BLOGS 5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Blog on Your Event Planning Website

September 27, 2018
5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Blog on Your Event Planning Website

By Kawana Ali

Source: EventPlanning.com

Are you considering starting a blog on your event planning website? If you are looking for good reasons to start a blog, you are in the right place.

According to TechClient, “61% of shoppers made purchases based on a blog post”.  TechClient goes on to say that websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages than websites without blogs.  This is huge.

What does all of this mean?  How can this information benefit your event planning business?

I’m going to give you five reasons why you should have a blog on your event planning website.  But before I get started with the five reasons, I’d like to share my own personal experience with reading blogs and how my life has been impacted, just so you can see firsthand the power of having a blog.

Preston Bailey has earned a space in my heart as one of my favorite celebrity event designers. By far, I consider him the King of luxury event design. Though I have never personally attended any of his events, he earned that space through the blog on his website.

I was impressed with the content, and the level of openness Mr. Bailey shared on his blogs, (like him sharing how he went almost 2 million dollars in debt after several business mistakes) that I became a fan.  Just from reading his blogs I felt like I connected with him and his personality.

This is exactly what you want to do with your blog also. You want to share valuable information from everything you know about planning events and weddings.  I recall a time when I had concerns about being on the right track with my event planning business.  I wondered if some of my practices were on point, like my decision to charge a retainer fee that amounted to 50% of the total cost of the event.  My concerns were put at ease from reading another planner’s blog that this was a standard industry practice.

You may be wondering how do you come up with enough topics to keep your blog going?

I have some great advice for this – think about the top 5 or 10 most common questions you get asked about events. Write those down.

Now you have 5 – 10 articles you can write about just like that. If people have asked you a question about events before, then other potential clients have the same questions and are Googling around for the answers to them.

Take these blog post topics you just wrote out and write blog posts of 250 – 1000 words covering the details of these questions.

Over time, as people read your blog they will view you as an expert of your field. Simply put, the content on your blog will eventually lead to people to your website and the services that you offer.

Here are the 5 P’s of why you should start a blog: Presence, Personality, Professional knowledge, Passion, Potential Revenue.  These five P’s equate to 5 reason why you should have a blog on your website.

1. Presence

Maintaining an online presence is crucial to your business.  Staying top of mind is just as important to your event planning career, as it is for celebrities and their careers. As you may have experienced in our recent culture, it’s the celebrities who have the ability to drive people to their online presence who are the most successful professionally – they’ve learned how to create a buzz for themselves.  It’s the same with utilizing a blog as an event planner. Through the content of your blog, you create a reason for people to keep coming back to visit your page.

Unless you have paid to have your website placed in the top of Google and other popular search engines, it would probably be fair to say that no one is bombarding your website with visits.

However, the sweet thing about having a blog on your site is that with every article you post, you increase the chances of someone stumbling across your webpage. By typing certain keywords in the search engine regarding event planning, your article pops up in the search results by keywords used in your article, which in turn, will drive traffic to your site.

This site gets a lot of it’s traffic through the informative blog posts written on the site. After you read this article you can read through some of our other posts to see the informational style we use. You can do the same by answering the most common questions your clients have for you in your blog posts.

2. Personality

Having a blog on your website gives readers an intimate glimpse into your personality.  The reality check that most people find when entering into the event planning field is that event planners come a dime a dozen.  My grandma always used the “dime a dozen” phrase to express the concept of supply and demand.  There’s a large supply of event planners, but not as large demand for us.  You don’t find the want ads filled with pages of “event planners” needed.  Usually, we have to convince the client as to why they should hire us in our sales pitch.

In some cases, depending upon where you live, your area can be saturated with event planners.  Where I live, everyone and their third cousin claims to be an event planner.  Now, we all know of course that the skill level and talent varies, and you get what you pay for.

