National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals - August 11, 2009
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National Association of
Pet Rescue Professionals
August 11, 2009
(Re)Introducing Petfinder.com
Presented by Betsy Saul
Founder, Petfinder.com
I share my home with Jim
… and 19 other non-human family members
Our mission
• Our mission is to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets
and increase the value of the family pet
• We want to make sure that your pets get the exposure they
deserve – making your job easier
We keep the
idea of adopting
a pet foremost in
the public
consciousness
We help keep
pets in their
homes
How successful are we?
• We aren’t content with being
the top pet site, we are the
busiest site in the much
larger “lifestyle” category
online*
• We introduce your pets to over
five million unique visitors
each month (75% look to
adopt)
• Petfinder accounts for 65% of all
adoptions (US & Canada)
• For about a quarter of our
shelter/rescue group members,
Petfinder is responsible for 80-
100% of their adoptions
*Don’t just take our word for it, This is according to third party metrics – Hitwise 2009
We take your pets beyond Petfinder.com
• Petfinder distributes your pets to over 275 popular
Web sites like:
• AOL
• Facebook
• Petco.com
• Walmart.com
• Oodle
• Petfinder Mobile takes adoptable pets on the road -
via cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPhones so you
can show your pets off when you are standing in
line
• The Ad Council's* first-ever animal welfare
campaign is powered by Petfinder –
with your pets.
* in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund
We live to
promote your pets
• About 40 million media
impressions annually
• Local papers
• National papers
• National magazines
• High volume blogs
• When you use Petfinder you
leverage our dedicated
marketing and PR team for
your pets
–
Petfinder adopters are best for you
• In a recent survey of our
audience:
– 97% of our visitors are
already committed to
adoption/rescue
– 94% of our visitors believe
you are “Courteous and
Professional”
The Petfinder visitor is very pro-adoption
(Desire for)
(Desire for a)The Petfinder visitor is focused on the pet
Marginal tie-breakersDid you know your
Petfinder pets are offline too?
• Across Discovery Communications
websites and television channels
• In all PETCO store kiosks
• On the racetrack and at the park
• At pet exposTools to help your pets go faster
Enhanced “Pet List Scroller” allows you
to export your pets freely to any siteExample of Petfinder export
Oakland Animal Services
• Searchable
• Sortable
• Lists or tiles
• Many styles to chose
fromGenerate reports and stats at http://www.petfinder.com/admin
Widgets for your site (and your friend’s site)
Share on Facebook
Invite 5MM visitors to your event
• Event calendar
– Searchable by
location, date and
event type
– Post public or private
eventsPetfinder Mobile: m.petfinder.com
• Adoptable pets right on your
mobile phone
• Show folks on the go, on line,
or standing in the pet shop
window!Adoption Celebration Months
• Encourage your community to think
adoption first during the adoption months
• Promote each month in your newsletters
and with press releases or radio spots
• Contact former adopters wishing them a
happy “Adopt-a-Rescued-Cat Month”
• Maybe it’s time to add
another family member?Adopt-a-? Month celebrations are an excuse to reach out
Professional and
Public Libraries
• Buckets of information
• Print for your adopters
• Training for staffPetfinder Member-only
DiscountsExclusive
Kuranda Dog Bed Offer
for Petfinder Members
DEEP DISCOUNTS of about 40% for
Petfinder.com members!
Join thousands of shelters & rescues
receiving FREE beds through the
DONATE A BED Program
www.kuranda.comPetfinder.com Foundation
• Customer service: Weekly
secret shopper grants for
Petfinder members
• Disaster prep: $1MM for
power generators
• Emergency relief: localized
grant support
• Donor cultivation: Sponsor-a-
Pet allows 5+MM visitors the
opportunity to donate (and
provide their contact info)
• Kennel Cough and URI
vaccination subsidies
• Cat behavior: Hide, Perch &
Go boxes distributed
• Cat behavior: Research
grantsHide, Perch & Go box program
• The Hide, Perch & Go Box
provides a cat with the:
• Separation of functional areas
for eating, sleeping and more
• Choice in temperature (cats
are sensitive to even slight
changes)
• Opportunity for a wide-range of
behavior (hiding, perching,
jumping)
• Choice of viewing points of her
surroundings
• Ability to be surrounded by her
own scent inside the box
• Ability to mark with scratching
and face-rubbingTips and Tricks For using Petfinder.com
Improve and increase
your adoptions
• Success is NOT relative to
– amount of animals
– amount of funding
– size of facility
• It IS related to the following
things…Tips to increase adoptions • Post good photos • Keep up to date pet list • Promote your online pets offline • Write compelling pet descriptions • Tell your in-person visitors they can meet your pets online • Let your home page tell a story • Broaden your client base • Pet Videos (especially for the tough cases)
Post good photos
• Pets with photos get looked at
20x more – have any pit/lab
mixes?
