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HoofPrints Newsletter
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February 5, 2014
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ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTERFarriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way the company became HoofPrints.com, too, adding a selection of fun horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month, depending on how often I have something to share. Watch for special sales, interesting stories, uplifting quotes and more.
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More Farriers Business Cards added to online directory
I belong to several online horse groups, and nearly every day someone islooking for a farrier. There are many reasons for this - and I think we are quick to assume the worst when the "I can't find a farrier..." scenario comes up. Sometimes there's a reason that owners can't get a farrier to come, (bad working conditions, slow to pay, etc) or sometimes it's the farrier (won't show up on time, is rough with the horse(s), etc.) and we tend to gravitate toward that kind of thinking. But the fact is, there are lots of reasons farriers and owners need to "shop around" until they find a good fit. And they aren't all negative. For every story I hear about a farrier that won't keep appointments, or an owner who has unruly horses, I also hear stories about wonderful relationships between owners, farriers and their horses. If you take the time to get it right, hoof care can be a whole lot less of a headache for everybody involved. Since I started listing the business cards on Facebook as well as in the directory) I am delighted that our followers frequently take the time to chime in a kind word about their farrier. So, it's in that spirit that I list below our current batch of directory additions. (The cards shown here are for illustration purposes, were randomly chosen and are in no particular order.)Click on the state to view details for each farrier listed below: Alabama - Tim Smallwood Arizona - Tanner Kellis, Jim L'Odense, Wade Uldrikson California - Bob Adolph, Keith Fund, Chuck Mills Colorado - Robert Brown, Matthew Sexton, Matt Sparling Connecticut - R.J. Pierce Florida - Chris Grimes Georgia - Benjamin Flanagan, Matt Wheeler Iowa - Randy Hensley Idaho - Hal Bongiovi Indiana - Jim Keith Massachusetts - Greg Chance, Philip R Gendron Maryland - Andy Rayne Michigan - Ron Bjork, Paul Melcher, Penny Sutton Missouri - Todd Gorton North Carolina - Gray Boyd, Larry Elliott North Dakota - Josh Lilley New York - Michael A Skiba, Bob Wich Ohio - Chris Buschor, Tom Higgins, Steven J Marko Oregon - Tami Davis, Wes Hardin, Joe Hilbert, Philip Strange Pennsylvania - Creekside Stables Farrier Service, John Petersheim, Ike Roth Rhode Island - Corey St Peter South Carolina - Jones Farrier Service Tennessee - Barry Faulk, Dennis Loudermilk, Paris Farrier & Blacksmith Service Texas - Ray Bach, Jonathan Hester, Cole Marlow, Terry Whitman Virginia - Will Brandt, Ryan Hoffman Vermont - Christine Bowden, Matt Trask Washington - Patsy Bingham, Ruthie Thompson-Klein, Jesse Wilson Wyoming - Nordell Putnam Canada - Pat McNeely You will notice that these folks' cards appear LARGER in the directory. We are in the process of changing over to this new larger size, so any order (or reorder) placed from now on will appear at the larger size. These free listings are good for two years and then drop off, unless renewed by reordering. There you have it, at least for now. We will feature the next batch of cards once we get some accumulated. If you're a farrier (or other equine professional) and are interested in ordering custom business cards, we have dozens of lovely full color logos to choose from here. And don't forget to look at page 2 here.
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Revisting my stupidest marketing mistake...
I've been known to be pretty critical of other companies' advertising efforts.
I hate magazine ads that make you work to figure out what they are selling; fancy, "arty" photography that does nothing to describe a product or it's use. A trip in the car to Indianapolis always results in ranting over the vague and cryptic messages on the billboards. Again, what are they selling? At 70 mph that's not much time to figure it out. Don't even get me started on the Viagra "get things done" commercial where the guy unloads a team of already harnessed ?? horses to pull out his stuck truck and trailer. I get the symbolism of what they are implying, but does the average consumer that's the target market for this product get it? The long version of the commercial shows a woman in the upstairs window - presumably hinting at what's next - but a more realistic scenario would be that same woman wanting to know if those horses got unharnessed, cooled out, bedded and fed before the guy even came to the house...
