With a booking agent and a wedding band leader for parents, this is Meghan’s journey from a Music Business major to the director of content & B2b education at The Knot Worldwide. We talk about what it means to be the face of a brand and planning out content, to marketing strategies you can utilize right now to make the most of 2021.
Originally a Jazz major at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Meghan is a lifelong musician who made it her business to help other wedding pros reach success. You may have seen Meghan hosting webinars on Weddingpro, or chatting with different guests on Weddingpro's Instagram. Music, in general, stems from collaboration, and in turn how musicians can have an advantage in business because we are naturally so collaborative.
Meghan is a proven example that resilience and hard work will get you as far as you can dream of. From being an assistant for an events team to an interior designer to an economics research firm, she learned to be the face of the brand of Two Bright Lights, which is a photo submission and publication platform. All of these different roles took thick skin, resilience, and dedication. All of which shape the mold of today’s Meghan Brown; a wedding educator, speaker, and content marketing extraordinaire.
Meghan's Instagram
Mentions:
WeddingPro
The Knot
Weddingwire
Alan Berg
Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings
With a booking agent and a wedding band leader for parents, this is Meghan’s journey from a Music Business major to the director of content & B2b education at The Knot Worldwide. We talk about what it means to be the face of a brand and planning out content, to marketing strategies you can utilize right now to make the most of 2021.
Originally a Jazz major at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Meghan is a lifelong musician who made it her business to help other wedding pros reach success. You may have seen Meghan hosting webinars on Weddingpro, or chatting with different guests on Weddingpro's Instagram. Music, in general, stems from collaboration, and in turn how musicians can have an advantage in business because we are naturally so collaborative.
Meghan is a proven example that resilience and hard work will get you as far as you can dream of. From being an assistant for an events team to an interior designer to an economics research firm, she learned to be the face of the brand of Two Bright Lights, which is a photo submission and publication platform. All of these different roles took thick skin, resilience, and dedication. All of which shape the mold of today’s Meghan Brown; a wedding educator, speaker, and content marketing extraordinaire.
Meghan's Instagram
Mentions:
WeddingPro
The Knot
Weddingwire
Alan Berg
Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings
With a booking agent and a wedding band leader for parents here's Megan's journey from a music business, major to director of content and B2B education at the knot worldwide. What goes into being the face of a brand and planning out content to marketing strategies. You as a wedding pro can utilize right now to make the most of 2021. Today, we're talking to Megan Brown, a lifelong musician who made it her business to help other wedding pros reach success. You may have seen her hosting webinars on wedding pro or chatting with different guests on wedding pros, Instagram, for example, music in general stems from collaboration. And in turn musicians have an advantage in business because we, as musicians are naturally just so collaborative. Megan is a proven example that resilience and hard work will get you as far in this industry, as you can dream of. From an assistant for an event and an interior designer to an economic research from learning to be the face of the brand and to bright lights, which is a photo submission and publication platform. Let me tell you this thick skin resilience and dedication. All of which shaping the mold to today's Megan Brown. A wedding educator, speaker and content marketing Xtrordinair. Well, the Funktastic Chats. I'm your host, Mike Zabrin I've teamed up with the best and the most successful leaders within the creative field. To help you navigate being the boss and dominate with originality and vision. Having a long standing career in the wedding and events industry Funktastic Chats is a podcast that includes essential information for all small businesses. Industry leaders join me every week to help you monetize their passion, automate repetitive tasks to allow for more time for what you love, how to convert more leads and turn clients in the brand fanatics and how to thrive in what you do. Enjoy this episode and get ready to talk marketing, knowing what you stand for and the entrepreneurial journey of a jazz musician who makes it her business to help wedding pros, just like you.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):As director of content strategy and B2B education at the not worldwide and weddings, Megan Brown has extensive marketing and event management experience understands the challenges and opportunities. Creative entrepreneurs face. Megan has been a featured speaker at tons of events like wedding MBA show at United and growing up with a booking agent and a wedding band leader for parents. There is no doubt. The marketing at events are in Meghan's DNA. Hey Megan, welcome to the podcast. It's great to chat with you.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:awesome. Thanks so much for having me.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I a lot of your webinars on wedding pro with different guest speakers you have, and wedding pros, Instagram live, and you're like a household to TV show for me. I just literally Chrome cast you to my TV screen
