What Should I Name My Wedding Business?

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wedding business

Finding the perfect name for your business can be agonizing.  Your name carries the burden of describing what you do, what makes you unique and who should hire you–all in a few words.

No wonder it drives us nuts!  Needless to say, it’s worth putting some thought into your business name.

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Before we get down to the nitty gritty of power naming, you need to determine exactly what you want your name to accomplish by answering these questions:

  • Who is the ideal client I want to attract?
  • What words do I want to associate with my business?
  • Which of these words will be attractive to those ideal clients?

Once you’ve answered these questions, start brainstorming.  Take out a piece of paper and write down as many words as you can.  Keep writing until you’ve filled at least an entire page.

Then start combining words and trying out different phrases until you have at least five good names.  Use the following tips and tools to help.

#1 – Keep it short and simple.

Your name should be short and easy to understand, no more than three words.  It should describe what you do so that couples get it within seconds.

I know that companies like eBay, Google and Flickr make a fortune by inventing a catchy name, but they also had the budget to advertise and make sure that branding was everywhere.  I’m guessing that you don’t have that luxury.

Your best bet is a name that’s functional and descriptive.  Be sure to say what you do.

If you’re a photographer, include the word photography or photo.  If you’re a DJ or planner, put it in your name.
Don’t make couples work to figure out what you do.  If you don’t catch their attention in 7.5 seconds, you’ll lose them.

#2 – Make it memorable.

A great name is catchy.  It’s easy to remember, easy to say, easy to spell and easy to write.

One of the biggest mistakes wedding professionals make in naming their businesses is using generic words (resulting in dozens of “Unique Events” companies that are anything but) and trying to mimic creativity by misspelling common words.  (Think Foto and DJz.)

Avoid looking and sounding just like the competition: Sounds Entertainment, Elegant Events, Unique Photography.

Experiment with alliteration, rhythm and rhyme.  Examples of this include Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, Book More Brides…*wink*

#3 – Choose a Name That Attracts Your Ideal Clients.

It’s important that you like your name, but it’s even more important that it attracts the type of clients you want to work with.  Don’t get so attached to your name that you pick something that repels them.

For instance, if you’re a band who wants to work high-end, elegant weddings and your name is Doctor Mud, well, it doesn’t exactly attract the right customers.

Test potential names out on real brides and grooms using surveys or with advertising tests to find out what really works.

#4 – Consider Using Your Own Name.

Many wedding professional who are artists or performers really ARE their business.  In these cases, it can make sense to use your own name as a part of your business because you’re branding it with your identity.

Using your first and/or last name, especially if it’s evocative, can be a perfect, simple choice.  Vivian Photography or Paradise Entertainment works very well.

Our own DJ mentor named his business DJ Music & More, a name that sounded just like every other DJ company, and no one remembered it.  People always referred him by his name, and he wished he’d had the foresight to use it for his own wedding business.

#5 – Make sure it’s available.

Before you finalize your name, make sure it’s available.  Check local businesses, trademarks and domains so that you can own a website to match your new business name.

This is super important, so don’t skip this step!  The last thing you want is a great business name that belongs to a big company who decides to sue you for everything you’ve got.

More Naming Resources

If you’re still stumped, there is help available.  You can hire a professional to come up with a name (a good name can cost you as much as $80,000!) or you can use some of these tools and resources.

Naming Websites:

  • Naming.net and Wordoid – Use these free online naming tools to generate ideas.
  • Lingzini - This site checks domain name availability.
  • Name Station – Check domain availability or hold a naming contest.

Crowdsource Your Name

  • Naming Force or Squad Help – Host a contest for the best name and let the public help you out.
  • Go to LinkedIn Groups or the Wordlab forums.
  • Ask your friends and family.  BEWARE: you’re going to get lots of horrible ideas!

Whatever you do, it’s worth taking the time to come up with the right name for your wedding business.  Spend at least a week brainstorming before you commit, let some time pass and test out a few variations before settling on one.

How did you pick your business name?

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Book More Brides Sweepstakes: Win a Free Kindle Fire

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Happy (Almost) New Year!

Man, this year flew by and the New Year is bearing down on us.  Steph and I are mapping out our goals for next year (things like learning mind control and having my own hit TV show.)  OK, those are aspirational goals.  Maybe picking up my dirty clothes each day is a more realistic start.

New Cool, Free Videos Coming Soon!

Right now we’re working on a brand new series of videos for our Wedding Business Blueprint program.

