The Art of Persuasion: Writing Irresistible Sales Copy for Wedding Pros with Vanessa Wilde

In this episode, my special guest co-host, wedding photographer Ben Connolly and I had the pleasure of chatting with the incredibly talented Vanessa Wilde, a copywriting expert with a knack for crafting compelling sales copy. Vanessa shared her journey into the digital marketing space, highlighting how she transitioned into specializing in sales copywriting. Her passion for storytelling and understanding the audience's desires and struggles were evident throughout our conversation.

We delved into the importance of tailored copy for wedding professionals, emphasizing the need to speak directly to the dream clients they aim to attract. Vanessa provided valuable insights on how wedding professionals can leverage their copy to showcase their unique value proposition and connect with their target audience effectively.

The discussion also touched on the significance of incorporating storytelling into sales copy, both in written content and imagery. Vanessa emphasized the power of storytelling in creating a connection with potential clients and building trust. We explored the nuances of crafting engaging headlines, structuring sales pages effectively, and utilizing testimonials and social proof to bolster credibility.

Furthermore, Vanessa shared practical tips for refining and updating sales copy over time, ensuring that it resonates with the evolving needs of the audience. She highlighted the importance of understanding the buyer's journey and tailoring the copy to address specific pain points and desires at each stage.

As we wrapped up the episode, Vanessa offered valuable advice for solo wedding professionals looking to enhance their sales copy. She emphasized the importance of starting with authentic messaging before refining it to align with the brand's tone and values. Vanessa's expertise and passion for empowering wedding professionals through strategic copywriting strategies shone through in our engaging conversation.

Tune in to this episode to discover the transformative power of sales copy in the wedding industry and gain valuable insights from Vanessa's wealth of experience and expertise.

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Transcript

0:03

Hello everybody and welcome back to Wedding Empires. I'm your host, Jack Bowie, and today I have a special guest co-host. How is this? Everyone, I'd love to introduce you to Ben I'm a little bit hung over actually for my first podcast, but I want to hear all about this wedding last night. It sounded pretty wild. And talking about things wild, I have an incredible guest for us today. Oh, that was a good segue. Look at you go. Hi, Vanessa. I I was like, oh my God, I'm running with this one. It is a pretty cool name, Vanessa Wilde. You know, you sound like a Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously you'd know how to change up the copy on your website to do that. Like there's that element of, Ooh, this will be... And her photo was all like windswept hair. Yeah. Anyway, so back to why we're here. So Vanessa, I guess I want to know first off, like how have you fallen into this Yeah, so I started within digital marketing space like like years ago, everyone tells me I look young. And I'm like, well, I'm pretty old. But I've been on this digital space for a while. And my I got, I was kind of like tapping into it a little bit getting to know like this whole new world of digital space. At the time, it was Facebook that was on the rise. And everyone was talking about, and I got pregnant with our first son. And I was a teacher at the time. And I said, I do not want to go back to work. So I just went all in, learned all the ins and outs of digital marketing, built up different businesses along the way. And I became friends a few years ago with this girl that I was doing copy for. I was doing like emails and such for her. She's like, and I was doing it for free because I just loved it. And so she goes, why are you not making money with this? And I'm like, I don't know. Like, I didn't think that was like I was coaching in different ways. And I was like, I don't think that was something that I'm that great with. I labeled myself, to be honest, not a great writer ever since I was a kid. And so then I decided to go, um, and test it out and test the waters. And here we are a number of years later and have had, um, so many experiences now and been able to help so many different businesses. Now, I know you don't obviously specifically work with the wedding industry, but we wanted to bring you in because I think you've got a lot to share with us. Um, so how can your, how can your skills sort Yeah. So what's really unique within the wedding industry is a lot of times it's like because a lot of these businesses were so with courts, courses and stuff, you can tap anywhere in the world. But for a lot of those in the industry for weddings, photographers within wedding industry, for photographers, for wedding planners, all of that. You are so specific to your area and you're not the only one in your area that's trying to fight to get that next wedding, to plan that next wedding, to get, be that next photographer. And so in order to truly be able to be chosen, you have to get your copyright because yes, they will choose you for the photos. Like they're going to look at your photo. But there's more than to the photos than, um, like more than just the photos that they're going to choose you for, or for the