People Google you.  These people include clients and industry contacts.  Do you know what pops up on the first page when someone Googles your name?  I did this recently (after not doing so in a few months) and was surprised that a few images had popped up from a blogger account I had years ago!  Google has now linked a lot of these platforms (that it has acquired in recent years) and they are now all linked to your Google profile and Google+ account.  I don’t care for those images to be the first things that people see when they want to learn about me professionally.  Delete. Delete. Delete.

Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn all pop up in that first page of the Google along with any blogs that you may write (and possibly your business website).  Often people set up a social media account and forget about it for years.  I’ve seen this happen with LinkedIn accounts.  (Do you have a stale LinkedIn account?)  If your client is in the corporate world, it may be one of the first places he or she looks to learn more about you, your business, and your work experience.  This is an opportunity to show off your merits.  It’s also a missed opportunity if you haven’t updated this profile in quite a while.  (You may also want to rethink linking your Twitter account automatically to your LinkedIn feed.  All of those tweets may not be appropriate to the LinkedIn audience.)

Spend a few minutes today making a list of the all the accounts where you have “profiles”.  These are essentially your virtual business cards.   Next, spend some time updating each one of them with current information about you, your business, and your accomplishments.

Image: Creative Commons

By identifying your marketing strengths and weaknesses, you should have been able to identify opportunities for growth.  What are some of the changes you’d like to see in the next year?  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Can you better hone on a target market than you did in the past?  Who is the ideal client you will aim to work with in 2012?  Where do they go for research and decision-making?
• Can you better define your niche?  How will you communicate your specialty in 2012?
• What changes/updates would you like to make in your branding identity?  How will you make these changes?  Will you work with a graphic designer or are you able to make the updates yourself?
• Will you be introducing new services and/or products in 2012?  What are they?  How will you communicate these to potential clients?
• How will you price your goods and services?
• What are your sales targets for 2012?  Have you updated your sales plan?
• What will you do to promote your business?  (See below.)

Goal-setting for Marketing

All of these questions can draw up a gazillion to-dos.  Let’s not get overwhelmed.  Pick 3 things you want to happen next year and make them your marketing goals.  They can be big or small, short-term or long-term.  But pick the ones that are “top of mind”… the ones that you are most passionate about.  Use our SMART goal-setting sheet to help.

How will you promote your business in 2012?

Once I set my sales targets, I find it really important to tie my promotional strategies to those sales targets.  For example, if I have a sales target of doing 23 weddings in 2012, I want to identify the promotional activities that will get me those 30 weddings.  My promotional plan may look something like this:

Ad on XYZ website –> 3 weddings
Podunk Bridal Show –> 6 weddings
4 networking events each month –> 6 weddings (from colleague referrals)
Feature on 3 bridal blogs (will target Lovely Shmovely, Weddings Galore, & Dress Me Fancy) –> 4 weddings
Past client referrals –> 4 weddings

TOTAL = 23 weddings

So how do I come up with those numbers?  I look at my history of success with those that I’ve done before.  I put in a feel for what I “WANT” to do.  And, really… just guesstimate to the best of my ability.  But, by tying my promotional activities to my sales quota, I’m more likely to put in the effort and get the results.

I break this promotional plan into a month-by-month plan and I also budget any cost to my business in $, or the time it will take for me to devote if there is no cost involved (networking and seeking editorial).

Here is my Promotional Goal Sheet spreadsheet that I use to plan how I will promote my business on an annual basis:

Sage Wedding Pros – Promotional Goal Sheet – $10

What are some of the new ways you’ll promote your business in 2012?  Share your fun tips with us!

Join us tomorrow as we make a plan for our business’ operations.

A holiday deal for you…

Throughout these 3 weeks, we’ll be offering $100 off The Simple Plan Exclusive which is our one-to-one partnership with small business owners to help build a business plan.  Simply visit The Simple Plan website to learn more about The Exclusive and enter the discount code “2012” when you enroll.  This offer is only good through December 30^th and space is limited to first-come-first-served.

Over the next 3 weeks we will be helping you put together a plan for 2012.  In week 1, we’ll be examining our past.  In week 2, we’ll be focused on the present.  And, in week 3, we’ll be building for the future.  We’ll be examining our marketing, operations, and finances.

The 3 weeks will be based on elements that we teach at The Simple Plan, our business planning education for wedding pros.  If you’ve done The Simple Plan – just whip it out and freshen it up!  BUT never fear, if you haven’t come to the workshop or done The Exclusive with one of us, you’ll still benefit from this series.  We’ll be referring to many of our previous posts so that you can catch up on anything you’ve missed in 2011.

