Why blogging for a wedding business still works
This is part 1 of a four part advice series on blogging for wedding business owners. I hope you find it really useful!
Did you think blogging for your wedding business went out of fashion about 10 years ago? Social media wants you to believe that – but it’s not true. Spending time on your blog is a really effective way to get to the first page of Google. Ultimately, that’s how your dream couples will find you online.
This four part series will explain – in a simple, easy-to-follow way:
- why blogging your wedding business works
- how to get started
- what you need to know about SEO
- what to write about
Writing a blog still works.
Blogging about the weddings you’ve worked on and the services you provide shows couples you’re an active business. It also signals to Google to check out your website.
I’ll explain – quickly – how blogging works.
I want to convince you that blogging your wedding business is worth your time. (It really is.)
“English wedding blog has helped the SEO on my website so much over the past 12 months. Iâm now number 1 for my keyword thanks to Claire.
It always such an easy, simple & friendly process with Claire and English wedding is now the only blog I submit my weddings to.” ~ North East wedding photographer Joss Denham Photography
I still adore every second of this Hotel Mediterraneo wedding in Sorrento, captured by Joss Denham Photography
Blogging is the tortoise: instagram is the hare.
I know you’ll all have seen the insta-gurus’ posts about perfect reels to earn six-figure sums from your wedding business. Here’s the thing: they make a living from telling you that, whether it’s going to work for you or not.
Instagram is sexy. Google, and the internet generally: not so much! And a wealth of myths have sprung up around insta: that playing the algorithms can be a quick win. Perhaps for a very select few, that works. And I’m not knocking it: if you LOVE insta and can spend hours on there productively… then that might be the best place to invest your time and energy to grow your wedding business. Just don’t believe the hype: people are making money from selling you a dream.
Bridebook’s 2024 UK wedding report found that:
- 51% of couples discover wedding suppliers through social media
- 54% of couples discover wedding suppliers through Google search
- 44% of couples discover wedding suppliers through wedding apps
(Note: these aren’t necessarily the suppliers they book, but all of those they ‘discover’ along the way: it’s possible social media has less influence on final choices, but I’m speculating here.)
Google is still very relevant to couples finding wedding suppliers, which shows having an active, fresh and up to date website (via blogging!) is important.
Couples are actively searching the web for wedding suppliers: the ones they find first will be the ones who blog.
“I’ve been putting lots of work into my SEO over the past couple of years and joining English Wedding Blog was part of building my online presence. I’d gradually built up my ranking on google as a ‘wiltshire wedding photographer’ and I was pretty chuffed to reach the first page. Shortly after you featured a blog post of mine, I’d reached first place! There had been many factors to reaching this, but I genuinely think that the feature by yourselves boosted my presence right up there to the top.” ~ Wiltshire wedding photographer Greg Shingler Photography
We shared this stunning wedding from Tortworth Court in Gloucestershire, with Greg Shingler Photography – the happy couple shared fantastic reviews for their suppliers, which is a big part of English Wedding’s blogging strategy!
How blogging your wedding business works
- Fresh content (new blogs or updated web pages) signal Google to crawl your website. When Google finds good new stuff it thinks people will be interested in, it will put you closer to the top of its search results.
- Backlinks which point at your web pages or other blogs show Google there’s more to see. You might have a “How to book” page on your website for example. Adding a blog post which includes a link to that page is like yelling to Google, “hey, this is still relevant”.
- Relevant, interesting and useful content is how you keep people’s attention. A stale website which hasn’t changed in months will slide down the search rankings. Adding blogs which grab and keep your readers’ on your site will show Google there’s something good here!
- Blogging makes you discoverable. Better Google search results means more visitors to your website. Some of those visitors will be your perfect clients who are actively looking to book someone just like you for their weddings.
Not everyone blogs to boost their wedding business: it’s hard – I get that.
Perhaps you don’t like writing, or your business already takes up all your time. Or you’ve left your blog for a year already and just don’t know where to start. It’s ok – not everyone blogs.
In an industry where not everyone blogs regularly, it will give you a competitive advantage if you do. In 2023 I didn’t blog my wedding calligraphy brand for months and months – but I’m absolutely on it this year!
The trick to effective wedding business blogging
I’ve learned that it’s important to blog really well. A scattergun approach won’t cut it: knocking out a bit of content on the last Friday of the month because you’ve left it a few weeks doesn’t work.
You need focus, and you need a plan. You’re taking on Google, and you want to win, right? Stick around for the next few weeks and I’ll share what you need to know about SEO to make you a winner!
A personal story
When I stopped blogging my own wedding business last year, my orders fell off a cliff. I sell wedding stationery and gifts on my own website and through Etsy and Not On The High Street. I lost sight of all 3 income streams through the biggest knot of tumbleweed you’ve ever seen. I didn’t know why, so my confidence in my products took a dive, and I almost lost the calligraphy business I’ve been so proud of for the last twenty years.
With the New Year, as so many of us do, I made plans to refresh my business. I spent time on my website and made a plan to blog every week. It worked. My Etsy orders are up. Enquiries to my website are up. (Not On The High St. still needs some work, but that’s for tomorrow!)
Most importantly, people are finding my business again and I get to spend my days writing beautiful things for lovely people. I’ve regained that joy and freedom in being self-employed – and it’s all down to updating my website and blog every single week.
In a nutshell…
It really is worth taking the time to write some blog posts for your wedding business. The results can be brilliant. I’d even say, if you want to be found online, blogging about what you do is essential.
Social media posts are here today, gone tomorrow – literally. It’s in the name: Instagram – who’s reading what you did last week? Blogs are the opposite: they stick around. Google is always out there, looking for the best new bits of your website. Write a really helpful article on your blog, and Google will still be showing to the right people months or even years later.
As much as I’ve missed summer this year, I’m very conscious that for wedding suppliers our quiet time is on the horizon. It’s time to look at your marketing – remembering that blogging costs you nothing – and to make a plan to get ahead of your competition.
Next time, I’ll help you make a plan for your wedding business blog. Then in September I’ll help with nailing your SEO and working out what to write about! If you haven’t already – and here’s irony for you – follow me on Instagram @englishweddingblog and set notifications so you don’t miss out on those posts!
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