work that you did for planning another wedding. They want to know what you're going to bring to the table. They want to know what your values are I've covered this in a couple of previous episodes actually, just how important it is to get your personality and your specialty out there in your copy. And I, during COVID, got my wedding planning business, Darling Don't Panic, I got all of the copy redone. And it was so interesting to work with a copywriter who grew out of me, you know, all those things about my personality and how I work and why we're different. So there's a lot that goes into it in terms of I'm sure you'd work in a similar way with the questionnaires and getting the information from people and drawing the right language out and the right words and key phrases and things like that. So there's a lot that goes into it. Now you know one. I've just always bitten off more than I can chew and just gone as fast as I could to try and get And and to be honest, like day to day copy isn't too bad. Like if you're just putting up, oh, I did this recent photo shoot and you want to show it on your social media. It's very different that type of copy versus I need to convert people that land on my website, on my service page, on my contact me page. It is so different when you do that. And so you want to really think I need someone that knows the conversion. I need someone that knows how to take someone from landing on the page to the sales versus, um, social media content that typically is just, Oh, it's fine. It's entertaining. So, so understanding like a wedding professionals audience, I guess, how can they, uh, understand their audience and apply that when writing their copy copy? So, um, for example, if y you're a wedding planner let's just say young and married people that it's their first time they're getting married, they're excited, they're doing this huge wedding, and you really like get to know this person, you can speak directly to that person in your coffee. So someone wants a small, intimate, going to the courthouse type wedding is not going to be able to like, really relate to what you're speaking. If you understand, Oh, I want, they want big weddings. They want a big, um, I don't know the right word, but I'm not, I'm saying boutique wedding in my head, but that is not at all what they want. They want this like extravagant wedding. And if you're able to speak to that, they're like, she understands, or he understands that I want to Yeah. And knowing, knowing that that particular person can Yes. Cause there's that authority and that trust piece that has to come into play and they need to know. And like I said, like the visuals are important. Like they've got to see that you can handle it, but at the same time, you've got to give, bring that authority piece in by what you're saying and how you're speaking to them so that they're like, Oh, she gets me or he gets me. Um, probably the whole thing now. Yeah. Um, I, I've done a lot of backwards and forwards and, and I have, I do a lot of backwards and forwards with email templates and replies and stuff. And I send an email template, I'll make an email template and, and reply. And I have a, like a standard reply to, to a wedding inquiry. And that's constantly evolving as I learn and as I do different things. And it's kind of the same with the website, but I know that we don't need to change. I don't want to change the website too much because Google hates that and that sort of thing. But with replies and Facebook ads and copy, I'm constantly just refining and evolving. And it's just constantly circled, sort So I guess that leads me to ask, um, you know, what, what common mistakes do Have you got some advice for wedding professionals? Like what are the common mistakes that you see and how, how I'm a big how person. So Yeah. So really the biggest mistakes that I see is the lack of being specific. So we, you know, you're, you're a photographer, you know, you're a wedding planner, you know, you do flowers. And so we tend to speak to more of. Oh, like anyone can have this. Any anyone that's getting married can have these and they can like truthfully, I'm sure they can. I'm sure like for you, Ben, you could take photos for any wedding out there if you wanted to. But when someone's trying to find a specific person, they want a specific type of person. And that comes to speaking. So I say it's so specific, so direct to who you actually your dream client, who you want to attract. that when they see that, they're like, oh, this is the person for me. This is who I should hire. This is who I should bring on to my wedding team to get things planned. And then we get into this spiral sometimes of, oh, it makes my net smaller. I won't attract enough people if I do that. But what happens is, for example, if we are talking and we're like, oh, you want this really big, extravagant wedding, there are still people that are going to come in and they're like, hey, Ben, do you take photos for elopements? And you'll be like, yeah, that's cool. I can still do that. So you're still, even if you're specific, you're still going to attract other people. But at the end of the day, you're going to attract more people because you're speaking directly to what they're looking for instead of trying to speak broadly and generalize what you're saying where Cool. And I Before the storytelling though, we need to get their attention. So the headlines are the first thing that someone's going to see in a copy or ad or something like