Monitoring Your Statistics

No matter what tool you use to watch your statistics, keeping track of how readers get to your site, how long they stay, and what topics they look for is all important. I use Stat Counter, along with Google Analytics, to track visitors on all of my websites, however Stat Counter is the one check more often because it's a "great overview snapshot," as Liene Stevens mentioned last time I blogged about this. As you continue to build your blogging strategy as a business, I encourage you to dig deeper and learn about your core reader.

With Corporate America closed for Thanksgiving and very few postings on the Pearls Events blog this week, numbers were lower than normal. However, there were still readers checking in and I wanted to show you a few easy-to-read graphs from Stat Counter.

The first image, below, shows you the monthly visitors for this blog. Since Inspiring Fresh Ideas is not regularly updated, I do not have daily readers. I get the most traffic when I post a link to Twitter. This image is quite easy to read - it is the number of visitors over the past six months. The green line represents page loads, the blue is unique visitors and the orange is returning visitors. It's a great overview of how many people are actually stopping by to read.



The second image I share is a list of the current most popular posts. This shows the direct link readers are clicking on from other blogs and websites to get to the Inspiring Fresh Ideas blog. It's helpful to drill down on these posts, and to see exactly where they are coming from. Since I do not pay for the upgraded program of Stat Counter, it only tracks the 500 more recent visitors, and not the complete history of the site.



Finally, you will see the path of one visitor. It might seem a little scary how much information is captured, but it is helpful. I especially like what city people are reading from. You can see their Internet service provider's name (in red) and their IP Address (which has been blurred out). Below that, you will see the reader's geographical location and time spent on our blog.

This reader clicked on a direct link to one of my personal favorite posts, Working With the Right Clients, to initially get to our blog. The post is currently disabled, so when the visitor clicked on the link, they got an error message. The reader then searched for "right clients" and then simply "client." Then the visitor scrolled through the entire blog spending a total of 19 minutes here. The blue link is an external link, and you will see they popped over to our Twitter feed and then back to our site.

This tells me that a reader in the Grand Rapids area is looking for a popular post, and is searching to locate it. I love knowing this blog is helpful to readers!



After you're installed the proper coding to your website and blog, start analyzing your readers. Knowing who is coming back time and time again is eye opening (Is it your direct competition? Your clients? Your mom?) and absolutely necessary as you build your blog strategy. If you are going to start offering advertising space to other vendors, it's absolutely essential.

Liene Stevens, Social Media Consultant, has a a couple of great posts for a more in-depth look if you're interested in reading more.

• Reading Website Statistics Properly
• Page Views, Unique Visitors & Online Advertising

New Coworking Space in Grand Rapids

Last night, Natalie and I attended the grand opening for The Factory, which is a new "community office focused on getting work done..." Mac Fowler, who is married to my friend Abbey, was a huge part of getting The Factory up and running. I was so happy to celebrate with them last night.

The space is located above San Chez, in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. It is ideal for anyone who works independently and wants/needs to get out of their home office. The real benefit I can see about The Factory is having a space to use for client meetings. Since I work from my cozy home office, meeting with more than four people at once is difficult.

The Factory offers a daily drop-in rate of $25, and a monthly rate of $200. In includes WiFi, conference areas, desk areas, and more. If you're not in Grand Rapids, there are coworking sites all over the country - just check the coworking wiki for your area.

Charging for Initial Consultations

Recently, I attended a popular wedding business conference in Las Vegas. Many well-known wedding professionals were also in attendance, including the incomparable cake designer, Sylvia Weinstock and Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress. The conference was educational, but one of my favorite parts was being included in the unscripted conversations that happened throughout the day.

One of the biggest points I took away from the conversations is that no matter how well-known your business is, everyone has some of the same hurdles. What do I mean by this? I worry about the same thing Sylvia Weinstock does. Read on, please.

No matter why you're in business, one goal is to make money. One of the points discussed was charging for initial consultations. Sean Low shared his opinion that if you charged for consultations, potential clients who were considering working with you would pay the fee, adding another source of income to the ultimate bottom line.

I immediately thought "No way could I charge for potential client meetings," however Sylvia Weinstock was the one to speak up. She expressed the same concern and it was insightful to listen to the conversation unfold.

Anyone seriously considering contracting Sylvia Weinstock to design a wedding cake most likely knows that she is one of the best in the business and has a price tag to reflect her art. It's not likely a potential client is going to meet with Mrs. Weinstock, then take the design ideas to the local grocery store to recreate, but that is what many worry about, myself included.

