Unleashing the Hidden Benefits of Email Marketing for Pet Businesses
Have you been following the Google crazy algorithm news? More and more pet and animal health businesses are embracing email marketing to combat traffic loss. Fortunately, when done right, email marketing is one of the most stealthy, effective tools to connect with your audience.
The New Yorker went so far as to question if Google SEO is gaslighting the Internet. It helps to understand what Google is doing and why email marketing is more important than ever. Stay with me because I’ll explain the hidden benefits of email marketing and how to get started.
Google Put Search In a Blender on High-Speed
If you’ve used Google these past few months, you might have noticed skewed results, incorrect results, and amazing content disappearing.
Imagine you enter a giant library filled with billions of books. You want to learn “what to do about cancer in Cockers” or “tell me the best bowl for long-eared dogs.”
When you search for something on Google, it is used to perform like the best librarian ever, delivering accurate and credible answers to your questions.
This is how Google functioned until October of 2023.
Not anymore.
High-quality, well-researched, authoritative content Google used to reward is now delegated to the garbage can after going through the paper shredder first.
Nowadays, the librarian returns with a piece of paper with a comment on it that someone without authority wrote 15 years ago, like on Quora or Reddit.
And the answer may be wrong.
Or the librarian shows you what a brand with an inferior bowl paid to be at the top of Google’s rankings (even if the bowl sucks).
That’s what is happening on Google in a nutshell.
And eeeeveryone uses Google.
How Google Is Inadvertently Improving Email Marketing
Imagine 100,000 people coming to your business a month, then the road closes, and now you only get 5,000 people monthly.
Google closed the road to incredible content in favor of crap.
As the New Yorker wrote, “Google, they own the roads. They closed our road; they closed loads of roads. No one can get to where we are.”
In my article, “10 Expert Ways to Get Blog Traffic Without Google,” I explore different avenues pet business (and more) can take to diversify traffic sources – one tactic is strategic email marketing.

Speak Your Target Client’s Language
A lot of business owners get hung up on the word benefits. The biggest mistake I’ve seen in my 16+ years doing this is confusing what your customers want and need with what you think they want.
Case in point: You are a dog trainer in the Midwest who wants to reach a wider audience. You’ve been in business for a few years, and it’s time to expand. You roll out virtual classes.
You promote the remote training and talk about why it works, how it works, and how you have won awards, have repeat customers, etc.
This information is wonderful but it’s missing the true benefit to a pet parent – the one who lives in Maine and has goals, problems, and wonders how you can relate to her. Are you speaking her language or promoting yourself?
But Carol, I have to promote my business – how else can I get in front of my ideal client?
Instead of telling her how great you are, get inside her world, her mindset, and give her what she needs – deep benefits that speak directly to her.
Here’s how.
Hidden Benefits of Email Marketing for Pet Businesses
Define your Ideal Client Avatar (ICA)
You can’t write to everyone and send emails to everyone. It doesn’t matter if you know someone who has a dog. They may not be your ideal client. Who is she or he? Where do they live? What do they do? What are their likes and dislikes?
Segment your email lists so each is divided into smaller groups representing your target audience. For example, I helped one dog bakery create three lists: One for people who visit her shop, another for remote clients who shop online, and a third for onboarding new customers in person or online into a nurture sequence.
You are specifically targeting someone you’ve had contact with, you know who they are, where they purchase, that they own a dog, and that they are willing to shop at dog boutique for high-end treats.
Asking people to come into your shop when they live across the country doesn’t make sense. Target the right people at the right time in the right place.
Solve Your Ideal Client Avatar’s Problems
Getting back to our dog trainer example above who wants to promote her online dog training classes that anyone, anywhere can access.
Once you’ve defined your ICA, it’s time to address her pain points and how you can help her. Emma is a 30-something busy social media manager who works remotely from her home in downeast Maine.
She works long hours and as a result, her dog Frankie, is a bit unruly with pent-up energy. She finds it difficult to give Frankie what he needs while balancing her demanding career.
Frankie pulls on a leash during walks, barks a lot, and Emma is ready for online training. Emma knows how social media works.
She finds your remote dog training option in a targeted Facebook ad. You use three images, the first of which shows an overwhelmed Michael Scott, a character from the popular television show The Office. The headline reads, “When you’re trying to train your dog after a long work day but are totally exhausted.”
Slide two shows Michael Scott staring, looking stressed out. The headline reads, “You and your dog deserve to be happy!”
Slide three: A slide of a female taking her dog for a walk, looking happy and carefree. The headline reads, “We see you and we’ve got you covered.”
Comment “Training” if your dog could use a trustworthy dog trainer without ever leaving your home.”
Why does this work?
- You related to your ICA with a popular television reference.
- You understood her pain point and struggles.
- You provided a solution.
Emma types Training, receives a form to sign up for an ebook that showcases your best tips. You will show Emma the what but not the how. That’s where your services come in.
Emma is placed in an email nurture sequence. She gets the freebie, you wait a day or two, and you circle back through the magic of timed, targeted emails right to her inbox.
Did you make an instant sale? No. You are getting to know your ICA and will nurture her into understanding why she can’t go one second further without your dog training services.
These are the ongoing benefits of email marketing. Stay with me.
Building Community
Gone are the days of pushy email sales-y ‘buy me now’ messages. That works in some situations, such as established business (Macy’s and a sweater sale that is time sensitive, for example.)
Consider your email list a community of loyal followers. Nowadays, an email is a highly coveted piece of information given in confidence. Don’t abuse it or spam people.
Share stories, customer testimonials, and user-generated content to create a sense of community among your subscribers.
Share Education and Expertise
Be the resource. Not A resource, but THE resource. When your ICA thinks of your business, what do you want them to think about? Start solving their problems with content, videos, tips, and advice. .This positions your business as an expert in the field and builds credibility.
You Own Your Email List
Perhaps one of the best hidden and most overlooked benefits of having a robust, targeted email list that is segmented and updated is ownership. Google algorithms cannot affect it.
If a social media network goes away – hello Vine – or is threatened with being banned – I see you, TikTok – you own your email list.
This is gold. Pure gold.
Your email lists provide:
- Direct access to your audience(s)
- Personalized communication
- Reduced dependence on search algorithms
- Promote customer loyalty
- Data-driven results so you can see what works and what doesn’t
- Immediate reach with time-sensitive information
- Cost effective solutions
- Relationship building tactics

How To Develop an Email Marketing Strategy
In no particular order, after following the steps above, here’s how to attract ideal clients and avoid less-than-ideal ones:
- Create lead magnets – such as a resource library
- Make the process simple
- Scatter sales in here and there instead of infiltrating their inboxes with promos
- Consider the highly effective P.S. at the end of emails
- Scrub email lists from time to time to remove inactive subscribers
- Ensure you are following email rules to reduce spam and improve security
If it sounds like a lot, it is. But the benefits of email marketing, when done right, are incredibly effective.
First impressions matter. Let me help your business get your messaging right.
My profound understanding of the pet industry has enabled me to tap into a multi-billion dollar industry and has proven to be a lucrative source of success for my clients.
I stay up-to-date with pet industry trends, research, and consumer demands for high-quality pet products and services so your ICA will click, repeat, and spread the word.