A holiday deal for you…

Throughout these 3 weeks, we’ll be offering $100 off The Simple Plan Exclusive which is our one-to-one partnership with small business owners to help build a business plan.  Simply visit The Simple Plan website to learn more about The Exclusive and enter the discount code “2012” when you enroll.  This offer is only good through December 30^th and space is limited to first-come-first-served.

Image: Creative Commons

Let’s get started!

Do an inventory of your marketing results…

Let’s think about the past year(s) and what you were able to achieve in regards to your marketing strategy.  Here are some questions to get your juices flowing:

• Do you know who you are and who your customer is?  Can you clearly define both?
• Does your branding reflect you, your business, and what your ideal customer is drawn to?  Are your website, business cards, and promotional materials consistent in your branding identity?
• What makes your product or service different?  What is the value that your company brings to its clientele? to the wedding experience?
• How good at you at communicating (and selling) the value that you bring to the client experience?
• Does your pricing appropriately reflect the value of your product or service?  Is it in line with what the market demands?
• How did you promote your business?  What worked and what didn’t work?  What was a good investment of your time and money?  What was a poor investment?

Now, make 3 columns on a sheet of paper and label them each: “Marketing Factor, Strengths, and Weaknesses”.  Spend a few minutes listing strengths and weaknesses for the following marketing factors:

• Knowledge of your market – regional and national
• Knowledge of your business niche and your ideal customer
• Your sales ability and technique
• Your branding
• Your product and the value it brings to the market
• Your pricing
• Your promotional strategy

It’s easy to be hard on ourselves so don’t leave out the STRENGTHS.  We focus so much on what we haven’t done in our business, but it’s important to reflect back on all the things we’ve been able to achieve.

Join us tomorrow as we take a look back on your business operations.

What is your design specialty? What are you known for?

Beth Blinebury Design is a small design studio that specializes in website design and development, branding and print design. We love to make things that not only look great but function amazingly well! In our spare time we like to make fun montage movies, play and record music, design vintage-inspired beer labels and downloadable DIY projects.

I would say that Beth Blinebury Design is known for providing clients with a personal experience. What sets us apart from other designers is our focus on educating and empowering clients to be comfortable and confident using the web to grow business.

Describe your design style. How do you get inspiration?

I think that I bring a unique perspective to design because of my background in fine art & photography. The Beth Blinebury Design style is defined by a bold use of color, texture and typography.  I partner with my designer husband and between the two of us inspiration is easily found whether it be in textiles, vintage beer ads or album covers. When we are together, we are constantly surveying our surroundings and making little critiques to each other about design elements, much to our friends’ chagrin!

We also love resources like the Under Consideration network and idsgn that provide daily inspiration and a window to what’s happening in the design world.

What is the process like to work with you? What should a client expect when they hire you to do their branding?

A potential client can expect a fun, personal experience when working with Beth Blinebury Design. Every project is different, so it’s important that both the client and I are on the same page as far as deadlines, cost and overall direction are concerned. For branding and website design projects, a small amount of initial design mockups is determined to start the ball rolling which generally moves into further development to create the final product.  For website projects in particular, testing is key. I create a private testing site for every website so that a client can preview not only how the product will look but how it will work.

Give 3 tips on what a small business should do before they hire a designer.

Finalize your budget! Creative services can range in cost, so make sure you know how much you want to spend. If possible, ask your colleagues how much they invested in their branding and/or website development projects.  A

sk for references! If a potential client hasn’t asked for references, I make sure they know that they are available. If you get a good vibe from a designer you want to work with, make sure you follow up with previous clients. Ask them about their experience – whether their expectations were met and they were happy with the end result.

Ask questions! Ask a ton of questions – I know I don’t mind. A good designer will want their clients thoroughly informed as to how the process will work from payments, deadlines and technical requirements to asking for revisions or meeting for another website maintenance session! Don’t be afraid to ask questions – a good designer won’t expect you to know everything about design, that’s what we’re here for!

Featured work from Beth Blinebury Design…

Philip Gabriel Photography – logo, website and blog

In 2009, Beth Blinebury Design created the new branding, website and blog for Philadelphia wedding and portrait photography studio Philip Gabriel Photography. The new logo incorporates part of their original branding but lightened up with a warm color palette and cursive typeface.  Gabe Fredericks, the owner of the studio, provides couples and families amazing photographs that are treated like living memories. This care and meticulous attention to detail was carefully translated into the development of the website galleries and blog sections. And what a fun project to work on – being lucky enough to look at gorgeous photographs for hours on end!