It’s an 8 week program that steps you through every aspect of building and marketing your business, a real “blueprint” for creating a profitable, successful wedding business in ANY economy.

We could really use your help. Before we get busy shooting new videos we want to be damn sure we’re addressing your most pressing challenges, the things that are causing much grief for you and your business.

Take a 5 Minute Survey and You Can Win a Kindle Fire

Help us to help you!  We’ve put together a survey to nail down what’s on your mind.  We want to know…really!

We’re even going to try and bribe you to get this information.  Somebody’s going to get a new Kindle Fire just for taking a moment to fill out our little survey.

Between you and me, I’m hoping it’s you!

TAKE SURVEY HERE

For the love of God, its only 10 questions!  You can do this.

Just enter your email after completing the survey and you’re automatically entered into a drawing to win the Kindle Fire.

This has got to be done before January 1st so get on it..and win your Kindle Fire already!.

So don’t waste a moment.  Take the survey here and let us know what you REALLY want and need.

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48 Websites Where You Can Get Free Marketing For Your Wedding Business

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Does FREE marketing, the kind that actually works, even exist?

It’s true that marketing is going to cost you either time or money. But there are some amazing free wedding marketing resources you need to be taking advantage of.

What started out as “14 Free Wedding Marketing Websites” has grown to a list of more than 18 websites and 30 local business directories.

Before you start using these free marketing resources, there are some key things you need to know or you can mess this up. We’re going to tell you why this is important, which sites you simply MUST list yourself on, and the mistakes to avoid.

Do this right and it will bring you more leads. Do this wrong and all you’ll do is waste more of your precious time.

These directory sites and listings get a lot of website visitors and have a lot of activity. This means that typically they have a lot more visibility and ranking that your website does. When a bride or groom is searching, they’re more likely to find you on these higher ranking sites.

These websites and directories also act as multiple points of contact with the bride and groom, so that your business is everywhere.

Studies show that it takes 5-12 contacts with your business before they buy.

Every time they see you on a review site or a business listing, it gets them one step closer to booking you. Long story short: list your business on these sites and you will make more money!

Watch This Video to Learn 48 Websites For Free Marketing

CLICK HERE to get the Holiday Triple Play Special at 78% OFF the regular price! and collect today’s “Mystery Bonus” revealed in the video.

If you'd like to get more free information and strategies like this, join our Wedding Business Tips email list here.

Filed Under: Attracting Ideal Clients, Bridal Marketing, Home Page, Leads & Traffic, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Magic Question You Can Use with 90% of Leads to Stop the “Price Question” For Good!

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What’s the first thing most brides and grooms are asking when they contact you these days? That’s right: HOW MUCH?

It’s unbelievably frustrating because they just don’t understand the value they’re getting. To make it worse, 90% or more of these inquiries are coming in by email which makes it even harder. If you at least had them on the phone, you’d have a fighting chance. But how do you explain your value in an email?

The bottom line is that you really CAN’T. You need to have a conversation. You need to send an email response that starts a conversation and begins a relationship in order to explain your value. When you do this right, you won’t even have to mention price.

Watch this video to learn our favorite technique for easily getting off price and moving the bride or groom towards the booking. We also have a little holiday style wedding marketing fun in the process…

Watch This Video to Learn How to Stop the Price Question:

CLICK HERE to get the Holiday Triple Play Special at 78% OFF the regular price! and collect today’s “Mystery Bonus” revealed in the video.

If you'd like to get more free information and strategies like this, join our Wedding Business Tips email list here.

Filed Under: Attracting Ideal Clients, Bridal Marketing, Home Page, Wedding Budgets, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

How to Use the Starbucks Tactic to Raise Your Prices

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by G.E. Masana

By now, you may know you need to earn a little more than you currently do if only because Starbucks just introduced it’s most expensive coffee ever.

At $7 for a 12 ounce cup, or $40 for an 8 ounce bag, their new specialty coffee sells at about a 50% premium over their already higher priced coffee.

But coffee is… coffee. It’s water and roasted beans. In a paper cup.

In other words, coffee’s a commodity. You can get coffee anywhere, anytime.

And that’s why this article is an important article for you to read, because if you’re a wedding photographer or a planner or a florist or in any capacity serving the wedding industry and feel you’re seen as a commodity too, then you have to wonder:

What can you take away from Starbucks’ example to help you break through your pricing barrier?

Here are some clues on how to do just that gleaned from Starbucks’ own announcements about their new coffee:

“It’s made from a rare, difficult-to-grow varietal called Geisha.”

Announce Its Exotic Value.

