Learning about goat care and keeping up with what seems to be never ending work are critical to successful goatkeeping. In addition to that, marketing knowledge is essential. However, unless you have prior experience, success in marketing your goats can be elusive. For example, I just ran an ad for four weeks in the regional farm newspaper to sell my excess wethers and had no responses.
Marketing Information and Assistance. State extension services often have marketing information that can be obtained free or for a nominal charge. If you are online, check to see if they have information on a web site. If not, call and ask about hard copy publications.
The Washington State University Cooperative Extension, King County (king.wsu.edu/Ag) offers a variety of information, downloadable for free in Adobe Acrobat (www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html) format. One publication in particular, Internet Marketing for Farmers, is helpful. Although oriented toward the Seattle area of Washington, it has information on the advantages of internet marketing and links to other useful sites. It also provides information to help you decide whether internet marketing is for you or not, as well as resources for getting started.
One caveat I would mention is that, whether you are marketing on the Internet or in hard copy publications, tracking where your customers originated is essential to determining the effectiveness of your effort. If your advertising budget is limited, why squander it on advertising that doesn't work?
Marketing information specifically related to dairy goats is hard to come by online. But info on marketing in general, particularly internet marketing, is plentiful. Check out Tips for Successful Marketing (www.oms.net/tips.html). This site contains a variety of pointers for successful online marketing. They recommend that you check out your competitors' sites; keeping your website content short and concise; using an autoresponder; and registering with search engines.
Advertising on the Web. E-commerce is the latest buzzword. Selling on the Internet provides you with a worldwide potential market. But you don't have the expertise or money, or are not otherwise inclined to build a web site yet, there are other ways to advertise your goats on the web. The Goat Market (www.goatmarket.com) has a farm directory with free registration, as well as free basic classified ads. Some magazines, such as the Goat Magazine (www.goatmagazine.com) and Ranch & Rural Living (biz2.iadfw.net/ranchmag/), have online breeder directories.
Fairs and Other Events. County and state fairs provide another good opportunity for marketing your goats. While just being in the public eye is helpful, you can enhance your visibility with a good banner, or even a colorful display. You can include lots of pictures, a poster with the uses of goat milk, and even some samples of products. Of course the best seller will be those cute kids performing in the pen.
Fairs are also a good place to talk with the public, hand out business cards, and educate about the breed or goats in general. Other venues for this kind of marketing include petting zoos, which sometimes need various animals, local parades, and schools. I sell soap made with milk from my Nigerian Dwarfs, so when I attend craft fairs I bring along a supply of cards, some pictures and my sign. I always get a number of inquiries from people who are thinking of getting some goats.
Signs.
If you make a sign for the fair and other events, get an all weather one that you can also hang on the barn during the off season. If you don't live too far off the beaten track, a sign in front of your property, giving people notice that you are a Nigerian breeder, is a good investment. The only downside is that you may get unexpected visitors; so make sure to include your phone number for those who are courteous enough to check before stopping by.
Share your Expertise.
Besides obtaining marketing information from your county extension office, you can also be a provider of information. Find out when educational sessions are held and offer to provide one on goat raising, holistic goat medicine, or some other related subject where you have gained expertise from your experience in breeding and raising Nigerians. This will bring out those who are new to or just interested in goat raising, and possibly a customer or two. You can also offer to speak at school functions, on local radio or at any of a number of other venues. When speaking, be sure to bring along brochures, business cards or other printed materials that the audience can take home. This way you can market your herd in both printed and oral form. People are much more likely to remember, or share with friends, when the information is in written form.
Write about Goats.
While you may be just preaching to the choir when writing for newsletters and other publications targeted at those who already own goats, it will at least give you name recognition among breeders. But you can also write for other audiences, in agricultural publications, homesteading magazines and the like. Letters to the Editor are also a good avenue for publicizing the breed and catching the eye of potential buyers. You can either respond to another article or just write an informational letter. Just remember to keep it short, as letters to the editor are edited, and you will want to make sure your point doesn't end up cut.
I wrote a letter in response to an article on dairy goats that failed to mention Nigerians. I commented on the excellent article and then went on to describe the goats and our regional breeders association, the Northwest Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goat Association (NNDDGA), giving contact information.
Advertise in Publications.
As you know, either by personal experience or the introduction to this article, advertising does not guarantee buyers. That is why selection of where to advertise is so important, particularly if you have a limited budget. Do you advertise in the breed specific publications, such as Ruminations or this newsletter, those that have a broader readership such as a general goat or exotic animal magazine or the local newspaper, or both?
To answer that, you need to consider who you want to reach. While the Nigerian-specific publications will put you in touch with other breeders, who may want to purchase some of your top animals, they may not reach those who are new to goats or just thinking about getting started. A mix of the two is probably the best, since advertising in the Nigerian-specific publications will help support them and the valuable service they provide in marketing and educating regarding the breed generally.
You can find a list of goat related magazines at www.azure-springs.com/azure/goatpubs.htm, or simply search the web. I would also recommend talking to other breeders to find out where they advertise, and why.
These are only a few of the possibilities for marketing your Nigerian Dwarf Goats. There are probably as many or more that I missed. The most informal and possibly the easiest way to market your goats is simply talking to people you meet. You never know when a casual conversation in a grocery checkout line might lead to another convert to these colorful, friendly little goats, and possibly, a sale.