Chrissy’s Flowers – logo and website

Just this past year I worked with Chrissy Botak on the branding and website development for her speciality floral business aptly titled Chrissy’s Flowers.  While Chrissy’s business is steeped in family tradition (she’s a fifth-generation florist), her take on floral design inspired whimsical yet powerful branding.

Working with clients is a great give and take because we both teach each other elements of our trades while building these materials. It was important for me to visit Chrissy’s floral studio and see her arrangements in person. Our meetings surely inspired the design of her branding and the incorporation of her style (and actual arrangements) into the website design.

Janice Martin Couture – website and blog

Janice Martin has been a fixture in the Philadelphia-area fashion world for over twenty-five years. Her logo, which is featured on hundreds of garments, needed to retain its original design. The redesign of Janice’s website and blog reflected the modern sophistication of her business.  Working with Janice on the redesign of her web presence was just as fun as working with her on my own couture gown! I was recently married in one of Janice’s stunning, hand-sewn gowns. Both projects were a true collaboration in which we shared ideas, inspired one another and ended up with amazing products!

BethBlineburyDesign_ChrissysFlowers_branding BethBlineburyDesign_JaniceMartinCouture_web BethBlineburyDesign_PhilipGabrielPhotography_branding BethBlineburyDesign_PhilipGabrielPhotography_full BethBlinebury_profile

Your business website is often the first impression that a potential client has with your company and the services that it offers.   Here are a few of my do’s and don’ts that will help ensure engaged couples are enticed to meet you and do business with you:

DO invest in your website BEFORE you invest in advertising

Many small business owners invest thousands of dollars in advertising only to lose the customer the minute they come to the website.  Make sure your branding and website are solid before paying for the traffic.

DO highlight your history and experience in the ‘About’ page

Far too many business owners leave out the meat when sharing about themselves on the biography page of their website.  Engaged couples are interested in learning about the person behind the business.  And, don’t leave out your work history – even if it’s unrelated to what you do now.  All of that work experience is valuable!

DO keep it simple

Generally, people click no more than 5 pages when doing research about someone’s business.  Keep your website’s format simple and uncluttered.  Make it easy for people to get the information they need and don’t overload them with too much text, too much color, too many graphics, or too much of anything.

Read here for the rest of the article.

Photo by Sloan Photographers

From time to time we’ll be inviting one of our Sage Branding Specialists to share some of their “before and after” design work with us.  By learning from these case studies you’ll be better able to see branding identity go through an evolution, gain strength, and come to life.

Today Kelly Ashworth shares her redesign of Emilie Duncan‘s logo.  I love the fresh spin that Kelly gave the new design.  I’m super impressed with Kelly’s ability to ‘get’ Emilie and the way she has communicated Emilie’s style and philosophy in the new look.  Read on for more about this redesign.

OH – and make sure to subscribe to Kelly’s blog!  I love all the free downloads and printables on there… she’s got new stuff every couple weeks for your design happiness.

Before the Redesign

Emilie’s logo was fine, but it was looking a little dated and needed some polish. The fonts competed a bit for attention (using a calligraphy face with a serif is almost never a good idea. I can touch on this more if you’d like.) The flower was cute, but it wasn’t really anything I hadn’t seen before.  (Here is Emilie’s ‘before’ logo…)

Inspiration for Emilie Duncan’s New Direction

I provide all of my clients with a branding questionnaire so I can get in their heads and see where they are and where they want to be. The first thing that struck me about Emilie’s answers, was this line: “No prima donna attitude – I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and work my tail off.” This is quintessential Emilie. She’s not afraid of hard work and has the results to prove it. She’s also incredibly down to earth. These were the two main ideas in my head when I started brainstorming her logo.

After the Redesign

The new identity is unique to Emily. The idea to incorporate a bee came from the strong work ethic and down-to-earth nature. I love the new typeface – it’s almost a throwback to the bee – it’s swirly and whimsical, like a bee in flight. And including the year she was established solidifies the fact that she’s not new in town – she’s been at it for awhile which is important to her clients.

