Its New Year’s resolution time and although not all of these tips are going to make it everyone’s list they were our reader favs and just might help you get a jump on the 2010 competition or help you to be the best version of yourself you can be!
For some reason I think its common knowledge… I mean haven’t we all heard from someone, stories at some point of things that didn’t go right at a wedding. They happen at every single wedding no matter who is in charge. I know brides are working with a budget- especially these days but everyone seems to think they can save on costs by “doing it themselves”. I have an idea… Lets invest in a great photographer to capture the moments and the details, lets hire a floral designer to make everything look pretty, lets spend money on linens, favors, and a dessert bar but when it comes to getting a professional wedding coordinator to pull together all the details I just mentioned so all of them work in harmony.. lets skimp on that? Lets invest all of that but then on the wedding day as a bride you can worry or pawn it off on an aunt, mom, or wedding party member (which lets be quite frank-they will be way more frazzled than you). Just to be clear.. I am not saying I am against DIY. I’m not! I like that style BUT I am a huge advocate of bringing someone on board who knows what they are doing to put things at ease no matter the scale of the wedding.After being in the wedding industry and planning or attending as many weddings as I have, I’ve seen it first hand time and time again. However, the experience I had several weeks ago at a friend’s wedding was so unbelievable. To read the rest, click here!
Too often do people fall in love with an industry or job yet lack a clear vision and voice. So they do what’s easiest and emulate their peers. They take on the attitude of: Let’s not do the work, lets just copy everyone else and try to do things the way they do. I put these people in the “I don’t know who I am so I’ll try being you” category. People who just got married and think they are qualified to be wedding planners off the bat- are not. Just because someone has a website or blog claiming they are a photographer but haven’t ever shot a real wedding doesn’t make them legitimate. Social media gurus keep popping up as do wedding marketing and PR experts and wedding planners who can coach and teach. What about you makes you qualified to do what you do? How long have you been at your craft claiming that you are a leader and teacher? Do you have the experience to back it up? To read the rest, click here!
What is Public Relations and How is it Relevant for You
When approaching this topic, two things come to mind: The emails I receive from people who say they just need help getting press and the Samantha Jones from Sex and The City and her famous tag-line, “Samantha Jones, Public relations.” To many people, public relations is somewhat of a nebulous thing floating between marketing and advertising or they think it is a compilation of the two, while others think it is just getting into magazines and on Television. Here is the text book explanation of what it really is as explained by PR News online, “Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitude, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and patience.” The Leila definition is a little more simple and states, “Public relations is the management function which evaluates one’s actual and perceived value, and creates and implements a plan to enhance and maintain both.” To read the rest, click here!
Making a Shift in Your Business-Being Open to Change
I usually do my tips on Tuesdays but I decided to “change things around” which is fitting for the post today. Two weeks ago today, I spoke at the Reframe conference in San Francisco. What an amazing group of videographers and film makers who came together to share, learn, grow and sharpen their craft. I was asked to present my Wedding PR 101 seminar and to teach how to enhance marketing efforts to vendors, media and brides. I received an overwhelming response. I thought the challenge would be how I was going to communicate to a group of techies the importance of the five components of PR and making the shifts in how they do business. However, since then I’ve been amazed by the tweets and emails with feedback. This group of very talented people really proved a huge point that I’d like to share with many of you. You have to be open to change in order to evolve and achieve success! Just because you have been doing this for 5 or 15 years doesn’t mean you don’t need a new website or a new way to network yourselves. You need to be Open to change. We all need to stay relevant now a days. What are you doing to accomplish that? Get out of your home office or studio and talk to people, see who you can help and co-promote with. How are you presenting yourselves to potential clients and people you may work with? To read the rest, click here!
Invest in Yourself if You Expect Others to Invest in You
New Year coming means a New look at yourself and your business. As I talk to PR clients and many of my coaching clients about their 2010 goals: its a time to revise, refresh, rebuild and renew! So much is changing in the wedding industry. Online outlets are becoming more relevant then they were before and print publications are doing what they need to do to stay on top of their game (as some have sadly not been able to stay afloat). What actions are you taking to be the best You? If the phone isn’t ringing like it used to and sales and wedding bookings aren’t where you had hoped- what are you going to do about it? You can choose to not spend a dollar and keep a closed fist with change OR you can choose to invest in yourself in 2010. Finding the right outlets to do so will help launch your business to new heights. How can you expect others to trust you and invest in you and your services if you can’t even invest in yourself?
Invest in yourself if you expect Others to invest in YOU!Inved
xo, Leila, WeddingPR