subject: How To Market Your Party Planning Business [print this page] You've got great ideasYou've got great ideas. Everyone says so. And you're so passionate about planning weddings. It's natural that you would want to make a business out of it. But how do you market a wedding planning business? How do you market yourself? Follow these steps and you'll be well on your way to success in the wedding industry or any other.
1. Decide what you want to do
Before you market your business, you must be clear about the business itself. What services do you want to provide? What contacts do you already have? Do you want to work from home or rent a business space? How much money do you need to start a business? A good way to get all these things spelled out clearly is to make a business plan. This is a document that details your intent to become a business owner, and what your business will look like financially and physically now and in the future. An online search for "making a business plan" should turn up a template for you to follow.
2. Build a portfolio
How did you get into this business? You might have planned your own wedding or those of some of your friends. Write a resume that details your wedding planning experience. Put together testimonials, photographs, and descriptions of what you have done. If you need further experience to fill out your portfolio, consider taking on a few contracts for trade or at cost. Notice I did not say that you should give your work away for free. It is important to assign value to your work, monetary and intangible value, from the start. Everyone has to start somewhere.
3. Take your business online
There are numerous ways to market your business online. First, create a website. There is no excuse for a small business not to have a website these days. It is the first place potential customers will want to look for information on your business. You may start out small with a free blog or website with hosts like Blogger, Wordpress, or GoDaddy and upgrade to a professionally-hosted website when business grows. If you have more startup capital, you may choose to have your website put together by a website designer right away. Appearing professional to your public helps them treat you like a professional. In fact, it is quite affordable to have a nice website created from the start.
You may want to make a blog about your business. You could make it a humorous one about weddings you attend or an informational website. Making your blog or website a great source for resources is a key to making it necessary to the public. If they can come to your site and find links to dozens of choices of wedding vendors in your area, they will probably come back and ask you to be their planner, as well.
Become a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. They all have ways to promote yourself through updates, links, and offering information. Only start an account with a social medium, or a blog for that matter, if you plan on updating it regularly. If customers come to your site and see you haven't updated in months, they will think you are not in business anymore and you'll drop off the radar. Use social media to keep your name in the front of people's minds by posting links to wedding articles, offering vendor and venue reviews, and even by updating about yourself as you go about your business. Keep it professional, though. This is not the forum to complain about your kids being sick or the hangover you have from last night.
4. Gather a following
Put together business cards and a brochure and get out into the world. Make sure you can describe your business and what you stand for in small sound bytes. Talk about weddings. In conversations, let people know what you do for a living. If they are interested, give them a business card. Make alliances with caterers, hotels, and other vendors and ask if you can leave your brochures and business cards with them. Give them good word-of-mouth and they're likely to return the favor.
5. Enjoy what you do
Have fun doing your job, make it an integral part of your life, and watch your business grow!
