“I’ve completed my wedding project of 10 songs written for every part of the wedding ceremony and reception. That easily means that I can do 30 emails in an auto response email campaign.

“Is buying leads from a bridal show a good idea?   If so, at what price?  If not, what is a better idea to get the music in front of the brides/grooms to be?

Thanks!”

E. Walter Smith, EWalterSmith.com

Answer: Profile Your Couples, Target Your Marketing & Find the Influencers

Bridal show leads can be a good investment, but it all depends on the clients you want to attract.
Questions to ask yourself:

•    Are the couples on this list going to be interested in my songs?

•    Is choosing the wedding music top of mind now?

If the answer to either question is NO, you’re going to have a hard time getting sales from this list. You’ll be hard pressed to make them want something they aren’t interested in or trying to make them buy before they’re ready.

In your case, I don’t think bridal show leads would be the best investment. Typically, attendees are at the beginning of the planning process when they’re gathering ideas and searching for a venue, photographer and DJ.

You’re smart to think about an email follow up sequence to develop a relationship with couples until they’re ready to buy, but there are much more direct ways to reach these couples.

Here’s what I would do if I were going to market your product.

Step #1 – Identify your ideal clients.

You need to know in detail who is buying your music.

•    Age
•    Cultural and ethnic background
•    Education level
•    Geographic location
•    Preferred type of music
•    Style of wedding
•    Personality

Once you know who they are, you can research that market and what they do to plan their weddings.

Step #2 – Ask your ideal clients what resources they use to plan the wedding, especially the music.

If brides and grooms are buying your music directly from you, how did they find you? What websites, blogs and magazines do they use in the planning process? What do they search for on Google?

It’s also a good idea to research what your competition is doing to attract couples so you can learn from what’s already working. If they’ve been advertising on a particular website or active on social media for a while, it’s probably a sign that it’s giving them a return on investment.

Once you know where they go, you can meet them there.

Step #3 – Laser target your marketing for these couples.

Many of the websites and magazines couples are using to plan the wedding offer advertising options. Can you buy an advertisement or (better yet) an advertorial? Can you buy a sponsored blog post?

If you have proof positive that your ideal couples are using these resources, it makes sense to market in these avenues.

Create YouTube videos and blog posts that are optimized for the keyword phrases couples search online when looking for their music. You want to rank on YouTube and Google for phrases like unique wedding ceremony music or best father daughter dance.

You might also experiment with Facebook Ads directly targeted for the age, background and interests of your target engaged couples.

Step #4 – Find influencers and connectors who can generate repeat sales and business.

If you can get wedding market influencers, people who have access to a large audience of brides and grooms, excited about your music, that one connection can generate dozens or hundreds of sales.

In your case, I’d investigate:

• Advertising to DJs through the magazines and events of associations such as the ADJA and Mobilebeat.

•  Websites that rank for search terms such as wedding ceremony music.

•  Wedding experts who have a podcast, TV show or YouTube channel with lots of bride and groom subscribers.

These individuals can extend your reach exponentially.

What do you think and what works for you?