In October, Garden Communicators International held its annual conference, and it was like drinking from a firehose! So much great content.
Did you go to Equip Expo if you’re a lawn care owner/operator or a landscaper? Did you come away feeling motivated about growing your business?
News from the Home Office–How NOT to Network
I have a knack for embarrassing myself. It’s more like Murphy’s Lawn, whoops, I mean Murphy’s Law–if something can go wrong, it will. While I don’t usually share such personal information with the public, my networking story needs background for what I will share next.
As you know, networking is vital for any business. I remember the early days of The Landscape Writer and meeting different marketing people at Panera Bread.
One time, an owner of a marketing boutique wanted to meet me at a Panera Bread in Lancaster so she could be seen (not with me, but hunting for potential customers).
Learn more: 4 Things to Know About a CTA (Call to Action)
I’m a high-level introvert–hence I’m a writer. So being seen, especially at the “early” hour of 7 a.m. at a Panera Bread nearly an hour away, doesn’t do me much good. I decided to pass.
Anyway, back to embarrassing myself. I was at my hair salon a few months ago, getting my face done–explaining the service in general terms here; you don’t need to know the dirty details–and in walked someone well-known (I think) in the landscape marketing world.
I wrote some content for him years ago. While he lives near me, we never met face-to-face–only on LinkedIn.
Of course, I never met a “stranger,”… and I didn’t want to be seen in my cleaning clothes, sopping wet hair, and freshly waxed face. But I felt compelled to say hello and introduce myself, which I did.
The woman who does my hair is a friend, and she was wondering why I said anything at all. I don’t know … but I got very nervous (well, wouldn’t you?). And this kind gentleman was asking me where I lived (I couldn’t remember) and other friendly general questions.
Read more: Jobber Saves You Time and Money
I know I brought all this attention to myself, and most normal people would’ve stayed silent. But who made the better impression?
The lady who wants to meet at Panera Bread so she can be seen at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m., or the goofy content writer who’s in all her middle-age glory while meeting a LinkedIn connection?
I’m not recommending using your local hair salon as a meet-up place, but this story was too juicy not to share!
Top 3 Popular Posts at The Landscape Writer
The Landscape Writer is almost 10 years old. The tenth year in business happens in January 2023. And The Landscape Writer blog has brought many people to partner with my content writing services. Here are the top three blog posts of December 2022:
- 14 Best Apps for Lawn Care and Landscaping Businesses
- Wishing You and Yours the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest New Years
- 7 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Growing a Landscape Business.
That’s a Wrap for 2022
Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year. One of my New Year’s resolutions will be to batch more content during my slow times so you get regular content.
What’s your New Year’s resolution? How about increasing your networking activities since word of mouth is the best advertiser? Just don’t do it by the hair salon’s sink.
If you need a content writer for your lawn care, landscaping, garden design, or agritourist business, contact me today at wendy@landscapewriter.com.
by Gabe Nelson, GreenPal
Updated April 16, 2024 by Wendy Komancheck
There are QuickBooks and Jobber affiliate links in this blog post where I may earn a small commission. You reap the savings with zero obligations to The Landscape Writer. Read more about the affiliate disclaimer on my website.
Owning your own business is a lot of work. Owning a business that factors in clients and their wants and needs is even more complicated. If you’re a lawn care or landscaping business owner, you’ve probably spent a lot of time working with clients to ensure you’re doing exactly what they want. No one wants to be surprised with landscaping or a lawn they hate.
Lawn care and landscaping businesses have some unique needs other businesses may not. For example, pulling up a contract during a large outdoor project could be useful for your business. Luckily with technology and smartphone apps, plenty of new options exist when it comes to managing your business.
Now is the perfect time to take a minute or two to learn about the best apps for lawn care and landscaping business owners. A few extra minutes could save you a lot of time and frustration while you’re on a job site, and you’ll never regret that.
1. Jobber – Full disclosure: I am an affiliate of Jobber and will receive compensation when you sign up for Jobber through my referral link. You have no cost or obligation when signing up for Jobber through The Landscape Writer. You can read more about this on the disclaimer link on my website.
Do you want all of your back office tasks on one app? Now, you can with Jobber. This app allows you to schedule and dispatch in real time, get paid faster with automated quote and invoice follow-ups and run daily operations from your truck or office.
You can read more about Jobber in my blog post If Your Landscaping Business Is Growing, Then You Need Jobber. You can watch this video to see how a business owner uses Jobber.
