Many of you now have a list of names and contact numbers of brides from an opt-in box on your website or from sign-ups when exhibiting at bridal shows and wedding fayres, but what are you doing with this information?

Here are the DO’s and DON’Ts for handling your list:

DO realize that it is meaningless to collect names if you are not going to do anything with them.

Giving a bride a downloadable free report on your website or a free item with you name and contact information at an event are helpful to get your name out, but these actions alone will not help you stay in front of brides.

DON’T think that just one contact is enough.

A lot of wedding professionals send a thank you after a bride downloads their report and never connects with her again. Or they send one email a week or two after exhibiting at an event and feel like they have done all they can. But unless you continue connecting with a bride, she won’t remember you when she needs a wedding planner.

DO have a long range plan.

Whether you put up an opt-in box on your website and/or exhibit at a bridal show or wedding fayre, you have to have a plan in place of  how you are going to follow through with your marketing in the long term. If you don’t have a plan before you start, chances are good you’ll end up doing nothing.

DON’T think that marketing to your list when you “get around to it” works.

Nothing that you only do when you “get around to it” comes out well. If you’ve taken the time and money to work on your website or at a booth at a show, you need to make the most of your investment and get serious about reaching your brides and having a successful business by working your marketing plan.

DO find different ways of staying in touch with your list.

You can send emails, postcards, or offer teleseminars that provide information about weddings and wedding planning ideas that are important to your niche.

DON’T think you are only in the business of providing wedding planning services.

As an entrepreneur, more than half of the time you spend on your business will be spent marketing. Creating, maintaining and marketing to a list of potential clients should be an important part of how you spend that time.

I often mention how you, as a wedding planner, need to have a blog and post frequently, at least 2 times a week if not more, to attract business and give potential clients an opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you, so they will hire you.

I get a lot of questions about blogging so I posted some here along with the answers:

How do I start a blog?

First you have to find a blogging provider.  Free ones are Blogger and WordPress.com.  They have templates and are easy to use, and you will probably be up and running in less than 30 minutes.  There are paid providers such as TypePad which give you more control over your site.  Or you can have a WordPress.org blog, which is what this blog is.  I downloaded free software but I pay a web hosting company a monthly fee to host it, similar to what I do with my websites.

The free blogs are very easy to use but you do not get as much flexibility and you don’t own your content. In other words, they can close down your site if they view you are doing something they don’t like, usually too much promotion or selling.  However, ff you aren’t very technical and absolutely need to start with a free service, you will be able to transfer blog posts from Blogger to a WordPress.org site.  I know because this blog started as a Blogger blog.

How do I find the time to blog?

It shouldn’t take you too long to compose a blog post.  They can to be short and quick and easy to read.  Schedule time on a regular basis to sit at your computer for 20 to 30 minutes and write a post or you can collect notes in a recorder or on paper during the day and just finish it when you get to your computer.

I usually have a list of things that I know I want to blog about.  Sometimes though, an idea will come to me while I’m walking my dog, driving, or reading a book or magazine.  In these cases I either jot down notes or speak them into a digital recorder that I carry and my post is ready to be finished when I get to my computer.

What do I blog about?

Write on topics that would interest the brides in your niche.  Get inspiration from magazines, wedding television shows, and the weddings that you plan.

If you need ideas to jump start your blogging, read my article, “7 Ideas for Blog Content” that I posted on my Wedding Planner Articles site.

Can I include information about my personal life?

It’s best to stick to information that is relevant to your business and your clients.  You can mention a little about your personal life to help your audience get to know you but keep very personal details out.  Remember what you are blogging will be read by your future clients.  Make sure you always appear professional.

If you haven’t started blogging yet, do it now.  It is an important part of marketing your business.

Let me know if you have more questions about blogging by posting a comment.

You’ve started your new wedding planner business, put up your website, printed business cards, and set up your office.  This is a really exciting time, don’t wait for the phone to ring, get out there and let people know about you.

Here are some marketing ideas that you can do for free:

Online Ideas

Blog

You have a website but you also need a blog that sends people to your site.  Post at least 2 to 4 times a week so the search engines will see your fresh content and pick up your blog.  Fill your blog with wedding tips, wedding trends, and photos from weddings you have done.  Offer good content so brides return to your blog so they get to kow, like and trust you, and send them to your website to learn more about your services.

Facebook

Already have a personal profile on Facebook?  Create a Fan page that is just for your business and offer wedding information and connect with your fans.

Twitter

Create a Twitter identity for your business.  Follow wedding industry leaders and see what they are saying to get ideas for your business.  Tweet wedding tips.  You can promote your business but not every time you tweet.

Face-to-Face Ideas

Visit party rental businesses and party goods stores, become familiar with their inventory for future events and ask if you can leave a card or your marketing material with them.  Many times a do-it-yourself bride who is shopping at a party store decides she can’t do it herself after all.

If the place where you worship hosts wedding ceremonies and receptions, be sure they know you have started your wedding planning business and would welcome referrals.

