This month we're doing a Mid-Year Check In to see where you are in your business halfway through the year. Pull out the goals you set for yourself in January. If you didn't set goals, that's OK, we're going to take an inventory of what you've done.

I'm a firm believer that if you don't set goals, you won't reach them! So this month we will all set clear goals that we hope to hit by the end of 2023!

For the Mid-Year Check-In, here's the 4 step strategy that I recommend you implement:

1. Look at the goals you wrote down in January. I have SMART goals and I also have words of the year. (SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound)
   1. How do you feel about where you are with your goals? Can you cross any off that you've already accomplished or are you still working towards them?
2. Have your priorities changed? Do you want to change any of your goals, add new ones or get rid of any? 
   1. Have there been any significant changes in the pet industry or market trends that you need to adapt to?
   2. What are you competitors doing differently, and how can you learn from them?
   3. Is there any new product/service that can be introduced to scale the business further?
3. Make a new list of your goals for 2023
   1. Notice if it’s a habit or a goal: you might need to form some new habits to reach your goal. I really like the concept of habit stacking when you’re trying to set up a new routine for yourself. 
   2. We have 2 quarters left in the year. Write down your goals for Q3 (July, August, Sept) and Q4 (Oct, Nov, Dec)
   3. Work backwards and figure out what you need to do each month in Q3 and Q4 to hit your goals. 
4. Reach out to someone for help!
   1. This is an overlooked step, but I want you to identify at least 1 thing on your to-do list that you could reach out to someone for help with. It could be to ask them for advice or to hire them for help. You'll be amazed at how some people "out of your league" are willing and excited to offer their assistance.

This month our lesson is about leveraging Pinterest to boost your pet biz online. I love Pinterest because it's designed to send you traffic. They actually want their users to click your links and find your content, services, and products!

This month I want to challenge you to add dedicated Pinterest time to your calendar every week. It's up to you how much time, but block off something where you're going to consistently work on Pinterest each week.

During this lesson you'll learn:

• Getting clear on who you're helping with your content, you want to create content that offers a solution to their problems.
• Why you should ignore vanity metrics and focus on creating helpful content
• Pinterest's latest features
• Idea Pins are becoming Pins... so no separate creation tools, its being streamlined
• You can add links to all pins
• In-app and in-browser scheduling tool for pins
• Pin from site feature in the Create Pin interface
• Editing previously published pins!
• How to develop a Pinterest Marketing Workflow that stems from your Core Content (aka long-form content like blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc)

Find additional resources on Teachable: https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/47577513

This month our lesson is about adding a personal touch to the wording on your website (or anywhere else your pet brand shows up).

This month's guest expert is Angelica Ross.

Angelica is a copywriter for creative entrepreneurs. She is the founder of Angelica Ross Copywriting and Untitled Self-Discovery and Journaling Cards. Angelica specializes in writing website copy that helps bold, brazen, change-making entrepreneurs tell their story and write content that’s true and powerful.

Through writing for and coaching countless clients, she’s seen firsthand how sharing the right word at the right time can make a true connection with your audience.

This lesson covers:

• The one thing guaranteed to turn up the PAWsonality in your website copy
• Exercises to help you sniff out the words you need to include in your copy
• Simple ways to fetch your ideal audience and make sure they sit, stay, and read about your amazing services
• Some tips to make the writing process easy and effective so you can get back to enjoying that library book and snuggly puppy -- even if you "aren't a writer"

See the video and find extra resources on teachable: https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/46939097 

This month our lesson is about implementing search engine optimization tactics around your website... and beyond!   During this lesson you'll learn about: - On-page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO vs. Local SEO - Elements of an SEO friendly site - How to find keywords with free + paid tools - Where to place your keywords - Quick tour of Google Search Console Additional Resources:

• I recorded a screen share video tour of Google Search Console that you can view in this month's section on Teachable. 
• Two great keyword research tools that I use every month are RankIQ and KeySearch (use code KSDISC for 20% off)

Watch the video of this session on Teachable:  https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/45870230 

This month we had a wonderful panel discussion on pet blogging with 4 guest experts!

