Hi
I have just recently become a member as was recommended by a friend to this site
As we are newbies I was hoping if someone would have time to look at my listing (hopefully I have added it correctly in my profile) and then give us some advice as to how to attract sitters
Really appreciate any help and hopefully can find the ideal sitters for out 2 lovely pets
Brian
Hi there,
Took a quick look at your listing, and I think you might benefit from these blogs and guides as your listing (although friendly) is quite minimal and could include a lot more info and engagement for sitters.
Guide by @fatamorgana:
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/uploads/short-url/2j2Xbyp2Go6y4DDKISeAKg8njw7.pdf
Guide by me:
https://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/uploads/short-url/pLTxH15JL8f02lWEkv8FsjpLKxD.pdf
Blog by me:
Give them a good read and hopefully they will set you on the right track! Consider your title, cover photo and giving more information about your local area and your pets sociablility and needs (walk times, length, where they sleep & how long the pets can be left for). Currently, the info you have given about walks is a bit vague and confusing, as you say Scout needs a âfewâ (how many?) walks per day, but then say she has two 30 minute walks per week? Read back over it and see how you can explain that better and give greater detail. What does âa good walk at the weekendâ mean?
Hope the guides help and best of luck 
Thank you for your response
I will read and amend as suggested and hope you help will find us a perfect sitter for our pets
Cheers
Brian
Welcoming to the forum @bfcbri06
sitters need to know how many hours Scout can be left alone for ( after heâs been fed and walked ) .
The dates you have listed are very competitive as many sits get listed for the Christmas and New Year period .
Lovely photoâs and quite a good profile so far. But @Nagy26 is right, I totally understand your profile, but your wording on the walks per week needs to be written in crystal clear English, ie Minimum 2 x 30 mins walks per day etc.
Also, on the home and location part, does âeasy accessâ mean itâs within walking distance, if so, itâs a huge selling point, so put however many minutes walking distance etc. Same for the park, you say itâs ânearbyâ but is that 5 mins, 10mins or whatever. Itâs much better to give a really clear idea, because vague-ness in ads are likely to receive less applicants, than the ones where sitters knew exactly what they were applying for. Also, in the home and location mention Leyland again, to save someone trying to check through your details for where you are based again.
A photo of the front of your home will help too, but I understand if you would prefer not to show that, especially with being new to THS. The photoâs you have shown are great anyway.
Hello and Welcome!
Your fur babies are adorable and I love that you made a collage of photos of Scout.
In your home description I would add how many bedrooms and bathrooms are accessible to the sitter. Is it just one designated bedroom and bathroom? Is the bed large enough for a couple, if it is 2 people who do not sleep together, is more than one bedroom available?
Where do the pets sleep?
I think you are off to a good start!
Good luck!
Youâve had some good feedback already (including that the Christmas period is extremely competitive for HOs as sitters have a lot of choices) but Iâd just add - on THS one or two night sits tend not to be attractive unless theyâre in a very sought after place like London/Barcelona/Paris etc. Why = thereâs a lot of cleaning up (bed stripping etc) plus you donât really get into petsâ routine for a night or two. You might be better looking at paid sitting services for such short sits. Or try making it clear that you donât expect cleaning/bed stripping etc, and/or maybe offer to have a cleaner come in at the end of sit.
I donât think many people will know anything about Leyland per se, itâs not a very well known place - maybe elaborate on things to do/connections in the area.
Wishing you the best of luck.
Your 2-day sits in July and September are quite a way off, so likely wonât attract sitters right now unless someone is looking for a âfillerâ between longer sits which are reasonably in the area. Itâs still very early to be listing for Christmas too, as not everyone likes to plan so far ahead and potentially wonât take a Christmas sit just yet unless it offers something very appealing in terms of location or accommodation. But, if thatâs your primary sit, then think about how you can make it stand out a bit more.
It would help if you jazz your listing up a bit, so try shining a light on things to do in the area, mention local pubs, restaurants or cafes, and / or particularly nice walks or places of interest. Basically, tell us why we should choose to come and stay at your home, or your area, over Christmas. Mention whether or not youâll be decorating the home for the festive season, list any Christmas markets, that sort of thing. A quick Google search has shown me Worden Hall and Park; Leyland Market; antique shops; a farm shop and Jungle World play park. But, sitters wonât take the time to do a Google search, so tell us whatâs in your area (and proximity to attractions). Do sitters need their own car or are there good public transport links nearby? Tell us!
And possibly consider whether youâll accept a family, if your pets get on with kids and if you have the bedroom space available. This will widen your pool of potential sitters. On scrolling through the pics, I can see that you have a big TV, but mention this in your âhomeâ section, stating the screen size and whether you have Netflix, Prime etc. All these things will help appeal to a wider range of sitters.
Personally, Iâd delete the short sits for now and list them again within a month or two of your start dates. Revise your title to something like: âRelaxing (or maybe Exciting? You know best, so tell us!) Christmas in Lovely Leylandâ since we already know you want a sitter because youâll be travelling (thatâs what this site is about 
).
There are lots of things you can do to attract more applicants, so maybe take a look at other listings and ask yourself which youâd be tempted to apply for yourself, and why, then follow their leadâŚ
Good luck!
Thanks everyone for the constructive advise. It looks as though I may need to put a bit more thought into my listing
We really only tried trusted housesitters as we wanted to try out the Christmas period as our usually pet sitter is unavailable this year and I added the two smaller dates just to see if I could generate any interest 
It helps to put yourself into the mindset of sitters. Unless theyâre homeless and near you â which few (if any) sitters will be â then your sit has to be attractive enough to merit someone voluntarily spending time, travel effort and maybe money to sit for you vs. sitting elsewhere, doing other travel or staying at home.