Get Notified When Your Email Message Has Been Opened (and more!)
Have you ever sent an email and wondered if someone opened it? Here is one of my favorite Internet marketing tools.
Why You Should Use a Business Profile at Instagram (and how to switch from a personal to business profile)
There are two types of accounts or “profiles” at Instagram; a personal profile and a business profile. For most businesses in the wedding industry a business profile is the best choice. Here’s why I recommend using a business profile at Instagram and instructions for changing a personal profile to a business profile.
Ask an Expert: Best Website Hosting
Q: Chris, we want to improve the overall experience at our website and from reading the Book More Weddings Tip of the Day that starts with high-performance website hosting. What hosting company do you use and recommend? BEST WEBSITE HOSTING
My Favorite WordPress Plugins
Plugins are tools that you “plug in” to WordPress to help you manage your website and Internet marketing.
My Favorite Tools
The right tools always make an otherwise challenging job much easier. Here are some of my favorites.
Broken Links Hurt Conversion
Broken links at your website leave a poor impression. They often occur as a result of website updates or poor management. Here’s how to find them.
Recommended Resources: Fixing WordPress Websites
Even with the best protection no WordPress website is 100% protected from trouble, specifically MALWARE.
How to Get Notified When WordPress & WordPress Plugins Need Updating
If your website runs on WordPress you probably know that it must be kept up-to-date or you risk being infected by hacker injected malware and a host of other security issues.
20 Point Website Self-Review
Better results from your website don’t come magically – it takes a lot of work. Here are 20 things to look at.
8 Important Data Points in Google Analytics
There are hundreds of data points in Google Analytics, here are 8 you want to look at regularly, at least once a month. Also, how to configure the Audience Overview report to be sent to you via email automatically at any interval you choose.
Does Your Website Pass the Google Mobile-friendly Test
Does your web site pass the Google mobile-friendly test? Here is how to find out.
Invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Good search engine optimization, and the resulting top rankings, last a LONG time, which will lead to hundreds of high-quality leads over time.
Social Media Tools
The right tools make a challenging job easier. Here is my favorite tool to use with social media. It saves me a lot of time managing my Facebook and Instagram social feeds.
Popular Wedding Planning Facebook Pages (for Brides & Grooms)
Keeping your finger on the pulse of what brides (and a few grooms) are talking about and exposed to online is basic marketing intelligence. Here are some of the big wedding planning Facebook pages, measured by followers or “Likes.”
Create and Have Ready a Website Disaster Recovery Plan
Public Service Announcement: Even if your hosting company tells you they are backing up your website, create your own backups.
Facebook Content Quality Checklist
Improving your Facebook content, and social media content in general, will deliver better results, drive more traffic to your website, and generate more inquiries and sales!
Facebook Best Practices (4 of 4)
Does your post include/use a call-to-action? Are you monitoring and measuring key metrics using Facebook Insights? Facebook Best Practices part four of four.
Facebook Best Practices (3 of 4)
Does your post properly reflect your expertise? Does someone reading it say “Wow, this person/business really knows their stuff.” Part Three of Facebook Best Practices.
Facebook Best Practices (2 of 4)
More techniques and tips to get better results from your Facebook business page. Part Two of Facebook Best Practices.
Facebook Best Practices (1 of 4)
When I speak to a lot of people they tell me that they don’t get very good or consistent results from Facebook. In most cases the reason is they are not using it properly. Here are some of the BEST PRACTICES I use when managing a Facebook business page for a client.
Amp Up Your First Impression
Is it time for your website to get a “fresh coat of paint?” Maybe it’s time for a complete overhaul? Maybe the marketing copy needs to be improved? In many cases the first impression a bride or groom gets about your company is going to be from your website.
Easily Review Your Current Rankings at Google
Tracking your search engine rankings manually can be a time-consuming task. It’s not the most effective way to track your rankings – or use your time. Here is the tool I use.
Post More Video at Facebook and Instagram
Videos undoubtedly get more organic non-paid reach when compared to simpler text with image posts, at both Facebook and Instagram.
Monitor Your Website Hosting 24/7/365 with Pingdom
It’s impossible for engaged couples to learn more about your website and make online inquiries if your website is down. Plus, a “website unavailable” error message never leaves the right impression.
Install Google Analytics, Configure Auto-Reporting
Why do you need to measure everything? Because if you don’t know that something is broken, you won’t know that you need to fix it.
Optimize Your Listing at WeddingWire & The Knot
I like both WeddingWire (WW) and The Knot (TK) as places where you can increase your online visibility, build your brand, and reach more brides and grooms. Both of these websites have significant reach into the business of wedding planning.
Fine-tune Your Social Media Hashtag Strategy
Using the appropriate hashtags will help you reach more couples in your geographical marketplace who are planning a wedding. Hashtags increase your social findability and social visibility.
Use Hashtags More Effectively (10 of the Most Popular Wedding Hashtags)
The right hashtags will make your social posts more “findable” for engaged couples who are searching for content related to those hashtags.
About This Book
My goal is to educate you, stimulate your thinking, and get your Internet marketing in tip-top condition. If your Internet marketing is currently a 3, let’s get it to a 6 or 7. If it’s a 6, let’s get it to a 9 or 10 – in the next 45-90 days!
Create or Update Your Frequently Asked Questions Page
A Frequently Asked Questions page is one of the most powerful pages you can put on any website. After a Pricing page it is almost always one of the most visited pages at any website.
Use Your WeddingWire & The Knot Reviews More Effectively
Leverage your reviews at WeddingWire and The Knot, here’s how I do it for my clients.
Upgrade Your “Dusty” Brand
“Dusty” brands are not only at a significant competitive disadvantage, but typically they can’t command premium pricing for their services in any competitive marketplace.
“Packages” Will Help You Book More Weddings
Generally speaking, when making a buying decision, people like packages. Packages will help you book more weddings.
100+ Things You Can Do to Reach More Engaged Couples, Get More Inquiries From Your Website, and Book More Weddings
A top-level table of contents. A great place to start.
More Problems With Cheap Hosting
Cheap hosting isn’t saving you money. There are all kinds of issues. You might think you’re saving $20/month but really losing THOUSANDS of dollars in lost sales.
Google Hates Slow Loading Websites Too!
If “bridal bailout” isn’t enough to convince you to choose high-performance website hosting, maybe this will. Google now uses page load times as a ranking factor.
The #1 Reason Brides & Grooms Leave Websites
Slow loading pages are the number one reason brides and grooms will leave your website. People these days simply don’t have any patience, brides probably even less.
