The Tailmates launch kit

Launch your group in four weeks.

One walk a week. Each one has a job.

Week 1 is your launch: a founding walk with the people you already know. Each week after it has its own job, and after week 4 the weekly walk keeps going.

Start your group

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Free to start. Set up on the web in a few minutes.

Your first month, one walk a week.

Set up once. Then each walk has a job.

Before week 1
Set up your group
A few minutes on the web. A template does most of the work.
Week 1Your launch
The founding walk
Invite the people you already know. A 30-minute lunch walk with your team counts.
Week 2
A guest or Q&A walk
Bring a guest on stage, or answer general questions while everyone walks.
Week 3
Bring a friend
Everyone brings a friend. Friends join from the walk's invite card.
Week 4Coming soon
Your first podcast
The walk becomes your group's first episode.
After week 4
The weekly walk keeps going
You keep the group, the walks and everyone who joined.

What you do. What Tailmates does.

Each step uses real tools, on the web and in the app. The one that isn't ready yet says Coming soon.

Before week 1

Set up your group

A few minutes on the web. A template does most of the work, and you can skip anything and come back to it.

You

Create your group and choose who can join: public, invite only or private.
Pick your kind of host and a walk to start with.
Set your weekly walk: the day, the time and the place, or from anywhere.
Name a co-host to run it with you.

Tailmates

Suggests walks that fit your kind of host.
Fills in the day, time and length from the template. Change anything.
Repeats your weekly walk every week until you pause it.
Gives your group an invite link. Public groups also get a QR code, a poster to print and a page on tailmates.io.

Tools The setup guide, the weekly walk, the invite kit and your group's page.

The setup guide for Sample Riverside Walkers in Host tools: 3 of 7 done, about 8 minutes left, Kind of host, Walk template and Weekly walk done, and the current step, Add a co-host and a backup — The setup guide in Host tools on tailmates.io. Sample data.

Week 1Your launch

The founding walk

Your first walk launches the group. Keep it easy: a 30-minute lunch walk with your team counts.

You

Invite five people yourself: clients, supporters, listeners or neighbors. Personal invites fill first walks.
Post a hello in your group. Say who you are and what to expect.
Arrive 10 minutes early and greet first-timers and their dogs by name.

Tailmates

Gives each week its own walk, with RSVP, a reminder and a link to share.
Opens a voice room, so people who can't come can walk with you from their own street.
Counts a walk at 3 minutes and 250 m.

Tools The first-walk checklist, the weekly walk and live voice.

Get ready for your first walk, step 7 of 7: a social walk on Saturday at 9:00 AM, and the checklist with Invite five people yourself and Post a hello in your group ticked, then Tell people what counts, Give your backup the plan, Arrive 10 minutes early and Thank everyone after — The first-walk checklist in the setup guide. Sample data.

Week 2

A guest or Q&A walk

Give people a reason to come back. Bring a guest, or answer general questions while everyone walks.

You

Invite a guest: a trainer, a groomer, a vet or someone from your field.
Bring your guest on stage and take questions from raised hands.
Keep questions general. Steer anything about one dog to a visit.

Tailmates

Runs live voice while everyone walks, in person or from anywhere.
Lets you choose who speaks: bring people on stage, name a co-host, and mute everyone when you need quiet.

Tools Live voice, the stage and raised hands.

Live voice on a walk with Bella, 4 walking together: on stage you as Host, @mayaandmochi as Co-host and @diego.trails as Speaker, @sofia_k listening with a hand up, and the Host controls button beside 1 hand up, above Mute, Push to talk and Leave voice — Live voice on a walk: a host, a co-host, a speaker and one hand up. Sample data.

Week 3

Bring a friend

Your members bring the next members. Ask everyone to bring a friend.

You

Say it on the walk: bring a friend next week.
Share the walk's invite card in your group, and anywhere your people already are.

Tailmates

Gives every walk an invite card with a QR code. Send it anywhere, and people join from the link.

Tools The invite card and its QR code.

The invite card at the start of an open walk: Bella's photo, the line Bella's on a walk right now, join her, three already walking along, a QR code, and Share and Copy link buttons — The invite card on an open walk. Sample data.

Week 4Coming soon

Your first podcast

Week 4's walk becomes your group's first episode.

You

Pick a topic people asked about in weeks 1 to 3.
Invite your speakers ahead of time.

Tailmates

Gives your episode its own page, with chapters and a player.
Lets listeners find it on the web and in podcast apps.

Tools Episodes and your show.

A sample walk podcast episode on the web, Sample: Passing other dogs on a narrow sidewalk, 44 minutes, with a player and six chapters — A sample episode on tailmates.io. Sample data.

After week 4, the weekly walk keeps going. You keep the group, the walks and everyone who joined.

Your four weeks, by kind of host.

Same rhythm, different walks. Start with the plan that fits you.

Vet clinics

Week 1Lunch walk with the team
Week 2Clinic Q&A walk
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Your first podcast walk

Rescues and nonprofits

Week 1Founding walk with your director, board and volunteers
Week 2Guest walk with a vet, trainer or adopter
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Your first podcast walk

Creators and podcasters

Week 1Founding walk with your closest listeners
Week 2Guest walk with someone from your field
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Your first podcast walk

Trainers

Week 1Graduates' walk
Week 2Loose-leash practice walk
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Your first podcast walk

Groomers

Week 1Client walk after the last pick-up
Week 2Guest walk with a trainer
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Coat and paws Q&A walk

Clubs, stores and community hosts

Week 1Founding walk
Week 2Guest walk with a trainer, groomer or breed expert
Week 3Bring a friend walk
Week 4Your first podcast walk

Coming soon Publishing week 4's walk as your group's first episode.

See every kind of host

Coming soon

Your launch, on one page.

Plan all four walks on one calendar and approve one plan. Tailmates will send Still coming? 48 hours before your first walk, then the walk reminders, and show who was invited, visited, joined and walked, week by week.

With it, a copy-ready invitation email, and a post kit with its own link for each place you post.

Your launch for Sample Saltmarsh Walkers, launched on Sep 17: the invitation went out and the first walk happened, a checklist with every step done, and the count of who was invited, visited, registered and took a first walk — Your launch in Host tools: the checklist and the count. Sample data.

Start your group today.

Sign up or sign in.
Create a free account on the web, or use the one you already have in the app.
Create your group.
Name it and choose who can join. Then tap Set up your group to open the setup guide.
Plan your founding walk.
Pick a day in the next week or two, and invite the people you already know.

Start your group

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Prefer the app? Create your group from Packs.

Prefer paper? Print the one-page launch kit (PDF)

Questions about the launch kit.

What does it cost?

Starting a group and hosting walks is free.

Do I have to follow all four weeks?

No. It's a plan, not a rule. Move a walk, skip one, or repeat one that worked.

Do people need the app?

To walk with the group, yes. Tailmates is free on iPhone and Android.

Can people join from home?

Yes. Meet in person, or walk at the same time from your own streets, with one roster and one chat.

What happens after week 4?

The weekly walk keeps going. You keep the group, the walks and everyone who joined.

Where do I get help?

Write to hello@tailmates.io.

Your community starts with one walk.

Start your group

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Launch your group in four weeks.