3 Strategies to Powerfully Attract Your Ideal Wedding Clients

Question: Most of the couples in my area are NOT my target clients.  How can I find the couples who are looking for my services?

“Hello!

I love your website. I am a Certified Celebrant and Wedding Officiant based in Miami, FL. I am just starting out and specialize in writing and performing wedding ceremonies for the religiously unaffiliated, interfaith and secular market. Unfortunately, there is a very limited local market in Miami (as most brides get married in the Catholic Church due to large Cuban/Spanish demographic).

So I am wondering how I can target destination brides coming to South Florida and who are more progressive and religiously unaffiliated? I’m concerned this market may be very difficult to reach…so would appreciate ANY suggestions.”

Lucie

Answer: Find out where your target couples are going to plan their weddings and meet them there.

Hi, Lucie!

The fastest way to target destination wedding couples is to find out where these couples are going to plan their weddings and meet them there.

Three strategies come to mind:

#1 – Other wedding businesses who specialize in South Florida destination weddings.

The venues, wedding planners and photographers who are serving these couples have lots of potential referrals to send your way.  Focus on building relationships with these businesses.

1. Identify 5-10 of these businesses who work with destination weddings.

2. Follow them on Facebook as your business page and personal profile, on Twitter, connect with them on LinkedIn.

3. Start commenting, sharing and retweeting their posts on social media to get on their radar.

4. Find out what networking groups they belong to and meet them there.

5. When you are introduced, tell them you admire their business (be specific) and ask if they have advice to give about how you can work with more clients like the ones they attract.  Then listen. 

6. Ask them what challenges and opportunities their business is facing.  Listen and find a way to help them.

7. Follow up after your introduction with a personal note, share a resource or something of value, and keep in touch.

 #2 – Get your business listed on the websites that come up on Page 1 of Google for search terms your couples are using, such as, “South Florida destination wedding.”

These are the websites brides and grooms planning a destination wedding in your area are going to find when they start searching and planning online.  You want them to find you, too.

Websites on page 1 for these terms that offer paid advertising may be a good investment.  But don’t overlook the other businesses that come up!

Offer to write a guest blog post for these businesses about destination wedding topics in exchange for a link to your website discretely included in your byline.  This puts you in front of very targeted destination wedding leads.

#3 – Blog 2-3 times per week about topics of interest to destination wedding couples to become the #1 resource they find.

Couples planning at a distance are looking for specific information: the best venues in the area, photo locations, tips about South Florida weather, accommodations for out of town guests, activities, etc.  Share what you know and become a resource.

That regular content on your blog, when combined with smart use of local keyword phrases in the titles of your blog posts and within the articles themselves, will attract lots of destination wedding traffic.

You can also combine this with networking by inviting other destination wedding specialists in your area to write for you, or interviewing them and featuring them on your blog.

These strategies will help you bypass the couples who aren’t interested in your services and powerfully target the ones who are looking for you.

What do you think?

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photo credit: Grand Velas Riviera Maya via photopin cc