Equine Massage marketing?

[Leone]

I need some ideas for getting my name out there as an equine massage therapist.

I'm so glad that I am a "real" massage therapist in addition to the equine training I've had. No one in our area is both. Most equine therapists did not attend a real massage school. I'm the only practitioner I know who can work with both horse and rider too.

I've sent out letters introducing myself and my services to the big show and racing barns in our area. I've put out business cards at every tack shop and feed store I can think of.

I guess I'm just a bit flustered right now since I saw on the facebook page of a local BIG show barn that I had high hopes of marketing my services to, that their "official" massuesse will be at the barn tomorrow. When I googled this person, I find she's not even a massage therapist, but an animal communicator!

I do serious sports therapy, nothing hokey and all of my literature explains this. I'm just frustrated. How do I get the point across that what I do is real sports therapy for serious equine athletes? I'm not lighting aromatherapy candles and waving crystals over the horses, how do I make that clear to potential clients? How do I make potential clients understand the importance of being an LMT before becoming an equine therapist?

 

[Pompal 09.]

Equine Massage marketing?

What I have done is to find all the area barns on Twitter and facebook. And on facebook I got an invite to a charity event so I offered to donate 2 gc to their raffle and the barn owner was so happy :grin:

I would also make a video for http://www.youtub.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RmOusWBD78

Here is mine

And I also volunteer to work at the horse shows and I gift cards as part of day end awards. And don't forget to wear a t- shirt with your business info on the show grounds. I have even put ads in the show programs.

I have even taken riding lessons at barns I want to gain contacts with. In the horse world people need to know you t006 So if clients see you joining in on their fun you will gain their trust to work on their horses.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Equine Massage marketing?

Thanks! That's a lot of great advice!

I've been meaning to make a Youtube video, but I am not very technologically savvy, I wouldn't have a clue how to edit a film! I've been doing before and after video of the horses I work on and the change in their movement is visible on video, I just don't know how to edit it!

 

[jayant]

Equine Massage marketing?

Any update on how your marketing efforts are going. I am in the process of getting my human certification and scheduling my equine cert. I plant to have to branches of my massage business equine and human. I am always interested in how other equine therapists are doing

 

[lemonchicka]

Equine Massage marketing?

The horse community is like a secret society. Its crazy. A lot of big barns don't even advertise in the phone book or on the internet. The best way to introduce your services is to swing by a big farm, briefly introduce yourself, give them your cards and ask when would be a good time to come back and give a free demo. Preferrably a time when the barn is really busy with boarders, owners, trainers, students and even farriers or vets. Give a quick 15 minute demo and hand out more cards! That's the best method I've found so far. I didn't have much of an opportunity to work too many horse shows this past summer.

Also getting your hands on the trainers, riders, owners, farriers, and vets first, get them on your table and convince them that you're good at what you do. Chair massage at horse shows and vouchers for equine massage given out at shows are beneficial too I'm sure, but I haven't done much of that yet.

Its a tough biz to get into, but being a human therapist first really improves your credibility as an equine therapist. I think you have to have both a love of massage as well as the horse. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of marketing next spring at the start of the show season here in my area.

 

[walksideways]

Equine Massage marketing?

TY for the response. My plan is to have a pronged business equine and human. I am thinking the equine will be harder to build up but I think in the long run it might be great. I will definitely take up some of your suggestions! I plan on getting a brief education brochure made up that I can leave at different barns in the area. I need to dig out the barns that are really involved in competition these are the ones that I think will be more likely to want bodywork done on their horses as they are high performance athletes.