Our initial consultations are complimentary and after assessing we can meet the client's needs, we provide a custom proposal. At this time, our proposals do not include each and every design detail, but instead are an overview of what each service includes. After the client has committed to working with Pearls Events by signing a contract, we begin to propose detailed design ideas and vendors for the client's event.

Before the client books, I've spent at least two hours on this sales prospect. If I were to send out an invoice for our time, I would absolutely be making more money, however would I turn away would-be-clients because of this practice? What are your experiences?

Formatting Attachments for Email

As a wedding planner, I see many proposals and contracts from other wedding professionals in my inbox. When the document arrives in an editable format, such as in Microsoft Word or Excel, I cringe. Think about it this way - would you send a contract to a potential client via snail mail on a plain piece of white paper, in PENCIL? I sure hope not!

This is my thought process - Where is your logo? What if the person doesn't have the right software to open it? What if they open up your contract and change it before signing it and you don't notice? None of these are good things!

This is why I recommend sending attachments as Portable Document Formats. PDFs are standard, and everyone can open them with right software, which is free.

Saving your document as a PDF is easy. If you use a PC and don't have the option in Microsoft Office and you don't want to purchase Adobe Acrobat, there are free options available. My friend, Sarah, is always sending me tidbits of info and she clued me in on this PDF Creator, which I use on a daily basis. It's easy to use and best of all, absolutely free. If you are a Mac user, all you do is press print and pick "save as a PDF". Here's what it looks like when you save a Word document as a PDF on a PC...



After "printing as a PDF", you will be able to save it in a new location and attach it to your email just like any other document. The recipient should be able to open it, and if they cannot, recommend they download Adobe Reader, for free.

Keeping Up Appearances

Because I work from my home office, there are some days that I don't leave the neighborhood. Here I stay - plugging away on paperwork, blogging, and communicating with my clients via email & phone. I'm not planning on seeing any clients or colleagues, however you never know how the day will unfold.

I enjoy being comfy, even when I sit at my desk. And although I may not be donning a suit, I always shower and wear clean clothes. I never know if a last minute lunch date will pop up, or who I might run into at the market when I stop in for dinner. I also usually run to the post office and bank and although the chances are slim I would see a client, there is always the possibility.

I recently did a consulting session with a new client, and she shared that she sometimes does her consultations in sweatshirts, sometimes dirty ones (after all, she's working from home - baking cookies, playing with her kids, etc.) I shared with her that her clients most likely view her as unprofessional with cookie dough on her shirt. It doesn't match her brand, and should be checked at the door.

Monica, from The White Box of Wedding Design, recently wrote a great post about always looking presentable. It's a great read and I completely agree with her - check it out.

What Are Your Services Worth?

I love this video. Watch it if you have clients who pay you.

While working in the consulting business, what I sell is intangible. Vendor relationships, knowledge of where to get a great cake/flowers/deejay, discounts my clients receive because of said relationships, and event knowledge I have because I work in the industry are all pros to hiring me to plan your wedding.

Acquaintances seem to think I want to freely dispense it because I could. Often, I receive emails from random friends of friends asking where to buy a wedding gown, what florist to talk to, and what deejays to avoid. I will tell you this - I do not smile when these emails hit my inbox - I cringe.

Do you value your own time? I hope so!

Think about it like this - Would your client walk into a restaurant and ask for a discount simply because they did not budget for the filet? Would they walk into The Gap and ask to pay wholesale because the retail cost doesn't fit their budget? No, no they would not. Don't let your potential clients do this to you either.

You are worth what you charge - and most likely more! Figure out your prices and stick to them.

KISS - Keeping It Simple

The KISS principle is something that I learned about years ago in a college marketing class. It stuck and I remember it often, especially on our website & blog, and our print advertisements & marketing postcards. Keep It Simple, Stupid, or more politically correct, Keep It Short & Simple.

You've seen the ads - the ones that try to squeeze every single word they can in the 2"x2" print advertisement in the back of a popular magazine. It not attractive, it does not stand out on the page, and for goodness sakes, it doesn't reflect their brand.

Pearls Events' first print ad made its debut on June 1st in Grand Rapids Bride Magazine. I told our designer that I wanted something that reflected our core client - not too traditional and not too modern. What we landed on (above) was lovely.