Visit venues and meet with the catering and sales managers for social events, let to know their sites, and let them know you would appreciate their referrals.

Start with these ideas and you will probably think of many more ways to market yourself for free or, at least, very inexpensively.

 As a new wedding planner, are you ready for your first meetings with prospects?  I posted tips about preparing for first meeting on my YouTube channel and provided information and preparation worksheets on my ebook, “Become a Top Wedding Planner.” But here is something you don’t want to do:

Don’t have an argument, disagreement, or heated discussion with anyone before a meeting.

Whatever negative feelings you may have during that time will carry over into your meeting.  You may feel angry or have low self confidence, your potential client will pick up on this and not hire you.

So prepare yourself by following the tips I have given to you such as dressing professionally and knowing how to answer tough questions.  And, make sure you are in a calm and self-confident state of mind when you approach any potential client.  This may mean meditation, reading a favorite book, or listening to your favorite music.  Whatever it takes to feel good when you have your meeting.

Hope everyone in the United States had a fun Fourth of July.

Did you pick up extra sparklers to use at the weddings that you plan?  Before you incorporate them into any wedding,  make sure the venue you are using allows you to use them.  Many have strict rules against any open flames.

And sparklers aren’t the only things that venues may not allow you to use.   Some of the other things they may ban are:

• Rice

• Confetti

• Bird Seed

• The releasing of doves

Never use any of the above without checking the venue contract.  If you do, and it is something the venue does not allow, they  may keep any security or cleaning deposit your client made which could result in a loss of hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Competition is stiff among wedding photographers and in order to survive, many have come up with new services to sell and new ideas on how to sell their services.  A few of things they do and how you can use their ideas for your wedding planing business:

• Expand their services.  Event though they are wedding photographers, they also photograph other type of events.  You can plan other social events and business events.

• Keep in touch with couples and take their babies’ portraits and photograph their birthday parties.   Your contact with the bride should continue also as she may need you to plan baby showers or birthday and anniversary parties.

• During a difficult negotiation, one photographer offered a discount to a bride on Facebook if she agreed to “friend” him and put his photographs on her pages.  You might want to offer some additional consulting time instead of a discounts when you do any type of negotiation.

You can read the article in The New York Times website.

• Not being clear about responsibilities. You must know what tasks you are each supposed to do whether it is administrative duties, marketing and sales or customer service.

• Not agreeing on the amount of money you will each get for your work. Before you get any clients, you must know how much will be put back into the business, how that money will be spent and how much you will each be paid.  Also, if you decide to go your separate ways, you need to your how to divide your property.

• Not having all agreements in a written contract. You might think you are friends and don’t need to formalize your agreements.  Or, maybe you are just trusting.  Having a contract doesn’t mean you don’t trust each other, it means you want to operate as professionals and want clear understanding of your partnership.

I know of many entrpruneurs who didn’t take the time to formalize their agreement with their partner when they started.  They were very sorry because they ended up losing their investment of time and money.  Don’t be like them.  Be very clear on the division of time, labor, and money, from the very beginning.

Some suggestions for creating your tip sheet:

• Print it on good quality paper

• Format it so it looks professionally done

• Check it for spelling errors

• Make it short – five to seven valuable tips

• Include your website and contact information

If you have an e-newsletter to send out, offer them a free report if they go to your website and login.  This will give you the chance to build your list of potential clients who you can market to on a weekly basis.

There are a lot of bridal shows running right now and you might be visiting them to see trends in the business, find vendors to add to your network or even spy on your competition.  Vendors like meeting wedding planners who will add them to their referral list.  Just make sure you make an appointment to meet them after the show to discuss business, not when they are in the booth trying to talk to brides.

To pick up customers and generate leads for yourself at a show, you need to buy a booth.  If you attend and walk the floor handing out marketing material, show management will definitely ask you to leave.

Here are some networking mistakes I’ve seen people make:

• Like Betty, some people set a goal of getting or give a certain number of business cards by the end of an event.  They don’t bother finding out if the person is a good contact for them.  I’ve been to events where people just go from one person to another and hand them their card without even speaking to them.   Don’t feel you need to meet everyone at a networking event.  Stop and talk to a few people and arrange a coffee meeting if you think the two of you would benefit from a business relationship.

• They decide that certain professionals will be of no value to them and don’t bother to meet them.  When I told one man I was a wedding planner, he said that I wouldn’t be able to help him.  When I found out what he did, it turned out I could.  He was in a technology field and I had done events for a similar business before I became a wedding planner.  Many people know engaged couples or people who might need help planning an event.  Don’t walk away just because someone doesn’t work in a similar field.

• On more than one occasion a wedding vendor has discovered that I’m a wedding planner and has said to me, “you can give us referrals” and handed me a business card.  They did not talk about their products or services or have an interest in setting up a meeting.  I don’t refer people unless I know they are good, I’m sure you wouldn’t either. I never referred any of them.

So, go out and network but be sure you do it in a professional way so it actually brings you good business relationships and not just a pocket full of business cards.