Starbucks justifies the higher price by explaining that Geisha plants don’t produce many cherries, which makes the beans extremely rare.

If it’s rare, if it’s difficult to acquire, or costly to acquire, and that increases its perceived value.

What else can you do?

Add Social Proof of Demand.

“We have loyal reserve customers who are interested in any opportunity to try something as rare and exquisite as the Geisha varietal,” a Starbucks spokesperson said. “We are now offering more reserve coffees than ever before because of customer demand.”

If you see others want it, you may be more prone to think maybe it’s something you better not miss out on too.

Toss in a Romanticized Hook.

For example, recently, the Mast Brothers, chocolatiers in Brooklyn, NY, embarked from Cape Cod on a voyage which took them to the Dominican Republic and then to New York Harbor aboard a three-masted sailboat. The boat itself, a working vintage inspired sailboat, took twenty five years to build. From South America, the brothers brought with them 400 bags of cocoa beans grown on privately owned farms and co-ops.

They could’ve bought the chocolate without ever stepping foot out of the U.S., of course. But now they have a story to tell. A story of how they adopted the old world ways of a hundred years ago sailing the seas in search of delicious delights to bring home. It’s a story crafted to capture the listener’s imagination. Suddenly, it’s not just about any old chocolate anymore.

And their bars sell for as much as $10 in places like Whole Foods.

Enhance its Context.

Just as a coffee bean is a coffee bean, isn’t a cocoa bean just a cocoa bean? Yet the Mast Brothers talk about how cocoa beans were regarded as currency centuries ago by the Aztecs. How cocoa beans have been called “The Food Of Gods” for hundreds of years. These associations are intentionally pointed out to elevate what is otherwise a comparably mundane commodity into a stratosphere of its own.

Differentiate the Process.

The Mast Brothers would happily tell you about how they follow the old world traditions of hand sorting their beans, which leads to a three day long process during which the beans are aged and tempered. They’ll point out how this is an “old way… of handcrafting food.”

There may be a few different ways to make what you make. But when you give the process a starring role, the story of the making of the item adds perceived value.

How do you apply this?

This is all about turning the ordinary into something extraordinary.

For a photographer, this may be a story of an imported, little known fabric you use for album material. For florists this may be about a certain bloom and its legend, or a bouquet making technique, its tradition handed down through generations. For a planner, perhaps it’s an exclusive vision they lend to the wedding, inspired by wedding customs from lands far away.

What other ideas can you get from Starbucks, the Mast Brothers, and others selling what’s typically viewed as a commodity, that can help your business grow and profit?

 

G.E. Masana is a NYC wedding photographer and author of “Advertise and Sell Your Wedding Photography” published by Marathon Press. His roster of wedding clients have spanned from the Beauty Editor of ELLE to models, actors, cinematographers, designers and even a NYC art gallery owner, to the “Chief Strategic Officer” of one of the world’s largest interactive agencies, and previously was on “The List” of contributing photographers for Martha Stewart Weddings.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Bridal Marketing, Home Page, Personal Development, Wedding Budgets, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Cure for Holiday Selfishness

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Confession: I am a selfish person.

Oh, sure, if you meet me face to face I will go to great lengths to help you, sharing whatever knowledge, connections and support I have to offer. I’m a chronic “over-deliverer” in my personal and professional life. But…

I work from home A LOT and most of the time my head is bent over my computer, either working on our own wedding business or helping another wedding vendor with theirs. Unfortunately, it can cause me to tune out from what’s happening around me and yes, selfishly get caught up in my own stuff.

I’m not thinking about giving.

And when I look at the outrageous taxes we pay here in NY, gas prices that keep soaring, expensive bills that keep coming in, it sometimes feel like I don’t have enough leftover to give.

I’m finally shaken out of my self-absorbed state when I look up and notice the suffering of someone else.

I have it so good. I have a home, a loving husband, a family, five ridiculous animals, a satisfying career that pays really well, vibrant health…

Not everyone has that.

Holidays That Give and Take

Last December, my friend and fellow wedding DJ and his family never finished decorating the Christmas tree. Their four year old daughter, Ava, was too weak to help. Something was horribly wrong. A visit to the hospital and the quick diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

It’s a year later, and the battle isn’t over yet. Ava is fighting hard against the cancer and responding well to treatment. As her mother says, “Her strong personality won’t have it any other way!”

Ava’s Triumph

Ava is a living inspiration for other children and families fighting Leukemia and Lymphoma. This spunky, courageous little girl was chosen to be in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s annual calendar. (Ava is the laughing, happy Miss December.)