Jobber has also introduced new marketing features to streamline your landscape business by syncing your Google Business account with your Jobber account. Additionally, the app now offers email marketing campaigns you can do on the go. Read more about these brand new features in the blog post, Enhance Your Landscape Business with Jobber’s Latest Features
Join the Jobber community today and take advantage of this amazing offer! If you’re new to Jobber, sign up for one of our monthly or annual plans and get 20% off for 6 months (monthly plans) or 20% off annual plans. This limited-time offer is the perfect opportunity to streamline business operations and increase productivity. Act fast, as this offer cannot be combined with any other offer and is only valid for subscriptions purchased on or before May 14, 2023. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to simplify your work life – sign up for Jobber today!
2. iPunchclock
Billing for time is an important part of any lawn care or landscaping business. Documenting your time accurately and in a format easily shared with clients is a huge asset.
Read more: Green Thumb Tech: Best Mobile Apps for Landscapers
iPunchclock lets you manage multiple time sheets from your phone. You can clock in and out on the app in real time, which takes the guesswork out of figuring out when you arrived and left a site when the day is over. You can even enable the location feature in the app to help it pull up the right time sheet for the right job.
When you’re ready, you can export your time sheets into several programs, including Google Docs.
3. Invoice2go
This app lets you send an invoice to your customer directly from your phone to their email. It eliminates the need for extra steps to create invoices on a computer. You also have the chance to invoice in real time instead of waiting until you get back to your home or office to send something to your client.
For lawn care and landscaping business owners, where much of your time is spent directly on the client’s property, being able to invoice right then is especially useful.
4. Gas Buddy
Do you want to know where the cheapest gas is in town? Then, you need the Gas Buddy app.
You can sign up for Gas Buddy and put in your lawn and landscaping company’s credit card to make filling up at the pump easy and efficient. While you may have gas pumps in your yard, your crews may find they need to fill up if the job has taken them far away.
Simplify your life and get Gas Buddy at the App Store or Google Play.
5. Leafsnap
If you’ve ever met with a client and had to say, “I’m not quite sure,” when they ask you what kind of tree is on their property, you need this app. Leafsnap lets you take a picture of the leaves on the tree in question. It then uses the same technology facial recognition programs use to reference thousands of pictures of trees.
The app will let you know what kind of tree you’re dealing with, saving you a lot of time and research that more outdated methods would require. You’ll have a fast way to answer clients’ questions and help them plan out complementing plants or develop a good plan for properly caring for their tree.
6. Harvest Landscape Calculator
How often have you been asked how much soil or mulch an area you’re working on will need? The Harvest Landscape Calculator puts an end to the guesswork involved in these estimations for your clients.
You can enter the depth of the area you’re planting with the slider tool and then tell the app the amount of area you need to cover. The calculator will give you the exact amount of soil or mulch you need to finish the project. No more rough estimates that could leave you running short of supplies in the middle of a workday.
7. OSHA Heat Safety Tool
Most of your work involves being outside, especially in the summer when the weather is hot. Being smart about how you will handle the heat is important to your health and safety.
OSHA Heat Safety Tool tells you the temperature, humidity, and even the “feels like” temperature of the weather in your area. It also includes recommendations on how often to take breaks and drink water and even gives you a list of heat-related illness symptoms.
Learn More: Search Engine Optimization Tactics That Will Boost Your Landscape Business
No one wants to need a list like that but if you find yourself in a situation where you need that information quickly you won’t have to worry about not knowing where to look.
8. Planimeter
Planimeter lets you enter an address and provides pictures of the property and measurement information. You can view all the information before you even step foot on the property so you can arrive prepared and ready to plan out the best landscaping or lawn care tips for your clients.
9. Lawn Buddy
Lawn Buddy is an app that does a little bit of everything, and it’s specifically made for your lawn care business needs. If you need help planning effective routes to get that day’s tasks done, that’s something Lawn Buddy can plan out for you.
You can also handle behind-the-scenes things like scheduling your crews, creating estimates, and automated invoicing. The app will send an invoice to your client as soon as you mark a job completed, so that’s an extra step you no longer have to worry about.
Want to store all of your communications with your client on one phone app? Lawn Buddy can do that, too. You won’t have to search endless lists of texts to find conversations with your clients anymore. Keeping your business and personal communication in separate areas can be especially handy.
10. The Weather Channel
Much like the OSHA app, this is imperative to have when you’re working outside most of your time. You can get up-to-date weather information, push notifications for weather watches and warnings, and even breakdowns of what the weather will be like by the hour.
