Yep, that’s it. It can be printed too.
I don’t currently have any of those things… we have minimal social media presence, no website and no newsletter. We have already referred several people for a discount of next year’s membership… Are you referring to that as payment from THS or do you literally get a check from them?
We have already referred several people for a discount of next year’s membership… Are you referring to that as payment from THS or do you literally get a check from them?
Thanks for responding Brightlight!
I learned about THS through a link.
Wish I’d have known sooner but no one I know had ever heard of it and everyone I’ve told thinks it’s great… all great people.
I’ve seen some rough looking environments posted on THS… not what I’m looking for so that’s out of my hands and not my business.
I hope hosts screen well by using good judgment for their animals and the review system weeds out people who have are not up to the task. But if there were more local networks of people with good experiences referring good sitters it keeps the standard high and they’d be inclined to invite more good people from their circles on BOTH sitting and hosting sides - a benefit to all…
thanks for your feedback @Garfield !
My intention would be to create an easy low key community for myself and others. I have nothing against people making money but I don’t want a petsitting business. I enjoy both the flexibility and spirit of exchange. When I was a pet owner I would have been looking for exactly THS BUT never knew about it… so now I want to create a LOCAL network of people in conjunction with THS with everyone spreading the word because they (and we sitters) can all benefit.
I like the area but would like to explore more first before committing to a lease or mortgage, and want to shout from the rooftops how fab THS has been for me personally and get more people on board (both sides) simply because I think it’s awesome.
Before THS I benefitted hugely from bringing people together locally, for free, and in person (for example I started a garden plant exchange group) and even though I’m qualified, petsitting full time is relatively new to me (8 months) so I wanted to post and get feedback from the many veteran sitters out there. All above board.
I wouldn’t be using other people’s personal information or copyrighted content. Just their basic verbiage with their permission. I can do it myself but thought if someone’s done it successfully then I wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
It’s my hope that there are WAY more on the site in both directions. Pets are already the beneficiaries by being in their own homes with loving caretakers such as myself, but there’s also a side benefit possible that the pets are also the conduit to bringing people together not just from all over the world but locally too. I’d rather have friends close by that I can hang out with than on the other side of the world. Even if THS marketing may appeal to travelers in particular, there’s a local side that can be tapped and be equally beneficial.
Hope this makes more sense, and thanks for your feedback buttercup!
Thanks for the input @VanessaW !
Super valid question!
My answer: even though I love petsitting and have had amazing experiences and met great people and hope to continue to do so, there are other things in my life that I love even more. A petsitting business would take time and bandwidth from those things.
Ideally, I’d put out some promo material ONCE and then the local community expands and explodes and I can take it or leave it and meet people that become lifelong friends along the way. Will it happen that way? IDK… that’s why I asked for feedback here… maybe there are veterans on this forum who have created the outcomes I’m seeking and have advice for me as to what worked best for them and how to avoid hassles.
Thanks for the tip about insurance! However the fact that I had no idea about these things shows how green I am. I’ve been petsitting full-time 8 months now and so far THS has been doing all the work, not me, and I’m very grateful! Promotion is hard for me, community building easier, petsitting w THS: easy. I don’t think professional petsitting is in the cards for me.
Yes, I’ve seen this as an option when I receive the email from THS suggesting I invite my friends. I had planned to put on a business card and on a flyer so I appreciate you posting… an awesome resource… I LOVE IT
Thanks @ExploreDreamDiscover !
Personally I’d be careful about the type of personal info you post on flyers etc that you distribute so publicly. I’d be concerned about the number of dodgy/scammy calls it might create.
We actually recieve a percentage of new memberships in cash payment. @Mark_B has pasted the relevant link to affiliate partners above.
TL;DR: Vets are the original pet-world influencers. Start with Sarasota clinics outside Venice/Nokomis so you can practice and refine without risking your core market. Solve their problems: keep pets on meds, keep pet parents happy, and help when boarding is full. Arm yourself with a two-sided business card, a crisp 90-second pitch, and persistence (3+ visits). Once you’ve learned the ropes, then approach Venice.
Now for the long version!
I love your approach @Clusenersteffens , and I’d like to offer a marketing outline that will make life a whole lot easier.
Why vets? They’re the “original influencers” of the pet world—the touchpoint for every responsible pet parent. (And honestly, who wants to sit for a pet that doesn’t go to the vet? No rabies for me, thank you!)
A quick search shows about two dozen vet offices in Sarasota County—14 in Venice, 3 in Nokomis. Start with the others. That way you can “trial and error” things and make your mistakes where it doesn’t hurt your core target market.
Some good practice targets:
-
Sarasota Veterinary Services (full-service + emergency)
-
West Coast Veterinary Center (integrative + boarding)
-
Sarasota Veterinary Center (wellness, senior care, boarding)
-
Sarasota Animal Medical Center (specialty + emergency)
-
Beneva Animal Hospital (full-service)
Notice that West Coast and Sarasota VC both do boarding—perfect practice grounds, because they’re both your potential partners and your competition.
From their perspective, here’s the problem: they need happy pet parents, pets who stick to their medical routines, and overflow coverage when their kennels are full. That’s where you come in.
What to bring:
-
Two-sided business card (front: logo, email, GoogleVoice/petsitting contact, profile link; back: QR code with your 25% referral).
-
Your 90-second pitch (no longer! vets and staff are busy):
“Good morning! We’re Oliver and Tanya, experienced sitters who keep pets safe, happy, and on their routines when their people are away. We know how important it is for pets to stay on their medical regimens and for owners to feel confident, especially if your boarding is full. Between us we’ve cared for everything from cats and dogs to exotics, and we’ve earned all 5-star reviews since joining TrustedHousesitters. We’re calm, reliable, and safety-minded—even through hurricanes—so when you hand out our card, you’re giving clients peace of mind and helping pets stay healthier. We’re trusted sitters who follow veterinary instructions to the letter. May we leave some cards with you to share with clients who might need a sitter?”
