Tips for selling your dogs online
Selling dogs online is just like anything else, you're going to get out of it, what you put into it. The internet isn't some magic cash register that's going to produce sales just because you have your name out there, you have to work at it. Simply listing your dogs online isn't enough, you need to be thoughtful about who's going to be looking at your ad.
Start your ad with a good picture. If you don't have a good picture, get one. Nothing going to hurt you more than a bad picture. Personally I don't like to see multiply pictures, unless it's a litter announcement. You want people that are interested in your ad to contact you. A picture request from an interested party is an excellent way to get a conversation started. After all, you can't sale anything, if your customers don't contact you.
Your picture is going to be what grabs people's attention, but the title of your ad is the next thing they are going to see. Put some thought into this, try not to use simple titles like Puppies for Sale or Started Dog, be descriptive and original with your title, set yourself apart. You want to encourage people to click on your ad, if your ad stands out of the crowd, that's going to improve your chances. If you're not getting a response from your ad, change the title.
Nothing burns me more than see an ad with no description, that's just lazy. Be descriptive, but don't overdo it. People don't want to read long winded descriptions. Try to limit it to two or three paragraphs, but at least put something in the description field. You're not going to get any calls by just putting a picture of your dog. Everything you need to advertise your dog is right here on Gundog Central, don't put links that require people to go somewhere else to see a pedigree or read a description or to see more pictures. Making people browse all over the internet just to see your ad is poor online etiquette. It would be like placing an ad in a magazine and telling viewers to turn to page 34 for your description, 86 for your pedigree and page 104 for your pictures, doesn't make a lot of sense... does it. You want to make it convenient for your customers, not hinder them. You're not going to sale anything to a customer that's gets frustrated just trying to view at your ad.
The finishing touches to a nice well done ad, is a pedigree. While they are a nice touch, they are time consuming to enter and should be considered optional. I'd rather see an ad with a good description and no pedigree, than a pedigree alone.
Remember, the whole reason you're placing an ad on the internet is to get people to contact you, don't give them a reason not to. You're going to be the best sale person you have, not a website or an ad, these are tools used to help generate interest and market your kennel. It kills me when I see someone that's placed an ad and made their contact information private, how are customers supposed to contact you? Sounds like common sense right? You'd be surprised how many calls I get from people looking at ads that don't have contact information.
Finally use a browser with a spell checker built in, like Firefox ( http://getfirefox.com ). It will underline words you've miss spelled as you type and suggest corrections. Having the words spelled correctly in your description makes your ad easier to read. Don't type everything in all lowercase or all uppercase. Use every resource you have available to you, including other websites. Make your ads look nice and take the time to do it right. Your hard work will be rewarded.
Jeff Davis
Gundog Central
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Tip #1 - Dont post all your ads at the once, spread them out over time.
This is one biggest mistake I see people repeatedly making on the site. I'm all for you posting every single one of your dogs and puppies on Gundog Central, I just think it's a bad idea to dump them all on the site at the exact same time. I see people who have a litter of puppies they want to sell, so they'll post one ad for each puppy ... all on the same day. Great idea, right? It increases your exposure, lets everyone see the different puppies you have and kind of monopolies the front page with just your dogs. Wrong, not only is it poor online etiquette, because it forces a massive amount of other people's classifieds way down the page, but it's just poor, lazy marketing.