When you’re planning out what you need to get done for your clients you really can’t make the most effective plan without the best possible information on what weather to expect. The Weather Channel app takes care of any questions you might have about the upcoming weather and what you need to be ready for.
11. DocuSign
When you’re dealing with estimates and contracts, you will need a convenient way for your clients to view and sign documents as you go. DocuSign is an app you can keep right on your phone, so your clients can see what they’re signing and ask questions while you’re still with them.
You’ll be able to have things signed and squared away without ever having to leave the property, only to send your client later a document you’ve created at home or in your office. It’s just one more way to be sure everyone is on the same page before you start a project.
12. YourGreenPal
If you’re looking for an app that allows you to look at what homeowners in your area are offering as potential jobs, GreenPal is a great option. You’ll be able to see what homeowners have submitted to the app as a job they need a lawn care pro for.
Once you’ve seen jobs that pique your interest, you’ll have the chance to bid on the job giving the homeowner a chance to choose you. This app brings customers right to your doorstep (or a smartphone, in this case) and lets you choose what to bid on based on your own interests.
You’ll even be able to do a set amount of bids for free each day once you’re done with the job, GreenPal bills the customer for you, so there aren’t any delays while creating invoices and waiting for payment. It’s a great app to add to your lineup.
13. iScape
This is a simple app that helps you visualize where to put different landscape enhancements on your customer’s property. You can add arbors, trees, and other plants to various areas to see their appearance once installed in a landscape bed or backyard.
You can download the iScape app at the App Store.
14. QuickBooks
QuickBooks is a great software tool for keeping your financials in one place. If you’re a small—to mid-size landscaping business, you need QuickBooks to help you with bookkeeping and provide a visual for your cash flow.
Conclusion:
Managing a lawn care or landscaping business is time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be so complicated that you’re overwhelmed with tasks you can handle easily if you use the right apps. Keep these apps in mind and find what works best for you. Once you figure out the best mix of apps for your business, you’ll never want to return to anything you’ve done before.
Updated on November 01, 2022 by Wendy Komancheck
Full disclosure: I am an affiliate of Jobber and will receive compensation when you sign up through my referral link. When signing up for Jobber through The Landscape Writer, you have no cost or obligation to me. You can read more about this on the disclaimer link on my website.
Right now, you’re busy running from job to job. You added a few crews to your landscaping business a few years ago because you were getting more work. However, growth means more paperwork too.
You love what you’re doing except for the paperwork, which takes all day on Sunday. Or maybe you burn the midnight oil after working in the field for 12 to 14 hours daily.
It sounds as if you need some back office help. Jobber, a business solution for field service business owners, including lawn care and landscaping, helps you organize your back office paperwork. Also, Jobber saves you time and money.
Ready to revolutionize your landscaping business? Sign up for Jobber now and get 20% off your monthly plan for the first 6 months OR 20% off your annual plan! As a new user, you’ll enjoy the benefits of streamlined scheduling, invoicing, and more. Don’t wait – this offer can’t be combined with other promotions and is only available for subscriptions purchased before May 14, 2023. Take control of your business today with Jobber – sign up now and start saving!
Is Too Much Paperwork Eating Up Your Downtime?
Do you dread the weekends or evenings?
If you have to spend your downtime reading barely legible timecards, following up on late invoices, or using numerous spreadsheets to keep track of your business, you may dread your weekends.
Read more: Tips for Choosing the Best Professional Landscaping Equipment
Suppose you need to call back Mrs. Smith, who needs a landscaper to freshen up her flower beds and lay down sod. Should you call on a Sunday or wait until Monday morning? But you must be at the job site by 8 a.m.—is 7 a.m. too early to reach a retired customer?
What if you could invest in software that helps track your crews’ timesheets, allows your customers to schedule their next mow or fertilizer treatment on your website, and where customers can also pay their invoices directly to you?
You can by investing in Jobber.
How Jobber Saves You Time and Money
You can get your downtime back when you choose to invest in Jobber. Jobber is an all-in-one solution that helps field service businesses, including lawn care and landscaping companies, manage their operations efficiently.
In other words, Jobber saves you time and money.
What is the Jobber app? It’s a software app that
- Schedules and dispatches in real time
- Get paid faster with an automated quote and invoice follow-ups
- Run daily operations from anywhere with the lawn care app
- Book more jobs through Jobber.
