Thank you to everyone who attended the 2021 Goats On The Go® Affiliate Training & Conference in early March. Despite the many challenges of trying to hold the event in-person while also broadcasting the content live, it went off without a hitch (mostly)!
So what now? Here are some actions you might want to take — the five P’s of preparing for your first grazing season.
Participate in the affiliate community. You found it really valuable to visit with other affiliates and hear some of their case study presentations at the event right? Don’t let that feeling of community and support end! If you haven’t already, search for the “Goats On The Go® Affiliates” group on Facebook and request to join. Within a day or two you’ll be given access, so you can ask questions, express concerns, share victories, and get encouragement from the entire affiliate network. Also, feel free to reach out to other affiliates directly for help.
Plan a launch party. Peg and Tim Harbaugh started their goat grazing business near Dubuque, Iowa by inviting the community to see their goats in action, eat some food, and hear about their new business. The press loved it! Reach out to the Harbaugh’s for advice on how to organize and publicize your own launch party. Find them on the Facebook Group or here.
Print some business cards. Go to FarmLaunch.me to access all affiliate resources for both Goats On The Go® and Sheep On TheGo®. Navigate to “Goats On The Go® Resources” and select “Promotional Tools,” then click on “Business Card Template”. You’ll be directed to create a free Canva account (always click “Maybe Later” when prompted to upgrade to a paid account — you don’t need it). You can use Canva to customize the business card design for yourself. You can even order prints from Canva to be delivered to your door!
Publish a press release. Planning to do a launch party? You need to publicize it, and writing a press release is a great way to get started. There are several examples you can use at FarmLaunch.me. The trick is to use your press release to write the story for the reporter, then get it in their hands. Use a catchy subject line if you email it to the press. “Goats are entire staff of new Ames company” was the headline of the first press release that launched Goats On The Go, LC back in 2012. The reporter actually said it was a hook he couldn’t ignore. Emails are great, but don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and use any personal contacts you may have with the local print and TV news.
Practice a project. Find a friend or neighbor with a property that could use some goat attention. Visit it. Use the site visit form from FarmLaunch.me. Work up a quote (but don’t send it). Load the goats. Drive to the site. Install the fencing. Unload. Observe. Let them stay overnight (it’s like dropping your kid off at kindergarten for the first time). Load the goats. Pick up the fence. Drive home. Even if your practice project will happen on your own property, pretend it’s a half-hour away. Load the goats in the trailer, drive around for awhile, then drive home and set up your fencing while the goats wait. Try to make it as close to a real project as possible. Then, offer to do the same thing as a demo for a popular, local park. If they agree, publicize it!