Last week I was interviewed by Aleisha from The Save The Date Wedding Podcast. It was a super fun interview to do and I laughed a LOT. We discussed my options on twitter (and why I feel it’s on the way out), why I started my blog as a secret, my ex-job as a shopping telly producer, and why I love weddings so damn much!
If you’d like to listen to it, you can do so here (on iTunes) or here.
Last week I was interviewed by Aleisha from The Save The Date Wedding Podcast. It was a super fun interview to do and I laughed a LOT. We discussed my options on twitter (and why I feel it’s on the way out), why I started my blog as a secret, my ex-job as a shopping […]
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November 25, 2014
It’s mid- November. If you’ve been in business a while, you’ll already know that this is the time of year where everything in the wedding industry slows down to a glacial pace. Brides and grooms tend to put their wedding planning to one side in favour of all things festive. The enquiries dry up, and that metaphorical tumble weed seems to blow past your website more often than you might be used to.
If you’re not expecting it, it can be a little disconcerting, but it’s all very normal and come January you’ll be overrun with enquiries as it’s when everything ramps up again x 1000! Not only are there lots of Christmas engagements, but those couples getting married in 2015 will wake up on January 1st thinking “Oh crap, we’re getting married this year, we better get serious with the wedding planning!”
Rather that sitting around, eagerly waiting for the January rush to hit, this is the perfect time of year for you to get your business is in the best possible shape.
I recently wrote about the benefits of personal projects, and this time of year is the ideal time to do something about it. Organise a shoot, put on an event, and just have some fun!
Groaaan! Boring, I know, but why not get a head start on next year’s taxes by cracking on with them now?
Spring cleaning is overrated. I am ALL about the Autumn clean. We’ve been de-cluttering our house massively over the past few weeks and it’s so blissful. Anything that isn’t beautiful or useful is being chucked (goodbye ugly DVDs that we never watch! Hello, white walls and new carpet!)
Out with the old in with the new, that’s what I say. A nice home and work environment makes everything a million times better.
It's mid- November. If you've been in business a while, you'll already know that this is the time of year where everything in the wedding industry slows down to a glacial pace. Brides and grooms tend to put their wedding planning to one side in favour of all things festive. The enquiries dry up, and that metaphorical tumble weed seems to blow past your website more often than you might be used to.
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November 18, 2014
As a small business owner, utilising visually driven social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook is undoubtedly important. However over the past year or so I’ve started to notice a massive decline in the one thing that started it all; blogging. While I used to love reading my favourite business owners’ blogs, these days more and more of them appear to be neglected. They have been abandoned for the bright lights and instant gratitude of social media.
Blogging is a powerful tool for promoting new work, sharing inspiration, letting people into the behind the scenes action, and posting your opinions. It’s the best way to share who you really are with the world and build a loyal following. But blogging hard. It takes forward planning and lots of work, hence the mass exodus.
I get it. You’re busy. And while updating a blog is a slog, social media is so fun and easy in comparison. But here’s the thing, if you’re willing to put the work in, a blog will bring you many more rewards than even the largest following on Instagram.
♥ Writing helpful articles for your ideal client will build those fans who are much more likely to go on and book your services or buy your products. This simply can’t be done with a tweet.
♥ With your blog, you make the rules. You own the domain and you can share whatever you want, whenever you want. You don’t have to adhere to anyone else’s guidelines or parameters.
As a small business owner utilising visually driven social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook is undoubtedly important. However I've started to notice a massive decline in the one thing that started it all; blogging. While I used to love reading my favourite business owners blogs, these days more and more of them appear to be neglected. Their owners have abandoned them for the bright lights and instant gratitude of social media.
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November 11, 2014
There are two major realisations that I’d consider to be the key factors that took my blog and my business from ‘just another anonymous wedding blog’ to what it is today. And they might surprise you. They’re nothing to do with content, or SEO, or social media…
While going it alone, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, is something I’d actively encourage each of you to do, there is something to be said for working with others to bring the best out of yourself. The results can be staggering.
Pretty much every amazing opportunity that I’ve had through my blog is because of someone I’ve known online but then met offline (and then decided to work together on something). The Blogcademy is a prime example of this.
It would never have happened if Gala, Shauna and I hadn’t met up in person in Vegas in 2012. Although they both knew each other ‘in real life’, and I’d met Gala before, it wasn’t until we came together as a trio that the idea was formed. None of us could have done it by ourselves. We all have very different skills and strengths and we needed to put them together to be able to pull it off.
