If you're one of the many wedding professionals that's feeling like there aren't any good opportunities to get your name out there, this one is for you. Guest writing is one of the most effective ways to create legitimacy for yourself as an expert while also reaching a much wider audience. And, if you know what you're doing, its awesome for SEO too! That's why I want to share a new opportunity that I stumbled upon for wedding experts that specialize in creative, D.I.Y. or budget-friendly wedding solutions. Read More

Frankly, I'm bored. With so much talk about getting "back links" all the time, you'd think the Internet world has run out of creative ideas for getting your bridal website to show up higher on search engines. Yes, its true that Google and Bing place a lot of value on how many people are actually linking to your website. It's an indicator of popularity and that means something. But you don't need to have a me-me mentality all the time to boost your rank. Here's why the Chili Peppers' lyrics get it right... Read More

My big, hairy goal in 2013 is to create more free time for myself, my family and my interests. It's one of the main motivations I had for finally releasing myself from "employee" status in order to pursue this crazy, unpredictable life of entrepreneurship. It's the golden egg of working for yourself as a self-employed wedding professional, so l'd like to share a few ways you can get closer to hatching that big egg in the new year. Read More

Yesterday I had a conversation with a new client that I've had dozens of times before. The story is always the same: Wedding professional has a website that doesn't produce any leads or inquiries. Wedding professional decides she needs a new website to fix the problem. Wedding professional hires a website developer to build the new site. Wedding professional is asked by me what she's doing differently this time with her new site to get more visitors, leads and inquiries.

Wedding professional is stumped. Read More

It's fancy, it's animated and it's cheap. But flash websites are not all they're cracked up to be and, if your'e still living with one, you could be shooting yourself in the foot and creating unnecessary barriers to getting more exposure and inquiries for your bridal business. Read More

One of the most common frustrations I hear from new clients is that they're tired of getting website inquiries and emails from price shopping couples who just want to know "how much does it cost?" so that they can compare their products and services head-to-head with all the other wedding providers they're evaluating.

While you may be confident that the value of what you have to offer is leaps and bounds above the competition, couples won't stop focusing on the cost until you learn to communicate this value upon first impression. That is, you need to utilize your website (your first impression) to convey the real value that your products or services have to offer so new prospects will stop obsessing over the cost. (If we want something bad enough, we're willing to pay a premium for it.) Read More

In case you missed it, Pinterest launched a new Website Verification tool in it's profile settings a few days ago and many creatives are wondering what the heck this means for them as Pinterest addicts. Well, here's the scoop: it's about so much more than high tech linkage and if you overlook the value of this, you may regret it later.

Need help? Click here to watch my video tutorial on how to verify your site on Pinterest. Oh, and, Happy Halloween :) Read More

A few days ago, Pinterest released the "Website Verification" button in the profile Settings area. It's a nifty little tool that allows you to stake your claim on your own domain and demonstrate that you are indeed the real Slim Shady...of your website, that is. There are 3 mui important reasons why you don't want to shrug this one off and I'll tell you all 3 tomorrow...I know, I'm such a tease! (Hint: SEO is one of them. Would you expect anything else from me?!) Read More

"People don't buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons." - Zig Ziglar

Want to appeal to your bride and groom's emotions? Tell them a story.

Storytelling might be the oldest form of persuasion in the book.  Read More

Don't ya just love when a blast from the past turns up out of nowhere to school you one more time? (We're talking ads, not exes.)

Yeah, that's what happened to me a few weeks ago when I found myself sitting down for some morning grub with the fam at Cracker Barrel. Staring me in the face was this little number: Read More