However, you still need something that will set you apart from other planners.  Years ago, when I sold insurance in a heavily saturated area of other insurance agents, I received valuable advice from a woman who was very successful at selling insurance.  She told me, ‘don’t sell the insurance product, sell yourself.’  What she meant was, sell your personality.  Though there may be many agents, there was only ONE me.  There is only ONE you, express your uniqueness in your blog.

You will find in this industry that you can be the greatest planner, but if the client does not connect with your personality, or misunderstands your personality, you will not close the deal. Yet, by having a blog, potential clients get to learn more about you and your style and who you are as a person. Your blog and the quality of the content that you provide is what will set you apart from other planners.

3. Professional Knowledge

A blog gives you the opportunity to set yourself apart as an expert in the field.  By sharing valuable industry knowledge, and providing solutions to common event problems, you will build professional credibility with your readers.  Your followership will see that you are capable of managing their event should they need you to do so.

Having a blog also allows you to educate your readers on what to expect when hiring an event planner. Or instead of waiting for your elevator pitch, use your blog as the platform to explain to readers why they should hire an event planner.  Your knowledge builds consumer confidence.

4. Passion

People who have passion for what they do usually do it best. Your blog is your chance to show your readers that if they hire you, they are getting the best.  Your passion for planning the perfect event will show through the content that you write for your blog.

Be exceptional when creating the content to your blog.  Allow your passion for the event industry to cause you to throw everything within you onto the pages of the articles that you post.  Remember, your blog reflects you, and your blog is what will set your apart from other planners.

5. Potential revenue

As stated early, statistics shows that a large number of buyers tend to make purchases based on blog post.  This is mainly because, the potential buyer has received something of value from your blog.  One way to increase the potential of a reader becoming a customer is creating value added incentives and offers that you provide that will get the client to respond to a call to action.

Blogs also offer additional ways to generate revenue through paid ads.  If your blog has a high readership, some advertisers will pay you to advertise on your blog. Pay per click or cost per click is a very popular way companies advertise, by placing banners in the content or on the sidebar of your blog post.

You may end up choosing not to accept advertisers on your blog and just use it as a tool to get clients but at least the option will be available to you.

Having a blog is different from publishing post on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks.  The advantage is that you can add meatier content.  As you know with most social media network sites, the more words people see posted, the more likely they are going to scroll past the post and not read it.  People want to see funny pictures and short memes on social media. With a blog, people come just for the purpose of reading all of the brilliance that you have to offer.

Lastly, don’t be intimidated.  Adding a blog to your website is not hard.  Most websites come with a blog tab already available.

Do you have a blog?  When you create your blog what are some topics you wish to write about.  Perhaps you can list the topics in the comment section, and we as a community can offer jewels for you to add to your content to help you get going on your first article.

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BLOGS 6 Tips to Run Your Event Planning Career From Anywhere

September 24, 2018
6 Tips to Run Your Event Planning Career From Anywhere

Source: EventPlanningBlueprint

A large part of my life is traveling (for business and pleasure) and I travel as much as I can, but as a business owner it can be difficult to manage the business while on the road, and I don’t have the option of closing my business while I’m away. Over the last four months I have spent two weeks in Costa Rica, a week away over Christmas and New Year’s, and two weeks in Africa.

Many event planners run their event planning career from locations other than their home office or city. While it can be exciting and fun to travel and plan events in other locations, there are ways to improve the quality of your travel and keep up with your event planning career obligations too.

How To Run Your Event Planning Career From Anywhere

In today’s episode of EventPlanning BlueprintTV, I share three tips to help you run your event planning career from anywhere so you can enjoy traveling and stay productive; and three more travel tips that I live by below the video.

