ONLY A FEW MONTHS UNTIL HIRING SEASON BEGINS!! WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING NOW TO PREPARE!
Right now we are nearing the end-ish of wedding season (depending on what country you are in) ... weekends are filled up with weddings, brides and grooms, flowers, amazing food, and wedding industry professionals are BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!!! Business is good! Money is coming in! Hip-hip-HOORAY!!!!!
If you did a good job last year during HIRING SEASON of kicking ass and being out there in front of brides then your prize is a busy wedding season ... but in just a few months HIRING SEASON will be here and there are some things you can do NOW to prepare and make sure you are READY to fill up the 2018 wedding season with more BUSY BUSY BUSY activity!
TEST YOUR WEBSITE:
Last year you may have skated by without being dinged by the importance of a MOBILE FRIENDLY website, but I hear from people multiple times per week that their inquiries are disappearing and they don't understand why ... then I test their website and realize they are NOT mobile optimized and Google is punishing them. It's SO important that you have a website that is not only mobile optimized by Google's standards but that also works wonderfully on a device.
REDESIGN YOUR WEBSITE:
Did you fail the above tests?? No time like the present to hire a designer to make a new one for you! Keep in mind that the GREAT WEBSITE DESIGNERS book up! You can't decide last minute to hire someone if they are worth it. If you have your eye on a website designer then read this post about red flags to pay attention to before hiring a website designer to make sure you are choosing right!
PLAN A STYLED SHOOT THAT SUPPORTS YOUR BRAND AND MESSAGE:
I absolutely love it when wedding pros create a styled shoot that supports their brand. This should be done once a year!!! Things in the wedding and event industry date VERY QUICKLY and it's important to keep up with the current trends! If you plan well and produce the shoot in Fall 2017 then you can update your website with the images and also submit it for a feature that would hopefully publish during hiring season! Definitely be sure to check out this advice I shared about selecting a model for a produced shoot.
GO TO A NETWORKING EVENT:
I am sooooo guilty of this << as in, I don't go to them. I have major social anxiety and do my best to keep relationships growing from the comfort of my own home ... and when I do go out I make sure that it's with a group of people I have already met once or twice. So I can't 'yell' at your from this computer screen and tell you to GO OUT AND MAKE FRIENDS, because that would make me a hypocrite. But I will say this: If it came down to needing to start overcoming my social anxiety to keep my business growing: I'd do it immediately. Networking is something that can take your business far! So even if you're like me and you tend to shy away from group settings, try your best to reach out to other industry folks in other ways that make you feel comfy cozy.
HAVE NEW HEAD SHOTS TAKEN:
I was surprised at how much confidence I got after I had new head shots taken this year. Wow, Heather, you really are full of yourself!! << NO, that's not what I mean ... lol. For me it was just one more step towards putting The Editor's Touch in good ass jeans and getting my company laid ... feeling good has lots of different strings attached to it and the more strings you can have that support to feeling good the more your confidence will soar! Plus, people like to make connections. The more invested you are in SOMEBODY the more likely you will want to invest in THEIR BUSINESS.
UPLOAD ALL NEW IMAGES TO YOUR WEBSITE:
Portfolio cleaning is SO important for your business to stay current!! When is the last time you changed out the images on your website?? When is the last time you uploaded new galleries or blogged a new event you were involved with? For an industry like the wedding and event industry getting dated is the WORST THING you can allow to happen to your image ... here is a post I shared about selecting the right images to support your target market and message.
I hope this was helpful! I have so many clients who come to me feeling deflated and after we work together their business grows 10 times over!! It's amazing what a little confidence can do ... a little rearranging and juggling ... I'd love to work with YOU to help create that same feeling! Contact me to get started.
XO~ Heather
