The Wedding Marketing Authority began his July speaking calendar by visiting the beautiful Southern California wine mecca of Temecula Valley.

On Tuesday, July 7th, Andy addressed a luncheon meeting of the Temecula Valley Wedding Professionals, with his keynote presentation, Marketing and Selling to the 21st Century Bride. Members and guests were also treat to a tour of the newly renovated Pala Casino. The casino had recently reinvested about $150 million to enhance their rooms, events space, public areas, and pool/courtyard.

Next stop is the ADJA Summer Conference, being held in Chicago, July 12 – 15th. Andy will open the conference with a special Sunday evening keynote, Building and Keeping Relationships That Count. Tuesday, he will present Facebook for Business, and Wednesday morning, a half-day version of his seminar, Blogging Your Way To Business Success.

This is the ADJA’s first national conference, and will be drawing speakers and attendees from across the United States. The American Disc Jockey Association has chapters throughout the country and many of them hold regional conferences during the year. As well, the ADJA holds sessions in conjunction with the Mobile Beat Magazine conference in Las Vegas.

Next stop is Oklahoma City for a breakfast presentation, Thursday, July 16th to the Oklahoma Wedding Professionals. Again, Andy will be delivering his keynote, Marketing and Selling to the 21st Century Bride. Then it’s back to Las Vegas.

Finally, Andy will be speaking at the NACE Experience 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 26-29. He will be delivering two presentations: Facebook & LinkedIn for Business, and Blogging Your Way To Business Success.

The Wedding Marketing Blog is in the process of developing an ongoing speaking calendar which will make it easier to see where Andy is scheduled to speak, and show availabilities for additional speaking engagements.

Joe Fabitz
Contributing Writer
The Wedding Marketing Blog

written by Joe Fabitz \\ tags: adja, American Disc Jockey Association, Andy Ebon, blogging your way to business success, Charlotte, Chicago, Facebook for Business, LinkedIn for Business, Marketing and Selling to the 21st Century Bride, NACE Experience, NC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma wedding professionals, Pala Casino, relationships, Temecula Valley, Wedding Marketing Authority, wedding marketing blog

In business, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the numbers: Sales, dollars, bookings, inquiries, appointments. In blogging, one measures success by the impact of the blog on its readers.

Blogging impact can be measured in a number of ways:

With all that said, I’m proud to announce that this morning, The Wedding Marketing Blog surpassed 10,000 visitors for the month of June. I probably should have waited until the end of the month for a final total, but this was too exciting.

Besides the soaring number of visits, it’s exciting to see improvement in all areas, especially comments and questions from readers… like you.

As The Wedding Marketing Blog continues to grow in activity, there are a number of features, benefits and goals that will roll out during the second half of 2009.

They will include

I’ll stop there, because it will take quite a bit of effort to launch all of that. Your suggestions and ideas are always welcome. I do my best to read every inquiry, comment, and email.

Each post and reader are important to me. I’m conscious of the fact that different people are interested in different issues. I will continue to give my best effort to provide valuable and stimulating content to you.

With my deepest appreciation for your readership!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: Andy Ebon, blogger, content, impact, measuring success, readers, success, Wedding Marketing Authority, wedding marketing blog

To be memorable, be clear and concise

If you have been in any organization or networking group, you’ve been asked to voice your 30-second commercial or elevator speech. Those critical few seconds determine what other people remember about you.

Recently, while working with a small group of business leaders, we worked on the 30-second commercial. I was genuinely surprised at the look of panic on some people’s faces when asked to do a brief self-introduction. It’s well documented that more people fear public speaking than death. Looking around the room, that was clear.

After everyone did a self-introduction, we examined the disconnect between what one says and what people hear, and then further worked on the necessary precision for self-introductions.

Key elements of our discussion included these tips on what works and what doesn’t.

Start and end with your name, title, and company. Use your title, only if it clearly expresses what you do. Avoid first person, singular or plural, whenever possible (I or we). Ideally you should be talking about your company, as a separate entity from yourself. If you’re a micro-business of one, you can use first person. Don’t give a laundry list of everything you do. If you are in a wedding networking situation, stay focused on weddings. If you are in a convention situation, focus on corporate and convention services. Pare it down even further by not listing all your possible upgrades. Concentrate on the services that you are asked for most often (80/20 rule applies). Define your market area, clearly. Each market has its own unique boundaries, bridges and natural divisions. If you have elected to work within a specific portion of a Greater Tibuktu, state it. Smile! A purposeful smile puts warmth and authenticity into your voice. When one gives a deadpan delivery, the message comes across board and disinterested, as though your self-introduction is something you just-want-to-get-through. Look people in the eye. Even in a short segment, one can engage two or three people directly, for connection. If it looks like your speaking to the light features, the connection will not be there. Why do people hire or refer you? If there is one standout comment you hear, frequently from client feedback, feature it (if you can fit it in). “Most often, customers ask for the Chocolate Heart Attack, made with 11 varieties of chocolate.” or “Venue managers say that our disc jockeys are well prepared and always work as team players on events.” Rehearsed, but not memorized. Just like putting a fresh announcement on  your voice mail, your self-introduction should flow, with ease. As you wordsmith your 30-second commercial, put it in writing. When you see the words, it’s typically easier to cut away the fat. After you’ve trimmed it, rehearse until you are able to do it off-the-cuff. If you’ve mastered the introduction, it will never be phrased exactly the same, two times in a row. It will always sound fresh. If it sounds memorized, your words will lack sincerity.

Let me give you an example:

“I’m Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority; writer and publisher of The Wedding Marketing Blog-dot-com. I assist wedding industry businesses connect with the bride, more effectively through seminars and presentations and my blog, as well as business and marketing coaching. Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority.”

Alternate Version

“I’m Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority. I’m a public speaker, trainer, and educator of wedding industry businesses. I help wedding industry business connect with today’s bride through business and marketing coaching, as well as my blog, cleverly titled: The Wedding Marketing Blog -dot-com. Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority.”

I could go on… but I won’t… for now. At some point I’ll publish a Part 2. For the moment, see what you can do to improve your 30-second commercial. If you find any tips, particularly helpful, please comment.

And remember, if you can’t clearly express what is you do, and who it is you serve, how can you expect other people to make really good referrals.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: 30-second commercial, Andy Ebon, concise, elevator speech, impactful, networking, organization, public speaking, Wedding Marketing Authority