At any rate, I feel a little dumb, after all this time, FINALLY writing a proper description for the magnetic business card calendars, and illustrating what a great bang for the buck that they are. For years, my copy said; "Our handy magnetic business card calendar lets you keep your card in front of your customers all year round, and give them a chuckle, too! Each month has different Things Not to Say to a Farrier phrases, paired with humorous farrier drawings. At the bottom is a farrier related hint that may (hopefully) help your clients to help you better care for their horses' feet. Great to enclose with your invoices, or with your holiday cards. These stick to any metal surface. Just remove the liner, and apply your own business card to the adhesive."
What I never took the time to describe, was the fact that with each calendar comes an EXTRA magnetic piece that you punch out and stick to a SECOND business card. This lets you turn any ordinary business card into a handy magnet that you can bet will stay around where clients can see it a lot longer than a regular card.
It's a tough concept to convey with just a small picture and a few lines of copy. Many folks who were interested in the idea, got tripped up when I tried to explain that they needed to use business cards that they ALREADY HAD or place an order
for some separately. So, I took a new picture and constructed the above graphic to hopefully give folks a better idea of how this all works.
AND, for just $1.00 - farriers can keep their name in front of their clients, as well as give them a monthly chuckle, for a FULL YEAR!
2014 Magnetic Farrier Calendars are available now here.
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TWO FAVORITE FARRIER BOOKS
Millwater's Farriery - Encyclopedic Reference for Professionals, Students and Horseowners
The general focus of Millwater's Farriery is practical hoofcare to maintain and restore soundness. It does not deal extensively with contest forging and shoeing, nor is it intended to provide in-depth instruction on the business-end of running a horseshoeing service. It does feature article-length entries on hoof balance, trimming technique, basic shoe forging, cold fitting keg shoes, practical horseshoe modifications, drawing and setting clips, shoe application, and managing various lameness and gait problems with applied farriery.
This book is the culmination of Millwater's lexicon project, which started eighteen years ago with The Pocket Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language, and evolved through eight editions of The New Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language. Millwater's Farriery makes the leap to an encyclopedic dictionary, with triple the content of the last New Dictionary. Includes expanded appendices, an extensive Historical Reference section, and updated resource guide.Confessions of a Horseshoer offers a close and personal look at the mind-set of a professional farrier who also happens to be a college professor. The book, an ironic and playful view of the many unusual animals (and people) Ron Tatum has encountered over thirty-seven years, is nicely balanced between straightforward presentation, self-effacing humor, and lightly seasoned wisdom. It captures the day-to-day life of a somewhat cantankerous old guy, who has attitude and strong opinions. Throughout the book, Tatum ponders the causes that led him into the apparently opposing worlds of horseshoeing, with its mud, pain, and danger, and the bookish life of a college professor.
Tatum provides a detailed description of the horseshoeing process, its history, and why horses need shoes in the first place. The reader will learn about the dangers of shoeing horses in "Injuries I Have Known," in which Tatum describes one particular self-inflicted injury that he claims no other horseshoer has ever, or will ever, experience. "Eight Week Syndrome" demonstrates the close, often therapeutic, relationship between the horseshoer and his or her customers. Tatum relates the story of an old Wyoming cowboy who could talk with horses, and consistently cure their injuries, lameness, and other physical problems after the veterinarians had given up. The humor in the chapters on chickens and rabbits will entertain any reader, as well as the sections on various dogs, ducks, llamas, goats, flies, and a sexually disoriented pig.
Readers of western life and lovers of horses will find Confessions of a Horseshoer an informative, quirky, and delightful work full of humor, attitude, and off-beat insight. To order click here (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
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FARRIERS: Folks are WATCHING you!!!
Sorry to creep you out, but it's true.
With all the hubbub these days about privacy, huge measures are being taken to manage what various business entities are allowed to do with a person's personal information. As a marketer who uses this information to help make decisions about products & promotions, it is very valuable to me in terms of being profitable to be able to accurately target folks who are likely to be interested in what we have to offer.
