a training program with shelter dogs & kids.) I'm making it up as I go along. So my questions -
For ADOPTERS - How did you hear about your dog? What stood out about the description, etc? Did you get an accurate idea of the dog's personality from the ad? What information did you need, that was not in the ad? Any other comments?
For RESCUES/SHELTERS:
1. Do you mainly advertise for individual animals, or for the shelter/rescue as a whole? Or only for events?
2. Where do you advertise? Websites, newspapers, flyers at Petsmart? Direct mail?
3. Does your group have a budget for marketing, or is it all volunteer & free ads?
4. What venue(s) do you get the most response from? (Internet, newspapers, etc.?) What about the BEST response - most qualified homes, for rescues that check on that?
5. Do you track how adopters heard about you/the dog? If so, how?
6. Wording of ads...do you find that certain ads get more response than others? What does a "good" ad look like? What's the best information to put in/leave out/highlight...etc.
Maybe post some examples and we can critique them! I'll start with a couple of mine.
This is the format I usually use for the rescue. They write their own bios, and I usually haven't met the dog:
Photos are, of course, included.
And here's an example of what I post for shelter dogs. This one in particular, I met and wrote a bio for, but often I'm just passing along other volunteers' bios on dogs I haven't met:
I have a list of adoption websites, but mainly use Craigslist (it works, and most people know about it.) I don't know if I'm allowed to post my list here, but would be happy to share it if it's allowed to post, or via PM.
Anyway, I was curious how other rescues & shelters handle marketing? I'm pretty much the marketing department for my rescue (for adoptions, which we're not focused on as much - mainly we do a training program with shelter dogs & kids.) I'm making it up as I go along. So my questions -
For ADOPTERS - How did you hear about your dog? What stood out about the description, etc? Did you get an accurate idea of the dog's personality from the ad? What information did you need, that was not in the ad? Any other comments?
For RESCUES/SHELTERS:
1. Do you mainly advertise for individual animals, or for the shelter/rescue as a whole? Or only for events?
2. Where do you advertise? Websites, newspapers, flyers at Petsmart? Direct mail?
3. Does your group have a budget for marketing, or is it all volunteer & free ads?
4. What venue(s) do you get the most response from? (Internet, newspapers, etc.?) What about the BEST response - most qualified homes, for rescues that check on that?
5. Do you track how adopters heard about you/the dog? If so, how?
6. Wording of ads...do you find that certain ads get more response than others? What does a "good" ad look like? What's the best information to put in/leave out/highlight...etc.
Maybe post some examples and we can critique them! I'll start with a couple of mine.
This is the format I usually use for the rescue. They write their own bios, and I usually haven't met the dog:
Photos are, of course, included.
And here's an example of what I post for shelter dogs. This one in particular, I met and wrote a bio for, but often I'm just passing along other volunteers' bios on dogs I haven't met:
