Marketing & Getting Clients

How to Get Clients for Your House Sitting Business

Getting clients for a house sitting business depends on trust and visibility in your local market. Unlike many service businesses, house sitting requires homeowners to feel confident leaving their property and pets in your hands, which means your marketing has to establish credibility quickly. Your goal isn’t to reach thousands of people—it’s to reach the right people in your area who are actively looking for someone reliable to care for their homes while they travel.

Most house sitters build their client base through a combination of local networking, online platforms, and word-of-mouth referrals. Your first clients often come from personal connections, but after that, you’ll need a consistent strategy to stay visible and attract new bookings throughout the year.

Who Your Ideal Clients Are

Your ideal clients are homeowners who travel regularly and have pets, plants, or property concerns they don’t want to leave unattended. They typically fall into a few categories: business professionals who travel for work 2–4 times per year, retirees who take extended vacations, and families who vacation during school breaks. They tend to be middle to upper-middle income, trust-conscious, and willing to pay $40–100 per day for quality care. They’re also usually technology-comfortable enough to use booking platforms or email communication, but they prioritize personal connection and references over everything else.

Secondary clients include pet owners without plants who just need pet care, vacation rental owners who need property checks between guests, and new homeowners who travel frequently and haven’t yet built a trusted network locally. These clients are slightly less committed to house sitting as a service but still represent steady income. Age and lifestyle matter less than whether they travel, have something to protect, and value reliability enough to pay for it.

Your Best Marketing Channels

Care.com and Rover for House Sitting

Platforms like Care.com’s house sitting service and Rover’s pet sitting category connect you with homeowners actively searching for sitters. These sites take 15–20% commission per booking, but they provide access to verified customers and handle payment processing. Your initial investment is low—you create a detailed profile with photos, background check results, and reviews. Most successful sitters on these platforms report their first few clients come within weeks of launching.

Local Facebook Groups and Nextdoor

Facebook community groups and Nextdoor are where homeowners in your area ask for local service recommendations. Join groups for your neighborhood, nearby areas, and local parent or pet owner communities. Post a polite introduction and share your services when relevant, but don’t spam—the goal is to answer questions and build relationships. Many sitters report that 30–50% of their repeat clients came from these platforms because recommendations within tight community groups carry real weight.

Google Business Profile

Create a free Google Business Profile for your house sitting business. This ensures you appear in local search results when homeowners search “house sitter near me” or “pet sitter [city].” Even if you’re a solo operation, the profile builds credibility and lets people leave you reviews. Make sure your profile includes your service areas, availability, rates, and a photo of yourself. Reviews on this profile directly influence whether new customers trust you enough to book.

Your Website or Simple Landing Page

You don’t need a complex website, but you do need a simple online hub where potential clients can learn about you, see your rates, and book or contact you. A single-page website with your background, services, pricing, testimonials, and booking information takes 2–3 hours to set up using Wix or Squarespace. This page becomes your credibility anchor—something you link to from every other platform and share with every lead.

Word of Mouth and Referral Programs

Your best clients come from referrals. After your first 3–5 successful sits, ask clients for referrals and offer a referral bonus (like $20–50 off future sits if they refer a friend who books). Provide clients with a simple referral link or your contact information to share. Referral clients typically book at higher rates and have higher retention because they’ve already heard positive experiences from someone they trust.

Partnerships with Local Pet Stores and Veterinary Clinics

Build relationships with local pet stores, vet clinics, and dog groomers. Leave business cards with these businesses and ask if they’d recommend you to clients who mention needing house sitting. Many vet clinics and groomers are happy to refer because it helps their clients and they don’t see it as competitive. This single channel can generate 2–3 high-quality referrals per month once relationships are established.

Getting Your First 3 Clients

1. Tell everyone you know. Email, text, or call people in your personal network—friends, family, coworkers, neighbors. Let them know you’re starting a house sitting business and offer a discount on your first 2–3 sits (maybe 20% off). Personal connections have the lowest barrier to booking because they already trust you as a person.
2. Post in local Facebook groups and Nextdoor. Write a clear, friendly introduction post in 3–4 local community groups and Nextdoor. Mention your experience with pets or home care, your rates, and that you’re looking to build your client base. Don’t hard-sell—just introduce yourself and invite questions. Respond quickly to every inquiry.
3. Launch on Care.com or Rover immediately. Create profiles on both platforms the same week you start marketing. Complete your profile fully: professional photo, detailed description of your experience, rates, and availability. These platforms surface new sitters to homeowners, so you’ll get inquiries within days if your profile is complete.
4. Reach out to local pet businesses. Visit 5–10 local vet clinics, pet stores, and groomers in person. Introduce yourself, leave business cards, and ask if they’d recommend you. Many will be happy to help. Follow up with a thank-you email or card after a week.
5. Set up a simple Google Business Profile. Claim your local business listing and complete it fully. This takes 20 minutes and ensures you’re discoverable in local search results for “house sitter near me.”
6. Create a basic landing page or website. Use Wix, Squarespace, or even a Google Site to create a simple page with your story, services, rates, and contact information. Share the link in every message, email, and profile bio you create.

