Going back to Weddingwire

[rickryan.com]

I hate being wishy-washy. Spent about $1900 last year with TheKnot.com and saw 1 gig out of it. I kept a lowest-tier ad with WW and just signed an $1800 gig last week. I've cancelled my TK ad and am moving more money to WW to bump up to the mid-tier (normally $2100). By paying the entire year, plus discount for reviews received, I ended up paying $1600. I know there are plenty of you guys who seem to keep a full calendar just by word of mouth but I'm frankly just terrified of dropping off the map. Here's hoping this will end up being a good business decision.

 

[Albatross]

I've had luck with both. I have a deeper relationship with The Knot right now, but I still get a trickle of leads from WeddingWire. I think both have value, but its all about having a number of irons in the fire at all times. Some sources will go cold for a while and then heat back up later.

 

[Jeff Romard]

I hate being wishy-washy. Spent about $1900 last year with TheKnot.com and saw 1 gig out of it. I kept a lowest-tier ad with WW and just signed an $1800 gig last week. I've cancelled my TK ad and am moving more money to WW to bump up to the mid-tier (normally $2100). By paying the entire year, plus discount for reviews received, I ended up paying $1600. I know there are plenty of you guys who seem to keep a full calendar just by word of mouth but I'm frankly just terrified of dropping off the map. Here's hoping this will end up being a good business decision.

What a lot of us WOM guys don't tell you is some of us spent a lot of money to build the contacts to be WOM. In my personal opinion and situation I would look for something a little more reaching than WW or the Knot unless all you want is weddings but at the end you have to spend it to make it

 

[rickryan.com]

I hate making these kinds of decisions because you have to live with the call for the entire year before you get a do-over. After looking over my leads, the quality just wasn't there on TK. The vast majority never even responded back when I followed up, usually within minutes. WW seemed to be more legit in terms of lead quality, although there were plenty of price-shoppers. In the end, I'm adding $700 to my budget for WW and I'm betting that getting 1st page placement will likely boost my lead count well past what I would've gotten off TK. At least that's the gamble I'm taking.

 

[djtaso]

I don't do either currently and am perfectly ok with it. I have free account on weddingwire, but just as an outlet for people to leave reviews should they want to on there. I have no value of it, as in order to stand out you have to be on the first page. On top of that, as Ross said, you can't just be in one spot... you have to be EVERYWHERE. Brides who are searching their own (rather than asking for recommendations) don't just go on weddingwire... they go on google, other bridal sites and shows...etc. The ones that are successful through these pay services, are the ones that are everywhere and stand out. They're the companies that are constantly seen and therefore create the best impression. Downside... it costs A LOT to be everywhere, and is not really easy for a single op, hence why, its mostly multi ops on there.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

I have had 2 leads from the Knot since I started with them in September. Both did not go any where. Just price quote shoppers.

I won't do Wedding Wire moving forward. They priced me out of the market. I'm not spending over $350 a month to advertise with them in a featured spot.

If the Knot does not lead to at least 2 confirmed bookings I will cancel them when my 1 year is up, and completely move away from both sites in the future.

I do like how the Knot tells me the member name of every one who has viewed my store front, and who has clicked through to my website. I like that a lot.

 

[steve149]

If you'd like to take advantage of Steve's Wedding Incentive Network and Dubious Listing Enterprise, I only charge $29 per month and guarantee at least 6 tantalizing quote shoppers per month.

 

[djtaso]

Another thing I should mention about all these online wedding lead sites is that you need to treat them like dating sites. In reality all their decision making on who to contact is based on looks... aka your storefront, pictures, branding, logos, content, videos, pricing, etc. If those aren’t on par with your competition, just like a dating site, they’re not gonna reach out. You have to be honest with yourself and where you stand compared to your competition in relation to the above mentioned items... otherwise you’re just throwing away money.

 

[rickryan.com]

Another thing I should mention about all these online wedding lead sites is that you need to treat them like dating sites. In reality all their decision making on who to contact is based on looks... aka your storefront, pictures, branding, logos, content, videos, pricing, etc. If those aren’t on par with your competition, just like a dating site, they’re not gonna reach out. You have to be honest with yourself and where you stand compared to your competition in relation to the above mentioned items... otherwise you’re just throwing away money.

Yea, you're right and this one is an "ouchie" for me. I think I have a real weakness when it comes to projecting a polished image. Not saying I'm going to give up, just trying to be honest in self-assessment. I'm off from work next week and intending to spend a lot of time working on the marketing materials and websites to try and bring them up to par with the competition. As for the decision to drop TK, I see that as a simple ROI assessment. The leads just weren't panning out and there are too few of them. In our market, the number and quality of the leads from WW are at least making it worthwhile to continue. If I can keep polishing the image, perhaps I can up the ROI rate. As for clicks, we're already getting good placement on the search engines and social media is producing a pretty fair number as well.

 

[Jas]

And it's difficult to get that image if you don't get weddings at decent venues with lots of dancing. A couple of years ago I bought a facade and two bose systems to improve my image. Got some crappy photos at the VFW with my new setup with hardly any dancing. That's the story of my life, I get no respect!

My older photos with my old facade and EV speakers look much better because I was getting more weddings at hotels and country clubs.

 

[djtaso]

And it's difficult to get that image if you don't get weddings at decent venues with lots of dancing. A couple of years ago I bought a facade and two bose systems to improve my image. Got some crappy photos at the VFW with my new setup with hardly any dancing. That's the story of my life, I get no respect!

My older photos with my old facade and EV speakers look much better because I was getting more weddings at hotels and country clubs.

When I was first starting out and working on my "image" photos, I would contact the owners of nicer venues to see if I could set up on a weekday in the afternoon and get some shots taken. Also, sometimes it isn't the venue itself, but the ophotographer. Good photogs can make even ordinary places look great with the right settings.

 

[SEDJ]

When I was first starting out and working on my "image" photos, I would contact the owners of nicer venues to see if I could set up on a weekday in the afternoon and get some shots taken. Also, sometimes it isn't the venue itself, but the ophotographer. Good photogs can make even ordinary places look great with the right settings.

Ive thought about doing this myself.