In addition to the three tips shared in today’s video, here are three more must-do travel tips for event planners that travel:

  • 1.Take a carry-on only. Considering how much I travel it’s shocking how much luggage I (used to!) take. Now, I roll my clothes into a carry-on suitcase and do laundry at my destination when I need to. By taking only a carry-on, this also helps me get in and out of airports faster.
  • 2.Drink a lot of water. Staying hydrated while traveling is essential, so I take a reusable water bottle with me and fill it at the airport before I board my flight (there are always water fountains by the bathrooms). My rule of thumb is to drink at least one cup of water per each hour of travel. This helps me hit the ground running and keeps me alert once I arrive (I keep snacks in my bag too, just in case!).
  • 3.Get moving! Go for a walk, a run, a swim or to the gym. Exercising has many health benefits but when traveling it’s important to keep your body moving so you maintain your energy for meetings and events.

Now I’d love to hear from you.

In the comments, share with me…

Have you done any traveling where you’ve run into an issue like bad Internet? How did you handle it?

I look forward to hearing your travel stories!

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BLOGS 61 amazing photos prove that the iPhone camera has transformed photography

September 19, 2018
61 amazing photos prove that the iPhone camera has transformed photography

By Rafi Letzter

Source: Business Insider

The winners of the 9th annual iPhone Photography Awards, or iPPAwards, were just announced, and they’re stunning.

Kenan Aktülün, founder and curator of the iPPAwards, tells Tech Insider the contest exists to celebrate the power of filling the world with simple, powerful point-and-shoot cameras. All images in the contest were shot with iPhones (no Androids or other camera allowed). The iPhone may not currently be the best smartphone camera in the world (that title goes to the Galaxy S7), but serious photographers still love the Apple devices for their consistency, simplicity, and color-accuracy.

Check out the 2016 winners below, along with captions from the photographers.

Grand Prize Winner | Man and the Eagle

Grand Prize Winner | Man and the Eagle

“The brave and wise Khalkhas live along the mountains in the south of Xinjiang and are companions with the eagles. They regard eagles as their children and train them for many years to hunt. This 70 year old man is rigid and solemn in front of family and friends, but when he is with his beloved eagle, the corner of his mouth would curve up. When the eagles reach mating age, although he is very reluctant, the man releases the eagles back into nature so that they can thrive. A mild heart and exquisite love are covered by his weather-beaten face. He is a tough man with a tender heart.”

First Place | Modern Cathedrals

First Place | Modern Cathedrals

“Most of my shots come from Warsaw and one from Strasbourg. The idea was to make it more impressionistic, to show architecture in a completely different way that combines my background in graphic design and painting.”

Second Place | She Bends with the Wind

Second Place | She Bends with the Wind

“I was on a iPhone workshop and reunion with a friend and teacher in Cape Cod. We all went out to photograph the the perfect sunset. I tend to bring a few things when I travel, one being this wonderful red umbrella. When others shoot the sunsets and beautiful scenery, I like to photograph some human aspects in these scenes.”

Third Place | Wonderland

Third Place | Wonderland

“This image was taken as part of a series I did for instagram’s #WHPwonderland. Each weekend when the hashtag project comes out I try to come up with an idea and this particular weekend, the weekend before Christmas, was wonderland. For this one I went on a little adventure with my son to the beach and we wore the reindeer masks.”

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BLOGS How To Overcome DJ Burnout

September 17, 2018
How To Overcome DJ Burnout

By Dan White

Source: DJ TechTools

With any profession, burnout is a real challenge that often crops up when you least want it to. The feeling of not being able to create or wanting to do something that you love can be incredibly frustrating – but it is a challenge that so many creators struggle with. In today’s article, we’ve collected some tips from the DJTT community on how DJs who struggle with burnout can get past it.

Burnout Is A Real DJ Problem

To people who aren’t in a specific creative profession (like producing, DJing, or any art form), the concept that you would get tired of it sounds absurd. Anytime a touring DJ talks about needing to rest, or a superstar producer claims they lack inspiration to make new tunes, it can seem like a bit of a first world problem. But this is very common – and not just in creative fields. Here’s a quick list of feeling that you might have when you’re burnt out:

  • low motivation
  • a sensation of being “drained”
  • low energy to accomplish basic tasks – even ones you love
  • loss of appetite and passion

There’s a great article that was in the New York Times last year on recognizing burnout before it happens – take a moment to read it. Even though it is focused on workplaces, almost all the concepts apply to DJs and producers.