that. So have you got any tips for crafting amazing headlines that Yes. So really what you want to do is one, call out who your person is. So this could be an in different ways. So you could call out who they are. So like, um, if you're a bride getting married in the next six months type of thing, um, you could call out, uh, like specific, like, I know sometimes people are looking for a, um, specific type, like if you're getting, um, going for like having an allotment within the next little bit, like specific to who it is you're trying to attract. Then the next step is either calling out their desires or their struggles. So it could be, hey, they're desiring to have really clear, crisp photos that they can have for a lifetime. So you could speak directly to that desire or they're trying to avoid having a wedding that feels chaotic to them. So you can speak to without feeling like you have to be in your, like have your hands in everything within the wedding planning. So then you're speaking directly to like that three part of who they are, their desire and what they want to avoid or that struggle that they are trying to pull away And that was, that was something that came to mind as well in bringing up a fear point. that, that they're scared about is, is that a good idea to, to, cause we're all aware of loss aversion and that sort of stuff. And we all have insurance because we're, we're adverse to loss. Um, so to Yeah. So a lot, what I've noticed within like the industry as a whole on digital marketing is there's so many saying, don't talk into fears. Don't talk into pain points, pull away from that. because people don't want to hear it. But in the end, there's two reasons why it's important. One, they need to hear it because it's like, yeah, that's actually a fear of mine. So I'm in the right place. Like, I know that this person understands me and I'm where I need to be. Secondly, we're, yes, there's a part of us that will move for desire, but a lot of times where you want, we will take action faster out of pain. And so if we put on pants, for example, and they don't fit, well, we're going to be more proactive to get a new pair of pants because they don't fit versus, oh, I like that pair of pants. We just are like, I don't, feel like I want a new pair of jeans. We're slower to purchase. When it comes to paying points and rubbing salt in the wound, I read a few things about that where it's like, you should have that. And then you really press them. It's got me thinking about the format of a sales page. Can you talk to me around, have you got a secret sauce when it comes to the format and I do. So I have a five-point process that I utilize within sales pages. So the very first part is talking with their desires and their struggles. So really making and that's just making them realize like you're in the right spot. You are here because this is what you want. But right now you're struggling with this. Maybe it's that they're struggling to find the right person to that fits their needs or they're struggling to find someone that understands the wedding that they want. They want whatever that struggle is that they're currently experiencing when they're trying to find the right person. Then we're going to go into the solution, which is you like you're that solution. You introduce yourself, who you are, which then leads you to the authority. And so you want to bring into what makes you different. What's your unique selling proposition that makes you stand out? from everyone else within your industry. So that could be bringing in like special weddings that you've done, your story, even speaking of stories, which we can go into. bringing your story and what led you to where you are. Um, and then after that authority, you're going to get more into the tangibles of like what it looks like. So if they hire you as I keep going to wedding planner, but wedding planner, um, Jackson, you're talking to me. going to get from that pa give them. And even if i or you're like, um, these that are included in most give them an idea of the key part in in this is m if they get this delivera will it make their day fe Um, I give you a full on, um, seating arrangement for your big day for the dinner. So then we can make sure that the people that want to sit together, sit together. And so it takes that ease off of, okay, like I know she's going to make sure he's going to make sure that everything flows smoothly for me. And I don't have to have my hands on everything. And then the last part to all this is doing that final breakthrough, that overcoming anything that may be holding them back, answering any questions that they may have. And I always do at the very end of that breakthrough of like almost like that love note in a way, but that last call to action almost Like you're sitting across from this person in a coffee chat and just calling them final to action, reminding them, hey, I'm that person for you. I can give you this beautiful day. Just imagine what it would look like when I can do that for you with Great. I think that testimonials and social proof play a big part in this. I mean, what's your process to be asking I try to, yeah. A lot of times getting testimonials from, especially from wedding clients can be a little bit harder after like a long time after, because a lot of stuff that from the photography sense can take up to two or three months to finalize everything. So when it gets to that point, sometimes the hype's all gone down and the testimonial isn't as bright