Fast
Facts about FoundationMorganHorse.com
• Now 167 subscribers
to this newsletter.
This website ranked:
• #1 on Google with the search term "Foundation
Morgan" and
• #10 on Google with "Morgan Horse"
• 95
ave. visitors per day
• 3200
ave. hits per
day
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Sidenote
but important: When you are assessing the amount
of traffic to your website,
you want to pay close attention to the difference
between "hits" and "visits."
Hits = when a visitor clicks on any
page or any part of a page from within your
site. This
is important because then you can determine how
effective your
website is by knowing how many times visitors
click on internal pages.
Visitors =
the number of times a visitor goes from someplace
on the net to your site. This is important because
you want to know how many potential visitors are
actually coming
to
your
site.
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Marketing
Tips for Promoting Your Foundation Morgans
Tip #1
I see lots of websites which use the word "Foundation" in
a description of their horses but no explanation of what "Foundation" means.
If you have a website, take the opportunity to explain what "Foundation"
means and why these bloodlines are so special. This makes your horses
more valuable in the
eyes of the
potential buyer.
Feel free to link to the FMH website's definition page.
Tip #2
Use www.YouTube.com You
can use it as a tool on your website to link your
horses for sale or just highlight your breeding
program.
Even if you don't have a website, you can use it to sell horses or show
off your Morgans or even educate people about the breed. Be sure and
use the word Foundation to help distinguish your Morgans' bloodlines
from other Morgans.
Google
displays YouTube video results mixed in
with their regular search results. What
this means is that if you have videos hosted
on YouTube, you will now have more chances
to get found.
And...it's free!
You
don't even need a video camera to make
video. Nowdays you can make a video from
your digital camera, download it to your
computer, then upload to YouTube.
Tip #3
Advertise on the website. With
all the traffic to FMH.com, visitors need
to know where to find the Morgans
that the website is all about. Where are
they going to look first?
On the website.
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It's been awhile since our last newsletter. I hope
this finds everyone doing well and having a wonderful
spring!
Have
you been to www.FoundationMorganHorse.com lately?
If not, you might want to check out the new addition
to the home page. I won't spoil the surprise by telling
you what it is. You'll have to look yourself :)
Have ideas for this newsletter? Please send 'em on!
Best
wishes,
Shelley Dodd
Introducing the Foundation Morgan Horse Scrapbook!
This is a new BLOG and it's purpose is to show the world what we do with
our Foundation Morgans. It's time to do some bragging!
Have
a neat photo of a trail ride with your Morgans? Kids
with Morgans? New foals? Gone to a show or expo or clinic
lately? It can be
anything...tell us about it. We want to know what you're
doing with your Morgans. Photos are strongly encouraged.
Oh and by the way, take this opportunity to promote your farm and your
horses. Use your name, farm name, web address, etc.
Thanks
to Wendy LeGate of Old Growth Oak Morgans for the blog idea.
Here's
A link to the blog http://foundationmorganhorse.blogspot.com/
or you can always find it at the FoundationMorganHorse.com website.
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2009
Foundation Morgan Horse Calendar
The
2008 calendar was such a hit, we're now planning
a 2009 calendar!
So
start sending in your photos for a chance to be featured
in the 2009 Foundation Morgan Horse Calendar. All photos
must be in by September 1, 2008.
We
need 13 high quality photos (see photo guidelines below).
Within each calendar there will be a "Photo Credits" page
which will list horse's name, farm name or owner's name,
website or email address and photographer's name.
Photo
Ideas
Morgan foals, Morgan show photos, Morgans trail riding, Morgans driving,
working cattle, reining, dressage or any other discipline, Morgans in
the pasture, Morgans with children...you name it. We want to show the
beauty and versatility of the Foundation Morgan Horse.
Guidelines
· Use the highest resolution on your camera.
· Photos must be 300 dpi or better digital photos. If you're not sure
if your photos are 300 dpi, you can still send your photos anyway and we'll check
them.
· Photos must be high quality, crisp and clear with clean backgrounds...not
blurry, grainy or distorted.
· All horses shown in photos must be Foundation.
· No photos of "stretched" Morgans.
· If there are children or other people not related to you in the photo,
please obtain permission to use the photo.
· You may submit as many photos as you like!
· Send photos with names of horse's pictured along with sire, dam and
owner's name and farm name if applicable.
How We Pick Which Photos Will be Used for the Calendar:
1st
Consideration: CORRECT SIZED PHOTO RESOLUTION
Photos must be able to be blown up to 300 resolution and at least 8.75" x
5.75" while still maintaining the quality of the photo to be eligible
for the calendar. If you're not sure if your photo will work and don't
know how to check that, please still send in your photo and we will be
glad to check it.
2nd
Consideration: OVERALL AESTHETICS OF THE PHOTO
Clean background, good color (not washed out), horse is focal point of
picture, photo is 100% crisp and clear (not grainy or fuzzy), horse has
pleasant expression.
| Note:
About 90% of the photos submitted for 2008 calendar were
ineligible because of the 1st Consideration: low photo
resolution and the 2nd Consideration: overall aesthetics
of the photo ie. photos not crisp and clear, horse wasn't
focal point of photo, etc. |
3rd
Consideration: THEME OF THE PHOTO
We want a good representation of different themes ie. mare and foal,
stallions, western tack, driving, english tack, etc. as well as a good
representation of Morgan colors.
4th
Consideration: GIVING "EQUAL" TIME TO DIFFERENT
MORGAN OWNERS
We would love it if we have different morgan owners every year whose
horses are featured on the calendar. In reality, that probably won't
happen because the 1st, 2nd and 3rd consideration must come first to
ensure the quality of the calendar. However, after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
considerations are met, first priority will go to morgan owners whose
horses haven't been featured in the calendar.
How
to Submit Photos
Send photos to doddsrd@earthlink.net
Remember,
photos must be in by September 1, 2008!
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New
Ad Prices at FoundationMorganHorse.com
| Ad
Type |
NEW
Price |
OLD
Price |
| Horses
For Sale |
$10
for 6 months |
$15
for 6 months |
| Stallions
at Stud |
$15
for 1 year |
$30
for 1 year |
| Breeders
Directory |
$15
for 1 year |
$30
for 1 year |
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Recent
letters to FMH.com:
"I
work with 4-H horse judging kids here in Gillette, Wyoming.
This is QH territory. However, I want to teach this kids that
there
is more than that out there. I was hoping you might be able
to help me out. Anything you could provide us in the way of
learning
how to judge this versatile horse would greatly be welcomed.
I have around a dozen kids from the ages of 8 to 18 years."
Thanks
to Alton Shurtleff for writing the booklet "The
Morgan Horse: Form, Function and Geometrics." Sharon
Amick of Times Past Morgans offered to pay the cost of
Alton's
booklet
and donate them to this 4-H group so they can
learn about Foundation Morgans. Yeah!
"I'm
writing this E-Mail from Germany. I own two lovely Morgan
mares and I want to support the breed in our country. At
the moment I'm writing a book about the Morgan Horse in German,
because there
doesn't exist any literature about these beautiful horses in our country.
I want to write about the story of Justin Morgan (the man
and the horse) and the Morgan
Horse during the last 200 years. Further I will add chapters about
the Morgan Horse in the U.S. today, especially its versatility, and its development
an Germany and other European countries."
She plans on writing about the Foundation Morgan Horse and citing our website!
Happy
Trails! |
