Change "Ask About Me" button to go to our application

Q: We love your site and now we are getting so many email inquiries asking about our pets, our volunteers are struggling to keep up! Is there a way we can change the "Ask About Me" button to go to our adoption process page which includes our adoption hours and application, instead of emailing us?

A: Not currently! To list pets on Adopt-a-Pet.com we do require you have a way for potential adopters to contact you either by email, phone, or both. Here are ideas that other accounts have used to reduce the number of emails from adopters:

1. Contact Name

On My Shelter/Rescue Info, get creative in the two Contact Name fields. 

We've seen shelters type everything from "Visit our website" "to apply" or "Read info in" "Pet Story above" to "Visit shelter" "10-3 daily". Keep in mind there is a limit as to how much text will display, so make sure to confirm it's not cut off in your pet pages Contact Info section after you click the  "Update Shelter/Rescue info" button to save your changes.

Tip: If you use Pet Contacts, that name/email/phone overrides your default contact settings. Also, if you have multiple accounts/locations, you need to update each account.

2. Phone only

On My Shelter/Rescue Info, select phone only...

... and click "Update Shelter/Rescue info" to save the change. Then when someone clicks the pet's Ask About Me button, they are scrolled down to the Contact Info section which looks like this:

Can't accept phone calls? You can use a free Google Voice number and set all calls to go right to voicemail. Record your voicemail to state very clearly that you do not return calls, and explain how to adopt from you.

Example voicemail:  "You've reached Fluffy's Shelter. If you have a question about one of our pets or adopting from us, please go to our website www.YourWebsiteName.com and submit an adoption application. If we have a potential pet match, we will reply to your application within 48 hours. Please do not leave a message. We do not respond to messages left here." Setting expectations helps adopters know when to move on to a different pet/organization, and avoids frustration all around!

3. Adoption process

Type out exactly what the adopter should do very clearly in your Additional info about your adoption process field in your My Shelter/Rescue Info. If you want people to apply before they contact you, be sure to spell that out. Less is more: Most people will only read a little bit online. 

4. Application link

If you want adopters to apply before they email or call you, be sure you add a link to your adoption application in your Adopt-a-Pet.com account's "Online adoption application link" field in your My Shelter/Rescue Info. That link appears automatically on every pet's page. If you have different application links (like one for cats and one for dogs) read our Tip: Link to more than one application next.

 

5. First sentence of Pet Story

While we all know getting people to read anything online is a huge challenge, you can try starting your pet story with VERY simple short direction. Here are some we've seen, as examples:

"Please read all of my story before your Ask About Me!"

 

"Before email or call us, go www.YourWebsite.com and click ADOPT then APPLY."

 

"Our rescue's volunteers can not respond to questions that are answered in the pet story below." 

 

 

 

If you have other techniques you've tried on your Adopt-a-Pet.com pet listings that worked for you, please contact us using this form and let us know! We're here to help!