Watch more: Go behind the scenes to see how Jobber works for you
Jobber keeps track of how field services do in general. Here are some stats to help you to consider adding Jobber to your company’s arsenal:
- Businesses grow their revenue by an average of 37% in the first year using Jobber
- When collecting payment online through Jobber, businesses get paid 4x faster
Learn more: 14 Best Apps for Lawn Care and Landscaping Businesses
- Businesses using Jobber get tipped an average of 5%
- Create quotes 70% faster when you offer online booking through Jobber
- Businesses using two-way text messaging on Jobber have 2x more repeat customers.
Still Not Sure If Jobber Is for You?
However, you may want to hear from other lawn care and landscape company owners about their experiences with Jobber. Here are four case studies involving lawn care and landscaping business owners for you to check out:
- Building a Flourishing Pond Business: Lessons from a Lifetime of Entrepreneurship.
- How This Landscaper Built a $1 Million Business with Jobber
- How Sef The Lawn Surgeon Creates Lifelong Customers with Jobber
- How These Entrepreneurs Went from 0 to 60 Lawns a Week with Jobber
- See How This Business Owner Uses Jobber.
You may wonder, “Why is the Landscape Writer busy promoting Jobber?”
I use software and app programs to run my writing business, including Acquity, Grammarly, QuickBooks, Zoom, and Sonix (an AI transcribing program). I need these tools to create a better experience for you on my website and write better blog posts for my customers.
And yes, I pay for all of these services. They’re my overhead and help free up my administrative tasks to spend more time creating content for my customers, like you.
Also, I got involved with Jobber after working with one of my landscaping clients, Tyler Dixon, in the above photo. I remember writing Tyler’s web copy and adding “powered by Jobber” because Tyler uses Jobber and promotes the product on his website.
A few weeks after I finished Tyler’s website copy, Ivy from Jobber contacted me. At first, I thought maybe Tyler referred me, but Ivy said she found me online. Since I just wrote a web copy for a landscaper who uses Jobber and read trade magazine articles that included Jobber stats, I knew about Jobber and trusted the brand.
While trying out a new service may be scary, Jobber gives you a 14-day trial to see if the software and app will work for you as a business owner. For added reassurance, here’s what three software review sites say about Jobber:
- SoftwareAdvice.com gives Jobber 4.54/5 stars from 595 reviewers.
- SoftwarePundit.com gives Jobber an analyst rating of 88. This reviewer said that the two-way text doesn’t work in the app. I asked my contact at Jobber, and she said, “Two-way text messaging is available on the Jobber Grow plan in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. Two-way text messaging is not available while in trial.”
While you can’t use the texting feature during the 14-day trial, you can learn more about Jobber’s two-way texting in this article.
3. Fool.com (A Motley Fool service) presents Jobber with an 8.6/10 and the best support tab.
Yes, I get a commission when you sign up for Jobber, but I hope you know that I only promote products that will improve your working life and support your landscaping business. If you want to take a chance with Jobber, sign up for their 14-day trial to see if it works because Jobber saves you time and money.
What do you think? Will you give Jobber a try?
If you want to take advantage of Jobber’s features and benefits, you must sign up through my landing page or you’ll miss out!
And if you’re looking for content writing services for your lawn and landscape company, fill out my free consultation form or email me at wendy@landscapewriter.com.
by Guest Blogger, Dustin Johnson
Learn tips for choosing the best professional landscaping equipment: Thanks to the advent of technology, the landscaping industry has grown drastically over the past ten years. Statistics indicate that, from 2016 to 2021, the US landscaping market grew approximately 2.5% every year.
The massive growth in this industry came with many business opportunities. Many manufacturers making various landscaping equipment rose. As a result, every piece of equipment has multiple options, making it challenging to choose the best landscaping tool or machinery for your work.
Luckily, after conducting intense research, we came up with various ways to choose the best professional landscaping equipment based on the landscaping job you want to do. You will learn about them in this article.
Before picking landscaping equipment, there are some factors you need to consider while you avoid others. In return, you will end up with the best equipment for your jobs.
If searching for the top professional landscaping equipment for your company, apply the following tips;
1. Consider the Work to Be Performed By the Machine
Landscaping machines carry out various jobs. Some perform more than one task, while others do only a specific job. A piece of perfect professional landscaping equipment is the one that carries out all the work you want to do.
If planning to do a particular landscaping task, consider a piece of equipment made to specialize in that task.
But if carrying out various landscaping jobs, it will be both economical and convenient to opt for a piece of single landscaping equipment that can handle all the multiple jobs.
