PART I

Key Steps

1. Create a written plan using the outline for the 7 Sentence Marketing Plan (for more detailed instructions check out our guide below)
   
   1. The purpose of your marketing.
   2. How you will achieve this purpose.
   3. Your target-market.
   4. Your business identity/branding.
   5. Your niche and unique value proposition.
   6. The marketing tools you will use.
   7. Your budget.
2. Use a Marketing Calendar to track results. Here's a link to a video of the Marketing Calendar available to our members.
3. Make sure your marketing plan includes strategies for marketing to both potential and current customers.
4. Measure your results each month and re-invest (your time and resources) in the strategies that prove to be the most successful.
5. Write a plan for your whole business and for each customer segment.

Tip: When we say "track" we mean it! To market successfully on a small budget, you must know (not guess) how each marketing strategy is performing. You will be taking an investment approach to your marketing and the only way to make good financial decisions is to base them on facts.

Tip:  New customers rarely just materialize. They go through a step-by-step progression (Stranger - Lead - Contact - Customer). Set up a marketing system that helps you to nurture them each step of the way! This is part of your sales process that we discussed in Checklist Item 8. 

Benefits:
You will develop a system for marketing your business that enables you to consistently attract the best clients for your business.
You will do this so economically and efficiently that it will not only grow your business but your marketing will have a measurable ROI. 

Tip: Devote at least 20 minutes a day to marketing your business (an hour a day is even better, because it gives you time to learn and plan.)  Marketing is something you need to be doing with clarity and consistency. It needs to be forefront in your mind. Keep your marketing in tune by attending our webinars and reading our articles and newsletter tips.  Not only will this keep you abreast of what is working, but it will keep you in a marketing state of mind.  This 'state of mind" will help you to recognize and take advantage of critical opportunities to market and grow your business.

Common Questions:
Q: How long should it take for my marketing to produce results?

A: There are several types of results that you should track. The end result and the indicators that your marketing is working. End results typically take 30 - 90 days (or longer). Indicators can take minutes with pay per click ads like Google or Facebook or when you share content on social media. It is important that you track both the result and the indicators. For example: If you run a pay per click ad (or posted content that you hoped would result in messages, visits to your website or phone calls), you need to know how many people engaged or clicked vs. how many people became a contact vs. how many contacts became customers.  When you know these things, you can then identify any trouble spots (like an ad or content that attracts “likes” but not actions) and continually improve your marketing.  For example, you may find that a piece of content is getting shared like crazy on Facebook but that no one is “liking” your page. In which case you may want to ad a “call to action” that inspires viewers to like your page. 

Q: What is the most important marketing tool or strategy?

A: We think there are three critical "must haves."

1. An excellent website because it is the hub of your online marketing.
2. A strong social media presence that helps you build relationships.
3. Happy current and past customers, because "word of mouth" is the most trusted form of marketing.

PART II

Update Your Social Media Channels and Files
This is a great time of year to go through your social media channels and update information and images. A great time multiplier as you do this is to start a folder that is pre-loaded with images, quotes, or content that you like. That way when you head into your busy season, you won't have to spend time you don't have on finding content.  Here is a link to our favorite image creation and editing tool https://www.canva.com/  

Members and Future Members of Equestrian Professional
One of the most important benefits of being a member of EP is that we understand how different the horse business is from mainstream businesses. Our members gain access to a proven system and collection of tools and resources specifically for professional equestrians that help you to unify your equestrian career and business goals so that you are able to build both a successful career and a profitable business.

Extra Support for Our Members 

The 150 Equestrian Marketing Tools and Jewels - 2021 Edition The 150 Equestrian Marketing Tools and Jewels Ebook is available to all members. It is designed to work with our 7 Step Marketing Plan. With over 150 Marketing Tools and Strategies that really work for people in the horse business you are sure to get a lot of use out of this book! Use it with our Equestrian Marketing Workbook which includes 2 easy to use Marketing Calendars and a Marketing Checklist....More

Why Testimonials Are Worth A Deep DiveElisabeth McMillan In our last horse business tip, we gave you a template for collecting high quality, deep testimonials. This tip, we are discussing how to use this type of testimonial to build offerings that provide more value to your clients and to your own business. It's a win/win. Real life examples are always helpful when learning how to apply a business or marketing strategy. We used our "Deep Dive Testimonial" formula when we were creating a website, pricing strategy and marketing plan for an equine sports therapy business. Here is what we learned together....More

Equestrian Professional's Marketing Calendar Tool Equestrian Professional's Online Marketing Calendar tool enables you to easily create and implement an investment approach to marketing your horse business....More

How to Write A Killer Marketing Plan for Your Horse Business in Just 7 SentencesElisabeth McMillan Over the years, I've learned many marketing philosophies, gained a lot of experience and created my own blended approach to horse business marketing. However, I find that at my core is a thought process that I learned about 10 years ago from Jay Conrad Levinson, during a Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification Course. It is called, The 7 Sentence Marketing Plan....More

If you've been completing your Dirty Dozen Horse Business Checklist items, you should find your to-do list getting shorter and your shoulders getting lighter. (If not, go ahead and read today's tip and then go to the Dirty Dozen Checklist and get started. You'll catch-up before you know it!)

