We find that while the picture sucks the adopter in, it is the description that really allows potential adopters to understand and fall in love with the dog.
One of our foster Advisors, Heather, has a degree in creative writing and works closely with foster parents who may not have the time or inspiration to capture their pup in prose.
We like to experiment with different voices. We often diverge from the classic 'from the animal's perspective' and instead do alot from the perspective of the foster parent, in the first person, and feel it affords a sense of intimacy that many relate to.
We often post updates on the descriptions, which gives people a reason to keep visiting the site and learn about the dog as it gets comfortable in its foster home.
Candy is an example of a description that elicited a nice response.
Candy is an older dog; her guardian Elke continues to deal with the dog's expensive and complex medical issues including but not limited to a thyroid disorder and a systemic yeast infection. Candy/Penny's new guardian has a blog, this is a funny entry where she went on vacation and left a VERY detailed note to the dog sitter about all of her dogs medical needs throughout the day! Our marketing efforts are really all about finding Guardian's like Elke who can care for a dog with significant ongoing medical needs with such cheerfulness.
Elke said the written Petfinder profile really affected her; she drove from Boston to meet Candy/Penny.In preparation for this submission to Maddie's Fund, we sent a questionnaire to our adoptors in order to quantify which is our Marketing efforts had resulted in their choice to adopt. We received 30 responses back. 51% cited the written profile on Petfinder as influencing their decision to adopt. Elke, Candy/Penny's mother, added
It was totally the profile. It was written in this funky, funny way. I never wanted a chihuahua - I wanted a weiner dog. I initially only clicked on Penny's picture (formerly Candy) because I was just wondering what the heck she WAS. SO weird looking! She was all wall-eyed and obese and crazy looking. I was like, is that a cat? But the profile said something about her being disinterested in self ambulation and went on to say that she looked like a cross between a cat, an alien and a dog and if you wanted to win frisbee-throwing contests she would not be the dog for you. The profile was just so funny and non-traditional while still making it clear that the foster mom really loved Penny a lot and didn't want to let her go. So this picture that at first I only clicked on out of morbid curiosity turned out to have a description next to it that hooked me right in. Next thing I knew I was on a bus to New York to pick her up!
This is another Petfinder Profile that our friend Elizabeth did a great job writing. Honey Love is old, had a severe ear infection, has the black skin disease which some Pomeranian's get, has orthopedic issues due to a combination of arthritis and congenital issues related to the curviture of her spine that keep her from walking easily. She also is a problem barking. But Elizabeth did the best job capturing all that is good about this little pup, and her new guardian, Gerry, is very happy with Honey Love.