Pet Blogging Experts:

• Melissa Cordero, Proud Dog Mom
• Kimberly Gauthier, Keep the Tail Wagging
• Ali Smith, ReBarkable
• Mikaela Vargas, Pet Marketing Unleashed

In the 60-minute panel we discuss:

• How do I find good topics to blog about?
• How do you plan your blog post topics, do you have a running list? And any time management tips to actually stick with the plan? - Submitted by Charlotte Lehman
• Is there a best frequency for blog posts?
• What are the must have elements of every blog post? Keywords, headings, photos, links
• Any tips for service based businesses or product businesses for their blogs?
• I have a question for starting a blog for the purpose of using the content to later create a book.  How do you protect the information from other people using it [before you publish the book] or is that something you just cannot do? - Submitted by Orazie Cook 
• What can we expect from all the Google updates coming this year & how to prepare our websites? - Submitted by Sharon Saha
• How do you measure success of your blog?

Additional Resources:

• Mikaela offers an excellent blogging course and lots of pet business templates that you can buy for 15% off with the code WWR
• Pet Marketing Unleashed Blog Post: Guide to Switching to Google Analytics 4

Watch the video of this session on Teachable: https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/45870230 

This month... play Bingo, win prizes and get more engagement from your video content!

In the lesson, I explain:

• How the BINGO challenge will be run
• Explain some of the tasks to make video creation more fun and rewarding
• Show off the Bingo board that you need to download to play

To play along, you need to download the BINGO board I created. It's on Teachable, the Facebook and it's in your email. Download the board and check off the boxes you complete. Get BINGO and send ema screen shot to be entered to win prizes. 

Fill in the entire board? You'll win a 1-on-1 strategy session worth $179!

Lesson and more info on Teachable: https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/45391234 

This month our lesson is about planning 12 months of content. This lesson is a screen share video, so you might have a better experience watching the video rather than listening to the audio-only this month. Both are available to you! 

 During this lesson I'll discuss:

• How to identify the topics you want to create content about
• How to use Google to discover what people want to know about those topics
• Creating a system to stick with your content plan

This is the recording from our final call of 2022 and let me just tell you... this group is on FIRE! I don't usually share the audio of our mastermind calls on the podcast feed, but this conversation is so good I want everyone to hear it. 

As Brandy says towards the end, "Listening to everyone on this call was worth a million dollars!" 

Congrats on everything you accomplished in 2022 and I can't wait to work together and see where we all go in 2023!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

This month our lesson is about doing a year in review and planning for 2023.

During this lesson I'll discuss:

• The tools and time you need to do a year in review for your business
• Several ways you can take an inventory of your work
• The key questions to ask yourself and numbers to look at
• How to do a Destination Postcard to plan goals for next year

Please join us for the final virtual meet up of the year on Wednesday, December 21st at 6pm EST! Details are on Teachable, FB and in your email :) 

 

This month doing something new... our own members are stepping up as experts for a Social Media Panel! There's always so much to keep up with on social media, so we've put together five experts to share their best strategies for success.

Meet the Panelists:

• Cara Carosielli, Simply Bloom Social and @Henrythesmol
• Jess + Ryan, @iggyadelaide and @jkmckay
• Jessica Bay, Templates for Pet Pros
• Tori Mistick, Wear Wag Repeat

During this 60-minute panel we discuss:

• Do you feel like you need to follow trends to be successful on social media
• How can you use trends and still be authentic?
• What types of IG posts should I create? We hear non-stop about Reels, but what about photos, graphics, carousels, stories, lives, guides?!
• What is your best advice to get people to engage with your content?
• Should everyone here have a TikTok account?
• How do I convert followers into customers? *Submitted by Jolanta
• What metrics should I track to know if my social media is effective?
• Should pet businesses be on Pinterest?
• What are some best practices on Pinterest?
• How have you changed your strategy as all the platforms have changed in the past year? *Submitted bu Sharon
• What tools do you use to create content and manage your social media accounts?

Find additional resources and the video version: https://wearwagrepeat.teachable.com/courses/society/lectures/43751273