Alright, I don't know what happened but I guess my blog does not want to get along with IntenseDebate's comment system so I'm reposting the comments to the question I posed in my previous post here. I'm also going back to the traditional Blogger comment system which doesn't have all the fancy IntenseDebate features, but hey, at least it works.
Earlier this week, I asked wedding pros what they thought of wedding blogs. It was a general question really. See what they wrote!
I think blog editorial can be helpful in increasing business. I also think that paid ads on blogs and wedding websites can also be a source of leads. But, often Wedding Pros focus so much on the ad, when they should focus first on their own company, image, branding, and website... refine these first... so that when a potential customer follows the link from the wedding website to your page, they are impressed. It'd be a shame to lose all that investment $ made in advertising by having a poor website.
I also think that blog editorial is great at getting leads... but it must be a TRUE match for your client. So many people want to be listed on the top wedding blogs... but their niche is elsewhere. Who is your client? What are they reading? Where do they get information?
I also think that blog editorial is great at getting leads... but it must be a TRUE match for your client. So many people want to be listed on the top wedding blogs... but their niche is elsewhere. Who is your client? What are they reading? Where do they get information?
Great advice, as expected of course! Thank you so much for sharing. I wholeheartedly agree with focusing on their own company first. There's too many vendors out there with websites that need updating. It's unfortunate when you know vendors' talents are not reflected on their website.
I love wedding blogs, but i think as a wedding blogger its very hard to stay true to your own voice when you are out and about in the blogosphere reading other blogs. You get inspired, but sometimes you start to compare yourself with others, or your wedding with others, and its easy to blur the lines of what/who you are and want and what you like, merely b/c you saw it somewhere else. This has been my own struggle - where i see other great blogs and get inspired, but also feel that i lose myself in other great posts at times too. So staying true to me is my focus.
Wedding blogs are great. It's a great place to share ideas, get tips and suggestions and also give them. From here, a wedding blog can help be a place to launch your own business... I think the main thing is to remember your focus, your aspirations, and your inspirations and to never lose sight of that!
Lastly, transparency is key - always let your readers know when you are doing a sponsored or paid for post - let them make up their minds about the product or service, but knowing where you stand helps your audience and i think that is essential in any type of blog!
I think blogs are valuable for wedding businesses when you use them as part of a strategy. You have to have a goal for your blog - is it to gain readers for a product pitch later? Gain leads for an offline business? Is it just to hear yourself speak? Any paid advertisement has to be a good match, like Michelle mentioned - doesn't matter if it reaches 10 people or 10,000. It only takes a couple dozen qualified leads to make an ad profitable, but thousands of the wrong ones will waste your time and money.
You're really asking two questions - should pros write blogs? Yes, if they are willing to invest the time and research into what they are writing, no if it's just a vanity thing. Should they advertise on blogs? If their target audience is reading them, absolutely.
I agree with my friends Shayna and Michelle that blogging is a strategy that works when you have a plan, like most things in life. Having a tightly niched blog with well targeted readers is worth it's weight in gold. It's not instant gratification like hitting the lottery. It's more like having your own mine where you can dig for years to come. No doubt, it's work but so worth it because you're building a more substantial foundation for your business.
82% of brides use websites to inform their buying decisions. So if your site is lame, not updated, has bad design, you've given a bride an excellent reason to ignore you and move on to another wedding site. I started offering Taste Tests to combat the helplessness I heard from clients who want to upgrade/update but don't know how. Having a functional site that attracts the right bride is so much simpler than most wedding pros think.
Dina of Positively Wed
As for ads, well, I'm just beginning to explore both sides of that coin. We're accepting ads now, mostly for products and services I've experienced. I don't do sponsored posts, although I suppose I could. My Friday finds are just that- my discoveries. I've actually turned about folks who asked to be featured. My readers trust me to be a reliable resource so I'm gonna be very careful about who I accept for ads or talk about.
My question back to you is: why aren't more wedding bloggers/vendors looking for sponsors?
theweddinglane
You're really asking two questions - should pros write blogs? Yes, if they are willing to invest the time and research into what they are writing, no if it's just a vanity thing. Should they advertise on blogs? If their target audience is reading them, absolutely.
I agree with my friends Shayna and Michelle that blogging is a strategy that works when you have a plan, like most things in life. Having a tightly niched blog with well targeted readers is worth it's weight in gold. It's not instant gratification like hitting the lottery. It's more like having your own mine where you can dig for years to come. No doubt, it's work but so worth it because you're building a more substantial foundation for your business.
82% of brides use websites to inform their buying decisions. So if your site is lame, not updated, has bad design, you've given a bride an excellent reason to ignore you and move on to another wedding site. I started offering Taste Tests to combat the helplessness I heard from clients who want to upgrade/update but don't know how. Having a functional site that attracts the right bride is so much simpler than most wedding pros think.
Dina of Positively Wed
As for ads, well, I'm just beginning to explore both sides of that coin. We're accepting ads now, mostly for products and services I've experienced. I don't do sponsored posts, although I suppose I could. My Friday finds are just that- my discoveries. I've actually turned about folks who asked to be featured. My readers trust me to be a reliable resource so I'm gonna be very careful about who I accept for ads or talk about.
My question back to you is: why aren't more wedding bloggers/vendors looking for sponsors?
theweddinglane
Thanks for all your responses ladies. I really appreciate your time and effort.
As for why aren't more wedding bloggers or vendors looking for sponsors? I think it's because 1) they don't know how or 2) they don't think their content is good enough.
Dina of Positively Wed
True enough, but hopefully both those things will change.
As for why aren't more wedding bloggers or vendors looking for sponsors? I think it's because 1) they don't know how or 2) they don't think their content is good enough.
Dina of Positively Wed
True enough, but hopefully both those things will change.