This week, we are on Dirty Dozen Horse Business Checklist Item 9- Set Growth Goals for Your Horse Business, Yourself, and Your Equestrian Career. 

Since you have already identified the most profitable areas of your business in item 4, you can make informed decisions on where to focus your business growth efforts. As for your personal and career goals, now is a good time to reflect on the big picture of where you want to go and how you will get there. 

Business/Financial Goals
Once you've set your goals, go back to your test budget from the Horse Business Dirty Dozen checklist Item 4, duplicate it and create projections for the upcoming year using your projected growth. Be sure to include any changes in your pricing from our Horse Checklist item 5 so that your projections are based on your 2023 price schedule. TIP: Write down what the growth would look like in your day-to-day operations. For example: Two new horses in training or four new clients. We'll take these “physical goals” and use them when we create your marketing plan in checklist item 10 and item 12 your business plan.

Personal Goals
We all have things we are great at and things we wish didn't bite us in the a**.  For example: You may be great at inspiring clients to attend shows and suck at sending your invoices on time. This might result in clients getting billed so close to the next show that they feel worried about the expense of going. Or, if you run an Equine Assisted Services Program, you might be great at acquiring new volunteers but struggle with retaining them. TIP: For today, all you need to do is write a quick list. When we work on Item 11, we will share some strategies for creating systems that help to support the achievement of personal goals.

Career Goals
Career Goals are critical for maintaining the passion needed to drive the rest of your business forward and to be the kind of leader that inspires your team (both clients and staff) to do their best.

Write down your career goals and add any costs associated with them to your projections. TIP: Write down a list of your goals including the resources you need to achieve them (for example: a new horse, clinics and training, truck, and trailer etc.) Then, write the steps you need to take to gather the resources and the date you plan to achieve the goal. Set a reasonable time limit for achieving each step and the final goal. Some of these goals will be included in your business plan in checklist item 12.

As you can see, each task you've completed makes the next one easier. That's the magic of The Dirty Dozen Horse Business Checklist. The order of the tasks makes a big difference in the speed and ease of getting them done!

Congratulations for coming this far, only three checklist items to go!

Members and Future Members of Equestrian Professional
One of the most important benefits of being a member of EP is that we understand how different the horse business is from mainstream businesses. Our members gain access to a proven system and collection of tools and resources specifically for professional equestrians that help you to unify your equestrian career and business goals so that you are able to build both a successful career and a profitable business.  

Extra Support for Our Members 

If your goals require financial resources, watch the short video on how to use the Breakeven Analysis Calculator. The Breakeven Analysis Calculator will show you the point at which your income equals your expenses, how much it will cost to get there and at what point you will begin to see income. This calculator is a super speedy way to determine what course of action is most beneficial.  For some tips about career and life goal setting, try the article about the weird goal setting process. 

Breakeven or Bust!
Knowing Your Breakeven Can Keep Your Horse Business Right Side Up!
The concept of Breakeven is important because until you reach breakeven, your business is actually costing you money - not making you money. However, once your business has reached breakeven, each incremental sale (or a portion of it) becomes profit. Breakeven is the point at which your Sales equal your Expenses. Breakeven measures time and money. It helps you plan how long it will take you to make a profit and how much cash you will need to have on hand to survive until that point. It is helpful for both start-up and existing horse businesses.  Here are a few ways horse business owners can apply the concept of Breakeven and use the Equestrian Professional.com Breakeven Calculator..... More

VIDEO: How to Use the Horse Business Breakeven Analysis Calculator

Watch this short video to see an example of how to use the Horse Business Breakeven Analysis Calculator. There are three great things about using this calculator. It's super easy to use. It gives you clarity, quickly. You can use it for helping you make decisions in many different parts of your business... More

The Weird Goal Setting Practice That Changed My Horse Business and My Life
Last night, at Christmas dinner, a friend asked me if I believed in setting New Year's Resolutions. I said "No, not really." He looked perplexed and being a holiday celebration, I decided to gracefully change the subject, but I will revisit it here with you. I don't like New Year's Resolutions because they imply that something will be "resolved" by making them. For me, that's just not how life works. If I could resolve my life by making a decision once a year, I would be a perfectly kind human being, I would no longer be a procrastinator, and I would have six pack abs. We can't improve our lives by thinking life can be resolved. Life is an ever changing, unpredictable, wonderful thing and we are given just one. The only time a life is truly resolved is when it is over. So, to heck with New Year's Resolutions!... More