and big and fluffy as what it could have been earlier. So, but yeah, always, always try. Because it's great to incorporate that, whether it's your sales page or just pip it through your website to back that up, that deliverable. Of course, it's proven, right? He can actually do it. He can take good But when you think about it, with a wedding, no couple wants to be the pioneer. So they always want to know, they always want that social proof that someone's gone before them and that, you know, that you've done an amazing job. And with all the copy eyes to it, I put that, you know, a thousand couples before you have enjoyed this, this and this, or, you know, that sort of Which is all part of that authority section. Like you've got to bring that in. And you could even say things like, Um, like you were talking about, like I've helped a hundred couples at this point or whatever, they just want to know that you have authority that you've done it. Um, and another little, um, cheat that you can do is yes. It's nice to get maybe like a full on written testimonial. Yes. It's nice to even more get a video testimonial. But truthfully, you could just screenshot and cover up names of messages that they've sent to you. Like the day after they're like, Oh my gosh, that was like the perfect day. Thank you so much. And just put those on your website, on your sales page to make sure that there's that proof there. And in the end of the day, people just want to know that, hey, you have my back. And two, that the testimonials are legit, too, because, hey, like anyone can make up just a random thing and say, hey, this is what someone said about me from Julie. But the screenshots actually show, oh, like that was actually from a text message that was actually Yeah, great. And I think, um, I don't know, I'm just listening to you. And I thought, what about the copy where you want to kind of like back up why your price is so high? You know, do you, do you find be worked in examples like that where, where, you know, a wedding planner really wants to hit that luck space and she's more expensive than other, of course, I lean on a wedding planner, but in her, in her local area, she's more expensive than others. Like, how would you, you know, Yeah. So to me, when you are charging a certain amount, uh, there's a few things that need to match that one. You need to have the testimonials to match that. So if you're beginning and you're like, I am charged like 20,000 for a wedding. Well, you've got to be able to back up that you've done these weddings, that you have these testimonials, that you've helped so many people to be able to charge that. So it comes down to that authority and that social proof we're talking about to you need to showcase with an imagery. And this goes beyond just the. the copy, but how your brand looks, how the images look on the page, because I'm not going to go to McDonald's and pay $50 for a meal, but I'll go to a really nice sit down restaurant that feels high end, that feels high class and pay maybe even up to $100 for a meal because I know going into that, that it's going to be at that end. I'm like Ruth's Chris is in America and really popular. And I know that I'm going to be paying that high end just for that feel, just for that, um, that high end caliber. Um, and then when you're, you're talking, utilizing such the, um, adjectives and feelings like that high end luxury feel that they're going to get on that day, because your price should also come with an elevated experience. And so describe the elevated experience. So you don't have to fully address, be like, oh, my prices are this way because. But you need to think, how am I going to exemplify just within those adjectives, the high end luxury feel, the feel on my website with the photos, and my authority that, hey, I'm worth it. I'm worth it with these high prices. And you're almost expecting it I love that. I love that. Okay. Um, that leads me to call to actions. Have you got any kind of killer call to actions that you think might well work well for winning professionals? Yeah. So one thing to keep in mind is direct is always best. So I was actually talking about this sitting on my social media because so many want the fancy fun, like how, like, um, I'm trying to think of like a fun one at the top of my head. It's not funny. Yes, we're a match. Let us make your wedding dreams come true. Something flowery. So it sounds fun. It's so interesting. But I think I'm a mom of three, so I think of it with my kids. And I'm like, if I tell them, hey, we're going to walk out the door in 10 minutes, what are they going to do? They're going to sit there and continue playing with their video games, doing whatever they want. But if I said, go and put your shoes on now because we're walking out the door in 10 minutes, they're the likelihood. Yes, they're kids. So the likelihood is not going to be 100% that they will put those shoes on right when I asked, but the likelihood that they will go put on those shoes at when I say that versus, Hey, we're leaving soon. Very fluffy, not direct is a lot higher. So being so direct, like book your consultation book, um, or let me know you're interested. So it's very direct on what you want them to do. You can even say click here to save your date. But the more direct you are, the higher you're going to get those clicks because they know what to expect I had a, I had a banner for years. I don't know. I've sold the business. I don't know if she's still got it, but you know, the