Are you thinking about starting a brand in the wedding industry this year? Well go and get your notebook out then because in this blog post I’m getting into exactly what I’d do if I was starting my wedding brand again from scratch in 2024. Some of these tips are specifically aimed at upcoming wedding businesses but the marketing fundamentals I talk about in this blog can be applied to any new-starters out there in the world of Wedding, Wellness and Lifestyle brands. I’ve made a living as a brand designer and wedding stationer for years now. So I’ll be speaking from experience, giving you the advice I wish I was given when I was in your position as a brand new business all those years ago!
The first thing I would do differently if I was starting my brand from scratch this year is….
Think much more carefully about how I’m investing my time
When I first got started with wedding stationery I got tunnel vision and I over invested in handmade stationery specifically. This was consuming a huge amount of my time and I wasn’t charging enough for it to be worth that investment of time. Seven years later I finally realised that graphic design style stationery for Polka Dot Creations Luxury Wedding Stationery was a much better return on my time investment. You always want to be careful that you charge enough to make your efforts worthwhile. Time is the most precious commodity that you have as an independent business owner.
My branding would be my biggest priority
If you are still in the early stages of developing your brand then I would strongly recommend that you focus on getting your core branding right before anything else. In the current climate our attention spans are so short and oversaturation seems to be affecting every market. With so much competition for our attention these days it is absolutely vital that you invest in good quality branding. Because for the most part people will decide whether or not they want to give you their business within just a few seconds of encountering your brand for the first time. When it comes to colour palettes, go with something that is already going to be familiar with your ideal customers. You do want to stand out in some ways, but you also need to ‘fit in’ to the ‘space’ that your ideal customers are already shopping in.
If you’d like to learn more about colour theory in brand design you can check out this other blog post I wrote which goes into a lot more detail on this topic. If you’re feeling a little bit lost with your branding, book a discovery call with me today and I’ll help you build the brand of your dreams.
I’d invest in professional imagery as early as possible
Imagery is important to get right for any business but it is especially important early on. When you’re just starting out you won’t have that reputation or rapport with your ideal customers that allows trust to develop. You need to build this from the ground up and one of the easiest ways to appear trustworthy is to simply be the face of your brand. If you don’t have a portfolio, any reviews or any recommendations, you need to go the extra mile to appear trustworthy and transparent. It is much easier for your ideal customers to develop that initial connection with your brand if there is a face behind the story that they can trust and relate to. If you can’t afford a full on brand shoot, try and arrange a style shoot with a local photographer. You can both promote each other and offer to let the originals be kept as samples for the photographer’s portfolio.
I would prioritise keeping my website updated and optimised
Having a good website is not just about making it look pretty. Obviously an aesthetically pleasing website is going to be optimal for any brand. But you also need to be optimising your website content for SEO. Your website is going to be one of, if not THE most important point of contact between you and your ideal customers. If I could go back I would start working on this as early as possible. You can have the prettiest branding in the world that is perfectly suited to the tastes of your ideal customers, but it won’t matter if they can’t find your website on Google! To link back to the first point, setting up a good website is definitely a smart way to invest your time. If tech isn’t your thing just pay someone else to do it for you, you won’t regret this investment.
This year is yours for the taking!
If you are starting a new business in the wedding space this year then I hope you found some useful knowledge in this blog post and I wish you all the best. You’ve got this! If you work hard and stay consistent there is absolutely no reason why you can’t start a successful brand this year.
If you’d like more guidance from someone who has actually been there, done it and is currently still doing it, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Let’s build your dream business together.
