Suppliers! Before you advertise on a wedding blog – read this…

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Every January there’s a rush of potential advertisers to wedding blogs. It’s one of my favourite New Year’s resolutions – because I’m very proud to be the owner of a wedding blog which works hard to bring together brides and suppliers. Advertising on the English Wedding Blog works.

 

Somerset wedding photographer Simon Biffen

Image credit Simon Biffen Photography www.simonbiffenphotography.co.uk

I’ve been chatting to a few sponsors and suppliers over the last week or three, and this blog post has come from all the conversations we’ve had. I really hope it helps you with your advertising decisions. I’ll be brutally honest as I explain how and when wedding blog advertising works – and when it doesn’t.

1. Some tick boxes: the basics

Do you know what a wedding blog is?

I’m not kidding; some people still don’t know about blogs. This includes some small business owners, SEO companies working on behalf of suppliers, and even media and PR agencies. Venues are especially guilty! Sponsoring a blog won’t work if you don’t really get what they’re all about.  See more...

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My diaries: shoot me?

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I’ll happily spend hours creating something new and exciting if someone asks me to take part in any kind of wedding shoot. Does it pay? I think so… and being involved in shoots can have massive benefits for everyone involved. Here’s why I love them:

  • Shoots mean I can get great images of my work in context. Etsy tells me to use “droolworthy” photos – and the best way to do this is to give my stuff to awesome photographers so they can put it in a wedding setting and share the images.
  • I get to meet people, in real life or online – a rare thing for a wedding stationer!
  • Shoots push me to make new things, even if they’re a bit odd! In the last year I’ve written on an old window frame, made watercolour flowers and written song lyrics on massive paper backdrops then slashed them into pieces with a knife…

Images from a styled shoot at Aspire, by Melissa Beattie Photography

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wedding shoots

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My diaries: how LUSH is your wedding business?

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My current daily shower routine begins with Trichomania, then a dash of Miranda and Jungle. It’s the only way I can wake up, and when I don’t have Lush I pine for it… I’m hooked. And as I have some of my best ideas in the shower too, I realised that Lush is one of the only majorly successful businesses I genuinely admire. Now brand loyalty for me has always seemed like a total myth. I’m not loyal to my bank, my supermarket or any other big corporation – despite the cards in my purse which suggest otherwise. And yet as a business owner, loyalty is something I’d love to inspire from my customers. So I began to wonder if I could make my wedding business a little more, you know, Lush.

lush cosmetics

Pinned by Lush Cosmetics www.pinterest.com/lushcosmetics – my favourites here are Rock Star, Honey I Washed The Kids, Karma soap, Miranda, Bohemian? and the fig one… delish!

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My diaries: Freedom

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When you’ve spent a couple of years running your own creative business you reach a point where you can’t ever imagine a different way of life.

Of course it’s tough being self-employed. It’s scary being so utterly in control of your financial future. But the freedom of making a living doing something you love is worth more than anything.

I don’t miss the routine of my old daily commute into Manchester before 6am. I don’t miss the pressure. It’s amazing knowing I’ll never set foot inside my office again! I love being able to change my days when it’s sunny, or when there’s a concert and I want to finish early.

wedding styled blog shoot (4)

Photo credit Matthew Bishop Photography | Styling by Petra Opperman – click to see this styled shoot

The delights of being your own boss

I love being part of a creative community most of all. People say it can be lonely working for yourself and from home, but there’s a craft revolution happening and the likes of Mollie Makes and Etsy are taking over the internet. Communities and forums for designers and creatives are all over Facebook, not to mention the wedding forums and fan sites we all know and love. Lonely is the last thing I feel.  See more...

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