old 2004 weekends of booking fast, you know, something like that, that gives them that, you know, I'm popular weekends fly You know, on, on those calls to actions, would you also recommend to have a transitional call to action as well as a direct on So with a transitional call to action is obviously they put in their email address to receive something back from you. So if you've got a wedding planning guide that they can download and then they drop in their email address, they then download the guide and then you have their email address. You can contact them that way, as well as the direct book with us now, that sort Yeah. So like a lead magnet, a freebie, that type of thing on your page would be so ideal. Uh, because there's people that are not quite ready to book you yet. Maybe their wedding isn't for a few years. Maybe they're like talking with their fiance or their going to be fiance and you're kind of like feeling the waters out and you're not sure yet but then it allows you one to get their email address so you can nurture them through emails and I know you recently had someone a guest talk about email so definitely go check that one out on the email side Um, but then also when they're ready, they're already seeing your name. And so they know, Oh, Ben is the photographer. I've been seeing him. I researched him. He's still connecting with me, still emailing me, giving me tips to prepare for my big day. And so, so when they actually get engaged or when it gets closer, if they're like, Oh, we're not getting married for five years. but it actually gets a couple of years out, they can be like, Oh, let's book it. Let's get it scheduled. Because Ben's been constantly giving I think the other important thing to know is, is where that particular wedding professional sits in the order of the booking process. Like for us as a wedding planner, they usually book the venue and then they book us, for example. So you want your copy to reflect that, you know, they, they could be shopping around for a photographer for a little bit longer than say booking their venue. Do you know what I mean? So if it's a wedding venue owner listening to this. Um, and, and that's very much, we want that date at that venue, you know, that their call to action might be more direct than say a wedding vendor that, that, that the couple sit on that decision for a while and shop around research for a while longer. Um, Yeah. Understanding your buyer's journey is, is vital because You need to know, even with just your regular copy, where they are in the journey most of the time. So if they're already getting the venue, you can say, hey, you may have already gotten your venue and speak to that. And they're like, yeah, I did get my venue already. And so they're already understanding, oh, she's going to get me, or he's going to get me at this point, because they already know I've done these steps. So if you're able to more speak to where they are in that buyer's journey, then it like helps them be able to feel more comfortable with you because you already know who they Great. Now, I think not just doing a copy once and forgetting about it forever is the key. I think you need to be refining your copy and improving it and observing it and getting data on it. Have you got any tips around that in terms we don't want to spend all month doing it, but what are some ways that wedding professionals that have limited time can kind of keep on an eye on Yeah. So there's two reasons that you want to update. One is not converting. So you want to make sure you're looking at data, even if you want to do it once a month. I know there's some people that like to do it weekly where they're just tracking I like, um, overall, all of their data, how many followers they've gotten that week, how many email open rates. So you could do that with your, your website and, um, how many people landed on your page versus how many reached out to you. Um, so that would be a reason that means you're not hitting the mark there. If they're landing and they're not converting over, then. You're not hitting the mark with that copy. The other reason is you're going to evolve. That's just what happens. You're going to evolve. You're going to get even better in your art. Or you're going to be like, hmm, I actually don't enjoy this type of certain wedding, but I prefer this wedding. And so you're able to speak more direct to that type of wedding that you actually want to show up for and be part Great. Anything you'd like to know about Sales Copy? Think of your website. Ben's got lots of awards. So he's, he's very strong in the... Is that another hint? You might want to look at your notes. But no, you're... You look at Ben's site, and it's like award after award after award in different countries for different things. I think that's great, right? You just feel like, wow, this guy obviously knows what he's doing and is really good. So your Oh, thanks. I just didn't want people to think that they might be the pioneer. And for me to, I guess, to get the point across that what they can expect. So there's no surprises. So having no surprises, I think, is a really good thing. And knowing that a person can do it. So would you recommend, obviously, noting those awards down and trying to limit the surprises that people... Because we all, we like surprises and we hate surprises. So to try and limit those, would you agree that'd be a good idea? Yeah, 100%, especially for a wedding day. Like they want to feel comfortable when they hire