But there's a whole 'nother privacy thing that can come under the microscope when you work for the public. Like a farrier does. Every day, all across the world farriers make appearances at various folks' farms to do their work. And they're being observed. And sometimes (probably most times) those folks form an opinion about what they see. If it's interesting enough, they tell their friends. With the advent of the internet, they can tell a LOT of friends.
Consider A Farrier Tale from Horse & Man blog. This blogger tells an interesting account of a routine farrier visit - doesn't much mention the actual work being done - (are they being shod? barefoot? does everybody stand well? etc - typical stuff that farriers would think focus would be on) Instead, she describes her farriers' wardrobe, his grooming, even the behavior of his kids. How well he parks his truck. She becomes aware that the working conditions she's provided for him are less than stellar. It's a fascinating chronicle of how someone else views an ordinary interaction - you can read the rest here Farriers are being talked about on another online group I belong to - this is a very technical group that discusses (often in detail way over my head) things like operant conditioning, bridge & target training, perception modification, and more. These are highly educated folks who are on the cutting edge of animal training research. I hang out there and read all this stuff that's light years ahead of my own skills - hoping a particle or two will rub off on me? There's one gal who's blind - she writes fascinating posts about her relationship with her service dog. Amazing stuff. Another gal works with troubled horses. She's rehabbed a number of "hopeless" cases. Including a mustang who'd been so traumatized by someone's effort to do "natural horsemanship" on him that he was afraid of even the water in his bucket. The discussion has recently shifted to hoof care. This gal shared her story - she'd spent eons of time getting this horse comfortable enough that she could even touch his feet. Finally she can pick them up and hold for a short time. She arranges for her farrier to come and give it a try. They discuss beforehand - he (the farrier) will do as much as he can on one foot, and they will consider the session a success and quit for the day. The farrier comes. The horse allows him to trim without much trouble. Farrier thinks he can do more. Against her better judgement, owner allows him to try. This is too much for the horse and he "misbehaves". Farrier HITS HIM with the rasp. Ugh. Of course, this negates months of work that's been done to gain this horse's trust. Fortunately for the farrier, the owner did not share his name. That wasn't really the point of her post - to trash the farrier - but to emphasize how very important it is that farrier interactions go successfully for a previously-traumatized horse in "recovery". There's even a Facebook Group dedicated exclusively to Farriers Butts! With members all posting photos of their farriers butts. Of course I had to get in on the action. Shown above is my husband Rob trimming Billy, while Lucy cleans up. Rob stopped shoeing years ago because of a back injury, but he still trims ours. We've found that the HoofJack really helps with working on Billy's hind feet. His hocks and hips are arthritic and he is very heavy to hold up. This device lets him lean all he wants without strain on the farriers' back. So, farriers, remember that folks are watching everything you do. Maybe even taking pictures. Make sure the fodder that they have to share is something you're proud of!
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Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
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HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
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Message
I love hearing from customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at gina@hoofprints.com |
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Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
You can ask my husband - a frequent topic around here is that of forwarded emails - and the psychology behind them - just WHAT prompts people to decide; "I am going to send this to everyone I know!".
We receive a lot of them. Some are pretty good, and others are dumb. Dumb in a myriad of ways... Alarmist email rumors that have been around forever - that folks keep sending "just in case it's true" Pictures of someone's butt (or worse) - don't even get me started about the firecracker butt - but at least that one was timely when it showed up around July 4. Christian messages that are uplifting - until you get to the end and you're threatened "if you're not ashamed that you love Jesus, forward this - if you are, then delete." Pictures of cute puppies and kittens (awww)
I enjoy writing these newsletters - and sharing all this stuff with you all. But the fact is, it's also a way to help us stay connected with customers and sell products during the time between catalog mailings (which is only once a year) So I really, really like it when someone new stumbles upon the newsletter and is excited to "discover" our company and the products we offer.
In all my efforts to make the newsletter interesting and forward-worthy - it never occurred to me to JUST ASK you all to send it! Duh. Sometimes the obvious is elusive, I guess. So here goes - my request to ask you to forward our email newsletter to your horsey friends. All we ask is that you please be judicious and only send to folks who might be interested. Otherwise we are no better than the "firecracker butt". Click to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward)
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