February 23, 2021

Can You Commit to a Pet Blog?

If you have a pet that’s inspired you to start a blog, it’s probably safe to say you’re a committed person. That said if you don’t have time and energy to throw into your pet blog it won’t gain any traction. If you just like putting your pet out there, an Instagram is much easier to keep up with and grow quickly. Dog and cat pics are, we guess, around 65% of content on the internet. That said, if your critter is constantly causing hilarious trouble, you know heaps about pet care or are something of an animal photographer, blog away.

Getting Started

Choose a catchy, unique name. You want your site to stick in people’s minds. The name should be fairly simple so that you can secure the domain and the social media handles. You’ll need to pay for the domain name and hosting. You can then build your site with an easy-to-use package on WordPress or a similar site. You can have a whole site or just a blog and add merch, FAQs, imagery and change up your site without the need for coding.

Related: How to Install WordPress

Content Creation

Do you have enough consistent content to run your animal’s blog? To keep a site running it’s best to post frequently. Make sure you have some subjects or stories in the tank before you commit to an ongoing writing schedule or you could find yourself with no pet shenanigans to write about. You’ll also want evergreen content that will add value for people who find your site even in a year or five years’ time.

Do you have a particular niche? Perhaps you source rare tropical fish, mix up conditioners for dog coats, explore cute cat breeds or geek out on animal dietary needs. With content, consistency of tone is important, but you want to change up the kind of content you produce. Try to balance fun, inspiring and informative content so your pet blog doesn’t feel repetitive.

Who Are Your Target Audience?

Who is your blog aimed at? Dog lovers? Cat toy collectors? Aquarium enthusiasts? Are they looking for a laugh or informative content? What’s their age range? You don’t need to pigeonhole yourself, but getting as clear a picture as you can of your ideal audience member will help you tailor your voice, visual style, content and imagery to the people who will gain value from it. This will help you to grow your following and keep people coming back to your page as engaged fans.

Imagery

Your pet blog will need a consistent source of strong images. If you have a dog you love taking pictures of and a flair for lighting and angles, that’s excellent. If not, if your fish aren’t all that photogenic, you can sign up to an image database where stock images are available for both free and paid usage.

So, there you have your basic considerations for starting your own pet blog. If this hasn’t daunted you, made you roll over and show your belly, we’re glad! Go share your animal knowledge, stories and pictures with the world. While it may seem a saturated space, pets are the best; they make us laugh, show us love and give us energy. The world could do with more of these things!

If you need a reliable vet and live in Vancouver, we would love to meet you and your pet. Our animal clinic is based in Kitsilano at Cornwall and Cypress. Check out our store for vet-recommended pet food and accessories!