10 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid During Booking Season

We’re optimists around here and much prefer empowering you with the things you should be doing on behalf of your business. But every once in a while, our resident realist reminds us that helping you know what not to do can sometimes be just as powerful as advising you on what you should. So today (and because booking season is well underway), we wanted to talk about the 10 marketing mistakes you should be avoiding in order to make sure this season is as successful as it can be. Read on to learn what not to do and then make sure you avoid making these marketing mistakes.

10 Common Booking Season Mistakes

Mistake #1: You’re not updating your marketing plan

If there was ever a place to start this list, it would be here. Because one of the biggest marketing mistakes we see wedding pros make is approaching their marketing exactly the same during booking season as they do the rest of the year. The thing is, this is the biggest and most important marketing and sales season for most of you—so your plan should reflect that. Perhaps you’re more active on social media. Maybe you actually do some email marketing. Or you invest more in advertising. Regardless of how you choose to update your marketing plan, just be sure it reflects the fact that it is booking season and not just any time of the year.

Pro-tip: If you’re not sure where to start, here are 4 must-take steps to creating your marketing plan for the new year and dive further into the business cycles in the wedding industry.

Mistake #2: You didn’t do a marketing audit

As you sit down to create your booking season marketing plan, it’s important to kick the process off with a marketing audit. Why? Because we’re pretty sure you want to make sure everything is in good working order—no one likes finding out their contact form hasn’t been working two months into booking season! So do yourself a favor and block some time to audit all the main parts of your marketing:

• Review your goals and set new ones if you need to
• Review and update your ideal customer personas
• Take some time to review your marketing metrics
• Review your website (click on and test everything)
• Do a brand audit

Mistake #3: You’re not consistent in your marketing

When it comes to marketing, consistency is key! And perhaps the worst marketing mistake you can make is having a marketing plan that is poorly or inconsistently executed. This includes everything you’re doing to market your wedding business—not just making sure you are regularly sharing on social media. You should be consistently blogging (even if it is just once a quarter). You should be consistently updating the images and copy on your website (even if it is once or twice a year). You should be consistently submitting your work for publication (as opposed to letting it all pile up and become an overwhelming task). You get the picture. So, how do you set yourself up for success when it comes to keeping on top of it all? It starts with a realistic plan that you know you can commit to—start there and you’ll be golden. 

Pro-tip: Be sure to educate yourself about these marketing strategy do’s and don’ts as you refine your own.

Mistake #4: You haven’t updated your Storefronts

Your Storefronts on The Knot and WeddingWire might be the very first place an engaged couples finds you, so we cannot stress the importance of making a strong first impression enough. From updating your description and contact information to making sure that the best of your recent work is showcased in your online portfolio, block a bit of time on your calendar to make sure your Storefronts are up to date and ready to roll. Here are a few more things to work through as you get your Storefronts in tip-tip-booking season shape:

• Showcase at least 20 of your best portfolio images
• Bring attention to what makes your services and offerings unique
• Display your pricing so couples can start to self-qualify themselves
• Ask past couples to leave you reviews on your Storefronts (aiming for 7 new ones is great!)
• Add or update your contact information

Pro-tip: Not sure if your Storefront is completely set up? There is a completion tracker to help you track your progress.

Asking yourself what else you should be updating? Here is a list of marketing materials to update and when!   

Mistake #5: Your marketing messages are generic

We know that writing isn’t your favorite thing to do (in fact, it might be your least favorite thing), but it is a major marketing mistake to phone it in when it comes to your marketing messages. What do we mean by “phone it in”? We mean having website copy, Storefront descriptions, tons of social media captions that are riddled with generic messages—you know, the words and phrases you’re likely to find on just about anyone’s website. When your goal is to be standing out from the crowd (and differentiating yourself from other pros your ideal couple might be considering), you need to speak to them in a very non-generic way. So as you do that marketing audit we talked about earlier—and update your ideal customer personas—be sure to think about how you can update your copy to reflect what they want and need to hear from you.

Mistake #6: You’re selling too much or not enough

There is a fine line between selling too much and not enough, but it is one that you need to toe. Since most wedding pros get into the industry because they genuinely want to help couples bring all of their wedding wishes to life (and not because they love every piece that comes along with running a business), it can be easy to bombard your audience with too many sales messages or completely avoid sharing any. And, while not everything you type or talk about should scream “HIRE ME!” during booking season, it should play a part in getting potential clients to eventually hit inquire. Not sure how much is just enough? The answer depends on how much you are sharing but you can think about including something more sales driven 1-4 times a month. 

Want to brush up on all things sales? Check out all of the helpful articles we have here! 

Mistake #7: You haven’t evaluated your pricing

Thinking about your prices on an annual basis is a very important task to complete and for a host of reasons! And, if you decide to raise your rates, making sure that you have updated your prices before the new year comes around is especially important because you are actively marketing yourself to new clients now and anything you book before the end of the year affects your numbers for the next calendar year. But, don’t just arbitrarily pick a new rate and publish it—make sure you have reviewed all of the factors that should be considered when pricing your services to feel confident that you are making an increase at the rate you need to. 

Need more convincing that raising your prices is something you should consider? Here are 4 more reasons to consider updating your prices annually! 

Mistake #8: You’re not showing your face

Weddings are such an emotional space to run a business and one of the keys to landing a lead is getting them to trust you. And, though you might have heard this before, it’s worth the reminder—people buy from people! So, how do you make sure all of those newly engaged couples get to know and trust that you are the person they want on their team of vendors? You show your face and the amazing people they would have the pleasure of working with. And, if you find yourself hiding behind your portfolio or client reviews, we encourage you to start sharing photos of you working, your headshot, and behind the scenes videos to show your personality and step out in front of your brand. 

Pro-tip: Social media is a helpful marketing channel this time of year. Here are our social media tips to help you connect with newly engaged couples.

Mistake #9: You’re not repurposing content

If it feels like a struggle to keep up with marketing your wedding business, it’s likely because you are making this marketing mistake—you’re always creating your content from scratch. Sure, creating new, timely, and trending content is an important part of your overall marketing plan, but you’re making it harder for yourself to keep up if you’re not repurposing content. Wrote a great blog post? Share it and the top takeaways as a post and a reel or TikTok video. Those core messages you need to share over and over again? Copy and paste the captions and just swap out the visuals for a refresh. Really, no one is going to know and it is the smart thing to do.

Mistake #10: You’re not tracking any metrics

This last marketing mistake is one most wedding pros are making even though one of the biggest questions you likely ask yourself is Is my marketing working? And if that is a question you wonder about on a seemingly regular cycle, it’s time to start tracking your marketing metrics—because these give you the insight you need in order to know what parts of your marketing are most (and least) effective.

Want a few ideas about what type of content you can be creating to market your business with this booking season? Here are 5 essential pieces of content to start with.

Photo Credit: Color Joy Stock