Working with others is so much more powerful than trying to do everything yourself. The wedding industry can be fiercely competitive if you let it, but with the right attitude, it is an infinite pool of amazing talent, just waiting to be tapped into and shared.
After getting out and meeting other people, my next biggest piece of advice for you if you want to take your business to the next level, would be to invest the time in passion projects. Do things “just for fun” that showcase your talents, stretch you as an artist and keep things fresh and interesting. You never know what path these things might lead you down.
These are the things that will make you stand out in a highly competitive market, and will ultimately attract the right clients for you and your business. But they’re also the things that could end up forking your career in a way you could never have imagined.
There are two major realisations that I'd consider to be the key factors that took my blog and my business from 'just another anonymous wedding blog' to what it is today. And they might surprise you. They're nothing to do with content, or SEO, or social media...
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November 4, 2014
Photo from Deutscher Hochzeitskongress, aka the German Wedding Congress, that I spoke at in Cologne this weekend! Yes, that was a HUGE audience – 200 people in fact. NO PRESSURE RIGHT?
I’ve had a crazy month. It’s my own fault though. I booked in too many things, over-commited myself too much, and I’ve been run-ragged because of it. Today’s post is short and sweet, partly because of that, but mostly because the message I wanted to pass on to you this week is simple.
I had an epic moment of self-realisation recently: I place a disproportionate amount of self worth on being busy. By that I mean when I’m busy, over-committed and in-demand, I feel better about myself than when I’m not. I’m shit at being bored and I’m useless at doing nothing.
Photo from Deutscher Hochzeitskongress, aka the German Wedding Congress, that I spoke at in Cologne this weekend! Yes, that was a HUGE audience – 200 people in fact. NO PRESSURE RIGHT? I’ve had a crazy month. It’s my own fault though. I booked in too many things, over-commited myself too much, and I’ve been run-ragged because […]
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October 28, 2014
I don’t remember the exact date I started blogging. My first site got deleted in a moment of technical clumsiness sometime late in 2008, so my earliest posts are no longer on the internet. I’m actually rather pleased that my initial foray into writing about weddings is gone forever though because, man, that shit was embarrassingly bad! I do know that it was sometime during October 2007 that I registered my domain, which makes Rock n Roll Bride SEVEN years old this month and a relative dinosaur in the wedding blogging world!
While looking back is hilarious and mortifying in equal measure, it’s also a wonderful time capsule and a reminder of how far I’ve come. The (lack of) writing skill, the questionable photo choices, the terrible formatting and attempts at ‘branding’. But it’s all part of what got me to where I am today. Not having a clue, bumbling through, excitedly posting things at all hours of the day and night because I was just so damn enthusiastic about weddings!
While condensing everything I’ve discovered about blogging into one article would be impossible, here are five little lessons that I hope will inspire aspiring bloggers.
“Be yourself, everyone else is taken”. That overly quoted line by Oscar Wilde is a cliché for a reason. As with everything in life, you have to be yourself when it comes to blogging. Forget about trying to be the next whoever, be loud and proud and focus on being you!
People will love you for it. OK so some people might not, but screw them! Trying to be something you’re not is bloody exhausting, it’s much more fun to be unashamedly weird. Plus, the people who think like you do will powerfully connect with your blog because it speaks to them specifically. It’s much easier to write about things you genuinely like, and for people that feel the same way you do. Never try to be all things to all people, its a recipe for disaster.
Last week I was named Best Alternative Wedding Blog at the Wedding Blog Awards in London. In my unrehearsed, champagne-fuelled speech, I thanked the industry for embracing me, but most of all I wanted to have a massive gush about my readers. “Without them”, I said, “I’d be working in McDonalds”.
Without readers you don’t have a blog at all, so they should be your top priority. When you start to write something, always ask yourself if your readers will get something out of it. Is it helpful or entertaining (preferably both), or is it just something that’s promoting you?
If your content helps people they won’t be able to stop themselves coming back for more.
I don't remember the exact date I started blogging. My first site got deleted in a moment of technical clumsiness sometime late in 2008, so my earliest posts are no longer on the internet. I'm actually rather pleased that my initial foray into writing about weddings is gone forever though because, man, that shit was embarrassingly bad! I do know that it was sometime during October 2007 that I registered my domain, which makes Rock n Roll Bride SEVEN years old this month and a relative dinosaur in the wedding blogging world!
Continue reading...
October 13, 2014