In the posts previous to this one I wrote about writing your ad, taking pictures that sell and taking video to support all this. Now I’d like to talk about how and where to market your horses for sale.
Gone are the days of placing your horse for sale in the local or rodeo newspaper and waiting for the phone to ring once it was published. Now we’re able to post our ads in many different places and have it published instantly into an online classifieds system. Technology has allowed this, but it’s also amped up the expectations and demands of prospective buyers. We can now sell horses to people we’ve never heard of thousands of miles away. All the more reason to properly present your horses for sale as many people these days won’t drive a half hour without seeing a picture or asking for a video.
When marketing, think big. Remember there are thousands of other horse owners you’ve never met. Sure, you may sell your horse to someone you know, but don’t limit yourself to just that network.
Facebook, for example, has been a great place to sell because you can post your horse for all your friends to see. It takes the traditional word of mouth to a new fast-paced level. There are also groups you can post to but Facebook is making it harder to post live animals because it’s actually against their rules (to post live animals for sale). That’s why we see papers for sale and live lawn mowers for sale. It really takes the professionalism out of it when screen captures are being used and ads are very vague. It also makes it a lot harder for you, the seller when your ad isn’t approved and you spend your evening getting creative, all the while losing the presentation you worked hard to put together.
What I suggest as a fellow seller is to post your ad on a website that specializes in promoting the type of horse you are selling. It may cost you some money, but it won’t cost you your entire evening trying to figure out how to get your ad approved. A site like Rodeoclassifieds.com specializes in connecting serious sellers with serious buyers. There are other great sites out there too, where you get what you pay for.
Once you have your ad on an established site like this, you can then take your link and post it to your profile on Facebook for sharing or to a group. This sets you apart from other sellers in that you have a professional presentation of your horse and you can post it here and there without having it removed.
You may have noticed that when your friends share their ads with different groups you will get a notice for each one. What I recommend is that that you share with each group at a different time of day. That way you spread the notices out and you’re more likely to have someone open them. You may have also noticed that it’s rare that you would get a notice from someone that’s not your friend posting to the group. This is an example of how it’s not a great way to market to people outside your already established network from your personal page. It would take someone going through all the tack and clothing ads to find your horse for sale ad if they weren’t already your friend.
I don’t want to come off like I’m knocking Facebook as a way to sell horses. It’s an important part of your marketing and networking plan no doubt. What I recommend is that you use it in conjunction with a site that establishes you as a professional, serious seller. You’ve gone to the work of getting great pictures and writing a nice ad, now put it together in a premade template like we have here at Rodeoclassifeds.com. We also share our ads on Facebook so that we can reach even more people on your behalf. It’s teamwork between you and the site you chose to help your horse find a great new home.
It’s no different with saddles and trailers. Spread the word to as many places as you can, reaching outside our your friends’ network. There are hundreds of thousands of horse people out there.
If you run a business page for your horse program, remember that not everyone that likes your page is going to see the ads you post. Facebook wants you to pay for advertising if you own a business. It may be a good idea to boost your post to the people that already like your page to increase your reach. You can also do more advanced boosts, but that’s for another post. This isn’t an option if you’re just on your own personal profile.
Selling online has opened a whole new world and opportunity to reach people both near and far. Rodeoclassifieds has been online since 2000 and continues to connect serious sellers and buyers every day. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and if you need more info on writing your ad, taking great pictures or videos, be sure to click through and check out the respective articles.
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