Is your pet your best friend?  Do you spend lots of time playing with them and watching them?  Have you often wished they could make money for you?

If you know a lot about your pets, this home-based business could help you make some money off them.  No, I am not talking about sending a video to a TV program!  That method can work but your chances of getting your pet seen on National TV are slim and making any substantial regular income, that way is impossible.  This method involves a regular steady income just from having and enjoying pets.

Since you are not the only pet owner with a fascination for your animal, you can put this love to good use.  Publishing a free “Pet Gazette” may be the answer you are looking for.  Don’t worry if you are not good at writing, you could have freelancers write articles for inclusion in it.  You could distribute it to various “drop-off” locations and make money from advertising (pet stores, veterinarian clinics, groomers, etc.).

-How to Get Started

First, you will need to create your Gazette.  If you have a computer at home, this will be fairly simple.  You can use Publisher (or MS Word) to create the publication.  Use some cute graphics and be sure to include your contact information as Publisher.  MS Publisher is easier to use because it includes several layouts that can help get you started.

You can print it up on plain white or a basic color paper on your home printer, which will eliminate expensive printing costs.  A printing service can also be used, but may cost a little more than home printing.

-Getting Freelance Writers

Your articles do not need to all be professional.  Poems or short bits from school kids can be fun to include in your Gazette.  Another source of articles is writing classes at local schools, your veterinarian, and your friends.  Every aspiring author wants to see their work in print, so it should be easy to get articles to use as long as you give them credit for writing the article.

-How to Get Advertisers

Contact your local pet stores, veterinarian, pet groomers, and any other company that have anything to do with pets and pet products.  Tell them what you are doing and see if you can include a coupon to offer a discount for people reading the Gazette.  Have them set up an account tracking code that can be put on the coupons so they will know the coupon came from your newsletter.  At the end of every month, contact them to see how many coupons have been used and request your payment from them.

-Distributing Your Gazette

The same contacts you used for advertisers are a good place to start putting your newsletter.  Ask them to place copies on the counter or give a copy to each person who visits their establishment.  If you have kids, you could also have them put a copy on each of your neighborhood doors or porches, (stay away from mailboxes this is against the law).

If you make your newsletter fun and informative, you will soon have lots of readers wanting your publication for the value it provides them each month in discounts and information about their pets.

Helpful Resources:

library.humboldt.edu/~ccm/copyrite.htm

www.topstory.ca/newsletters.html

www.freelance-writing.net/copywriting-newsletter.htm

www.companynewsletters.com/electronic.htm