Making a detailed list of everything you want the machine to do is the first step to attaining the best professional landscaping equipment. The list will keep you focused on the kind of machine you require. If there’s none like that in the market, you will go for the landscaping equipment with similar abilities.
Because the manufacturers release new sparkly, updated landscaping machines every day, keeping yourself updated with the latest landscaping equipment trend will help you pick the right one with ease.
12 Best Apps For Lawn Care And Landscaping Business Owners
2. Research and Consult
After noting down all the things you want the landscaping machine to help you with, you need to move to the next step of researching and consulting. First, you need to consider whether you require the device for a long or short period.
If for a short time, you only need to consider some factors like the efficiency of the landscaping machine. Will it be able to accomplish the job excellently within the specified period?
As long as the machine can handle the job, you don’t need to pick one with many features that are not useful for that job. An equipment piece with fewer features costs less than that with extra features. Such a machine is excellent for temporary landscape jobs. It will save you money.
But a professional landscaping machine for commercial or long-term jobs requires various features for optimal results. Also, it must last for an extended period, meaning you need to keep in mind the kind of material used in their making.
The cost of the equipment depends on the quality of the material it is made of and the number of tasks it can perform. The higher the quality and the more versatile the equipment, the more pricey. But every penny is worth investing in such a device.
You may be confused about making the right decision on what machine to pick. That’s why it’s essential to consult an expert. Search for a trusted dealership near you and ask questions.
Learn more: 12 Easy Steps for Growing Your Landscaping Business
A knowledgeable dealer will advise on the best landscaping machine to pick based on the nature of your work. They may also suggest equipment you never knew existed but are best suited for your landscaping task.
3. Make the Comparison
Once you have a few options to choose from, it’s essential to compare them to pick the most suited for you. Compare various factors such as equipment specifications, cost, technology, and structural integrity. The aim is to get the best professional landscaping machine to get the job done perfectly.
Comparing various top landscaping pieces of equipment enables you to pick the best for your job at an affordable price. You may find the same landscaping machine from different brands with the same features and capability but going at different prices.
Why go for the expensive one when a cheaper option has the same quality? Others may cost more but have fewer features than those costing less. The best option is to go for the more affordable option with more features as long as it’s high quality and efficient.
Comparing and considering such factors removes brand supremacy and favoritism, helping you concentrate on the equipment’s ability. As a result, you will end up with the best machine for your landscaping task.
4. Consider the Landscaping Equipment Size and Type
Before paying for the machine, your previous list of what you want the landscaping machine to perform will guide you on the type and size to pick. Consider if you need to move the equipment from one place to another. In such a case, opt for one with wheels for easy mobility or ensure you have means of transporting it.
If dealing with large jobs, choosing large and heavy-duty machines will work out great. Small landscaping equipment would be ideal for manageable areas and less challenging jobs.
Whatever equipment brand you go for, ensure it has spare parts. For instance, if you buy a long-lasting mini excavator, you may need to change its tracks once in a while. Ensure that you can access the parts easily. It will make it convenient and save you time.
For example, if you need a piece of landscaping equipment to cut grass in an area, a lawnmower will be ideal. But the size to pick depends on the kind of grass to cut and the area size.
You will also need to consider the area’s local climate you want to cut. If it’s a wet and large area, a professional, large lawnmower designed to operate in such situations will work out great.
If dealing with overgrown grass in a rough area, a standard mower may not work out well. You will need a Walk Behind Flail Mower.
Considering the machine type and size will help you choose the right professional landscaping equipment for your job.
Conclusion
As illustrated above, the market floods with various pieces of landscaping equipment. In return, it makes it difficult to choose the best professional option. But if you apply the above tips, picking the suitable professional machine for your landscaping job will be a piece of cake.
About Author
Guest post from HomeLight
Learn How to Market Your Landscaping Services to Improve Curb Appeal for Realtors & Sellers
Every property owner has a different priority for how their yard looks – from people who don’t want a single blade of perfectly-green grass out of place to those who wish to cultivate a comfortable, forest’s-edge feeling with growth and natural symmetry.
That being said, nearly every homeowner wants their yard to look its version of “best” when it comes to a home sale.
Marketing your services for the one-time or ongoing upkeep of a yard before a home sale can be a great source of additional income, especially during hot times of year for selling houses. Here’s how.
Get to Know What Real Estate Agents Prioritize
The first work is to figure out what a real estate agent will look for. If a buyer’s agent notices mostly dead shrubs, you want dead shrub removal to be part of any pre-listing landscaping package.
