West Auckland village green is gorgeous! We’re sitters from Durham and yes we are fully booked, but we sit locally while we visit family in the area as we sit full time, as well as travelling further afield. We’re actually just sitting in North Yorkshire at the moment, and then sitting in Co Durham afterwards, so sitters in the North East do exist, and some of us do sit locally, among other places.
Your profile is good, but it could be more appealing:-
The village green at West Auckland is BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING, GORGEOUS, so personally I would put an image of it (with sunshine!), also mention the types of shops/pubs/cafes nearby. Are those within walking distance, if not, how far in miles? Depending on exactly where you are, you could also mention the retail park and how far it is, mention McD’s, KFC to widen your appeal further, and people can then presume there are good amount of shops within close proximity, without you having to keep saying it.
Also, your main photo is the one showing the countryside with leaf-bare winter trees. So personally I’d pop a one of the village green as your main photo, which is more appealing to a larger number of sitters… because everyone loves a quaint English village green with stone houses and pubs, but not everyone loves our winter countryside. Maybe pop the dogs on the village green photo if you can catch a great shot, because the houses are very pretty on that part. Get flowers in the shot if you can, your main photo is THE most important one.
Personally I wouldn’t refer to London, Devon, or Cornwall in your title, if someone is local, they’ll think they’ve clicked on it by mistake at first glance (I just did). As you’re struggling, try changing your location from West Auckland to Durham and see if that helps, but make sure you say you are in the beautiful village of West Auckland in Co Durham in your profile. But only if you are struggling. It will change your map location, so just see how it goes. Change it to Durham, NOT Co Durham, as the map doesn’t recognise counties quite as easily as it does place names.
Also, change the word ‘mere’, make it a more simple word, not everyone will understand it, there’s loads of nationalities on here, also it’s not a word a younger person would necessarily use/know.
You’ve included a lot of images which is great, but maybe swap the odd more remote one for a sunny Durham Cathedral showing the river/bridge etc, and Raby Castle. Sorry but you’ve got 3 shots of Bishop Auckland castle and all 3 are on a glum and dreary day, but Raby is much prettier from a distance to a visitor and a similar distance away. But make sure the images are sunny and appealing, you only need ONE shot per place, not 3, make it THE best shot possible, there’s loads of good ones online you can use. Same for your High Force image, use a better shot, use a perfect shot from off the internet, like one of it in springtime.
Don’t take offence at any of this, your profile is really lovely, you just need to tweak the photos a little. Just make sure sitters can quickly glance to see you have beautiful countryside, quaint village, and big shops close by.
My dogs sleep (where?) and rise early (6:30 - 7am). They need letting out & feeding when they wake.