After looking through the resource magazine, ours stands out - the color was unlike any other and the simplistic nature was also a standout feature. Many other advertisers used their space to fit in phone number, physical address, etc., and in this particular publication, that information is listed below the ad. I love that ours showcases one of our 2009 wedding of Amy & Carlo - a modern couple with a traditional wedding.

When you look at your designs, are you making every effort to KISS?

Name Your Business

Daisy at Ignertia mentioned to me via Twitter that I completely overlooked deciding on your business name. She is right - for some reason, I skipped over this important aspect. The name of your business is most likely the first thing a potential client will hear..."Check out Pearls Events for wedding planning." and "Hello, I'm Aletha of Pearls Events."

I spent months thinking of what to call my West Michigan wedding planning company, but I realize not everyone does this, or they do and can't come up with anything they are happy with. There are a few ways to go with naming a business - straightforward, creative, a combination of both, or a random personal story.

• For the straightforward name you pick something like Jasmine Star Photography, Janie Medley Flora Design, or Kate Parker Weddings. We totally get it - your name and what you do. This is a great idea if you plan on working for yourself forever, especially solo.
  
  
• For a creative name, you pick something that might need a bit of explaining like Banana Republic, Starbucks, or IKEA. If you didn't know what they were because of pop culture, you'd have to ask.
  
  
• For a combination of both you pick something like Vanilla Bake Shop, Lotus Photographic, or September's Bride. We understand what you're selling, but it's still creative enough where someone might ask you why you chose to name it that.
  
  
• And then of course, there is the personal option. Maybe a funny story between you and your husband, like Erin of Lucky Designs.
  

There are many successful businesses out there with the founder's name in it - Macy's McDonald's and Kellogg's to name a few, however, I had no interest in naming my company after myself for a few reasons.

• I own my business, but do not wish to run it forever.
• Aletha VanderMaas Event Planning is not creative, and my name gets mispronounced often.
• I do not work solo. When potential clients book our services, they know they might not be working with me.
• I am a creative person in a creative line of work. I wanted a name that reflected that.

I originally wanted to call Pearls Events just Pearls, but soon realized it'd be a little too random. People hearing my business name in passing would have no idea what I did for a living. Adding Events to the name lends another noun for people to work with. Also, if you Google pearls, there are way too many websites out there that pop up. Add events to the search and I pop up right at the top. Perfect!

Of course, after you have something you love, THEN you'd have your logo designed. Thanks, Daisy, for encouraging me to write this post.

Design Your Logo

Part of visually branding your business is having a logo that others will associate with your company. I highly advise spending the money to have this professionally designed, unless you're a pro graphic designer and can be self-critical. If you are serious about building your brand, don't skimp on this important aspect. It's the first thing a potential client will see upon walking by your boutique, visiting your webpage, or getting your postcard in the mail - you want it to be perfect.

A huge part of logo recognition happens when you consistently use your logo and have variations for different projects. Using the same colors and fonts throughout all of your materials seems like a no-brainer to some, but I've walked into situations where nothing matches and there is no rhyme or reason to the madness. Luckily, it can be an easy (albeit expensive) fix.

I wanted to show you an example by using Pearls Events materials. My sister, Victoria, developed my logo using a (very literal) string of pearls. I carry that symbol throughout every image that I use and also use the same color and font on all marketing pieces.

Establish Your Brand

What, exactly, is a brand? It is not just a logo. A brand is about your company as a whole - what it stands for, who is serves, how the product is used. Wikipedia defines a brand as a collection of experiences and associations connected with a service, a person or any other entity.

Determining your own brand can be tough, especially if you work independently. Bringing in a third-party to bounce ideas off of, give an outsider's view and bring a fresh perspective to the table will be helpful and move the process along. If you can't afford to hire a marketing pro, you can do your own research by asking friends for honest feedback. They might be able to share some valuable insight - make sure to ask people who give honest opinions instead of just being nice.

My friend Wendy of Sacred Moment Weddings in Arizona has a new blog and described this situation recently "...Everyone said my website was great, my business cards darling and that my overall brand was nice. But I wasn't projecting who I really was - want kind of client I wanted. I created the image I thought I should and hoped that, eventually, I would attract a certain kind of bride..." Wendy needed to ask other event professionals for feedback, not her friends and family. Read the whole post here.

My advice? Spend time developing your brand before designing your logo, marketing materials, etc. If you have business cards printed, postcards made and your website designed before you've landed on your brand, you'll be working backwards to clean up your acts of randomness.