It’s notoriously difficult to create an advert that you know will work for your business. This applies in every industry, with weddings being no exception. If you’re thinking of advertising in a UK wedding magazine you should read this.
Is there a secret to wedding magazine advertising that really works?
There is.
You need a beautifully designed advert, a standout product with superb photography and you need it to be shown to the right audience in a receptive mood. You need to knock their socks off and get an instant purchase, or a phone enquiry. And then you need them to love your product so much they tell all their friends about you.
That’s the magic formula.
It’s easy to see from outside, and maybe you’ve seen an advertisement in a wedding magazine that really inspired you – perhaps a larger competitor always takes out big, gorgeous looking ads and you wonder if they work… but maybe you won’t have the budget to test an ad that size if it doesn’t work!
Nailing that magic formula for a successful advert in a wedding magazine is not easy. It’s practically impossible – after all have you seen how many advertisements are in most UK wedding magazines? (Furthermore, have you counted them? I have.) This blog post will show you the dizzy heights you could be aiming for.
What your wedding advertisement should aspire to
- Create a visually stunning wedding magazine advertisement. Use beautiful professional photography of your products, the very best you can get. You want brides and grooms to stop in their tracks and fall in love with what they see. It’s not enough to be noticed: you want to be admired, talked about and remembered.
Credits: tiara by Tiararama photography by Sarah Vivienne
- Do something different: stand out. Nestled in amongst over a hundred other wedding business advertisements, yours needs to shout to get noticed. Beauty is one thing, but standing out is harder. Consider your competitors’ ads carefully: do any really stand out?
- Tell your story. A stunning tiara, beautifully photographed and modelled by the celebrity of the moment (see 1 & 2 above) is a good start. To encourage wedding magazine readers to relate, tell them more: are your tiaras designer made, bespoke, couture, vintage inspired, one-off pieces? Are they available across the UK, online, by private consultation only? Tell the potential customer everything she needs to know (but no more).
- Place your advertisement perfectly. Get a prime position in your target customer’s favourite magazine. Know your customers inside out: which magazine do they read? Advertise in a special edition. Get meaty editorial alongside your advertisement to establish yourself as an expert, number one in your field, the best designer the others all aspire to.
- Design an interactive advert that will jump out from between the pages of a wedding magazine and bite them on the nose. But do it nicely! Your potential customer would definitely remember you – and if your ad could nip at their nose in a loving and adorable fashion, you’d be on to a winner!
I may sound like I’ve lost the plot now – but it’s all about creating a brilliant impression. No one can ever design the perfect wedding magazine advertisement, but there’s always a new and inspiring idea around the corner. If you take anything from this blog post it should be to aspire to something greater, to pour all your imagination into your advertising if you really want to make it work!
Try to imagine the ideal scenario.
There is a bride out there who might just buy your showcase tiara, your prized piece. But she doesn’t even know it exists – and that’s why you’re advertising in wedding magazines.
As an advertiser you’re looking for a strong reaction to your ad. Wouldn’t you love it if that bride to be was flicking through her favourite magazine, came across your advertisement and squealed with excitement?
If the bride fell in love with your showcase tiara – swooned over it, rang her mum to say, “I’ve found the perfect tiara, you’ll love it!”.
If they both went straight to your website and found the design they were looking for, chatted about how much they loved it on the phone, and then hung up and got straight in touch with you.
If you got that call from an excited bride to be and booked her consultation for the very next day, so she could see your prized tiara for herself and fall in love with it all over again in your studio?
If she’d already told 350 of her friends on facebook – and over the next few days eight of her friends – the ones she knew via wedding forums and blogs – got in touch with you as well!
Now tell me if that isn’t what you’re aiming for with your wedding magazine advertisements. Because with the money you’re spending to get in those mags, it should be.
The moral of this story? Aim high with your wedding magazine advertising. Think reeeeeally carefully about those classified spots. (See this blog comment for a great opinion on wedding magazine classifieds) Reach for the stars and create your own inspiring, captivating and compelling wedding ad. We don’t all have the budget Ian Stuart’s got – but we’ve got the imagination.
Claire x
