Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding marketing and wedding pr firm OFD Consulting. She is the exclusive Wedding PR Education Expert for WeddingWire and is a highly sought after speaker in the wedding industry. To learn how OFD Consulting can assist you, as well as more about our new wedding PR kits, please visit us today.
As the clock strikes midnight and we usher in a New Year, it’s inevitable that one may feel the urge to make plans for their wedding company. We set goals, cut away what isn’t working and we streamline our processes to start accomplishing big things.
January is the perfect time to start laying out your wedding PR campaign for the year. Historically, this is a quieter time (event-wise) and you may still have a handful of swoon-worthy weddings from 2013 that could be eligible for submissions.
So how does one effectively begin planning for wedding PR in the coming year? Below are a few tips to get you started:
Set measurable goals. It’s easy to simply declare that you’d like to have more press in 2014, but now is the time to get more specific. After all, there will be no way to measure the success of your strategies if you aren’t setting goals that can be measured. Where, for example, would you like to see your work? Do you have a preference to online versus print features? Are you more focused on gaining press in your region or would you like national coverage? How many features would you like to have?
Research. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to begin gathering magazines and adding targeted blogs to your reader. There is simply no way to truly understand the content needs of a particular media channel, unless you’ve taken the time to get to know them.
Create a media list. As you begin poring over blogs and magazines, take the time to note the contact in which to submit, as well as any submission guidelines and editorial deadlines. Take the extra step to add any editorial deadlines to your work calendar, which will further assist you with staying on track in 2014.
Review your 2013 portfolio. Once you’ve had had a chance to lay the groundwork for a successful year, revisit your 2013 weddings to see what weddings could potentially be a fit for your targeted media outlets. Remember– striking images, fresh details and a great story rule the roost and you’ll want to make sure the wedding is less than a year old and has not been featured elsewhere.
Look to 2014. At this point in time, you should have a better understanding of the types of weddings that may have a shot to be featured (if not, here’s a reminder!) so begin by mapping out the coming year and note any events in particular that may be in the running. If you’re not the photographer, make a note to touch base with whomever is capturing the Big Day to see if he or she is on board with a potential submission.
Get organized. The off-season is the perfect time to streamline your wedding PR strategies and to get organized. As I’ve made mention before, including your wedding day team is essential so get into the habit of collecting the entire vendor list from each bride in 2014. Additionally, telling the couples’ story is a big component to any submission so consider making it a habit to send out questions about the wedding to each client to ensure you have the content available to write your pitch when the time comes.
A New Year brings with it the promise of exciting things to come, so take advantage of this time to set yourself up for wedding PR success in 2014.
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