Last week I reminded you what you already knew: Blogging is crucial for your business. Especially now that summer proposals are culminating and newly engaged couples are looking at 2021 options – and even 2022 dates!
Regular and well-done blog posts attract an audience to your website where you move them through the buyer’s journey. Let’s remember, sales is about providing the right information at the right time in the right way. The three phases are:
This week, I want to talk specifically about how a content blog helps meet all three of these needs.
Now, what I’m talking about here isn’t your standard post recapping an event you did with 50 images, a story about the couple, and links to their vendors. Those posts help drive traffic to your site and inspire couples to love your style, but you’d do well to add more engaging material to your blog.
We’re talking about cornerstone content
I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it: If it’s easy for you to do, it’s probably not the most optimal experience for your potential clients.
Real wedding blog posts are typically the most comfortable kinds for wedding pros to do. Get the images onto Blogstomp or Narrative, provide some details about the couple, and then list out with links to the essential vendors. 45-90 minutes later, you’re done and you can check that one off your list.
But your next couple (and Google) want more from you. They want engaging content to help them on their journey to experience what you’re showing in those amazing photos on the real wedding post you cranked out.
So, I’m going to help make it easier for you to generate the kind of content that your best clients (and Google) will love.
Choosing your blog topics
If your job is to provide the right information at the right time in the right way, how do you do that when you don’t know who you’re talking to? That’s the challenge with a website: You don’t always know who’s at what stage (i.e., awareness, consideration, decision). The best approach is to write content for all three because research has shown your site visitors are distributed relatively equally amongst each of the three stages.
Awareness
When couples are early in the process of choosing a wedding vendor, they don’t know what they need.
They think they know what they want because they saw it on Pinterest, or in an IG feed, or on a blog or publication showcasing extraordinary work. But we all know that what couples want and what they can afford/are willing to pay for usually aren’t the same.
Here’s the rub: the image they see or the IRL experience they had at a friend’s wedding doesn’t help them understand what they need for other critical parts of the decision-making process. Yes, money/budget is a big piece of the information they need to know before choosing a vendor.
They also need help identifying other essential criteria in addition to what does it cost. What style do they prefer? What personality in vendors do they feel most comfortable with? How much time will it cost me? Ultimately, they need to know, What’s most important to me and the others involved in making the decision?
Consideration
For site visitors who know what they need, it’s time to share what you do.
But don’t waste your time dumping features on them. That’s too sales-y for the blog and belongs in your sales proposal when they’re comparing apples to apples with your comp set.
Instead, write about the benefits of working with you. What do you do for your clients? How does it help them save time/money, make decisions with less stress, showcase their style? What do you differently than others in your field? How do you stand out from others in your market?
Decision
In complex sales transactions, we know the most important criteria at the end of the decision-making process is reducing risk. Perceived value is a close second. So, you’ve got to do two things for potential couples who’ve already gotten a proposal from you and compare it to the proposal they’ve received from others.
Remember, you may have only talked to one of the people getting married, and you might have other decision-makers lurking behind the scenes, like a BFF or parents. Millennials often make group choices when it matters and especially now with COVID-19 impacting potential attendees’ willingness to make the event.
Focus your blog posts on reassurance and value: What experience do you have in your field that others don’t? What’s your client process and how is it better than others? How do you create your designs? Who do you regularly work with that’s well-respected in the market? Do you have a COVID-19 plan?
Done well, the cornerstone content on your blog will offer something for everyone, no matter what stage of the buyer’s journey they’re in.
I hope these ideas get you going – and make it easier for you to write about something your best clients want to know more about from you.
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