Is a WordPress blog website right for me?

Today we hear from our regular guest blogger and social media and website/blog guru Keren Lerner of Top Left Design. Many wedding planners are innovators when it comes to the world of blogging so this is not new but if you’re still unsure on what blogging can do for you, read on and if you’re struggling to keep that content coming, this might well be useful. Over to you Keren:

You may or may not have heard about a type of site which I will call a “Blog Website” or you could also call it a “WordPress Blog” or a Blog site. This is a website where the main page has “blog posts” or stories which you as the owner of the site can put online whenever you like. These types of sites rely on news stories and images and are updated regularly and people are more likely to return to a website when they see it’s regularly updated with interesting and relevant content and images.

If you feature a wedding or a bride or a florist or a photographer in a blog post (with their permission) then they are likely to share it with their friends/contacts which helps to promote your business further.

Some reasons we love blogs:

• People can see your style and personality
• You can showcase pictures from and tell stories about the weddings you have worked on
• You can promote your florists’ and photographers’ work and they can do the same on their websites
• A blog site is easy to update and most people can learn the basic skills within a 40 minute training session
• You can write a number of different types of articles – for some examples have a look at this article about the different types of blog posts.
• They easily integrate with social media such as Twitter and Flickr and Facebook
• You can write articles about the different services you provide
• You can do interview with suppliers as well as brides
• A blog which is regularly updated means there is fresh content all the time which means it’s a more interesting site to go and visit.
• Having a regularly updated blog on the site is also great for search engines. Each time you add a page to your blog, you create another page on the internet, and this means search engines are more likely to find your site when people search for you.
• You can pre-set when you would like your blog posts to go “live” and go back and change them whenever you like.
  With bit of planning and the formation of some new marketing habits, a blog website might just be the best type of site for your business.

If you are going to go for this type of site, here are some tips:

• Go for a custom design, if you can afford it, the more customised and professional it is the more effective it will be in creating the right visual effect, and in building trust
• If you cannot afford a complete custom design, user a premium theme – see www.themeforest.com or www.woothemes.com
• You can ask a website designer/developer to help you install the themes and pay them on a day rate. This is still less expensive than a completely “from scratch” website design.
• Make sure you size all the images consistently in your blog. They should ideally be the same width as the post itself
• Try and weave in your unique service ethos when you write the different blog posts
• Blog regularly and include real life stories and pictures – this makes it personal and shows off the things you have found and combined when planning the weddings.
• Use good quality photography and ask for the photographer to share the images whenever possible
• Make sure your header allows people to easily find information about you and how to get in touch.
• Pay attention to the little details, the more of a perfectionist you are the better your blog will look.

Hopefully this will be of use to you! If you have any questions just get in touch!

My details are:

Keren Lerner
Top Left Design
“Improve your presence online”
020 7486 2629
keren@topleftdesign.com
www.topleftdesign.com