So I bought a calendar. Every penny goes to helping these children continue to live, fight and inspire us all to be grateful for what we have.

I hope you’ll join me in purchasing this 2013 calendar to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. It’s a small gesture for us that can mean a lot to someone in great need.

Even if you choose not to purchase a calendar, find somewhere you can give. Find someone you can help.

All you have to do is lift your head, look around, and the opportunity will present itself.

Thank you, Ava, for reminding me that the little things, like decorating the holiday tree or buying a simple calendar, are the big things. Thank you for inspiring me to ask myself, With all the abundance happening in my life, don’t I have just a little bit to share?

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“You’ll Never Walk Again,” They Said

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Earlier this year I’d been aggressively working out doing P90x, trying to keep up with my wife, Stephanie. I was in awesome shape and was an avid runner. Until I wasn’t.

I felt a red hot tear in my knee and knew that I’d ripped something. My knee swelled up like a balloon and I was limping around like an invalid. I put off a doctor’s visit for as long as I could because I was afraid of what I’d hear.

When I finally visited the top orthopedist in our area, he told me I’d split my meniscus, that it would never heal, and there was nothing he could do about it. I would never run again.

Sometimes I buy into the negativity. And then I see a guy like this…

Watch this inspiring video:

Sure, I have pain in my leg, and I can walk, but I can’t run. My kids joke, “Sorry, dad. You’ll be the guy who gets eaten during the zombie apocalypse.”

That is not acceptable. I will run again. I will find a way.

Arthur could have lived the rest of his life on the couch and no one would have blamed him for it. He was told by so many that he would never be able to walk on his own again. Where would he be now if he’d listened to them?

We watch so much negativity on television and on the radio telling us that the economy is falling apart, we’re diving off the fiscal cliff.

Is that a reason to give up and buy into it?

Maybe it’s time to reevaluate the things you believe you can’t do, the skills you believe are beyond you or things that it’s impossible for your business to achieve. It’s time to stop believing the lies about what’s possible for your life. (I’m saying this for myself as much as for you.)

Are you going to stay on the couch or are you going to get up and get in the race?

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Filed Under: Home Page, Personal Development, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Do Bridal Lead Lists Actually Work?

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Question:

HI Stephanie & Jeff,

Still benefiting from your Book More Brides videos, excellent value for money.

You raised an interesting point about having leads stopped, one of the biggest providers I have been using for years has just stopped his business. I know you are on the other side of the pond but do you know of any good firms that sell bridal leads over here in the UK?

Bye for now

Terry

Answer:

Hi, Terry.

Most paid sources of bridal lead lists are not worth the money. The leads aren’t targeted for your specific business by type of client, budget, style, etc., making them very poor quality. It typically takes a lot of work following up for very little return.

Our clients have reported getting a response from only 1 out of 100 bridal leads of this type! Apparently, they sell them cheap for a reason. :)

A better investment would be to put that money into turning your website into a real money-making machine, or possibly running some Facebook ads. They are much more targeted demographically and you can test your results. More ideas for effective wedding marketing at a reasonable cost here.

In other words, rather than purchasing leads, build your own bridal lead list! When you send targeted traffic to your website and then get those brides and grooms to enter their name and email to get a cool freebie (what we call a “Bride Bribe”), like a free report, video or valuable checklist, you’re creating a list of very warm, qualified leads you can now follow up with.

If you DO decide to purchase bridal leads, investigate their quality first. Ask your wedding vendor friends about their experiences, and grill the company for statistics and references.

You’ll want to ask:

  • How many unique visitors do you get?
  • How do you qualify your leads?
  • Do you provide stats on my ad views and click throughs?
  • What exactly these brides think they’ll be receiving when they sign up? If the bride hasn’t contacted you directly, she often considers your emails to be spam, no matter what she agreed to upon sign up.

With any bridal lead list, start out with a monthly trial if possible to measure your results before committing to something long term.

I was very impressed with the advertising experiment with the UK site, Wedding Chaos, done by Claire Gould over at English Wedding. They offer great metrics for tracking and you can learn a lot from her results and test them out for yourself, which I highly recommend.

Good luck with everything!

Stephanie

What do YOU think about bridal lead lists? Have they worked for you?

Got a wedding business question you want answered? Email Stephanie & Jeff and you could be the next Question of the Week! All personal details about your identity will be removed unless you specify otherwise.

