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ADVERTISER REMINDERS
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Make sure you are requesting reviews from past brides.
We have
completely removed the registration requirement for writing reviews. This
should now make it easier for newlyweds to submit their reviews without
being derailed by a registration process. All fields are required in order
to complete a vendor review, and we have also introduced the "screen name"
field to alleviate any privacy concerns while still capturing enough
information just in case the legitimacy of a review comes into question. | |
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| PWG ADVERTISER
APRIL
BIRTHDAYS |  | |
5/5 Cornel Martin
Bonamanzee
5/
17 Kim Shouse
Fusion Fotografix
5/24 Stephanie Sulek
Painted Plate
If you are a PWG Advertiser and do not think we have your Birthday please send it to Jaime@pwg.com. Date and month only.
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| KIND WORDS | |
Gail, I just received your sweet birthday card in the mail. How thoughtful of you! Those special touches totally separate you above and beyond the rest, very sweet.
Julie Lee
Marriot Crabtree Valley, Raleigh
Gail, you and your staff do an incredible job. I hope we will be able to do some business with you in the future. It was nice to see you at the GCHMA luncheon last Thursday.
Patti Barnette
Greensboro Airport Hampton Inn
I want to thank you guys so much for working this out with me! You have been a joy to work with and I really will sing your praises!
Jennifer Kidd
Kidd Photography
We would love to still attend some luncheons. They are important for us and we are glad that you guys put these on. Thank you!
April Eller
K2Productions | |
PWG LEADS
| | Perfect Wedding Guide has added 177 brides to our database JUST in APRIL!
Want access to hot new leads? Be the first to reach out to the newest engaged brides. How? Join Perfect Wedding Guide and get 24/7 access to our bridal leads! |
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WORKING HARD FOR OUR ADVERTISERS
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During April we handed out hundreds of copies of PWG, delivering your information to brides and wedding professionals during the following events:
4/7 Professional Wedding Guild Luncheon - Deep River Events Center, Greensboro
4/11 PWG Bridal Show - Marriott Crabtree Valley, Raleigh
4/25 A Sensibly Savvy Affair Bridal Show - Hawthorne Inn, Winston-Salem
4/28 Professional Wedding Guild Luncheon - Cambria Suites Raleigh-Durham Airport
4/29 Biz-Link Networking Luncheon - Pine Lake Pavilion, Mebane
4/29 Divine Weddings Bridal Show - Emerald Event Center, Greensboro
Were you able to make it to all these places? If you are a PWG advertiser, you were there! Not only do we work diligently Monday through Friday for you, but we also give our time on nights and weekends to keep you, our advertisers in front of brides at every turn. |
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| CONTACT US |
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Greetings!
Wedding Season is here and Perfect Wedding Guide has been in and continues to be in several local bridal events delivering PWGs into bride's hands. Special thanks to Julie Lee, Kelly Bray and the entire team at the Marriott Crabtree Valley Raleigh for hosting our April 11th PWG Bridal Show. We had a great turn out of brides and a terrific group of wedding professionals who did a wonderful job meeting with brides-to-be and creating beautiful booths. The rooms were gorgeousl! See pictures taken that day by Jerry Dillard. We are currently busy gearing up for our Summer bridal shows - May 23rd at the Embassy Suites in Winston-Salem and July 18th at the NC A&T Alumni Foundation Event Center. There are still a few booths available for both shows. If you are interested in being part of any of our 2010 shows contact Jaime@pwg.com for details. Perfect Wedding Guide was recently mentioned in an article for the April 2-4, 2010 issue of USA Weekend. The article, 6 Ways to Keep Down Wedding Costs, can be found online .
If you are looking for ways to get in front of brides and increase your wedding business we would love to help. At Perfect Wedding Guide our business is helping you grow your bridal business.
- Our 3 Part Marketing Program (Print, Internet & Leads) can put you in contact with sophisticated brides.
- Our bridal shows will bring brides to meet you face to face.
- Our Professional Wedding Guild luncheons will give you the opportunity to network with your peers.
To learn more on how we can help you please contact gail@pwg.com.
If you are already a PWG advertiser and need a refresher course on the leads program or any other assistance please do not hesitate to contact us at anytime. We're invested in your success and we're here to help!
Wishing you a prosperous summer!
All the best!