As a landscaper, you also know the kinds of pruning, fertilization, and plant maintenance that will help the landscaping look good far beyond the home’s sale.
Come up with an essential, intermediate, and extensive list of services you can perform for different types of homes in your area, and start getting some facts together: how long will it typically take your team to do the work, and how quickly can you schedule?
If you want to offer some perk or deal along the way, it could help both of you boost business.
If nothing else, you can garner new business if you commit to being able to help an agent get a property looking great as long as they give you a certain amount of notice before they need to take listing photos.
What’s great about working on a one-off or short-term landscaping job is that many of your clients may be only moving across town.
If you do a great job, they may come back to you for more regular work when their new home needs some landscaping – building these relationships builds your network, which is very good for business!
This post came from Homelight, a website for finding real estate agents and listed properties.
You can read more landscaping business articles at News and Resources. If you’re revamping your lawn and landscaping business website this year, contact the Landscape Writer through her contact form.
I’m finally reaching my dream of breaking into garden writing.
This year, 2021, has been fruitful in expanding my writing world. I’m launching a faith-based/gardening website called, Meeting God in the Garden, and I wrote an article on gardening called Dividing Hostas and Other Perennials. The digital magazine called Home, Garden, and Homestead published the article.
I’ve written gardening-type articles in my local papers, but it was not something that felt a part of me. Those previous articles were on gardening topics that piqued my interest and taught me new skills.
I could share what I already knew and make it part of the article, Dividing Hostas and Other Perennials.
What Is the Purpose of Gardening Articles?
Since there is a flux of new gardeners, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, readers are looking for gardening articles that help them learn new tricks and tips.
I’m spoiled. My mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law taught me how to garden. I was helping my mom plant potatoes in her vast garden when I was in Kindergarten. I was weeding and picking strawberries by first grade.
My grandmother was an avid gardener until she was in her early 90’s. I learned how to create beauty within small spaces. My grandmother also taught me about houseplants too.
My mother-in-law created my first landscape. She filled the front slope of our first home, which was a duplex. My mother-in-law also added two planters to the side of our deck and created a beautiful space for our tiny backyard.
While I wasn’t grateful at the time, looking back, I appreciate the time and expertise that my mom-in-law gave me in that tiny outdoor space.
How Does This Benefit You, the Landscaper?
You probably know all of the information that I shared in Dividing Hostas and Other Perennials. However, your clientele may include new homeowners who want to get their hands dirty. Many millennials didn’t have the luxury of learning how to grow plants from their parents and grandparents.
These new homeowners don’t have the experience of creating a vegetable garden or a flowerbed. You can include articles, such as When to Divide Hostas and Other Perennials, and other titles in your newsletters and blogs. Your new homeowners will appreciate it.
Plus, consider adding garden plots to backyards as part of your landscaping services. Encourage homeowners of all ages to get their hands dirty and get back to the garden for their health and well-being.
My Encouragement to You
Keep on communicating to your customers, newsletter fans, and others, even during the cold winter months. Start getting your customers excited for spring by sharing gardening tips and garden designs through your blog and newsletter.
You can sign up for my newsletter here. Have questions about your landscape company’s blog or newsletter? Then, fill out my free consultation form to learn how I can help you with your content marketing needs.
Landscaping Industry Statistics to Help You Grow Your Business – a guest post by Emily at Thimble
The landscaping industry has got solid roots and is growing all of the time. For landscapers, this can be an exciting time as new opportunities and trends emerge, providing them with more business and more chances to do this fulfilling work.
But it can also be easy to lose track of the new landscaping trends and happenings as the industry continues to develop. No one wants to be left behind as the industry moves on to the next big thing. And keeping up with what’s hot can help you score more customers and make more money.
We’ve compiled a list of industry statistics that can inform your business, allowing you to keep up with the latest news so you can write about the industry and work confidently in it.
Here are 10 interesting statistics about the landscaping industry:
- The landscaping services industry is worth $105 billion in 2021.
- California had the most landscaping companies in the top 100 earners in 2019, followed by Texas, Illinois and Florida.
- The most common landscaping offering is lawn care and chemical application, offered by 88% of companies.
- 71,000 landscaping industry jobs remained vacant in 2017.
- Most landscaping company employees live in California, Florida, Texas, New York and Ohio.
- 36% of landscapers report that a high school diploma is their highest level of education.
- 62% of landscaping business comes from single-family residential homes.
- The average U.S. household spent $503 on lawn care and gardening in 2017.
