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Joy Basdeo , a wedding planner in Grand Cayman emailed me not long ago about a new website. Joy had a blog in one place and 2 different website on other urls and nothing was working. She couldn’t update anything but her blog, and she wasn’t getting much SEO traction on her websites because of the way they were built.
Well, in no time flat we had Joy on a shiny new WordPress blog site built on the Genesis framework. If you haven’t been paying attention, Genesis is just about the slickest thing going in the land of WordPress. In terms of SEO, ease of use and security it at the top of the heap. 
What a wonderful experience it has been working with Joy.
I took a couple of the child themes, pulled them apart and played Frankentheme to create Joy’s site. I hope you like it as much as Joy does.
If your website isn’t doing what you need it to, give me a call and I’ll fix you right up.
Click on the image to visit the site.
I have been following the articles over on eWedNews concerning the demise of the formal wear industry. So, you know me, I started looking at their marketing.
First question: What marketing? Why isn’t there a gorgeous man in a gorgeous tux in every bridal gown ad? Isn’t there usually a groom at most occasions to wear a bridal gown?.
Second, the ad I do see most is the Men’s Wearhouse ad that speaks directly to men. Pffffft! If you want men to wear tuxedos you have to pitch the brides.
Which brings us to the Old Spice Man. If you haven’t caught this bit of viral brilliance then you have been living in a cave. What started as an ad on the Super Bowl transformed itself into a social media phenomenon with the Old Spice man responding to tweets in YouTube video spots. Brilliant social media marketing, but that isn’t the point I want to make.
*pause for random opportunity to include gratuitous half naked hunky guy video
This is: 80% of the purchases made in the US are made by women. The Old Spice campaign is aimed at women. Yes it is a product for men, so are tuxedos. However, body wash isn’t something that most men think about, neither are tuxedos. They are both something women think about. Whether it is a wife or partner that does the shopping and decides which body wash to buy or a bride deciding what to dress the men in the wedding party in, it is the women that make the decision. That is why you need to pitch to her.
Seriously, do you really think that an ad with a hunky half naked man was created to appeal to MEN? I didn’t think so. But what happens to the single guy that sees his date pay attention to said hunky half naked guy? He is going to pick up that product thinking that he may get her to pay that kind of attention to him. Either way, it was the woman’s influence that drove the sale.
Back to formal wear. If you want men to start wearing tuxedos, you are going to have to sell women on the idea first.
Say for instance, when the most recent Bond movie came out, why wasn’t there a tie in with how sexy Daniel Craig looked in formal wear? I mean come on, he had on a tux in the poster for Casino Royale!!! Sexy man> sexily dressed. Pitch perfect for a campaign directed at women.
Here is another, I ran across a couple of beach wedding pictures that had the bride in a traditional formal gown and the groom in cargo shorts and a bowling shirt. How about a picture like that with the tag line, “Don’t you deserve better?” Maybe if the tuxedo manufacturers produced a line specifically for the beach weddings, after all the gown manufacturers have.
Back to the gown ads. Those ads I do see in magazines with men in tuxedos usually have him looking disaffected and women fawning over him. That is pitching to men. Let’s turn it around, how about have him looking on adoringly at her? Every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man, but on her wedding day the last thing she wants is all of her bridesmaids fawning over her new hubs. The better story is “Look at this gorgeous man that only has eyes for me.”
More important than the end user of your product, think about who is most likely to influence that purchase. That’s where you aim the pitch.
In light of the story coming out of Dallas and Boston today with regards to the biggest bridal show scam ever it seem that I need to reiterate some warnings.
According to information uncovered by Tanya Eiserer of the Dallas Morning News, this was much deeper than a single bridal show in Boston. This scam was run in cities around the country. Karen Tucker, the alleged perpetrator was also trying to bilk money by selling advertising in magazines that never existed.
