Hello Wedding Pros! Today I want to chat with you all about blogging and how you can become a better and more consistent blogger for your wedding business. I totally understand that most of us wedding vendors are tied up well in running our businesses, then wedding season comes, booking season comes, engagement photo season comes and when we have down time then we are stressing over lack of bookings so it is selling season. But I must say, it is vital that you have a blog and that you blog for your business. I know there’s a big buzz about using Instagram to microblog, and that Instagram can be great for getting found for your wedding talents, but what if you lose your profile? What if they shut you down? Then you will have lost those wonderful people engaging with your content. This is why a blog can be a great resource to help you get found by new clients. As Jasmine Star says, “your website is your handshake, your blog is your voice,” and when you run a wedding business, it’s a very personal brand. So, in sharing your voice more and more, and showcasing what makes you and your wedding business different, you will stand out.
But how can we make blogging part of our workflow and what do we blog about?
Free 30 Blog Post ideas PDF Sheet at the end of the Post.
Fuse is here with some tips on how to become a better blogger for your wedding business.
Be a resource for your clients. First let’s define your client, which should be more focused than simply “all brides getting married in towns A and B.” Look at past bridal clients to see what they have in common: is there a certain age group? Profession? How have most of your ideal couples met? Is there a particular style of work you specialize in? You should start a secret board and pin ideas from your ideal clients’ Pinterest boards. What do they value? What brands do they like? What do they wear? It is important that you create a reader avatar, so then when you sit down and blog, you write for that person. This will help you write in your own voice but also speak the language of your ideal audience.
Blogging tools
Tools and systems are so important for running a successful wedding business. My workflow may not fit into your style, so it is crucial you find your flow, but I’m here to help you with some tools to get started.
1. Google Docs. I’m actually writing this blog post right now using the Google Docs app. I’m at the salon doing my hair and had some time to kill, so I’m blogging this post. I never start a blog post right inside of WordPress but use batch processing instead. Check out my blog post on batch processing here. I start my drafts here, then I share the docs with my editor. You will want to write out posts at one sitting, and then if you edit yourself, edit it on a different day. Google Docs can be great for that.
2. BlogStomp. For my wedding-related blog, this is the collage and watermark software that I use to add images. They also have a fantastic blogging feature which can increase your blog writing speed tremendously. Check out this post to learn how to use blogstomp to blog.
3. Canva. Canva is an online free app for all the non designers and non photoshop users. This is a great tool for creating Pinterest-sized graphics for pinning. You can upload your own photos or use one of their free ones, which is great for graphics to introduce what the post is about and those tip-like posts. Check out how to use Canva here.
4. Yoast SEO plugin. Since I’m all about obtaining organic SEO results, my wedding-related blog shows up in Google and Google images. I love the Yoast SEO plugin. The plugin does not do the work for you, but it serves more as a thermometer reading to see if you can improve the post to rank do what you want to be found for that particular post topic. If you are having trouble getting a green, or knowing how to use the plugin, stay tuned to the replay sale of my Yoast Webinar.
5. CoSchedule. One you have written, edited and published your post, now it’s time to share and share. But Fuse, I have done all this work and you are telling me there is more work to do? Yes way, more, but CoSchedule does it for you. This paid social media scheduling tool is worth it’s weight in gold. It gives you an overview of your top overall shared posts as well as the top posts in the last 30 days or last seven days. You can easily schedule out those posts to many social media accounts, sit back, relax, and enjoy. I wrote a blog post on ten reasons why you need coschedule now. It has been a lifesaver for me and now it has a new feature where it posts for you at Best time! love it.
Blogging schedule. This is where we may go our separate ways… just kidding LOL. I’m a huge believer in batch processing and in keeping my blogging schedule and goal very simple. My goal is two blog posts a week for my DIY SEO blog, and once a week for my photo blog (in busy season) or twice per week (in slow season.) I have to tried getting on a blog series schedule before like Motivational Mondays and it just does not fit my lifestyle. I just stick to my basic goal schedule instead, but one thing that does help us all is looking at a calendar. Some folks use the editorial plugin, but I prefer using CoSchedule to assign upcoming drafts and ideas.
Overall blogging does not have to be a hassle for your wedding business, but it can be a great ally and asset to help you get found online and get you more wedding clients. I have put together 30 blog post ideas you can use to blog for your wedding blog here.