Practice the pitch until you can give it in your sleep. Resist the urge to add detail. Attention spans are short.
Execution:
-
Target receptionists and staff, not the vets.
-
Best drop-in time: mid-morning, 10–11 am.
-
Do your homework—study the team page on their website. Walk in, recognize someone, and connect: “Oh, Gerrie—you used to be a flight attendant? You must love travel as much as we do!”
-
Leave a stack of cards. Walk away. Don’t linger.
-
Repeat at least 3 times (different times of day, but never when it is busy). Humans need multiple touchpoints to remember you. On visit #3, consider leaving personalized envelopes addressed to each staff member (they are listed on the website!) with a thank-you card + your sitter card inside.
If, after three-four weeks, you’re not getting traction, ask for feedback: “We’ve been working to raise awareness of TrustedHousesitters in the area but haven’t seen much traction. What would you recommend we do differently?” Then shut up and listen. You’d be amazed at what people share if you let them.
Now try again with the next two clinics on your list. Go slowly so you can learn from your mistakes. “Lather/rinse/repeat”.
Do this at the Sarasota clinics outside Venice first, adjust and modify based on what you learn, and only then move into Venice—saving your top-choice clinic for last, when your pitch is sharp. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so be sure that the first impression at your top-tier target in Venice is a great one!
I have additional ideas for targeting foster agencies and real estate professionals, but this post is long enough already. Let me know what you think, and if you try this approach (it takes time and patience), let us know the results! And please, please promise me - no FaceBook groups, no flyers. The last thing the world needs is more of those!
Thanks! I didn’t know there was cash payment possible… I need to work on my social media presence to get my numbers up to qualify!
Wow, @KittySitter you’re AMAZING!!! Thank you so so so much for this! I’m booked for the next two months outside the Sarasota area so I will follow this brilliant plan and definitely let you know how it goes!
I can’t promise anything about not creating a Facebook group though, because so far the groups I’ve created are completely awesome, intimate, life-changing affairs, not to mention one group has been my anchor since I became a roving sitter. But the people in it are all in Europe and my intention as mentioned would be to create something more interactive, local resources sharing, practical, and/or friendship-creation-centric and Facebook can be very useful to that end.
Your suggestions are more professional than my original ideas and equally valuable to me because I want both a wide net for some purposes (resource sharing… which would help vets AND sitters) and small more exclusive groups that target niche demographics (like animal communicators / energy healers / Biofield Tuning therapists, etc) and social groups (dog walking, the library here has a ‘reading to therapy dogs’ program for kids / Dog park play dates, etc.), and they all can be pursued with different approaches but all can dovetail and benefit one another if I or another pet sitter acts as the hub in one specific location.
At any rate, I’m very excited about the prospects and I love the info that you’ve provided! I’m so so so grateful!
Feel free to continue to post if you have the time and inclination, because I think everybody reading this thread could benefit IMMENSELY!
In fact, TrustedHouseSitters, ought to have an area of their website dedicated to the theme of successful promotional tactics SPECIFICALLY, (not just a thread) since it is so valuable to the platform, and adds so much quality, legitimacy, and professionalism to do this process properly… @Mark_B… thoughts?
You’re definitely right about that! I was planning on posting using my free Google phone number to mitigate the risk – if I start getting too many spam/scam calls, I can just get a new number easily
Thanks for your input @BJane !
Thank you for the kind feedback. I have a lot of experience with marketing strategy and truly enjoy it.
One word of caution when applying this plan: if you have a niche—say, energy healing—it’s usually best to either lean all the way in (make it a core part of your message) or leave it out altogether. Why? Because by leaning in, you’ll attract people who are genuinely excited about it—but you’ll also risk turning off those who aren’t.
Take veganism as an example. Personally, I never apply to sits if the homeowner mentions they’re vegan. My experience has been that those who highlight veganism up front are simply not a good fit for me. But for others, it’s the opposite—they actively seek out vegan households.
So the real question for the homeowner (or sitter) is: How important is this to you?
-
If it’s central to your perception of yourself and you only want a match who shares that lifestyle, then absolutely include it.
-
But if it’s not a dealbreaker, leaving it unsaid may open you up to more matches who would otherwise be a great fit.
The same goes for energy healing, biofield tuning, or any other niche identity. By all means, go for it if you want to be known for that—but recognize that it may reduce your appeal to a wider group. Sometimes, in marketing as in life, silence really is golden.
We ONLY sit in areas where we have family to visit. In one location we’re testing out various suburbs in case we want to move there in the future (our son wants us in Perth Australia but we live in England currently). I’m also open to sit in our home City to ‘help out’ if it’s a cat as hubby doesn’t really do cats just dogs/horses, so it would give me my cat ‘fix’. We never sit for a ‘holiday’ just for domestic reasons.
This is phenomenal advice… so great to get this feedback because if I’m going to be spending my time, I might as well go for gold and be discerning right out of the gate rather than have it be a disorganized crap shoot!
Is marketing your profession or did you memorize a marketing book (and if so what’s the title so I can do the same?! 
)
It’s interesting that you mention the people who highlight veganism… I have vegan friends who are subtle about it but who have themselves experienced pushback from the “highlighters” as being hostile to even their own. Your example is perfect, thank you!
Thanks for posting @BonnyinBrighton … I love to hear all the different ways people use this platform! (Cat fixes are nice 
)
The THS Ambassadors program is no longer active. We were asked to be Ambassadors back in early 2020, just before COVID, and we promoted THS as Ambassadors for several years until THS discontinued the program.