Your website is your number one sales tool—it should sell to your couples while you sleep.
If it’s not, it’s time to make some tweaks to your website. You’re likely making a few rookie mistakes on your website that are discouraging couples from reaching out. In my many years working as a wedding industry website copywriter, I’ve identified four main offenses that are preventing couples from booking with you. I’m confident that once you make these four strategic changes, your website will close more couples in the new year!
1. Be Inclusive
We work in the wedding industry—an industry designed to celebrate love. So let’s show the world that we, ourselves, are people who value love no matter what it looks like or how it’s celebrated. The best place for this messaging? Our websites—the digital “storefront” of our businesses and the last place a couple will stop before booking with you. If you need help making your website more inclusive, I recommend checking out this blog post I wrote for Aisle Planner recently that takes a deep dive into inclusive language.
2. Put Couples First
Not putting couples first is the most common mistake I see on wedding creatives’ websites. It makes sense if you think about it: when you first started your business and made your website, your business was probably the biggest thing going on in your life. It’s possible you wrote your website in that frame of mind; centered around yourself and what you have to offer.
But I have bad news for you: your website isn’t about you. It’s about your couples.
Your couples have a problem and are looking for a solution. It doesn’t really matter to them who solves it, as long as their problem is solved within their budget and timeline. So how do you fix this error and attract more couples to your website? Flip your copy so it’s focused on your couples first. Make sure each page speaks to them by:
- Telling them you know who they are
- Telling them you understand their problems
- Telling them how you solve their problems
A quick way to tell if you’re doing this well is if you have more mentions of “you” than “me” and “we” throughout your site.
3. List Your Pricing
I know you’ve probably heard a business coach or marketing guru insist that leaving your pricing off of your website is a good thing. “It encourages couples to reach out,” they say. “Once you’ve got their email or phone number, you can sell them in person,” they say.
In my experience, this is the opposite of what happens.
The reality is, not including your pricing on your website discourages couples from reaching out because they don’t want to be roped into an inevitable, confrontational sales call. And perhaps worst of all, this strategy wastes your time as the wedding pro because you’ll likely have couples reach out who cannot afford your services.
Meanwhile, there are loads of positives to putting your pricing on your website (for both you and your couples):
- Couples get an immediate answer to their questions
- Couples know they’re getting the same price as everyone else
- Couples know they can afford you when they reach out
- You get more qualified leads because couples will likely only reach out if they can afford you
- Therefore, you avoid wasting your precious time on unqualified leads
- Each couple you book is truly your ideal client, which means you’re getting more ideal referral sources, more ideal testimonials, and more ideal case studies for your website
Most importantly, when you put your pricing on your website, you’re taking the burden of having an awkward conversation about money off of your couples’ shoulders and putting it onto yours. How chivalrous!
4. Tell Couples What To Do Next
The final reason why your couples might not be “converting” (or taking action, like buying your product or reaching out via a contact form), is because you’re not telling them how to convert. To close more couples with your website this year, make sure every single website page has a final “call to action” section (called a CTA).
Here are some common CTAs:
- The CTA on a Contact page should be a form to get in touch with you.
- The CTA on the Services and FAQ pages should lead your couples to the Contact page.
- The CTA on an About page and Portfolio collection should lead couples to your Services page.
- The CTA on the Home page should either lead couples to your Contact page or get couples to download your freebie and opt-in to your newsletter.
Having these CTA sections is good, but to make them truly great you’ll also need to upgrade the copy and graphics to ensure they’re persuasive, pushing couples to take action.
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