I’ll be the first to admit that many wedding planners, understandably, have a sort of love/hate relationship with wedding PR (public relations). They know it’s essential to a successful promotional campaign but the thought of media outreach and submissions can be entirely overwhelming.

Well here’s the good news: as a planner, you’ve essentially hit the wedding PR lottery with the OFD Collective. Before we get into the details of the OFD Collective, let me share a few key strategies to promoting yourself and your planning business.

• Real Wedding Submissions

This is what I consider the low-hanging fruit of wedding PR, in the sense that there are countless editors clamoring for gorgeous weddings (which, fortunately, you can provide!). The great thing about wedding planners is that, along with photographers and venues, they tend to gain the most benefit from real wedding submissions. Better yet, once the photographer is on board (which is paramount), they have nearly everything they need to make the submission happen – from the vendor team to the ins and outs of the day.

• Expert Resource

From my experience, the media constantly needs wedding experts to chime in on stories. What’s great about planners is that they’ve seen it all (and I’m sure you can relate!), so there are very few topics they can’t tackle. It’s time, officially, to harness all of that great knowledge and experience you have stored over the years.

The very best thing you can do for your PR push is to sign up for HARO, which will send free media queries to you three times every weekday. In addition, take the time to map out local media outlets and introduce yourself via email to the person who covers the lifestyle and/or wedding beats.

• Speaking

Conferences, workshops, and association meetings are clamoring for speakers who are currently in the wedding trenches. The most engaging talks tend to be ones where people pull from their own experience. Who better to tackle challenges facing the wedding industry today than those living it week in and week out?

So how does one make the leap into speaking? As you start out, go small and review local and regional speaking opportunities within driving distance. Get to know their respective calendars so you can have an idea of what they’ve covered in the last year, as well as who else has spoken.

This gives you the opportunity to create fresh content that complements yet differentiates you from other speakers. And hey, if you’re not ready to take on a solo presentation, consider being a panelist for an introductory experience.

Now, ready to get really get started? Allow me to help with some of my favorite tools.

Complimentary Wedding Publicity Bundle

• Pitch Tracking Spreadsheet– You’ll save countless time with this spreadsheet, allowing you to track your pitches, contacts, and follow-ups in one spot.
• HARO Pitch Template & 2 Sample Pitches –Remember how I said HARO is the bee’s knees? We’ve got a template at the ready as well as two successful samples.
• Media Pitch Template – We’re giving you the keys to the publicity kingdom- customize this template, which we’ve used to get our clients featured in the most popular wedding magazines, blogs, and news sites.
• Two Sample National Media Pitches – Looking for inspiration? These pitches received national attention.

Click here to download the FREE Wedding Publicity Bundle!

If you’re ready to take the next step, then I also invite you to consider the newly launched OFD Collective, a wedding PR membership that marries education with action. I’ve developed multiple service tiers allowing you to decide the best fit. We offer ongoing education, PR templates, and articles – and we’re happy to submit your weddings on your behalf.

Top 3 Benefits of the OFD Collective

• Enjoy ongoing wedding media opportunities so you can skip years of research and relationship building and jump to the front of the publicity line.
• Live office hours with the OFD team allows you to ask your most pressing publicity related questions. They’ll take a peek at your pitches, speaking submissions, and real weddings that you’re hoping to place.
• If you’re ready to take back some of your own time, there is a level that gives you the ability to submit up to (15) of your own weddings to blogs and publications every year.

*this is a sponsored post from OFD Consulting