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Filed Under: Attracting Ideal Clients, Bridal Marketing, Home Page, Leads & Traffic, Website, Website Tools & Tips, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income, Wedding Websites Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Two Questions That Can Transform Your Wedding Business

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It’s my goal to learn something new to use in our wedding business whenever I go somewhere new. Geeky, I know, but as my step-son would say, “That’s how I roll.”

Attending the 50th birthday/promotion celebration for one of Jeff’s childhood friends was no exception. As a totally unrelated side note, we both learned something important about showing up on time for surprise parties (even when the invitation doesn’t specify a deadline) since we bumped into the birthday boy in the parking lot, completely ruining the surprise. *Cringe.*

Back to my business lesson…

While Jeff was charming the ladies he hasn’t seen since high school, I started up a conversation with Brian Altmann, owner of a very successful Poughkeepsie remodeling business and (wonder of wonders!) it turns out we both have a fondness for teaching other people what’s worked for us.

Who Thrives When the Industry Suffers?

While the entire construction industry has been suffering since the Recession, hurting much worse than the wedding industry, Brian’s remodeling business was thriving. I eagerly listened as he shared the secrets of his success for ideas that could be applied to a wedding business.

Brian uses cutting edge marketing, SEO, video and social media to absolutely dominate his local market, but his real “secret sauce” is both incredibly powerful and deceptively simple. His peers always want him to reveal the magical tactics behind his marketing success, but Brian believes the real reason his business continues to thrive boils down to his dedication to customer service.

The Post Wedding Survey

After every job, Brian’s team members do an exit survey with each customer. They ask two simple questions:

1. What are three things we did well?

2. What are three things we can improve?

“If you want your business to absolutely explode,” he said, “run your business by those answers. Keep getting better at the things you do well, and improve your weaknesses, and you’ll rocket to #1.”

Sounds way too simple to be that powerful, right?

Here’s the truth: most of your competitors are not asking these questions in the first place. And even if they do ask these questions, they’re not going to actually take action on what they learn. It’s sad, but true.

Pick the Brain of the Bride and Groom

Want a short cut to a wedding business that beats the competition and creates overwhelming demand? Ask your clients what they want and then give it to them.

I know, it’s much for fun to do what YOU want. But if you let your clients direct your business by making everything you do 100% about meeting their wants and solving their problems, it will not steer you wrong.

Let me give you an example. Some years back we had what I’ll call a “difficult” bride. She was very particular about what she wanted, and I held her hand through the whole planning process.

After the wedding, we learned in our post-wedding survey that she wasn’t completely satisfied because we hadn’t played enough of her requested songs.

This bride had given us a request list of over 75 songs, more than enough for the entire night, and 35 of them were “must plays.” And, to be frank, the songs she picked absolutely sucked. The dance floor would have been empty all night long.

We ended up playing over 40 of the songs she requested, be we skipped about 5 the lamest “must plays.” I figured that it was more important to get people dancing than it was to play every single song.

Well, that complaint let me know that we hadn’t communicated exactly the terms of the Must Play List. From then on, if it’s on the Must Play List, we play it, come hell or high water.

BUT we also explain to the couple how it’s going to work. If the couple has more than 10 “must play” songs, we ask them if they’d like us to play them no matter what, even if it clears the dance floor. We come to an understanding of exactly what they expect so that we can deliver it.

This has become a promise we make that reassures our couples and keeps them happier than ever.

Check Your Customer Service

I’m sure you think you deliver excellent customer service. But do you ask your customers how you’re doing? Do you survey them to make sure?

And if you do survey them…what was the last improvement you made as a result?

Ask these two questions and take the answers you get seriously, and it’s a compass for your wedding business success that will not steer you wrong because you’ll always be connected with exactly what your clients want and don’t want.

You don’t need fancy software or new fangled tactics to get the marketing answers you’re looking for. Your customers hold the secrets to transforming your business; you just need to ask them.

What do you think about listening to your customers and clients?

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Filed Under: Attracting Ideal Clients, Bridal Marketing, Competition, Home Page, Personal Development, Wedding Business, Wedding Business Income Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Carrot or the Stick Motivation: How to Check the Stubborn Tasks Off Your To Do List

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Sometimes getting things done is HARD.

How many times have I had a task on my To Do List that gets bumped again and again? The never-ending task list. The job that never gets done. It’s frustrating! And for a girl like me with a driving need to check things off that list, it feel like failure.

Fortunately, I have learned some very effective techniques for getting things done and eliminating that unending To Do List. We share one of the easiest ways to get yourself to do something you really don’t want to do in this video.

Watch this video for more:

What’s your favorite tricking for getting things done?

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