out to something. They want to know that you have their back. But at the same time, I'm sure there's people that listen to this where they're like, I'm not as good as Ben. I have not had these awards. I have maybe don't even have awards yet where they're feeling like, they're, I'm not going to get picked at all. Like I'm not going to be chosen because I don't have those awards. We'll bring your authority in other ways. Even if you're just starting out, that could be just telling your story and then getting the photos and showing your work and what you're doing. Um, like even showing, Hey, this is a, um, how I like updated the photo to make it even more appealing. Here's the, um, updates I've done in the, um, I'm trying to think of the right word, like when you change the photo to make it even look better. The filter. This is what I've done to it and stuff. But showing your authority with the work that you've done in itself will help as you're building up your name. And if at the beginning you're like, well, I don't even have my first client because some of you are just hopping in, well, go and try. find a friend that's a photographer or a wedding planner, go and work with them. And so you have photos of things that you're doing with them and can show that because just that to start, people are going to relate and be like, I need her to do this for me, or I need him to do this for me because he Right. And you just you mentioned storytelling or mentioned the story there before. So storytelling is a bit of a game changer. And I know that in the photography industry, it's it's what we do. How how does that relate to, to the sales copy side of things? Can we tell a story in sales copy as Yeah, so there's a different ways to showcase storytelling. One, you can tell your story in within your introduction to yourself, how you got into the industry, how you got to doing what you're specifically doing, because there is this connection point people buy. And this is such a common thing. But when they know, like and trust someone. And so part of that is knowing you and knowing what brought you here to doing your work. The other side of it is telling the story of where they are and what they're searching for. So you don't have to be like sales copy doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be like, Hey, you're experiencing this and you want this. And which can, I would find chat GPT does a lot of like that boring, plain sales. Um, I have lots of feelings on chat GBT as you can tell, but, um, you can bring in like storytelling of like, I know that you've already grabbed your venue. and you're looking for this, and maybe you're struggling with this, and put it in more of a storytelling feel. The other thing is tell stories of your clients. Even if you can't use their name, you can say, like, we had a client, and you can make up a name if you want, who came to us looking for this, and tell the story of what that looked like, how you were able to bring I love it. Thanks so much, Vanessa. Oh, it's been a joy getting to know you and hear about all your skills. The last thing that I'd like to ask is, I guess, for someone who's got their own one-woman show or one-man show going on and doing their own copywriting, have you got any tips for Yeah, so I will say chat has its good and bad parts. So there are sides to it that I like and sides to it that I don't. So one, I would go in and write your own stuff to start. Just get some things down. Even if it's like choppy, even if it's not a full sentence, get some ideas out there of your headline, who you're wanting to attract, a section of like, I work with this type of people and help them achieve this outcome. Then go into chat GPT and utilize it to fluff it up. You can say, add more humor to this, add more luxury feel to this, and then take it from there and adjust to make sure it feels like it flows right. But I wouldn't recommend don't start with chat GPT because it's going to spit you out some very interesting stuff. Sometimes it's very dry. It can give you words that are repetitive. So you'll see a lot of like unlock, unlock. or, um, your dream or different things, whereas everyone's You're going to cheese, cheese, So you're just going to sound like everyone else. And so your words and what you want to say first, then go and help have it help That's great. I love, I love that. That's a really good tip. All right. Well, It has been so fun. You two are fun hosts. So, Ben, A plus All right. Thanks, Vanessa. Thank you. Talk to Yeah, I do actually. I live here. So, at home listening. Oh, we've got some comments coming through on Facebook. Awesome. If you'd like to join us for more live craziness like this, then you need to sign up for Wedding Empires Pro. We have a free seven day trial where you can attend all of our podcasts live. Plus there's additional trainings and templates for your wedding business. So head to pro.weddingempires.com. Also, we've got a brand new Instagram account, which needs some love. I think we've got about 80 followers, which isn't too bad for a couple of days. A couple of days. That's pretty good. Pretty good. Yeah. But yes, come find us there. So Wedding Empires Podcast is the username, and it's the same username on TikTok now as well. So you can find us there. And Ben. Yes. Pleasure having you. Thank you. You might do this If you want to check out Ben and his work and all his awards, go to Ben Connolly. We'll have all those links in the show notes for you, but thanks for joining us