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I love it.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I find you just an empowering. And inspiring voice for all business owners within the wedding industry, especially at a time now where we're flooded was scary information about COVID-19 politics. It's just great to be able to hear an optimistic voice like yours, inspiring wedding professionals to navigate through challenging times like this. I actually, I call you my business therapist. So I don't know if you've heard that before.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I love it. That's awesome. That means so much. This year has been crazy and it has been just something we've been working really hard to try to make sure we're giving a wedding pros, the tools that they need to navigate this crazy time. And so I'm glad it's been working.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):It seems like your role goes beyond marketing and just really being a solid advocate for small business owners. Do you feel that same way?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:absolutely. And I think that's really the reason I got into this. Of course, I have a love for the creative side and for weddings and events in general, but really small business owners, especially in the wedding industry did not become small business owners because. They wanted to balance their books and figure out how to write the best contracts. You do it because you love your craft. You love what you do. You love helping couples make these amazing days come to life, but the business is really important. And my whole goal is to make it as easy as possible for small business owners to get the tools they need to make that part as easy as well.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):You're really big on helping businesses, knowing what they stand for. What does knowing what you stand for mean to you?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:It's about not trying to be something for everyone. You have to show your where your values are. Couples today. Really, I'm going to say value again, but really value what others stand for. And they want to align themselves with those who have the same beliefs, the same style, the same. All of those things. They want to find someone that they can be friends with, not just someone that they have a working relationship with. And so having that authentic connection and having that authenticity in your business and showcasing what your business stands for and what you personally believe in, I think goes a long way in helping to create that connection.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I personally really learned from you how knowing what you stand for and your personal brand, being able to translate that through the marketing side of things and during COVID, can this encourage brides to postpone instead of cancel because of that meaningful relationship forum, it's just something as much as putting your face out there, letting them know you're
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:yeah. Yeah. And building that trust, none of us have been, or have been through anything like this before with all of the rescheduling and. All of the navigation that needed to happen during COVID and this continuing to do that. So when couples really have that connection with you in that trust with you, they're going to rely on you that you know what you're doing and you're going to help them to. Navigate and still have, and plan and create the most amazing day possible. Whether there are restrictions and guidelines, you all have to abide by or not. Having that trust makes it so much easier and it makes them know that, you know what, you've got it. This my pro-team has got it. And I it's one less thing that they have to worry about.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Yeah, I mean, one specific thing in particular is greetable you've had them as a guest on one of your webinars. And what's funny is that I've noticed just Through my reviews that I'm getting, I'm seeing less about how the band performed, because it's assumed that we're going to give a great performance. What's not assumed is, Oh my God. The communication throughout this entire process was amazing. Do you have maybe some other types of ways do you keep that communication all year round with the client.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah, I think especially right now communication is key, whether it's just over communicating the different safety precautions you're taking or whether it's going above and beyond what that client experience. It's not just about checking the box and saying, okay, we've got this covered. It's about showing that couple that you are. Thinking about their event, their wedding Not just when you're having a conversation with them. It's even something as simple as if you're following each other on Instagram, sending them a meme that made you think of them or made you think of their event or sending a little gift after you've had a great planning session or you had your onboarding, or they just booked with you, these little things. That helped you continue that communication and continue those touch points. When they take such little effort can go a long way. And it shows that they're continuing to be top of mind and not just, okay, great. We've signed with these people. I don't need to think about them until it's 30 days out from their wedding. No, it showcases the fact that you are still connecting with them throughout that whole process.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I'm the content side of things. I'd love to know what those into setting up all of the webinars to do. Some of these webinars do are like an hour and a half, almost two hours long. How do you go about keeping a pulse on the front of mind topics, getting attendees, keeping them engaged. Can you give us a sneak peek behind the curtain? A little bit of what, what goes into that?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah. So we spend a lot of time planning out our content strategy. We want to make sure we're addressing those topics that are top of mind, like you said. So we keep a pulse on what is going on in the industry what's being discussed. What answers or what questions do people have that aren't being answered anywhere else? And how do we get to the bottom of that? We rely heavily on our wedding pro educator team which is an amazing group of pros who are out there really doing the work and still working as wedding pros, but also as educators in this industry. And they have so many great insights into what's going on, how to navigate certain situations. And so we love to bring in those experts because of course we understand. What pros are going through, but I, myself and not now out in the field, working a wedding. So by using those pros and bringing them into the wedding pro family, we really get the insights from both the business side and the data and all of that behind things that we have on the, not worldwide, but line that up with the pros themselves. And that really helps us to. Craft these presentations