This is one of my FAVE topics and to be honest – I’m surprised I haven’t written this blog post yet. I can’t think of a better way to start up the blog this year. I’m CRAZY passionate about using bingeable content to build a sustainable wedding business. If you have just stumbled upon my website – let me give a super quick intro. I’m Kara – and I have this theory around fast and slow marketing.
And by theory, I mean I have a proven framework to creating a sustainable wedding business where you wake up to leads in your inbox on autopilot.
Here’s a quick summary of the three-part framework:
- Set up your foundation: for most of us, this will be our website (and SEO), our CRM/any brochures we send out, and email marketing.
- Slow marketing: these are things we do now, that don’t pay off right away (blogging or Pinterest, for example!). The nice thing about slow marketing is, they require less work to maintain and bring you in customers steadily “for the long haul”. Basically: creating bingeable content that can be found through some form of search engine.
- Fast marketing: these are things that you can do TODAY, and when done well, they pay off almost immediately (think about Instagram – where your post might only have 24-48 hours reach – but that’s enough to get you an inquiry).
I believe you need a mix of these three to run a truly sustainable business. Too many of us are relying only on “fast marketing” which is essentially a roller coaster of “too busy, no time for marketing” and “oh no, my client work is done and I have no leads”.
Let’s NOT do that this year. I’m inviting you to choose your own adventure here. You can start a blog, podcast or YouTube channel.
The 411 on Bingeable Content
What it is: When I say bingeable content, I mean when someone first stumbles across your brand/business, whats there for them to make them fall in love with you? Can they read 5 blog posts to get a sense on who you are, what you do, and how you can change their life? Maybe they find your Youtube channel and fall down a rabbit hole.
I can’t tell you how many times in my own wedding business I have inquiries that sound like “oh my god, I was just up all night reading your blog and WOW we are so similar!”. And guess what? Those are the kind of inquiries that are willing to wait 1-2 business day for a response. No more interrupting your husband’s birthday dinner to answer that wedding wire inquiry because you heard “the first to respond is the one that gets the business”. Building a sustainable business REVOLVES around this.
Why Creative Business Owners Should Blog
I’m obviously a huge fan of blogging because it sits on YOUR website and you can control the entire user experience from start to finish. You have complete control over the branding and where they go next. If you have an email list/freebie, you can add an email form to the blog. You can link directly to your services page, or other relevant blogs.
Typically someone who reads your blog will bounce around to your other content more than other platforms that might require more effort. If you are not a natural writer, you can always outsource this (check out my services here) OR use something like Rev (which transcribes your voice to text – if you prefer to talk out your blog posts!).
Blogging is not your thing? Consider starting a Podcast or Youtube channel
If blogging really isn’t your thing, you can also start a Podcast or YouTube. Both have searchable platforms – which is really the key to slow marketing (marketing that pays off for longer than 24 hours).
If you’d rather chat than write, podcasts are a great way to showcase your expertise, BUSY clients can have you in their ear on the go, and a great way to collaborate with other vendors (interview style). Shameless plug, did you know I offer podcast scripting? Get in touch here if that’s something you need. Bonus: you can upload your show notes / a summary of the episode and embed the audio to bring listeners to your website (and keep them there for a while!).
Finally, Youtube. Youtube has the second most searches online, after Google. I personally find the search function so much more intuitive than the Apple Podcast one, which is great for you if you are providing content your ideal client is searching for. Which… you are, right? Depending on your video style, you can also make this work double duty and upload the audio to your podcast!
Making your content work harder for you is KEY to a sustainable wedding business.
Sometimes people confuse what I say focus on slow marketing instead of putting all your efforts into Instagram stories that disappear in 24 hours. It’s true, that is where I think you should focus when building a sustainable wedding business, but that doesn’t mean it is easy or doesn’t require hustle. I respect the hustle and think it is 10000% required when you first start out. But if you don’t build these key platforms in the beginning, you’ll find yourself on a hamster wheel of creating Instagram content. And that gets old fast.
I hope this blog post helped show you what a sustainable wedding business marketing strategy can look like! Want a cheatsheet for balancing fast and slow marketing techniques so you can avoid burnout? Head here!