What Emilie thinks about her new logo

Emilie shared her thoughts with us…

“I liked my old logo but I felt like I had outgrown it – it was very cute and I had used it for several years but with a new website in the works, I felt like it was time to move on.  I love my new logo – especially the inclusion of the year I founded my company.  As Kelly said when she suggested it, it shows I didn’t just start my company last week by printing business cards.  I also love my little bee and the background of the blog that Kelly designed.  I also think the update from the lighter green to the brighter green makes the elements on the site pop – especially the pictures.  The new share of green really freshens up the website and blog.

The process was great – Kelly sent over a very detailed questionnaire that hit on what I like, what I don’t, who my competitors are, etc.  It took a surprising amount of thought on my part but from there it was easy – Kelly came up several options for me, we tweaked and combined until I was happy.  I actually had to go back and make another change once it became clear the original final version wouldn’t work with some size constraints on my new site.  Kelly was a huge help every step of the way.

Given that the wedding industry in general and wedding planning in particular constantly encourages couples to hire professionals, (“don’t try to do it yourself”, “don’t leave this important day to your uncle Bob or your cousin Sarah”) it makes sense to follow that advice and hire a professional to work on your professional identity!  I am not a graphic designer, that’s why I hired one!”

Thanks Emilie and Kelly!

Steps for Submitting a Wedding for Publication

NOTE: I have paraphrased this fabulous post from Done Brilliantly, Two Bright Lights’ blog, on how to create a submission.

1. Upload Your Event

Upload an Event by clicking “Create an Event” on your Weddings and Events tab. Then follow the prompts. (If you have already uploaded the wedding you want to submit, you can skip this step.) Two things to keep in mind when uploading:

1. Make sure you upload at least 50 publishable images
2. Make sure to attach as many other vendors to the wedding as you can.

Doing these two things will dramatically improve your chances of being selected!

2. Create an Inspiration Board

You’ll create an inspiration board to submit to publishers by doing these steps:

1. Go to the Weddings & Events tab
2. Select the wedding you want to submit
3. Click “Create”, then “Inspiration Board”
4. Choose your favorite images and click “Create” to create the inspiration board.
5. Select a template and drag images and click save.

This Inspiration Board will act as the “cover letter” for your submission, but it is not the only images the editor will see! They will have access to ALL of the images you have uploaded. If they like what they see in the inspiration board, they can click to see more!

3. Create Your Submission

That’s it you’re done!

I’m hardly doing this justice… check out this video for the visual details:

What is Two Bright Lights?

Two Bright Lights is a personal publicity platform that generates media exposure and word-of-mouth marketing to promote your creative business.

Two Bright Lights has 4 key benefits:

• Boosts Your Media Exposure
  TBL gives you the ability to submit your work to over 200 online and magazine publications.  MAGIC!
• Increases word-of-mouth marketing
  It’s a sharing site!  TBL enables you to upload your work and share it easily among colleagues and clientele.
• Showcases your creative work
  TBL allows you to create slideshows and inspiration boards to feature your work and ideas.  Seriously, folks.
• Streamlines your work flow
  TBL keeps it all in one place.  The TBL system lets you share and deliver your work among wedding pros.  (This is especially valuable for photographers who want to share images with other vendors but don’t always have the time to be creating stacks of CDs for every wedding pro after each event.)

I am indeed smitten with all things Two Bright Lights.

Of these benefits, the most powerful is how Two Bright Lights works to boost your publicity.  (TBL makes it EASY-PEASY to have your work published on blogs and magazines.)  I’ll be focusing on this aspect tomorrow.

Who should use Two Bright Lights?

Two Bright Lights is for all wedding pros.  However, because it’s built as a picture sharing platform, photographers are currently the ‘gatekeepers’ of their images. (Photographers are the pros uploading images and can tag wedding vendors, including you, associated with the event.)  ALL wedding professionals can join and can request the photographer to add them to the event album.  Also, any wedding professional can put together a submission as long as it’s approved by the photographer.  (This is to ensure that the photographers’ images are credited and copyrights respected.)   Psssst… I got the inside scoop that they will be allowing non-photographer’s to upload their own images in early next year. Yippeee!  Keep your eyes open for this.

While most submissions through Two Bright Lights are ‘real wedding’ features it is possible for a vendor to submit a pitch for an interest piece.  (For example, an invitation designer who wants to submit a piece on “Trends in Lace Wedding Invites” as a story.)  Again,  the vendor would currently have to partner with a single photographer to upload images and partner with on this project.

Which magazines and wedding blogs use TBL for their submission process?

Two Bright Lights is a super-simple way of reaching out to publishers and getting your work published.  Many of the TBL’s editorial partners are blogs that are looking for fresh content daily.  They NEED your material!  And TBL makes it easy to get into their hands.