craft these pieces go to other pros for inspiration and quotes that we're pulling in for our content. So for each month, we're focusing on a particular theme on our blog and generally the webinar aligns with that theme. So we're publishing anywhere from five to 15 different pieces on a particular topic in a month to really highlight. That, whether it's thought leadership or something, even as simple as how to be networking in the wedding industry, which we all know this year was even more challenging given that everything was virtual. So we have that. And then we also just came off of our second virtual event. So it was called the wedding pro core tone up, which happened the first week in February. So that was a two day online virtual event that had multiple speakers some panels, some on-demand and live content. It was just a great opportunity to. Build on exactly what wedding pros need. Everything from finding your ethos to marketing authentically and to build raving reviews and clients that are out there going to be giving you lots of referrals, which I know we all want.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Wedding pro really forces you as a wedding professional to not only think about the service itself, but the results of the service that you're trying to sell. And I think it was Alan Berg, which I definitely want to get into him later, but he, when he talks about a cater, he says, don't sell the food. Sell the company first, are you going to decide where are we going to eat or the dish we're going to have? Why is the caterer, are you selling the menu before you're selling the caterer? So I guess Meghan. My question for you is how do you sell the results and the value of a service on wedding wire or the knot and an inquiry? Even if somebody asked for pricing right away, do you have any advice on that?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah, I think first of all, making sure that you get. Reviews to showcase on your storefront is huge, right? Those are the unbiased responses about your work and your service that really showcase that there has been that connection and that you are building that trust and that people are willing to come and give you these amazing reviews based on the service that you had. I think that. Showcasing. What makes you different showcasing how you stand out? We know markets today are very saturated and so you have to be going back to what I said earlier of you. Can't be something for everyone. You have to be you and you have to have that target audience. So making sure that you are showcasing the who your perfect client is and who you're trying to reach. Within your storefront within your social media, within your website and highlighting yourself as part of that can go a long way of selling your service and your brand, as opposed to in this catering example, what's on the map.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Your reviews really carry a ton of weight. That is what I learned for sure. Being on wedding wire. And they're not when I reached out to you on Instagram, you had told me that you had went to school for music business. And I was like, Oh my God, did you struggle with the decision of going. In the performer direction, like your dad or in the straight business agent world, like your mom.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah. So I actually started as a jazz performance major. And after about two years I was realizing that. In order for me to feel comfortable making a career out of this, I needed to really understand that business side of things. And I know it was hard for my parents to swallow being both performing musicians. My mom being the booking agent for the wedding band that my dad had when I was growing up. And they're also both music educators. So that was of course, you're going to go down this road. But. Opening up to the business side of things allowed me to really realize how important it was and to fall in love with things like my accounting class, which I can't even believe I'm saying that. But it was a struggle for a while. But for me, Being able to really lean into that business side, whether it was marketing or accounting or all of those things that are part of running the business. That made me realize that was really where my heart was. I knew that the music and creative side of things was continuing to be something that I wanted to keep for myself. It was still a personal passion of mine. It's still something I love getting into a recording studio and doing things like that now. But for me, I just, that's when my love of the business side. And it's sparked this is the missing piece for so many creatives musicians and anyone really on the small business side that many times is missing.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Did you ever sing in your dad's wedding band while you were a jazz major?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:So we've definitely done a few things together. He and I have actually recorded a few albums together. I never sang in his wedding band, but I have that I have performed at multiple weddings on my own. But yeah, he retired from the wedding band circuit around the time I was actually going off to college.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):It's funny. I was actually a jazz major too, and I got out of music school and I had no idea about royalties song writing agreements. I started my own band and started doing session work and all that stuff. BMI, ASCAP contracts are we as musicians? And others in the creative field, doing ourselves a disservice by only studying content and not business.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:hard, right? Cause you're balancing what you're passionate about and what you know you want to do. But at the same time, you want to make sure that you're educated enough. So you're not. Getting taken advantage of there's so many areas where like royalties and songwriting agreements, like you mentioned are perfect examples of, if you don't know the right things to look for, it can really hurt you in the long run. And so I think it is important. To make sure you have that business aspect. I think if people end up going as a performance major, see if you can take some of those business courses. I was very fortunate that my first two years in school, I went to Berkeley college of music in Boston. And to be able to have that balance between the amazing performance classes, but then also music law. And learning about royalties and agreements. It made such a difference for me to be able to understand it and know what to expect. If I were to have gone down that road.