Building Referrals and Word of Mouth

After your first few sits, referrals become your most reliable source of new clients. The best way to encourage referrals is to deliver exceptional service and then ask for it directly. After a successful sit, send a thank-you note or email and ask clients if they know anyone else who might benefit from your services. Offer a small incentive—like a $25 discount on their next sit if they refer someone who books with you. Make it easy by providing a simple referral link or phone number to share.

Build a referral network by staying in touch with past clients. Send a quick email every 3–4 months letting them know you’re still taking bookings and mentioning your referral discount. Ask clients for permission to list them as a reference. Over time, you’ll find that 40–60% of your bookings come from people who heard about you from someone else. This is where your business becomes stable—referral clients are pre-qualified, less price-sensitive, and more likely to become repeat customers.

Your Online Presence

For a house sitting business, your online presence needs to communicate trust and professionalism instantly. You need a clear profile on at least one major platform (Care.com, Rover, or your own website), a Google Business Profile with updated hours and contact information, and professional photos of yourself—ideally with pets if you have them. Your profile should include your background, certifications or relevant experience, rates, service areas, and client testimonials. Include your backup plan: what happens if an emergency occurs, how clients can reach you 24/7, and who steps in if you’re unavailable.

Credibility markers matter enormously in this business. Display any relevant certifications (pet first aid, pet CPR), background check results, or insurance information prominently. Include 3–5 testimonials from past clients. Keep your contact information consistent across all platforms. Respond to inquiries within 2 hours, even if just to say you’ll call them later. Your online presence tells potential clients that you’re organized, reliable, and professional enough to handle one of their biggest concerns—their home and pets.

Social Media Strategy

Instagram and Facebook are the most valuable platforms for a house sitting business. Use Instagram to post photos and short videos of pets you care for (with owner permission), pictures of happy homes you’ve maintained, and behind-the-scenes content showing your work. This builds trust and gives potential clients a feel for how you interact with animals. Use relevant hashtags like #housesitter, #petsitter, and your local city name to reach local followers. Post 2–3 times per week and engage with local pet and home care accounts.

On Facebook, focus on community groups and your business page rather than your personal feed. Share the same content you post on Instagram, but also use Facebook to answer questions in local community groups and respond to inquiries. Facebook’s local reach is strong, and homeowners in your area are actively using it to find services. You don’t need to be an influencer—you just need consistent, genuine presence that shows you care about pets and homes.

Paid Advertising

Most house sitting businesses don’t need paid advertising in the early stages because organic channels (referrals, community groups, Care.com) deliver clients affordably. However, if you’re looking to scale quickly or your local market is competitive, try small Facebook or Instagram ads targeting homeowners within 10 miles of your location who have interests in pets, travel, or home services. Start with a $300–500 monthly budget testing simple ads highlighting your services and testimonials. Measure results carefully—a client who books at $50–70 per day needs to generate 6–10 days of work annually to justify ad spending. Many successful sitters report that referrals and organic methods remain cheaper and more reliable than paid ads, even at scale.

Client Retention

• Deliver exceptional service every single time—this is how you get repeat bookings and referrals
• Send thank-you notes or messages after each sit, mentioning specific details about their home or pets
• Stay in touch with past clients every 3–4 months with a friendly email or message about your availability
• Offer loyalty discounts—for example, a 10% discount after 5 sits or a free sit after 10 bookings
• Ask for testimonials and reviews after successful sits, and display them on your website and profiles
• Be responsive and flexible when possible—accommodate schedule changes and special requests when you can
• Build a system to track client preferences, pet information, and house-specific details so you can reference them in future sits
• Ask repeat clients for referrals and offer a bonus for referrals that book

For more specific guidance, check out the fastest ways to get your first 10 house sitting customers, explore the best marketing tools for your house sitting business, and learn local marketing strategies for house sitting services.