The Number One Mistake Most Wedding Vendors Make Around Bridal Shows Is Not Following Up.
But how should you follow up? How often? What kind of follow up actually results in booked weddings?
Jeff and I just interviewed Neal Howard of Atlanta’s Best DJ and Neal Howard Productions. Neal came up with a brilliant bridal show follow up strategy that got these results for his wedding business:
- It’s a huge accomplishment if 10% of brides open your emails…Neal’s email follow up had a 40-50% open rate and one bride was so fascinated with his email that she read it 17 times!
- He was able to quickly filter out the brides he didn’t want to work with and become irresistibly attractive for his ideal brides.
- He overcame the biggest objections of brides…like PRICE…by getting his former brides to do all the hard work for him!
- The system works automatically; he set it up once and then it works on autopilot, saving him hours of time.
- He was able to quickly and easily build a personal relationship with the brides he did want to book so that they were “pre-sold” before they even started talking about price.
WARNING: Before you start blasting out emails to that lead list, make sure those brides have given you permission to email them…or you could be breaking CAN-SPAM Act regulations.
Even a few spam complaints can make your email get BLACKLISTED, which means you end up in the bride’s spam folder forever…if it even arrives at all…and you can get hit with hefty fees. Be sure to ask whoever is running the bridal show if brides have “opted in” to receive email from the vendors.
When She Receives an Email, What Makes the Bride Decide to Open…or Delete?
Well, think about what happens when you sift through your email every morning. How do you decide what to look at?
- The Sender’s Name. If you know the sender (and actually want to hear from them) you open it. If not…DELETE.
- The Email Subject. If the subject is enticing and interesting for you, you’ll open it even if you don’t know who it’s from. On the other hand, “Sir, Business Offer from Egypt” hits the trash immediately.
The Subject of Your Email is CRITICAL Because It Determines Whether the Bride Opens Your Email or Deletes It.
That subject is like the headline of an ad. It’s got to get her attention, arouse her curiosity and get her interest in order to make her want to open it. And you have about 1.5 seconds to do the job.
Neal revealed some of his biggest follow up secrets on our call. One of them…
2 Email Subjects that Get a Bride Open Your Email
1. Her Name.
Did you ever hear that old saying, “Your name is your favorite word?” Well, it’s true.
If you put the bride’s name in the subject line, the chances that she will open it increase exponentially. It will definitely get her attention.
2. Her Wedding Date.
Yep, she’s pretty obsessed with that date. It’s her second favorite phrase right now, after her name.
Neal had a lot of success using BOTH in his subject line. For example, “Jane, what will August 6th, 2011 be like?”
As with everything else I share, don’t take my word for this stuff. TEST IT for yourself.
Things are changing very quickly when it comes to the internet. What works today might not work tomorrow. So try these subjects out and test your results. Does she open your email? Does she respond?
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What’s your most successful follow up strategy?