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):That is something that I struggled with a ton. Do you think that this should be something. I think that's mandatory because I know so many talented musicians out there where the industry is almost holding them back because they don't have this essential business information because this is not required in music school.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I would think so. I think so everyone should take some of these like basic business classes even as a performance major. You can be the most amazing musician in the world, but if you don't know how to market yourself, if you don't know how to read an agreement properly. Yes, of course you should always hire an attorney if you're signing a legal document to, to review that. But having a general knowledge of what to look for is so important and it can really make a difference in the long run.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I always wonder when I have kids one day, what kind of insight I'm going to be able to pass down to my kids being a wedding band leader, myself. And I was just wondering, what kind of things did you learn from your mom? Your dad. About the music industry, that and about the events industry that really just gave you a headstart.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I mean, I think one thing is resilience, right? I think That has been in such an important part of my life throughout everything that I've done. There's, especially as a musician practice makes perfect. You have to keep trying, and if you're not failing at something, it generally means you're not trying hard enough. And I know that's Something that can be said about a lot of things in this world. So me practicing my scales and getting so frustrated that I would mess up the fingerings on the piano or something like that. It helped me to understand that you need to do something multiple times in order to get to where you want to be. Nothing is earned overnight. That is worth earning. You have to work for it. And so getting that resilience and knowing that you have to keep trying, you have to keep practicing and you will get better and it will pay off just, I think went a really long way and starting as a musician as such a young age, and now it's something that I've been able to continue through. It just, it taught me that along the way. And I really thank them for that.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I love that. People think that musicians in particular, aren't great at business and marketing, but sometimes I think it could be the opposite in some ways, because we, as musicians were formed naturally by just being inspired about another person's skills. Incorporate their craft into what we do. And the music together grows as a whole. And because music stems from collaboration, do you think that being a musician gives you an advantage in business because just we're naturally so collaborative.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Totally. I completely agree with what you're saying. I think that in general musicians we have to be team players. I was never a sports person. However, I was in marching band. I actually met my husband in marching band or totally big musician nerds, which is hilarious.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):hear that story. Where are you playing? Where are you playing the tuba? And he was playing the trombone. You here.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:We were both in the saxophone section. It's crazy, but that's okay. You learn how to work in a team and to rely on others. And I think I know it's said all the time, but community over competition at this point, right? Like within the wedding industry, we cannot thrive without the help of other pros. We are not the only person that goes into making an event successful. And I think musicians definitely understand that because. Of course you can have a solo musician, but there's so much value and so much joy that comes out of these larger ensembles. And when people are working together and playing music together. So you already understand that as a musician, that collaborating teamwork and performing together just brings everything up a level.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Is there a wedding pro staff band somewhere you guys should create one. You should
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:We actually, we did have one, I think, before everything happened our Halloween party at our company, we had a band every year that would come together and play. And so I missed that. We'll have to bring it back once we're all back in the office.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Early on you were an events designer. Was this right out of college?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah. So I um, wasn't assistant for an event and interior designer. So I assisted at events, but also in his personal life, it was it was interesting.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I think you said it was the worst 14 months of your life.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yes. But Hey, more resilience there.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Yeah. How did they give you a thicker skin and really prepare you for the future?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I learned not to cry that's for sure. Oh yeah. It, it learned, it helped me to learn to just let things roll off my back. And I think we all know this, especially dealing with couples, dealing with clients and situations like this are very emotional, right? And people fly off the handle. People say things quickly without thinking, and it can be really hard to take at the beginning when you're first getting used to this. Or if it's you're not, you haven't experienced it before, but being able to. Learn to take that step back to pause. And to know that people are upset at a situation and not necessarily at you, who sure they may be taking it out on you at this point. But being able to take that step back and know it wasn't about me, it was about something else. Bigger was really helpful. So it was a tough 14 months, but I made it and came out stronger on the other side.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):On another guest, we were talking a lot about self-talk and how to change your self-talk and how the brain can differentiate the psychological response between something like a relationship breakup, which can be way worse than public speaking. Not for me or you, but for some people. But because you're telling yourself that you can't do this, you can't. You can't do this, the psychological response, that negative response is the same. I'm just wondering as you went through two bright lights, which I definitely want to get into and the nod and I think you were first like six and a half years at another company, right? Was it a