This is one of the reasons why I have always told my clients to never invest in any advertising vehicle with out at least a one year track record. Never. In the past my reasoning was that these required a huge investment of time and commitment on the part of the producer/publisher and all too often they found in the end that they were not up to the challenge. The result being either a very poorly produced product or the failure to produce all together. Now it seems that rather than people with good intentions gone bad we are being preyed upon by people with only the worst intentions. Be careful out there my friends.
This advice from the Better Business Bureau is a good place to start:
When considering renting space at a trade show event, the BBB advises businesses to:
*Ensure that the event is legitimate. Check with the venue to find out if the event has been booked there. (Duh, isn’t that a no-brainer??)
*Consider paying for the event by credit card. If the services are not rendered as promised, you have recourse through your credit card provider.
*Remember that even though an offer may have a Web site and be on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, you should still check out the business and the details of the offer before making any payment.
*Ask to see a booth rental contract before you make any financial commitments. Carefully review the terms and understand what you will be committing to and what recourse you have if the event is cancelled.
Besides that, be it bridal show, magazine or website; give them a year to get their feet wet and prove their worth before you give them any of your precious marketing dollars!
Press Release: Christine Boulton Named to Wedding Industry Survey Network Advisory Board.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Christine Boulton Named to Wedding Industry Survey Network Advisory Board
New York – Tucson: July 27, 2010 – In their ongoing efforts to fill the need for timely and accurate information in the wedding business, the Wedding Industry Survey Network (WISN) names Christine Boulton to its advisory board.
Christine Boulton is a 25 year veteran of the wedding industry and is focused on helping small wedding businesses succeed. Through her company Think Like A Bride she has dedicated herself to understanding what today’s wedding professional needs to prioritize in their busy work day. Boulton’s cutting-edge approach in all areas of media takes very complicated information and simplifies it, making it understandable for her readers to digest. Her approachable nature then allows them to stay in close contact with her to get needed details for specific needs in their markets.
For 19 years she was the owner of a successful boutique bakery, Indulgence Custom Bakeshop. Her experience in dealing with the bride and end consumer allows her to interact with her vendor peers, understanding the challenges that face all portions of the wedding industry.
Today Ms Boulton is focusing on creating a group of web products specifically for the wedding industry. Her website and blog design is noted for being user friendly, SEO ready and easily manageable. Over the last year she has started expanding her public speaking and doing seminars across the country. She still continues to write for a variety of outlets, coach clients one on one and manage Social Media Marketing campaigns for wedding professionals, enabling her to stay connected to the latest trends in real time.
Her recently released eBook Bridal Show Success covers everything from how to select the right show for a wedding related business, down to how to properly follow up after the show is over.
“I am head over heels to be working with such an outstanding group of people. I feel together we bring a depth of talent, big picture view and knack for analysis that has never before been seen in the wedding industry,” said Boulton when she was accepted to the WISN group.
Shane McMurray, creator and head of the group said,” We have been working closely with Christine since early 2010. We feel she has the proper mix of knowledge as a vendor but also understands the industry from the Business-to-Business side. Her edginess, always questioning the facts and pushing the envelope lends itself to creating a dynamic environment for our group. We are very happy to have her on board.”
For more information please contact:
Paul Pannone at 516-312-0090
I just love what my clients have to say.
Debbi, My Personal Cantor, was recently asked who built her website. Here is what she said…
“Her name is Christine Boulton, and you can reach her at …thinklikeabride.com
She’s amazing. And it was very reasonable. What’s more, is she specializes in WordPress blogsites, which are the best. They are so simple to maintain and add content to, and are meant for constant updating, and content additions, which makes Google love it more. Then – she is very hands on in making sure you know how to use it and administer it. She’s really a client advocate. the WordPress site I originally had was built by someone in Canada, and once he got paid for the final version, it was impossible to reach him at all. Christine is always there for me if I have questions.
Tell her I sent ya!”
Aww, gee. Thanks Debbi.
I include a testimonial page in all the websites I build. You would think I would be smart enough to include one on my site. Oh well, the cobblers children… 
I just handed off the new site for Front Porch Farms.
This one was a blast to work on, Kathy Best, the client knew exactly what she wanted. Her venue is simply beautiful and the images she sent made it easy to capture the fabulous look of the house and grounds.
