How To Outsource Blogging (with success) For Your Wedding Business
If you have a wedding business, maybe as a photographer, venue, planner, DJ or other, you’ve probably at least considered the idea of having a blog on your website. It may look like one of these situations:
You never started one because you just never got to it or don’t know where to begin
You started but didn’t keep up with it due to a lack of time or ideas
You don’t have one because writing isn’t a strength of yours or something you enjoy
You’d like to do it but there’s just too much on your to-do list that takes priority
You don’t see the value in having a blog for your wedding business (check out 5 Reasons Why All Wedding Pros Should Have A Blog. That should clear things up).
Is this you?? Outsourcing your blog might be a perfect solution. But how does one do that? How can someone else possibly share your expertise, and personal experience, and speak in your voice? How can it be done without taking a bunch of time and/or training?
As a blog writing virtual assistant, I hear concerns like this often. I worked in the wedding industry for over 7 years before starting this business and blog writing was always a huge pain point for so many of you, including myself at the time. Yes, I have been through it! Combining my experiences working as a wedding planner, bridal show producer, and venue coordinator (among other positions assisting other pros) with my journey of becoming a virtual assistant, I learned some tricks to make it easy to outsource blog writing and other content marketing.
Now, I’m going to share these ideas and tips with you.
Find A Specialist
Now I may be biased in this area, but it certainly helps to hire a virtual assistant who has the experience and/or specializes in your industry. They understand your business goals, your target audience, and your passion. Who better to write on your behalf? Also, they will need much less direction as they already share at least some of your knowledge.
Use Pre and Post-Wedding Questionnaires In Your Process
As a wedding pro, you likely have an intake questionnaire of some sort to get information on your client or potential client (If not, we should also talk about setting up better systems for you). In this questionnaire, you are trying to get to know the couple, their story, their style, their vision, etc., and get important information to help you do a great job for them. A post-wedding questionnaire is also a great tool for your wedding business to get some feedback and additional information.
You can use the answers to these questionnaires to create blog content and it is easy to share the info with your virtual assistant. The key is to ask the right questions that not only help you do your job and connect to your client of course but will also supply you with some content for attracting more ideal clients.
This is especially useful for real weddings since it is specific to the couple, but you can also ask questions that can trigger ideas for new educational content, and information on your business and what you do for couples.
Need help creating questionnaires or with your system/processes? Let’s Chat.
Journal Using Video or Voice Memo
Have an idea for a blog? You could jot down the cliff notes on a Google Doc or Word Doc and end up writing for a while… or just spend a few minutes talking about it in a video or voice memo. Send it to your VA and they can transcribe it and juice it up for an awesome blog post that is TRULY your voice. In fact, if you already have video content or a podcast that could be turned into a blog, your part is already done in that case (this is another form of content repurposing)!
Try it for a real wedding too. Right after a wedding or the next morning, reflect on the event. I suggest having a few trigger questions or a template you use for each real wedding blog so that you’re not just rambling on about things you won’t use. Think about what your ideal lead would want to read about. Do it while everything is fresh in the memory. This reflection along with the questionnaires will make for a beautiful storytelling blog post.
Honestly, I use this for myself when I come up with good content ideas but can’t sit and write the blog just yet! I’ll just record myself talking about it and all the points I want to make, then listen to it as I write when I have the time set aside. So this applies to any industry!
Choose a Virtual Assistant you can get along with and trust.
Specializing in the wedding industry or not, you should LIKE and TRUST your VA. In this virtual new world we live in, that can be difficult. So how do you know who is right for the job?
Most VAs will offer a free discovery call which will allow you to learn about them, see their face (if you do a zoom or other video chat), and ask questions. So take advantage. Definitely ask them how they like to handle blogging and see if that suits you. What systems do they use for collaborating, and keeping you updated and organized? Do they offer content ideas and/or the strategy?
See what SD Virtual Solutions has to offer for wedding blogging!
Do you have any questions about outsourcing blogs or other content? Please ask so that I can help you understand how much a Virtual Assistant can help you and your business thrive! You can book a discovery call or email me at stephanie@sdvirtualsolutions.com
Ready to write killer blogs for YOU! Let’s get started!
PHOTOS: Monika Eisenbart