- Employment of grounds maintenance workers will increase by 10% from 2019 to 2029.
- The U.S. landscaping industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% through 2025.
To sum it up: the landscaping industry is growing, driven by single-family homes. Over the next few years, landscaping companies expect to see the continued growth of service offerings and hiring.
Do You Need a Content Writer?
If you need a blog writer, you’ve come to the right place with The Landscape Writer. I provide blogs, newsletters, and web copy for lawn care and landscaping businesses. I also provide web content for small companies and web designers in other industries as well.
Contact me today to talk about your company’s digital marketing needs by filling out my contact form or emailing me at wendy@landscapewriter.com.
Important news for landscapers and lawn care companies (as well as other medium-sized businesses) that need website copywriting services:
The Landscape Writer now offers comprehensive web content writing.
The Landscape Writer’s Web Content Job Description
So, what does it look like when you hire me to write content for your website?
Well, it’s definitely not a fly-by-night relationship—and yes, readers, you’ll need to play a part in creating your web content too. I’ll be the perfect fit for you if you want.
- In-depth writing to give your potential customers an inside peek into what you offer them.
- Keywords and localization SEO that gets you noticed, but doesn’t sound sloppy in the copy.
- Zoom meetings that I record and transcribe to use when writing your web copy.
- Tight writing that gets to the point. Active voice, not passive verbs, make for engaging web copy.
- Professionally written web copy that’s ready to be uploaded on your website.
I’ll even send you web content writing examples upon request to show you that I know how to write web content that gets results.
Read more: 7 Tips to Get More Landscaping Customers
Let’s Talk about Relationship with Your Website Content Writer
While you may be excited and have great expectations for your website copy, you’ll need to add some reality into the mix.
I don’t magically come up with content—I need to talk to you and you need to share your thoughts with me.
I’ve been writing web content and blogs for the green industry and others for over eight years. I know what I need to create website content that delivers.
I’ve learned some things over the years that I hope you digest before calling—I customize all your web content and blogs. I don’t copy and paste.
However, in order to accomplish the uniqueness you want in your content, you need to spend time talking with me. This is what a relationship with the Landscape Writer looks like:
- We set up a time to talk via Zoom. I have an in-take questionnaire that I’ll give you ahead of time. During our Zoom call, we’ll go over the questions so I learn more about you, your company, your content needs, and your customers.
- Note to landscapers, lawn care owners, and other seasonal businesses. Unless you have a point person (such as a marketing person or your web designer) on hand to answer questions, you’ll need to schedule your website consultations with me in late fall or early winter when things slow down for you.
- Creating website content takes time. There’s no other way around it. If you design your own website or hire a web designer, you know that building a website takes time. Your web developer doesn’t just whip it out of a hat.
The same thing goes with web content writing. It takes time—especially if you want web content that gets results. Anyone can slap some keywords on a Word doc.
You can find more helpful digital marketing tips at The Landscape Writer’s News & Resources page.
You’ll find success with the Landscape Writer when you’re willing to work with me on a project schedule. It’s a partnership, if you will.
- Effective website content writing services don’t come cheap. I’m not only writing copy, but I’m also interviewing you and researching SEO keywords for you. Plus, I use Zoom and a transcription service to record our interview sessions. Web writing prices from the Landscape Writer are competitive.
Next Steps for Hiring a Website Content Writer—Near You or Remotely
While I do write website content for local customers, I also write remotely. Currently, I have freelance writing gigs in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia.
If you’re looking for a website content writer, you came to the right place. Set up a time to chat on my calendar or fill out my free consultation form. I’m looking forward to meeting you.
Do you want to get your lawn and landscaping company off to an excellent start in the new year? Then, what’s your plan for marketing your landscaping and lawn company in 2021?
Things have changed over the past year due to Covid, and 2021 looks to be a year where you can add or subtract marketing protocols based on your budget.
A Summary of the Article
Turf Magazine’s business management article called, “Marketing Your Business for 2021,” was written by yours truly. So, there’s some shameless marketing going on here.
But on the other hand, I interviewed four green industry folks who know their marketing stuff. Kelly Dowell, Jay Worth, Wayne Volz, and Jack Jostes share their experiences and wisdom regarding careful planning for the Spring season.
Read: 9 Tips for Growing Your Landscape Business with Blogging
By the way: You don’t want to wait until late February or early March to create your marketing plan because your busy season will be starting soon. And marketing strategy takes a few months to put together and execute.