I just ran across the best idea: Take Back The Biz Day
Suzanne Smith, Suzanne Smith Designs wants all wedding pros to take one day to extol the virtues of hiring real professionals for your wedding. As a way to combat all the bad information out there in the media, let’s tell the real story from the mouths of the pros!
Here is the original post from Wedding Wire that explains everything and include the link to the Facebook event page.
Hi,
Many of you may know that I brought up a discussion on one of the threads about taking back our reputations of professional high standards, quality and 5 star service. I’m not one to sit on my hands and wait for someone to do this.
June is traditionally regarded as wedding month so lets kick it off in style!
I was tired of hearing and reading about how every aspect of weddings can be DIY’d. Just ask Uncle Jo and Aunt Mable to do it! LOL
I am also mad at the media for the Bad pricing info and continued slamming of many services as being irrelevant. Who are they to say this?
So On June 1st I have set up a Universal Event on Facebook that every one of you talented creative and passionate people can participate in.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive!
I am asking all of you to write a Blog, post a comment, Photos of your gorgeous work and POSITIVE reasons why Brides should hire the best they can afford for their day.
If you offer a product, show what the low , med and top end can be.
Florists fill your blog with examples of bouquets and bakers show your cakes.
It’s Totally FREE & Its a Good way to have a flood of wedding info for your potential clients, and good Karma to the participants.
here is the link for this event- Join us and Spread the word about how passionate we are about our clients and services! Take Back the Biz!!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120194184680881
Join the group and plan you post for June 1 NOW! Let’s get the truth out there.
You know that I’ll be on it over on the Dish
Don’t even think about
doing a bridal show until you read this book!
$14.95
I know you have heard what I have had to say about bridal shows. How they are a crap shoot at best, how there are way too many, how they aren’t the sure bet they used to be. Well all that is true!
Unless you know the secrets
Bridal shows can still be a tremendous way to market your business if you pick the right one and use every tool in your arsenal to get it right.Here are the tips and trick you have been searching for, all in one easy to follow guide.
Nothing vague here, just good solid information to take you every step of the way from choosing the show to closing the sale.
I tackle everything from what makes a show worth doing (and how you can get even more publicity before the show) to why your old email campaigns just didn’t work.
One of the questions I see popping up all the time is “How should I design my booth”. This book has the answers from how to lay it out to what you absolutely have to include to be successful.
Want to know how to squeeze every last marketing opportunity out of your costly investment? Of, course that’s covered. I’ll tell what extras and freebies you can get before you sign on the dotted line to do the show.
Let’s face it, bridal shows are an expensive way to market your business. It’s not just the cost of the booth, but what you put in it and your time and that of your staff. Don’t you deserve to get the best return on that investment you possibly can. Yes you do!
I will share with you my personal secrets for bridal show success. Secrets I have learned in years of doing these things as a successful wedding vendor down in the trenches, right where you are.
When you consider the investment you make in a bridal show, whether is is a single booth at a tiny show with 100 brides or a quad booth at one of the mega-shows with over 1500 brides, $14.95 is a drop in the bucket. This book will more than pay for itself before you even do your first show.
How can I say that? Because not only will it keep you from doing the wrong show but my tips on email follow up can translate into a year round campaign. (that alone makes it worth the read)
What are you waiting for? Don’t you want to get the biggest return on your marketing investment that you can? Or would you rather just complain that bridal shows don’t work?
Like I said…
Bridal shows CAN work, but only if you know the secrets!
Go on, click the button. You know you need to.
Are you ready for the late summer round of bridal shows? If you haven’t already booked a booth I can guarantee that your sales 
rep is on their way to get you to sign up.
Don’t do a thing until you read the book! I’m putting the finishing touches on the one eBook you need to maximize your bridal show investment.
Everything you need to know from how to pick the right show, design your booth, do the follow up and get as much traction as you possibly can.
Set for a May 20th release, this is the definitive guide to doing a bridal show and making it profitable.