• Load up to three photos – more
photos = more adoptions.
• Make that first photo GRAB the
adopter’s attention.
• Follow up with two more great
photos with different
perspectives.
• Rabbit ears are NOT humiliating.
She’ll get over it in her new
home.Post good photos
• Browse other photos
• Pay attention to details –
your adopters do!
• Ask professional amateurs how
they get such great photosPost Videos
SN EA K P EA K
Adoptable Pet Videos
Right on your Pet Note pages
Another way for you to show how funny,
smart or just plain cute your pets are!Keep up-to-date pet lists
• Adoptable pets should ALL be posted
• Staff/volunteers should be aware of Petfinder
• Pets that aren’t available should be removed
• Share the responsibility, volunteers do it best!
• Automatic upload from most shelter management software
Stevie – Second Chance Pets
Walken - LMN Feline Rescue Madora – Tri-State Bloodhound RescueWrite compelling pet descriptions
• Find your groove
– first person vs. protector
• Tell a compelling pet descriptions
• Begin with positives
• Give your visitors a treat every now and then
“Pepper has on her party hat and dancing
shoes. Don’t you want to come party with her?
This beautiful 2 year old spayed pit bull mix
really knows how to have a good time. She’ll
share her party favors with other dogs and
children but prefers that cats stay home!!!”Improving your descriptions Momma is a very tolerant cat who loves people. She's got beautiful markings and a very expressive face. Momma will make a great addition to any home. Please stop in and see Momma today. Momma is the perfect starter cat. What a lot of first time cat people aren’t prepared for is learning how to adequately serve their feline companions. Momma loves all people and is very tolerant of slow learners. If it takes you awhile to understand which food she likes best, or the best way to pet her, she will not hold it against you! In addition to her peaceful and easy-going attitude, she’s stunningly beautiful and has expressions that seem to indicate she has very deep thoughts. Perhaps Momma can join your household as a spiritual advisor?
Help us turn adopters into
supporters at
www.petfinder.com/adoption-storiesLet your homepage
tell your story
• Include fresh content and deals from local
merchants
• Give directions to your adoption location
• Discuss your needs
• Educate your adopters before they meet
your pets in person
• Manage expectations
• Utilize Petfinder.com’s FREE ftp accounts
– 40MB of storage space for extra pages,
photos, and applications
– Run scripts for forms and applications
• Perl, Java, and CGI
Tom
Humane Society of Polk CountyConvert online to offline
• Use our “pet list printer” to print
kennel cards or bulletins
• Print business cards and have
volunteers distribute them
– In grocery stores and on
pet store bulletin boards
– In the shelter lobby
– At offsite adoption locations
– In corporate offices
– In waiting roomsAdvertise your strengths
• Are you an expert about your pets?
• Do you have a great attitude?
• Are your “facilities” especially clean and friendly (like the
PETCO adoption centers)
• Are you saving lives?
• Do you have a big variety of pets?
• Are your pets super healthy?
• Are you super responsive?
– Remember! 40% of our survey participants said
they’d contacted a rescue group and had received no
response. Most plan to move on to another group.
BE THE GROUP THAT RESPONDS and you have
an adopter, a volunteer, and a donor for life!The best and most info for animal welfare
All staff and volunteers should be encouraged to
take advantage of all the available resources at:
http://www.petfinder.com/adminFor assistance posting your pets Contact us anytime! outreach@petfinder.com
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