This is a partial list of some of the magazines and blogs that are partnered with TBL:

• 100 Layer Cake
• Brooklyn Bride
• Every Last Detail
• Get Married
• Junebug Weddings
• Offbeat Bride
• Oh So Beautiful Paper
• Ruffled
• Sparkle & Hay
• Style Unveiled
• Southern Weddings Magazine
• The Broke Ass Bride

For a complete list of their 200+ editorial partners, make sure to visit their site.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you how the Two Bright Lights submission process works!

Have you used Two Bright Lights before?  What do you think?

Image: Creative Commons

Let’s talk about getting some publicity for your business!  I’m going to share 5 quick-n-easy steps for getting your business featured in a magazine or on a blog.  Keep in mind that these are MY steps… OR: general steps on submitting material.  It’s always best to find out how a magazine or blog wants things submitted specific to them.  (I’ll get into that here when we talk about “editorial guidelines”.)

5 Steps for Getting Published

1. SUBMIT

This sounds like a silly first step.  The truth is that most wedding businesses don’t submit their work to be published.  How can you ever get published if you don’t take the first step and submit your work to editors?  Here’s another thing that people don’t know… publishers NEEEEEEEEEEED your work.  They’re dying to have it, see it, and feature it.  Without out your submissions there is very little for them to talk about on their medium.  So, do it.  Submit stuff.

2. KNOW the TARGET AUDIENCE

Do your research on the magazine or blog that you want to submit your work to. What sort of weddings do they feature?  What sort of weddings do you specialize in?  If you specialize in funky far-from-traditional weddings, you’ll want to consider rocknrollbride.com or offbeatbride.com .  If you have a classic style that features outdoor-vintage-rustic weddings you’ll want to consider submitting to stylemepretty.com .  Make sure you study the different magazines and websites and know the difference.  Each has an audience that they are attracting with their features and you’ll have better luck if you submit work that is a match for that audience.

3. Get the EDITORIAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Each magazine or blog will have it’s own “submission guidelines”.  You need to get your hands on this.  The guidelines are the publication’s list of rules for submission.  Just following the rules ensures that you’ll have a better chance of getting published. Many magazine websites or blogs will have the submission guidelines or submission instructions listed on the site.  Just dig around.  If you don’t find anything, seek an editor (preferably someone at an assistant level) and phone or email them to kindly ask for the publication’s guidelines.

Some examples of guidelines might be “send 5-10 high resolution images to email@email.com”.  You’re already doing well by reading and following directions.  The people that send 20 images have already made it more challenging for that editor.

4. TELL a STORY

Magazines want sizzle.  Tell the story of the couple.  You don’t need to be a prize-winning writer… show emotion and connection about the wedding and the editor will be intrigued.  Also, be original.  If the magazine has recently featured at wedding at XYZ venue that is sapphire and amethyst, chances are slim that they’ll be featuring another one at the same venue with the same colors any time soon.  If you have a unique story to tell, publishers will listen.  And, by all means, keep it simple.  No need to write a 2000 word essay on the wedding.  Lastly, you’ll want to provide professional images so make sure you know the photographer on the event and work with them to get their images submitted.

5. TRY and TRY again

I love what Beth Helmstetter, Event Planner, shared last year about getting published in magazines: “Don’t be afraid of the word ‘no.’ I send my work into editors, bloggers, publicists and even television producers on a regular basis. Often I am ignored or even get a “we’re not interested” response, but just as often I find someone who does like my work.”

Keep trying!

Whaddya think?  Was this helpful?  TOMORROW – PLEASE come back for more on getting published!  I’m going to talk about how to use Two Bright Lights to get media exposure.

It’s the person that is the most visible.  (This person’s generosity and kindness also play a role in getting referrals.)

This is the person that is at the networking events, that is meeting people for coffee, that is involved in the industry.  It’s the person that first comes to mind when that client is looking for XYZ service.  Why?  Because you saw them last night at the such-n-such event and 2 days before they sent you a nice note.

These people are EVERYWHERE.  It’s hard to forget about them.

If you’re feeling invisible, people will think of you that way.  They’ll wonder how many jobs you’re taking or if you are so slammed that you can’t attend any events.  They may not pass business along to you.

It’s hard to keep up with everything… so pick a few important networking events or meetings.

Don’t disappear… BE VISIBLE.

For more wedding business insights… read our sage declarations.