By Krista
Chapman
krista@thepinkbride.com
For many mom
and pop wedding professionals, committing the time needed to manage and
maintain a blog is simply not realistic.
Instead, consider submitting the gorgeous pictures of all your hard work
to wedding bloggers. But how do you best
go about offering your work up to the blogging gods and goddesses? Read on for my best tips to get featured!
Why submit your work?
Rather obvious (increased exposure equals a new pool of potential
clients) it surprises me how many wedding vendors hesitate when submitting to
bloggers. Self-doubt convinces you that your
work is not good enough and busy schedules allow this task to slip off the
to-do list. Bloggers need content and
you need exposure... can you think of a better match? The worst-case scenario and your content is
politely declined or you never receive a response. Best case scenario? You're featured, shot out into the social
media vortex and expose your company to thousands of new prospects. Do you really need any more convincing?
What to submit? All bloggers are looking for original, creative and unique
content. New trends, popular color palettes
and lots of details are always in demand.
Do you offer a new product or service in your market that no one else
does? Do you have original and timely
advice for couples in the midst of wedding planning? Are you noticing a common trend or complaint
with your brides that needs to be shared?
Most blogs will have a submission guidelines with exact photo (professional
pics, please) and content needs but be mindful to point out the specific
details that made this content unique or different. The key is to make it as easy as possible for
the bloggers with suggestions for content, feedback from the couple, and links
to involved vendors. When I have to hunt
down all the details to finish a wedding feature, it often sits on the back
burner and can be delays... for weeks.
Start local. We all agree that Style
me Pretty is the Holy Grail of wedding blogs but if you have not had your
work featured it is probably best to think smaller. After all, your best prospects are likely
reading local blogs for wedding planning information specific to their
location. The Pink Bride has a great blog that
reaches all markets across the state of Tennessee but don't overlook area
vendors. If a vendor partner has a blog,
consider offering content or even acting as a guest writer. I'll bet they will appreciate the additional
content and cross exposure (by way of each other's social media).
Advertising helps.
Not always a requirement but generally speaking most bloggers will give
preferential treatment to their site sponsors and advertisers (after all they
keep the lights on). However, particularly
creative or remarkable content will get featured, regardless of advertiser
status. I might also suggest asking for
an initial feature at no cost to test the response you get from the blog's
audience (and determine if the investment is worth it). Including a wedding giveaway for the readers will
also sweeten the pot but keep in mind that blog content is quickly updated so a
banner or ad will always give vendors more permanent exposure.
Need a safe place to
get started? The Pink Bride blog is
always happy to feature vendors in our program... see our submission guidelines
here.
