July 25, 2023 Update: Is The Knot a Scam
Having worked with hundreds of wedding professionals over the years I can tell you for a FACT:
Leads from your website are the best quality leads you can get.
If this is not the case, there is something wrong with your website.
If you want to book more weddings, focus an effort on getting more inquiries from your website.
Sure, you may get leads from your advertising at The Knot or WeddingWire, but leads from your website are ALWAYS going to be BETTER QUALITY and MORE LIKELY TO CLOSE.
Advertising at The Knot and WeddingWire is often a significant cost to most wedding businesses. If you get a good ROI then fine, advertise there.
Do your own analysis (which most people advertising there have never done) to find out for yourself.
Some say it’s great (advertising at The Knot or WeddingWire). Others have told me it’s like throwing money into a blowtorch.
Sidenote: If you advertise at The Knot or WeddingWire be sure you have optimized your vendor profile.
One of the things that makes leads from The Knot and WeddingWire poor quality is that they use an auto-generated “lead” system that effectively creates what I call “fake leads” or “add-on” inquiries.
Very few wedding people I talk to that advertise at The Knot or WeddingWire are aware of this.
“What do you mean, “fake leads,” Chris?”
Here’s how it works.
Engaged couples make an inquiry to one vendor and then The Knot WeddingWire “system” allows them, and even prompts them, to click a couple of check boxes and quickly make additional “inquiries” to other vendors.
As you might guess, The Knot & WeddingWire says it’s a fair system for all wedding vendors who are advertising.
That debate aside, it still creates poor quality inquiries, inquiries that I can prove are low-quality leads and less likely to close when compared to leads/inquiries from your own website.
And I have the data to prove it.
I did an exercise with one of my clients where we reviewed all of their leads from the past 6 months. They have three primary sources of leads:
• The Knot
• WeddingWire
• Their Website
Here’s what we found.
Less than 5% of the leads from The Knot and WeddingWire resulted in a sale.
40% of the leads they got from their website resulted in a sale.
By far, the majority of their new business is a result of inquiries FROM THEIR OWN WEBSITE.
The leads from their website tend to be less focused on price, are actually easier to close, and close faster.
How do you improve the quality of your leads and book more weddings?
And become less reliant on expensive advertising with an often uncalculated ROI at The Knot or WeddingWire?
Here are 5 things I recommend to my clients.
#1 – OPTIMIZE your website in a way that turns the engaged couples who visit into inquiries and then sales. In other words, GET MORE INQUIRIES FROM YOUR WEBSITE.
#2 – INCREASE YOUR ONLINE VISIBILITY, particularly by getting your website better ranked at Google (aka: search engine optimization SEO)
#3 – OPTIMIZE all of your internet marketing so that it drives traffic to your website. Focus on using social media channels like Facebook and Instagram as traffic-building tools.
#4 – OPTIMIZE how you use social proof – awards, testimonials, reviews, photos of happy couples you have worked with, and memberships in professional associations.
#5 – Follow up on all of your inquiries faster. Can you follow up by text message or phone within 30 minutes of getting an inquiry from your website? Maybe less? If you can it’s not unlikely that you can increase your sales 25% OR MORE in less than 90 days. I see it happen ALL. THE. TIME.
My name is Chris Jaeger and I've been helping people in the wedding industry reach more engaged couples, get more inquiries from their websites, and book more weddings for more than 25 years.
I am the author of "100 Things You Can Do to Book More Weddings: Reach More Engaged Couples, Drive More Traffic to Your Website, Get More Inquiries, and BOOK MORE WEDDINGS" and want to help you BOOK MORE WEDDINGS.
I've also been a speaker and educator at The Wedding MBA, Association for Wedding Professionals International, International Association of Wedding Industry Professionals, Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, Charlottesville Wedding & Event Professionals, and many private companies and groups.
Organizations like The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Huffington Post, Atlantic Magazine, and The Wedding Report often reach out to me for insight about the health of the wedding industry, trends, changes, and disruptions.
I can help you if you would like to...
- Reach More Engaged Couples
- Drive More High Quality Traffic to Your Website
- Get Top Ranked at Google
- Get More Inquiries from Your Website
- Book More Weddings at Your Ideal Price
- Close More Sales, More Easily and Faster!
“Working with Chris Jaeger has helped us to sharpen and refine our Internet marketing strategy. We signed up for one of his monthly programs and are delighted with the results. Our website is now working very well! And our presence on the Internet has really increased, as have our sales! That is precisely what we wanted. Chris is always there to answer our questions, and consistently offers sound advice, especially for those of us who are not “techies.” He is knowledgeable, warm, and creative. We recommend him highly! - Norma Moutal & Mark Giller, Owners of One Heart Personalized Ceremonies
“Chris is the Real Deal and understands Internet marketing that actually delivers results. I am 100% dedicated to having the best online marketing for my business and Chris is a trusted “go-to” resource when it comes to Internet marketing for my music business.”- David Rothstein, Owner, DRS Music
"I asked Chris to review our website and Internet marketing and his analysis and recommendations were exactly what I was looking for. He didn't just give us broad recommendations, rather detailed notes, and detailed recommendations. The annotated screen-shots were very helpful. Now, it's time to get to work!" - Alex Karas, Owner, Enchanted Celebrations
“Chris, we just an OUTSTANDING month of sales. Our new site is a major improvement over our old site, couples love it, and we booked 12 jobs this month that I’m sure the new site contributed to. The new Internet marketing strategy you developed with us is working great. The inquiries are coming in and more importantly, they are turning into sales.” - Tracy Painter - Owner, Entertainment Tonite
If you want better results from your website and internet marketing call me or text me at (978) 325-2983.
If you are serious about building your wedding business call me or text me at (978) 325-2983.
If you want to optimize your online presence and make it easier for couples to find your business online (before they find a competitor) call me or text me at (978) 325-2983.
Don't have time for a phone call right now?
Schedule a Discovery Session with me at a mutually appropriate time using my DaySlice.
I look forward to speaking with you!
Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
Build Your Wedding Business
(978) 325-2983
Chris Jaeger is a 30-year veteran in the wedding industry helping wedding businesses book more weddings through better wedding business marketing. Those businesses marketing to brides online and marketing to engaged couples who want to get better results from their internet marketing and want to get more inquiries from their website have used Chris' free 100+ Things You Can Do To Book More Wedding advice and learned how to reach more brides and how to book more weddings!