Gail Galloway
Publisher |
| Melissa Rycroft's PWG Photo Shoot | |
We are excited to have Melissa Rycroft, reality TV Star, featured on our Summer 2010 issue cover. Watch the video of Melissa's PWG photo shoot here.
Summer issue arrives at the end of May.
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| Vera Wang and David's Bridal Collaborate to Sell More Dresses |
By Paul Pannone
David's Bridal and dress designer Vera Wang have announced an exclusive partnership to launch a new bridal collection, initially offering gowns and accessories for the bride for spring 2011. By fall, the collection will reportedly expand to include bridesmaid dresses.
The announcement sent shock waves throughout the wedding industry leaving
many to rethink the entire scale of economy and basis for doing business
without "basis". For years, industry advocates, including this reporter, has
been preaching the perils of featuring only high-end, costly merchandise
that did not reflect the majority of the wedding market. The higher-cost
bridal goods and services focused on the ability of parents to fund weddings
by using the equity in their homes to pay for extravagant events and out-do
their friends. In good times, the system worked. But given the recent
economy and the collapse of the housing market, it's time to re-think and
retool the business.
publications how detached their editorials were with the average spending
consumer. " Some magazines have spent great energy and money promoting
couture labels over the years positioning these brands as the leaders in
fashion. These 'iconic' brands have been held up as the epitome of what
America's brides should be striving to wear. Too many editorials are
stilted towards the minority. So what did that get everyone?
Here is the
truth:
-couture never amounted to more then 7% of the market and it has steadily
eroded to less than 3% today.
-couture houses are failing faster then investment houses that feasted on
sub-prime derivatives. This trend will continue.
-now that Vera Wang has hitched her star to David's, the luster on "couture"
will be even more tarnished
-certain magazines will prosper and more will fail; the same with
manufacturers. It will depend on long term strategies adopted by each.
I have said it before and I will say it again, magazines that promote high
end brands, brands that have no loyalty to the industry and have no strong
representation amongst the masses, will not serve the ultimate consumer
very well. I have listened for years to some editors tell me about how the
ultimate consumer is the prime focus of the books. How can servicing the 3%
market share represented by the couture houses serve the other 97% of the
consuming public?"
. Discussing today's David's -Wang news, Shane McMurray called
the move "smart" on the part of Wang. "With a $1,500 dollar dress product,
Wang moves her business from a 6% market over to a 16% market, almost
tripling her potential sales overnight with David's Bridal," says McMurray.
Other sources said until now, Wang's price point of $5,000 dresses
represented even less of the higher end market, given the current economic
environment.
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If Vera Wang sees the need to go after a bigger market share, I'm sure
others will follow. This is big news and it truly drives home the need for
resources that cater to the "mainstream" bride. As I have always said -how
can 95% of the vendors go after 5% of the market and be successful? Perfect
Wedding Guide has always been targeted to the mainstream bride and always
will be! There is no shame in that, only pride. It only makes good
business sense to go after the larger piece of the pie (market share) than
the smallest piece of the pie. |
| Website Updates |
We have a couple new and exciting features we rolled out in April
designed to enhance user experience and increase user engagement, which will
ultimately pave the way to increased web traffic and higher conversion
rates.
With more opportunities to search vendors, through a cleaner look and an easier navigation system, we're looking forward to brides spending even more time at www.perfectweddingguide.com. Stay tuned, our category listing pages will be updated by the end of May!
WEB SITES!
As an advertiser of Perfect Wedding Guide, your web site will be easier than ever to navigate through the Perfect Wedding Guide system! Brides will be able to take a look at your work with one simple tab click!
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6 Tips for Better Subject Lines: Get your emails opened with attention-grabbing taglines
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by Lisa Sparks, Constant Contact Regional Development Director, South Florida
It happens all the time: You've written the content for your newsletter. You have all the articles perfectly squared away and laid out. Then you're faced with the task of writing a compelling subject line so irresistible that readers can't help but open and read your email.
The good news is you can craft powerful subject lines and article headlines that will attract readers. Here are six key steps to making it happen.
1. List your audience's hot topics.
Do you know what the chatter is in your area of business and how your audience may be affected by it? Are people worried about a decrease in sales or donations? Are they looking for ways to cut back on spending or to eat healthier? Find out what your customers and members are buzzing about, and keep a list of these topics handy. That way you'll have fodder for ongoing newsletter content. Better yet, your subject line writing will become a lot easier because you'll know what's likely to get noticed in recipients' inboxes.