We reached out to the DJTT community recently to ask everyone to share their best tips on avoiding burnout in our industry. Here’s some of the best advice we’ve heard (please, add more in the comments on this article!):

Take Breaks To Reflect + Relax

High-paced performance and production  schedules and constant stimulation can make it really hard for your “musical ears” to remember what they like. Your mind needs a healthy balance of time spent creating and time off in order to keep everything sustainable.

Don’t Take On New Gigs When Burnt Out

This advice comes from a great article on Psychology Today on ways to recover from a serious bout of being burnt out – avoid adding new responsibilities when you’re already feeling zapped.

This applies to gigs, production projects, anything that will add an extra feeling of needing to do something instead of wanting to.

Seek Inspiration From Peers

Being able to check out what other DJs and producers are doing is a clever way to kickstart your own creative mindset again. Seeing other creative people achieving success can be very motivating, and break through mental roadblocks.

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BLOGS Important Software for Event Planners

September 13, 2018
Important Software for Event Planners

By Kawana Ali

Source: EventPlanning.com

The fun part of being an event planner is that we get to sprinkle our magic glitter on events and make things pretty by transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. However, most of us would agree that the administrative functions of our role are not at all glitz and glamor. Staying on top of the business side of your event business can be overwhelming.

Thankfully, there is help.

The age of technology has made the event management aspect of planning events easier than ever.  There are online tools that help with time management, design layout, guest management, budget management and more.

The greatest part about these programs is that they are all web-based. So you don’t have to worry about your hard work getting lost in cyberspace should something unfortunate happen to your computer.

In writing this article, I approached it like a project, keeping you, the reader at the forefront of my mind.  With a barrage of event planning software tools available online, and the busy lives of event planners, I strategically selected programs that were easy to use, and reasonable in cost for this article.

I wanted to highlight two of my favorite planning tools, which are Allseated, and Intuit Quickbooks. However, for the sake of not being biased, I did a little research and test drove a few other programs. I have to say, I was impressed with some of the product offerings, so let’s dive in.

Administrative/Client Management

HoneyBook / Dubsado / Intuit Quickbooks

Need help with organizing all that paper work?

HoneyBook.com, and Dubsado.com can be a big help. Both are great time management tools that offer a sweet user interface where you can keep track of contracts, invoices, inquiries, proposals sent and signed, as well as retainers paid.  Dubsado event offers a time tracker for hourly billing.  Free Trials are available and the cost for HoneyBook is $40 a month or $400 for the year, and the cost for Dubsado is $15 a month, $175 a year or $600 a one-time fee.

The noticeable differences between the two that caught my eye were the content layout design of each page.  HoneyBook will work better for the individual who is more visual.  For those who are more analytical, I think Dubsado will work best.  But that’s just my opinion.  Tell me what you think in the comments.

For those needing a little more administrative help, like myself, Intuit Quickbooks.com is another great choice.  This program has the same capabilities as HoneyBook and Dubsado but with a few more bells and whistles.  In addition, it has a feature to pay taxes online, maximize tax deductions, prepare 1099’s as well as organize expenses.  Quickbooks will not only keep your organized throughout the year, it will have you tax ready at the end of the year.

Wedding/Party Planning Management

BestPartyEver / EasyEventPlanning / AllSeated / TopTablePlanner/ SocialTables

BestPartyEver.com and EasyEventPlanning.com are two fabulous tools for organizing the logistics of your event.  Why are they so fabulous?  Because they’re FREE!  BestPartyEver.com allows the user to organize vendors, party ideas, favorite articles, guest list, timeline, budget calculator as well as free invitation printables.

EasyEventPlanning.com is a software program that allows you to send save the date cards, indicate meal preferences, RSVP, song request, and manage ticketed events.  The cool thing about this program in addition to its being free, there are no annoying banner ads.

