Jul 6 Leveraging Non-Wedding Channels to Boost Your Wedding Business

Where do couples look for our services? This is the question you have to ask yourself when delegating those precious marketing dollars. Wedding magazines, wedding shows and online wedding directories are the obvious choice. It’s where couples go to get ideas, shop vendors and plan the all the details of their dream wedding.

I don’t know about you but the last time I checked, I was one of hundreds of vendors in my category all vying for the same clients. Sure, we all try to stand out with elaborate wedding show booths, stunning imagery or paying for top online placement, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could somehow get our clients to look at only us and not the competition? Here are a few suggestions to start thinking about other ways to market yourself, making you the go-to vendor in your field.

Jul 1

Jul 1 This Mid-Year Marketing Checkup Will Save Your Wedding Business

Guest Contributor

Marketing, Planning

(Editor's Note: Today we're kicking off our July content theme: marketing! Yes, we covered this back in January, but given that we're halfway through 2016, it's time to revisit this important topic to keep our wedding businesses thriving! Keep an eye on our blog throughout the month of July for resources, support and inspiration on wedding business marketing!)

I suppose you could say that the headline for this post is a pretty bold claim. Yet, I believe it's totally accurate. After all, many small businesses, wedding businesses included, go under because their owners lose track of the big picture. It's so easy to get bogged down with all the demands of carrying out our contracted events that we forget to monitor everything that goes into attracting those events and clients. Now that the May and June madness are behind us, it's the perfect opportunity to look back at our 2016 marketing and determine what's working so far.

Jun 1

Jun 1 Event Day Marketing Done Right: How to Use Your Time at Weddings to Book More Weddings

Guest Contributor

Marketing

(Editor's Note: Starting today, we're kicking off a whole new content theme for the month of June. All our posts this month will be exploring the topic of event-day management, and how you and your team can be more productive, prepared and successful than ever!)

Most professionals have some sort of routine on wedding days. Perhaps it involves some sort of equipment preparation, product assembly or simply a personal routine to help mentally ready yourself for the day ahead. These days are, by nature, lengthy and intense. There is a strict schedule, many tasks to fulfill and a team of vendors to work with, many of whom you may not know. Oh, yeah, don’t forget dealing with your clients and their guests, and delivering the service you were hired to perform. Needless to say it’s a lot of work. Encouraging you to concentrate on marketing or networking during the day may seem like I’m asking too much, but I promise it can be done and is highly worth the effort.

Apr 25

Apr 25 WeddingIQ Retrospective: Styled Shoots - Creative Marketing or Waste of Time, Revisited

Guest Contributor

Marketing

(Editor's Note: We're just ONE WEEK away from a huge announcement for WeddingIQ - we can't wait to show you what we've been up to! In the meantime, we continue our retrospective series today with Kyle's look back at her May 2015 post, "Styled Shoots: Creative Marketing or Waste of Time?")

My advice to all involved is decide from the beginning what your goals are for the shoot. Do you want to work with a particular vendor? Do you just want to have the experience of a styled shoot? Or are you expecting to be published and bring recognition to your business? It may be all of the above and then some. Not all styled shoots are created equal, so make sure you are working with people you can trust and openly discuss your goals. Maybe the shoot meets none of your qualifications and you’d be better off declining the opportunity or planning a styled shoot yourself.

Apr 18

Apr 18 WeddingIQ Retrospective: Why We've Said "No" to Wedding Venues' Marketing Brochures, Revisited

Guest Contributor

Ethics, Wedding Industry, Marketing

(Editor's Note: We're just two weeks away from a BIG announcement for WeddingIQ! In the meantime, we continue our look back at game-changing posts from our past. On the docket today, Jen's May 2012 post, "Why We've Said "No" to Wedding Venues' Marketing Brochures.)

Boy, was I hot under the collar when I wrote this one. I remember so clearly how excited my former business partner and I were when our DJ company started seeing referrals roll in from our favorite venues. It was so validating, like all our hard work was truly paying off, and paying off in spades.

And then, the calls started rolling in. We went from receiving a few requests to advertise in our favorite venues' new marketing books - beautiful, photo-rich books, to be truthful - to receiving dozens. The quality of our referrals dipped. And after a couple of years of this, we said "enough."