Publishing Platform Best Practices
Tell a Story We want to hear the story behind your submission! Tell us (and don’t forget – tell the audience) about the design inspiration, your process, any unique details or just how much freakin’ fun you had working with the couple and/or your creative partners! This doesn’t have to be a novel but should be at least a short paragraph. Need some inspiration? You can check out any publication in our Inspiration Gallery but here is an example from our branded photoshoot:
Spreading the Word
Have you ever scrolled through your Instagram feed and said to yourself, “Hey! I worked on that wedding!” There are lots of people who work on a wedding or a styled shoot that can end up submitting the event for publication - which is great – except when you find out 3 days after the feature went live.
That’s why we built the email field in the credits section of our Publishing Platform. We encourage you to enter contacts into the “email address” field so that everyone who was involved in the event automatically knows the feature has gone live! No more need to spend the time notifying all of your creative partners about a feature – we’ll take care of that for you!
Wondering what else we do with those email contacts? Nothing. Nada. And zip. Any contact information you enter in our Publishing Platform is solely for the purpose of notifying the vendor about the feature and nothing else…ever.
Credit ALL of the Vendors
Speaking of the creative team, don’t forget to credit yourself! Whether you credit yourself as the Event Designer, the Wedding Planner or both, don’t overlook this important step. The whole point of submitting your work is to get your name and work out there, right?
Publishing Platform Benefits
SEO
One of the biggest benefits to having your work published is for the SEO value. What is SEO? It’s Search Engine Optimization. And it is an important part of your digital marketing strategy.
We could talk about SEO strategies for days but we are going to keep the conversation focused here. One of the things you should be trying to do is to as a part of your SEO strategy is building links that point back to your website. Why? Think of these links as little flags that you are staking into the ground of the internet. The flags establish your presence and, the more flags you have, the easier it is for search engines to find you. So, each time you submit your work and it gets published, you are planting a flag in the ground and making it easier for Google (and potential clients) to find you.
Again, we could talk about SEO in extreme detail so, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and I'd be happy to answer them!
Brand Building
Getting your work published is also a great way to help build your brand. You work hard on your building business - you’ve invested in a logo, a website, and systems just to name a few - and you want people to know who you are and what you do. So, think of getting your work published as building your online portfolio; one that helps you make lots of first impressions. Each time your work appears on a blog or website, it is a chance to show off your design aesthetic, your expertise as well as to build and support your brand.
Lead Generation
And let's not forget about lead generation! Perhaps the biggest benefit to having your work published is the possibility that it resonates with a potential client and inspires them to reach out to you. Because, hey, there is a real business benefit to creating beautiful events!
We have some big plans for the Publishing Platform and this is "V1" as we like to call it. So, stay tuned over the coming months for the bigger and more powerful version. And until then, happy submitting!
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