If your business or organization is in an industry or marketplace that's changing all the time, it's good to examine your hot topics once a month. For more stable markets, go through this practice every three to six months.
2. Include numbers.
Headlines with numbers in them work well because they imply easily digestible content. So why not use numbers in your email subject line too? For instance:
* "Only 4 seats left for next week's seminar"
* "A 10-point plan for marketing success"
* "3 ways to turbo-charge your marketing today"
Putting a number in your subject line makes what you're saying quantifiable. "Three quick points," "Eight simple tips," "Four seats left," etc. This lets readers know exactly what they can expect and makes them more willing to read the content.
If you're trying to figure out a way to get numbers into your subject line, think about the benefit you're providing to your readers. Let's say readers are looking for marketing advice, and the benefit they're hoping to receive is more sales. A subject line of "5 ways to increase sales" will encourage subscribers to open your message.
3. Get inspired.
Consider getting inspiration from subject lines and headlines you see in other publications. A great source of inspiration is a website called CopyBlogger.com5. It offers out-of-the-box, engaging, and fun subject line and headline ideas for email marketers and bloggers. You wouldn't want to take anything you see there and copy it word-for-word, but choose a headline or subject line that catches your eye and tailor it to describe your own articles.
4. Encourage action.
With any subject line, especially a promotional one, make sure to include a call to action, such as a deadline or text like "Respond now," to get people to open immediately. Get in the wheelhouse of your audience by being interesting and engaging in your subject line, and inspiring urgent action.
Note: For membership driven organizations and associations, subject lines can be a little more generic since the audience is predisposed to opening messages from you. For instance, a credit union can send an email with a generic "Your April Statement is ready" subject line because, as a member, you're going to need the information contained within.
5. Think of your subject line as a tweet.
Social media is a great tool for extending the reach of your email, and in many cases, your subject line is all the text you'll need. For example, on Twitter, you only have 140 characters to communicate, including the URL of your archived message. That's more than enough characters for the subject line of an email. After all, conventional wisdom says that all subject lines should be five to eight words and no more than 40 characters long because some email clients will cut off the rest.
If you think of your subject line as a multi-purpose promotional tool for your message -- that it should encourage opens of your email and clicks from your Twitter feed -- then you'll understand why it should say more than just "Our April Newsletter." Be creative and, where appropriate, playful with your subject lines.
6. Test your subject lines.
Not every subject line will work for your campaigns, so test them out to see what tactics get your audience to open.
A good way to test is to make a list of all the people who opened an email from you in the last 85 days and divide it in two. Using the same email content for both groups, send one subject line to the first group and a second, different subject line to the other group. Then compare open and click-through rates to see which subject line performed best. One subject line could be more generic and the second could be more engaging. See which approach works best for your audience and pattern your future subject lines after that one.
With inboxes full of unread messages, it's the subject line that can deliver a winning click. Make your subject line stand out among the crowd to keep customers opening and reading your emails. |
| Happenings in the Industry | |
Pepper Moon Catering has been nominated for Retailer of the Year Award through the Greensboro Merchants Association and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce! 4/26/10
Congratulations to Karen Bishop and Monica Bass of Bedford Blooms & Gifts for winning the Vendor's Choice award for their beautiful display at the Raleigh Bridal Show on April 11. Honorable Mention awards went to Heaven Angels and Marriott Crabtree Valley. The winners were voted on by show vendors for best overall booth display. 4/22/10
Melanie Isayev from Hair I Do and Abracadabra Salon were showcased on Fox 8 News. This is a 4 part live segment on NEW TRENDS in prom and bridal hair and makeup.Melanie showed Shannon Smith how to do a quick up do on herself as well as new make up tips. 4/12/10
Sugarland, the bakery in Chapel Hill will be in the press a lot this spring. First they will be included in the first few episodes of a new show on TV's Food Network with host Adam Gertler. And they will be featured in the May issue of Southern Living Magazine and on Southern Weddings blog. Congratulations to Sugarland on all their great press. 4/1/10
Art of Living with Marilu Henner was shot on location at our PWG Orlando office, March 23rd. Thank you to Jack & Chris Phelps PWG Cincinnati Publishers and Francis Leger PWG Tampa Publisher for participating in the filming of our segment! We are now in post production and are currently making small revisions to the segment. As soon as we sign off on the final cut of the video, it will take about six weeks until it airs.
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