When: March 22, 2012
What: Networking to the fullest at Four Seasons Brickell
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Dress Code: Business Casual
Where: 1435 Brickell Avenue, Miami, Florida 33131
To be a sponsor contact Sandy at Twenty7events@gmail.com
Jan 26, 2012
Come see us TODAY at The Cocoplum!
WHEN?
TODAY, January 26th, 2012
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
WHERE?
The Cocoplum. 1375 Sunset Drive. Coral Gables. 33143
Parking: There is a parking lot adjacent to The Cocoplum for your convenience.
SPONSORS:
Jan 22, 2012
No One Can Compete with You (Once You Know Who YOU Are)
by Natalie Bradley
When it comes to your wedding business, you’re always trying to stay up to date with the latest trends. But just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to too! You only need to do the things that are right for YOU, that is how you are going to attract more brides.
There’s a little thing marketers like to talk about called your USP. Your Unique Selling Proposition. This is absolute key when marketing to brides. No one is competition for being you, so be you and only you. No one can compete then. Use your own style, personality, your quirky nature and embrace it! Being you is more important than most wedding professionals realize. Brides don’t want some cook cutter vendor, they want someone with a personality! So think about it… what makes you different from the rest? What do you do that no one else ones? What sets you apart?
Competition IS a problem when you are only copying what “they” are doing. When you forget who you are, what makes you you, and only follow what everyone else is doing, competition will be your worst nightmare.
Once you can go back to simply being you, all the competition will be gone! Brides will start ringing the phone off the hook because they like your style, they like who you are. It’s simply a matter of being comfortable and confident enough in yourself to just be yourself. Once you have done this, business will boom!
When talking to your potential brides, make sure you’re letting them know “what’s in it for her.” Don’t use “we” and “I”, use “you” and “your”. How can you help the bride? How can you make a difference in her day? How are you the answer to all her needs? Explain to her how you can help solve her problems.
Your Bride Attraction Assignment:
If you don’t know what’s special about you, do what my good friend Cari Vollmer (PassionIntoProfit.com) suggests. Ask 10 of your closest friends and family, plus 10 of your best clients what makes you “you”. What do they notice about you and your personality more than anything? What have clients enjoyed about working with you? What have you done for them?
You’ll find that some things are going to come up again and again and again. That’s what makes you different. Take these things and put them into your marketing as soon as possible… this will make all the difference in standing out from all those other people out there!
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
Jan 15, 2012
Listen to Your Gut and Just Say No!
by Natalie Bradley
How many times have you booked an unfitting bride because you needed the money, even though you KNEW you shouldn’t have? I have done this too many times! In the end though, it’s never worth it! I always regretted that I booked them when my gut told me it was a bad idea. The problem is, when you need business you feel like you have no choice other than to take any bride that comes your way.
So how do you make it so that you CAN say no? Set up your business so that you have multiple steams of income so when bridezilla shows up, saying no wont affect you! Incorporate programs, workshops, and products into your business as alternate forms of income.
Think about how many different things Martha Stewart does: magazines, television shows, home décor, she even has products for pets now. She’s doing quite well because of it all! Once you have different streams of income, you can start choosing the brides you want to work with. You can say no to the ones who aren’t a fabulous fit for you. As soon as you do this, you will have more freedom in your business, and that’s what we all want right?
Your Bride Attraction Assignment:
Find areas in your business where you could possibly add multiple streams of income. Once you add new areas of income, you will be able to pick and choose the weddings you want to do and have more freedom! Unlock those handcuffs and enjoy your freedom.
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
Jan 8, 2012
Are you hurting yourself on Facebook?
by Natalie Bradley
We all know there are the people on Facebook who are constantly whining and complaining through their Facebook pages. But if you are using Facebook to market your own business, this is definitely not the kind of thing you want to be posting. You don’t want a negative attitude to be associated with your business, especially through something as public as Facebook. We have to remember that anything we say and do through social media is now permanent on the Internet somewhere. So if you have to think twice about whether or not you should post something on your social media pages, you probably shouldn’t.
The same kind of thing goes for those who advertise for their business on their car. If you have your business name and logo on your car, it’s probably not the best idea to be an angry and aggressive driver. You never know what kind of business you could be turning away from a mean glare or from cutting someone off. When I had my car magnets on my car, I was always more aware of how I was driving. I was actually overly considerate (if there is such a thing!) to make sure I was putting the kind of message about me that I’d be happy about.
People are always watching, talking and making opinions, judgments and assumptions. Always.
Marketing is meant to be a positive thing, not negative. So if you’re not 100% okay with what you post always being linked to you, don’t say it! And if you don’t want to scare away customers with reckless driving, don’t do it! This also goes for your competition. Watch what you say and what you post. It will come back to you later, so make sure that you’ll be happy when it comes back around. You don’t want something to come back and haunt you later.
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
Dec 30, 2011
The Elite Bridal Network Holiday Party
Sugarsweet Dreams Cake Company
Have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year everyone.
