So I was on a plane flight, sitting next to the venerable Mr. T. Naturally, we moved into discussion cutting edge issues related to wedding marketing. I was quite surprised at how passionate he was, on the subject.

We disagreed on one basic element. Mr. T feels that many wedding business people are simply fools. I, on the other hand, feel that wedding business people are highly competent at their craft, but sometimes make foolish wedding marketing decisions.

Mr. T shrugged and said, “Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Fools or foolish decision. The result is the same. Wasted money, weak results.”

With a little coaxing, he gave me a number of wedding marketing red flags to share with you.

• Wedding marketing professionals complain about the bride not having a realistic budget, but most of them don’t have a wedding marketing budget.
• Wedding marketing professionals often grouse about conflicting timelines at a wedding, but at least there is a timeline. When it comes to written wedding marketing plans, he finds that almost no wedding businesses actually have one.
• Don’t believe the hype! In reference to the new A-Team movie, Mr. T explained that “Suspending belief is something you should do when you go into a cinema.” Disbelief is not something you should practice when dealing with advertising, marketing, or results. Go for facts, history of consistency, and measure results. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
• His ethics advice. “If you sleep with dogs, you’re likely to get fleas.”
• Who is the client?: In another canine metaphor, Mr. T says – “The person that feeds the dog, is the dog’s owner.” Sometimes that’s the bride, the wedding couple, the venue, parents, or all of the above. You deal with the bride once, but you want to be welcome back to, and referred by, the venue.
• On positive thinkers: “Without facts or a plan, they are just fools.”
• On promoters: “If they sound like a used car salesman, they probably run their business like one. Even if they’re not wearing suede shoes.”

Would like to bring Mr. T to a wedding conference to lay the smack down on some of the attendees.

Mr. T’s Bottom Line: Don’t be self-delusional, have a written plan, and don’t believe the hype.

If not, Mr. T will have NO pity for you.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Mock up of the coming book

On the heels of his highly successful chapter contribution, Blogging Your Way To Business Success, in the Power of the Platform: Speakers on Success, Andy Ebon has been asked to participate in the sequel.

The Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, publisher of the Power of the Platform series, has tabbed Andy to write a chapter for the Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose. Andy’s chapter title is: Building A Focused Social Media Strategy.

The chapter breaks down a total social media strategy, including: Blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Power of the Platform: Speakers on Purpose is scheduled to be released in 4th quarter 2009.

Joe Fabitz
Contributing Writer
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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In business, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the numbers: Sales, dollars, bookings, inquiries, appointments. In blogging, one measures success by the impact of the blog on its readers.

Blogging impact can be measured in a number of ways:

• Site visitors
• Comments (quality and quantity)
• # of screens views on each visit
• Diverse geography of visitors
• Time spent viewing the blog
• Source of activity (referrers, links, message boards, etc.,)
• Inquiries for speaking or consulting
• Awareness/Comments when speaking to people at meetings/conferences

With all that said, I’m proud to announce that this morning, The Wedding Marketing Blog surpassed 10,000 visitors for the month of June. I probably should have waited until the end of the month for a final total, but this was too exciting.

Besides the soaring number of visits, it’s exciting to see improvement in all areas, especially comments and questions from readers… like you.

As The Wedding Marketing Blog continues to grow in activity, there are a number of features, benefits and goals that will roll out during the second half of 2009.

They will include

• International coverage in many English speaking countries (already begun)
• Public speaking calendar (under development)
• Directory of Wedding Trade Association and Networking Organizations
• Industry Conferences, Meetings, and Seminars
• Directory of Wedding Business Resources, Advertising and Exhibiting Opportunities

I’ll stop there, because it will take quite a bit of effort to launch all of that. Your suggestions and ideas are always welcome. I do my best to read every inquiry, comment, and email.

Each post and reader are important to me. I’m conscious of the fact that different people are interested in different issues. I will continue to give my best effort to provide valuable and stimulating content to you.

With my deepest appreciation for your readership!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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International Wedding Marketing Coverage

Sunday, June 14, 2009 – Las Vegas, NV:

Wedding Marketing Authority, Andy Ebon, announced today that The Wedding Marketing Blog is enhancing its discussion of wedding marketing to include many English-speaking countries around the world.

The Wedding Marketing Blog will add international announcements and news coverage of associations, meetings and conference, fam trips, wedding trade shows, wedding media and networking opportunities,

Andy Ebon commented “With the proliferation of Destination Weddings and the ease of internet communications, there is much one can learn from our contemporaries in all corners of the world. This is true of culture, wedding traditions, as well wedding marketing and business operations.

By expanding the world view of The Wedding Marketing Blog, we hope to shine a light on the great work wedding professionals are performing in many English-speaking countries.”

The initial group of countries receiving coverage, outside the United States, will include:

• Australia
• Canada
• Caribbean and Virgin Islands
• India
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• South Africa
• United Kingdom

Companies, organizations and associations with specific news should submit press releases to andyebon [at] weddingmarketing.net

Joe Fabitz
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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