Since the 2009 economy drop, many horse breeders are finding it harder to sell their horses. Today it is even more important for horse breeders to take advantage of free marketing opportunities on the internet. Facebook, Twitter and horse forums are all great way to promote your horses for sale for free or very low-cost.
Social Networking Marketing
Social networking sites are an inexpensive way to promote your horse farm. However, beware of some of the pitfalls of internet marketing. You can inadvertently turn your horse buyers off if you constantly use your Facebook or Twitter page to shout about the horses you have for sale. Another turn off to buyers is constantly bragging about show wins on your Facebook page. To avoid this – make sure you use your Facebook and Twitter to post things besides your horses for sale and show wins. If you are a member of various horse forums, be sure to put a signature link in your posts that links to the sale page of your website. Forum members are more apt to click on the signature link of a poster that is friendly and helpful. Remember you are representing your horse farm in your forum posts so avoid getting into heated disputes.
Pictures
Make sure you take good clear pictures of your horses for sale. No one wants to buy a horse from a picture taken two years ago. Or buy from a picture of the horse head down eating in the grass. While professional pictures look great on a website they are very expensive. Most buyers are fine with amateur pictures as long as the horse is neatly groomed and posed in a conformation pose. Be sure to take pictures of your horses bite and legs before advertising your horse. Then when buyers ask for extra pictures you have them ready to email.
Video
Savvy horse buyers are now requesting video of horses they want to buy. Video has many advantages to buyers as they can see how the horse moves and get a glimpse of the horse’s personality. Many buyers also prefer video because video is harder to Photoshop or edit. A flip cam is a small investment to make selling your horses quicker and easier. Be sure to post your videos on various social networking sites to get your horses seen.
Training
Now more than ever training is paramount to selling horses. Untrained horses are not nearly as marketable as trained horses. Horses that are already trained to ride or drive, sell quicker than horses that have rarely been handled. Young horses should at least be trained to lead, clip, bath and trim. Buyers now have more horses to choose from than ever before so make your horse stand out from the crowd by taking the time to train them.
Also reconsider how many horses you breed. Responsible horse breeders are using this time to show, train and promote horses they have already bred verses breeding more horses. If all horse breeders cut down the amount of horses they are breeding; eventually the horse market will bounce back.