Warmest Wishes,
The Entire Team at Elite Bridal Network
Thank-You’s Won’t Sell Brides, But Testimonials Do!
by Natalie Bradley
Are you using my successful testimonial formula? If not, you need to start today. When you get a testimonial back from a bride, you don’t want it to just be a thank you note. You need something that will help you book more brides, something that shows how valuable you were to have.
Here’s a proven testimonial formula that helps you book more brides. Just ask your brides in an email to send it to you like this….
Email Subject: Can I feature YOU and YOUR wedding?
I hope you’re doing great since your wedding! It was such a pleasure helping you plan your dream day and I enjoyed every moment of our time together.
We’d love to help more brides just like you, and your testimonial will help them know that we truly deliver what we promise. This would be such a huge help for me as well as so many brides who are in need of our services (just like you were).
Will you take a few minutes to write a paragraph, based on the VALUE you got from working with me and my team? (It should take you no more than 5 minutes.)
If you want help with structure, you can write something like this:
Before hiring insert your name here to photograph our wedding, I was…
From his or her services, I received…
And as a result, this is what happened (examples: saved money, saved time, my family and friends were able to relax and enjoy the day as guests, etc…)
My advice for those thinking of hiring insert your name here and her team…”
Feel free to inject your personality into it. Be yourself! I want brides and grooms to get INSPIRED when they read your paragraph! And, please do send us your favorite picture from the wedding, or let me know if it’s okay for me to choose! : )
Oh and do you mind sending this to me by Friday? I’d love to get your testimonial up on our website ASAP for other brides to see. No need for it to be perfect (I am happy to tweak it and send it to you for review if you prefer), but I just need the main points.
Just reply to this note – I can’t wait to hear from you what you experienced working with us.
Thank you so very much for your help!
….
Now, once you have your testimonials, you want to make sure they are on your website! The more testimonials you have lined up, the more credible you are. Brides who are excited to speak so highly of you and your help are really going to help you attract new brides. As you let more people see your testimonials through the web, your trustworthiness is going to skyrocket, and in turn, you’ll book more brides.
Add them to your e-zine and blog. Make a special section on your blog or e-zine featuring your testimonials. Give the testimonial a title, include a picture, and start repurposing. Send it out with your e-zine and post it on your blog. So not only do you have another blog post, it was easy to do, and potential clients can see the value of your services.
Make it a video! You can easily make a video using 3-D marketing using pictures from your weddings and adding text from your testimonials. Post your video on your tube channel, your blog, and link it to your social media accounts.
Doing all of this is really going to put these testimonials to work! It’s super easy and you get to repurpose them through all of your marketing mediums. Brides are going to find you more credible and you’ll be making more money!
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Dec 23, 2011
Managing Your Time is Always Tricky for an Entrepreneur
by Natalie Bradley
I’ve said several times how important it is to me to work smarter not harder. However, this is hard to do when there are so many options available to use through technology. Social media is crucial to small businesses these days, and most of us already have our marketing, business, and social calendars booked as tightly as they can be. So how are we supposed to get it all done? Well, the answer is, you aren’t. One thing I have learned to do in the past few years is to just let go of more. Here are some of my tips to working smarter, not harder.
Maximize your time. Find time slots in your day that is normally wasted and use that time to complete small tasks. It amazing how much you can do in just a short amount of time if you put your mind to it. Use these small amounts of time to write e-zine articles, blog posts, and other promotional materials. For example, whenever I am on a plane, I use that time to finalize upcoming marketing campaigns, finalize my calendars, and update intern requests. This is time I could easily just waste, but I have realized how much I can get done on just one short flight.
It’s okay to say no. When I first started my business, I served on countless boards for charities and fundraisers. So much of my time was going to these planning meetings that it was starting to take time away from my own business. I decided to let go of these commitments once my time was up so that I could focus more on growing my business. While I still take the time to volunteer, I can now do it when I can set time aside and not feel burdened with it. Start choosing what is most important you. When it comes to social media, you don’t have to be on every site. Just pick a few that you can consistently stay active on. Just because they exist, doesn’t mean you have to be on them!
Re-use it. Once you have written a blog or e-zine article, get it out there in as many ways as you can! Take your articles from the year before, tweak them a little bit and reuse them, there’s no need to constantly have brand new information. The old stuff is still important!
Delegate your tasks. Stop trying to be superwoman and start getting help. No one says you have to do it all yourself. Let your interns, assistants, family and friends help you out!
Schedule your time for projects. Set aside time to work on your projects that need to be done. If you set aside smaller amounts of time, you will be able to stay more focused and get more done. I find that I often get distracted when I am trying to work on something for a long amount of time.
Your Bride Attraction Assignment:
Take a look at your business and life and find the places where you could be working smarter, not harder. Find those tasks that are taking up too much of your time. Is it something that you can delegate out? Do you really need to be doing it? Can you start scheduling your time better? Once you do this, you will discover a much happier you!
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
Dec 21, 2011
Elite Holiday Party is here! Join us TODAY at the Grove Isle
Elite Bridal Network wants to invite you to Grove Isle Resort for a holiday networking party. Get ready to let loose, network, eat, drink and be merry!!!