Allseated.com is my personal favorite because of its many features. In addition to this program being free forever, the tutorials give simple and thorough instructions on how to navigate the program, it’s very easy to use.  The customizable profile page gives a clean, professional appearance to those who will be involved with the event you’re working on.  You can share information with everyone who’s involved in the planning process of the event.

RSVP management is a cinch; with just a check of a box you have a general idea of a final guest count. Creating a floor plan, and seating chart is a breeze; just drop and drag the tools, and you are all set.

The guest management function of Allseated allows you to create multiple sub-events that may be associated with a main event, which enables you to determine, at the client’s discretion, which guest will attend what event.

For example, the Johnson wedding will be listed as the main event category, within the main category will contain the master guest list.  The sub-events will be the bridal shower, the bachelor party, the rehearsal dinner, the wedding ceremony and the reception. With ease you can simply check which guest from the master list will be attending which sub-event.  This is a great tool, because certainly, you don’t want your dear Aunt Sue, head of her church’s mother’s board to get an invite to the bachelor party, even though you may have invited her to the rehearsal dinner. Allseated makes it easy to line multiple events.  Like many of the other paid online software apps, Allseated has 24/7 technical support.

Another program that I stumbled across while planning this article, that I feel is worth mentioning is TopTablePlanner.  This program is extremely user friendly, it’s almost like an introductory program to Allseated.  TopTablePlanner.com has easy to use tools for arranging seats and rearranging guest and particular guest tables.  If you are a novice at navigating software planning tools, I would highly suggest starting with TopTablePlanner.  There is no need to register to use the free trial and packages range from $20-$80 a month.

If you’re ready to impress your clients and receive stellar service, you may want to check out another popular software planning program, SocialTables.com.  This site offers incredible member support. SocialTable goes one step further than some of the other software programs by assigning each account holder a customer success manager, who will work with you one on one to ensure your success with using the tool. It has the same collaboration, diagramming, floor plan, seating chart function as Allseated, yet its more comprehensive.  SocialTable offers a 14-day free trial period, and packages begin at $99 a month.

Once you’ve hit the big leagues, and have several staff under your command, and a plethora of events on your calendar that branch out into the large scale conventions, conferences and seminars, with crowds of 500 and more, you may want to familiarize yourself with Capterra.

As their ad states, “the Smart Way to Find Business Software”, Capterra offers a list of top ten event planning tool software, with a bird’s eye view of what each program offers to suite your planning needs.  Programs like DaPulse, Configio and RegFox can also be used for weddings and social gatherings.  The prices of the programs listed on Capterra range from $25-$300 a month.

When looking for a new planning tool for your event business, you should take note of a few cautions.

  • Many event planning software programs require you to register before receiving a free trial. The downside of having to register is that you may not like the program.  Now the software company has your email address and phone number to bug the hell out of you to get you to buy their product.
  • For some free trials, once you click on the “I want a free trial button”, they will download the program onto your computer. In many case, you will not know that a program is getting ready to be downloaded onto your system until after you have clicked the button. The downside to this is, once again, you may not like the program.  Now in addition to dealing with unwanted sales calls, you are now dealing with having to uninstall a program, and any cookies that may have been downloaded onto your computer.  This is not a fun task for someone who isn’t computer savvy.
  • When considering planning tools, take note of the jargon on the web page before hitting the free trial button.  Some software platforms are designed for larger event firms that do business on a global scale, make sure the software program you are selecting meets your needs. Wear shoes that fit!

Managing an event can be overwhelming.  Between the back and forth client emails.  Keeping track of client proposals, invoicing, RSVP organization, and all of our other event management duties, event planning details can test the patience of the calmest person. Choosing the right tool is essential to your success as a planner.  These tools will enable you to spend more time doing the things you love, and that’s making events fabulous.

Share your favorite event planning tools in the comment section.  Tell us why it’s your favorite and why did you choose it over other available options.

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