Everyone Should Have a 'Must Get Published Here' List | Now, How Do You Tackle It?
If you are a wedding professional who dreams of having your work published, this post is for YOU. Getting published is like anything else in life ... the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. Here is what I suggest as the first step to tackling the idea of getting published:
>> Make A List. <<
Seems simple enough ... here's how I'd do it: I would pick a day as the 'year start' day ... let's pretend my date is May 1st. From May 1, 2015 - April 2015 I will make it my goal to be featured on the following 5 wedding blogs:
- Something Turquoise
- Ruffled
- Every Last Detail
- The Perfect Palette
- Style Me Pretty
I will fight tooth and nail to get a publication on those 5 blogs and I will ONLY focus on those 5 blogs ... if I make goal before the year is up and the features have gone live, I can begin the "next year" early with a whole new list of blogs ... collect those 'featured badges', baby!!
Ok, now what? Take each one and LEARN about it ... what is their style, what photography do they seem to favor, how often do they post, what colors do they seem to love, what details does this editor love to showcase, is this a DIY blog or a non-DIY blog, do they focus more on portrait images or lots of wedding details or a bit of both ... DISSECT. Learn how to create or choose a wedding that you feel would be a SURE THING ...
>> What To Do When You've Found It. <<
You've got the submission ... you KNOW that Something Turquoise (an amazing wedding blog for the DIY bride) is going to DIE over this one and you're almost positive you'll get it approved for publication ... now what?
Image found on Something Turquoise - a fabulous DIY wedding blog
Pretty much every wedding blog is going to have a page you can click to view what they are looking for and how to submit to be featured. For me it was super simple: email me and share a file for me to review ... for other blogs, their submission process is well thought out and really organized ... but one thing to always, ALWAYS do:
>> Follow Their Guidelines <<
If an editor who is receiving a crazy amount of submissions each week receives your submission and it's missing anything or it wasn't sent following their instructions then you can probably kiss a feature bye-bye. They have their guidelines set up to save them time and to be able to approve and respond in a timely manner ... throw a wrench in their system and they are sure to ignore your efforts.
>> Now ... We Wait <<
Submitting an event or styled shoot to a publication is sometimes the easy part ... it's the waiting that is the hard part. Sometimes it can take MONTHS to receive that 'email of approval' from the editor ... sometimes you'll NEVER hear back << yes, this happens. Sometimes it's the day-of!! Either way, it's respectful to wait until you get a definite 'NO' before you start submitting it somewhere else.
>> They Said NO ... I'm Super Bummed <<
Getting a 'no' for a feature from the blog you had the highest hopes for SUCKS ... at least I can imagine that it sucks ... but here's the good news: there are TONS of wedding blogs out there!! And one of them most likely will be thrilled to feature your gorgeous work! And if you never get a yes, here is a checklist I created for the criteria I looked for when browsing over submissions for Style Unveiled << it may come in handy :)
Nothing is more powerful than knowing the ins and outs of wedding blogs and the editors and what they are looking for ... remember that I am available to hire to help you submit your work to the best wedding blogs and increase your chances of being published on the first submission try! This might include:
- Consulting with me BEFORE you coordinate a styled shoot to get my opinion on the photographer you are considering and the concept of the shoot
- Showing me the images prior to submitting them to hear my opinion on which blog editors are looking for submissions similar to yours
- Asking me questions and the submission process and how to up your chances at getting approved by your #1 publication choice
Contact me to discuss :)
XO~ Heather