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

(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."

Apr 13

Apr 13 WeddingIQ Retrospective: Just Gimme the Photos, Revisited

Guest Contributor

Marketing, Ethics, Relationships

(Editor's Note: We're making steady progress toward completing a major project we'll be rolling out at the beginning of May, and we can't wait for you all to see it! In the meantime, we're continuing to look back at popular and thought-provoking posts from our history. Today, it's Kyle's March 2015 post, "Just Gimme the Photos!")

I firmly stand behind everything I wrote here 100%. Jennifer and I even created a speaking presentation "The Internet is a Thieve's Paradise: How to Properly Use Professional Images & Protect Your Website" for The Planners Suite Conference this past January because we have such strong beliefs on this topic. That presentation was derived from this post and from Jennifer's 2012 post, "How to Protect Your Website From Thieves."

Apr 6

Apr 6 WeddingIQ Retrospective: Why Gender Neutrality Matters, Revisited

Guest Contributor

Marketing, Ethics

Editor's Note: As explained in Monday's post, throughout the month of April, as we prepare for an exciting announcement next month, we'll be looking back at some of the most popular, talked-about, or personally significant posts we've ever written, with a fresh perspective on our mindset today. Up first? Jen's May 2012 post, "Why Gender Neutrality Matters.")

I can't kick off this post without first saying how glad I am that so many wedding business owners have embraced gender-neutral language in their marketing since I first wrote about the topic almost four years ago. Back then, while I knew many wedding pros who privately supported marriage equality and warmly welcomed LGBTQ couples as clients, but were very hesitant to restrict the heteronormative language found throughout their marketing, let alone write marketing copy directly to non-straight couples (or feature images of them).