Consistency is another takeaway from the article too. Don’t just start blogging with one post in March and April and then crickets until the fall or for eternity. Instead, make a plan and outsource as needed.
I don’t want to give away the article, so you’ll need to click the link above to get the lowdown on
- Planning for thought leadership on social media
- Looking at past marketing efforts, evaluating them, and tailoring your new marketing plan based on what you found
- Working with your sales team to create a plan that nails content to attract more people to your website rather than your competitors.
After you’re done reading the article, let me know what you thought. You can send your comments to wendy@landscapewriter.com. Happy Reading!
Read: Do You Need More Referrals in Your Sales Pipeline
Need Help with Your Blogging in 2021?
By the way: If you’re a lawn or landscaping company, and you need fresh content for your website and blogs for 2021, email me today at wendy@landscapewriter.com or click on my contact form.
by guest blogger, Nickey from Seeds of Change
If you own a landscape business, you know that getting jobs on a regular basis can be a challenging task. The best way to attract more customers is to be the first thing that pops up in their results when they search for landscaping services online.
You can achieve this by taking the time to polish your website’s search engine optimization, also known as SEO. Many people do not understand the importance of having a good, optimized website in this day and age.
With the majority of people looking up services online, your landscaping business needs to be visible to all those potential clients.
In this article, we will show you a few search engine optimization tactics that will surely increase the success of your landscape business. However, keep in mind that the field of SEO is quite complex and constantly changing.
Let us show you some basic tactics that will help increase the online presence of your business.
Keyword Targeting
In order for your website to rank on the first page of Google for certain search terms, it needs to have them included in its content. Those terms are also known as “keywords” and are an essential part of your on-page SEO.
Your website’s content needs to be rich in relevant keywords for your business, so that search engines know that it is a great place to find information for landscaping services. Keyword optimization is one of the most effective organic search engine optimization tactics.
If you are not sure how to find the proper keywords for your landscaping venture, it is always a smart idea to hire a professional marketing company.
There are plenty of free and paid SEO tools that can help you see the targeted keywords of your competition.
The paid options you can check are:
- Ahrefs
- SEMRush
- Moz
- Keywords Everywhere
The free options you can check are:
- Google Keywords Planner
- Ubersuggest
- Answer the public
- Improving User Experience
Search engines aim to present their users with the best possible results for each query they have. For this reason, you need to make sure your website loads fast, looks modern and is easy and intuitive to navigate.
The sum of those criteria is known as “user experience” and has a major impact when it comes to SEO. Here are some practical tips that will improve the user experience of your website.
- Use short paragraphs
- Make effective use of headings and subheadings in your content
- Use bullet points and plenty of white space
- Include images
When it comes to factors such as loading speed, you need to ensure your website is properly optimized and has the best possible hosting. Things become more complex here, so a professional is your best bet in dealing with the technical side of SEO.
Optimizing Metadata
Search engine crawlers scan not only the content of your website but its meta attributes as well. Those include the meta title and meta description of each page on the site.
In order to show the crawlers that your website has the best information on landscaping services, you need to include relevant keywords in those attributes as well. Optimizing metadata is one of the most effective search engine optimization techniques.
Best practices dictate that you should keep meta titles below 70 characters and meta descriptions — below 160. Try to include your main keywords within those limitations as naturally as possible.
Link Building
Backlinks are one of the most important components of SEO. If another website links to yours, this means that your page is a good source of information. Quality is more important than quantity here — your website can benefit greatly from only a few links from other reputable landscaping websites.
The most effective way of getting quality backlinks is to create quality content that is worth linking to. Using your landscaping knowledge, create informative and useful articles that provide real value. Share them on social media to get attention, or contact websites directly and ask for a link to your content.
Making Your Website Mobile-Friendly
Nowadays, the majority of searches and purchases happen on mobile devices. On top of that, search engines like Google are starting to prioritize websites that perform well on mobile. You need to make sure your website is either fully responsive or has a good mobile version. Whatever the case, take some time to optimize the user experience and performance of your mobile website.
A mobile-friendly website will surely result in a higher ranking on search engines. It will also be helpful to convert visitors to actual customers for your landscaping business.
Using Advanced Search Engine Optimization Tactics
As you can see, there are many different aspects of SEO that you need to cover. However, if your company website has good SEO, you will certainly get more business on a regular basis.
Those example search engine optimization tactics are a great place to start. If you want to dive deeper into SEO, we recommend working with a professional agency. With a team of experts by your side, you will be able to craft an SEO strategy that will really boost your business.