Elite Bridal is successful because of our wonderful vendors so this event will be our thank you to you and there will be no entrance fee BUT please bring 2 unwrapped toys per person, for the charitable toy drive.
For every item you bring, you will get a drink ticket- up to 3 tickets. $5 each additional drink. If you can not bring the toys we will charge $20 per person, at the door. Proceeds will go to charity.
Where?
Grove Isle Hotel & Spa4 Grove Isle Drive Miami, FL 33133-4125
When?
TODAY, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Sponsors:
Sugarsweet Dreams Cake Company
Dec 20, 2011
What Opportunities are You Missing?
Think about all of the times in your life when you were given an opportunity, and you didn’t say yes. Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had taken that opportunity? Would you possibly be making significantly more money? This is something I definitely find myself thinking about every now and then.
Everyday, we are presented with opportunities that can change the course of our lives and it is up to us whether or not to take them. When it comes to your business, I recommend that you start saying YES! You may not always get the results you were looking for, but there’s a chance you could get even more. I have started saying yes to more workshops, to enroll in high-level programs, and to speak to groups across the country. As soon as I started saying YES! more, my business started growing. No matter how big or small the opportunity, newfound success quickly follows these yeses!
Be brave and take that chance! Don’t hold yourself back because you are terrified of opening a new door. That door could be the one that leads you to more money and more success. And with these successes, comes even more opportunities. Successful people don’t become successful by turning down opportunities. They are willing to take a leap of faith, now matter how intimidating it may be.
What have you been contemplating saying yes to but just haven’t yet? Is it an educational event or networking group that you just haven’t gotten to courage to go to yet? Think about what’s holding you back. What are you afraid of?
Your Bride Attraction Assignment:
Write it down! Start journaling about where you tend to shut down and shy away form opportunities. It’s often easier to understand ourselves when we start putting things on paper. Think about what’s keeping you from taking these opportunities. Write down what your afraid of and why. This assignment will change your life! Seriously!
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at HYPERLINK "http://www.BrideAttraction.com/" www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Dec 14, 2011
Don’t Just Say It. Do It!
by Natalie Bradley
There is something I have caught onto when it comes to being successful in your business. It’s the phrase “I may try that” or “I’ll try my best to do that”. I thought about this after reading this quote on a friend’s Facebook wall…
”Trying is lying. There is no such thing as trying. You do it or you don’t. You get results in life or you have excuses why you didn’t. When people say, ‘I’ll try,’ they usually mean, ‘I’m not going to do it now.’” – Dick Sutphen
Whether it’s with a client, when I’m teaching a class, or in a random conversation, I have realized people never really mean it when they say that phrase. But the thing is, if these people really did try, they most likely would find success in it. The difference between someone who is successful and one who isn’t is that the successful one tries new things...she doesn’t just say it.
If you know you do this every now and then, stop setting yourself up for failure. Actually do it! You never know what new ideas for your business or marketing techniques can do for you. Stop telling yourself you may try it, and tell yourself that your going to do it. That you are making a decision to do it.
In my experience, there are very few goals I haven’t achieved, but that is because I made a decision and was determined to achieve it. I didn’t just try, I made it happen.
You can do the exact same thing.
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at HYPERLINK "http://www.BrideAttraction.com/" www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
Dec 8, 2011
Are you hurting yourself on Facebook?
by Natalie Bradley
We all know there are the people on Facebook who are constantly whining and complaining through their Facebook pages. But if you are using Facebook to market your own business, this is definitely not the kind of thing you want to be posting. You don’t want a negative attitude to be associated with your business, especially through something as public as Facebook. We have to remember that anything we say and do through social media is now permanent on the Internet somewhere. So if you have to think twice about whether or not you should post something on your social media pages, you probably shouldn’t.
The same kind of thing goes for those who advertise for their business on their car. If you have your business name and logo on your car, it’s probably not the best idea to be an angry and aggressive driver. You never know what kind of business you could be turning away from a mean glare or from cutting someone off. When I had my car magnets on my car, I was always more aware of how I was driving. I was actually overly considerate (if there is such a thing!) to make sure I was putting the kind of message about me that I’d be happy about.
People are always watching, talking and making opinions, judgments and assumptions. Always.
Marketing is meant to be a positive thing, not negative. So if you’re not 100% okay with what you post always being linked to you, don’t say it! And if you don’t want to scare away customers with reckless driving, don’t do it! This also goes for your competition. Watch what you say and what you post. It will come back to you later, so make sure that you’ll be happy when it comes back around. You don’t want something to come back and haunt you later.
© 2008-2011 Natalie Bradley, BrideAttraction.com
Want to use this article in your Blog, E-zine or website?
You can as long as you include this complete statement:
Marketing to high-end brides expert Natalie Bradley publishes the "Bride Attraction" daily e-zine. Get your FREE audio course: "How to Close the Sale Without Fail!" at www.BrideAttraction.com
Photo by NEOART photography
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