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:yup. Yeah. Economics research company who knew.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Did yeah. Did your self-talk just change over time and being able to not take things so personally like you were saying,
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Totally. And I think as I've progressed and also within working with wedding pro and many times my face is the one that's out there, as the face of this brand. That's not the most comfortable thing for me. It takes a lot to prep and pep myself up for speaking engagements or webinars. It's not something that comes naturally to me. I'd much rather sing in front of an audience and actually speak in front of an audience. That's a completely different and much easier to think for me.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):You have an audience right here. If you'd like to sing something. Bust out one of those wedding band standards. How about
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:There you go, Oh my gosh. Yes, exactly. But it's again, going back to sometimes you just have to push through it and it gets easier. It's never going to be a hundred percent comfortable, but telling yourself that every time it gets a little bit better loose for me has been really helpful throughout the years.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):You're very open. You mentioned you worked six and a half years at a job. You liked a lot, but at an industry you didn't really have a passion for what finally made you decide to take that leap of faith and start over with something new, especially since. You really did like the tasks and the position that you were in.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah. I was working marketing and product for an economics research firm. Like you said, I'd been there six and a half years. It was interesting. I learned a ton, but what was missing for me was. I was marketing and working on a product that I didn't feel passionate about. I didn't like, to me, it didn't matter if somebody understood the economic results of what was happening in the us or not. Okay. Yeah. So of course it's important, but moving over to a company like two bright lights and now wedding pro, you got to see. Exactly what impact the business had on these small businesses. And to me, that was invaluable.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):You then worked at two bright lights in 2016. Is that correct?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yes. So I actually started there at the end of 2015. So the founder of two bright lights Siri Eklund, she moved on. And so I was brought in to run the brand after she left. And so it was awesome. It was the best of both worlds. Being able to wear my product and marketing hat learning to be a face of the brand. But also seeing how it helped small business owners and getting back into that creative and event side, it just lit a fire that I didn't even realize had been missing so much.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):So for those who don't know, two bright lights is an all-in-one tool to get your creative work in front of editors and hundreds of publications. And they make their submissions easier than ever before. And Megan, when their founder left, you were a part of helping rebuild their website from the ground up. Introducing features like matching technology that helps people understand which publication fits best open gallery. And it just seems like you really helped flip. How wedding submissions worked. Did you learn things? The two bright lights that really prepared you for wedding pro in particular?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Absolutely. I think it helped me to gain a really good understanding of wedding professionals in general. I, of course understood what pros needed and how the wedding industry worked. But. The difference it could make of having your work appear in different publications or the power of SEO that could with back links that could help your business get ahead in Google rankings and just all of those little things that was, it just opened my eyes to what a big difference, something that seems so small in the grand scheme of things, of getting a feature in a blog or a magazine. Is a huge deal and can be this springboard, so to speak for many wedding pros and getting in front of new and different audiences, which we know is the challenge, right? It's not like it's not of course wedding referrals are a huge part of business, but you're having to find new clients every year. And so getting in front of that new and different audience, Every year is a challenge.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):That's one thing I love about wedding pro is that they're the clients they're already there. The SEO is already there. All you have to do is focus on your content, reviews. Building your brand. I'm just curious, Meghan, how did you come across to wedding pro?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah. The best part is that when I started at two bright lights, it was actually just when two bright lights had been acquired by XO group, which was the original parent company for the knot and the bump. And so it was a natural progression for me, as things progressed and back in 2019, the knot and WeddingWire merged. And so the B2B brand for the not. And WeddingWire is now wedding pro. And so as my role at the company started to grow and expand, it just made sense to move over to wedding pro and to really work on the content there, because it was a building upon what I'd already been doing on the two bright lights side, just on a larger platform.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):The knot wedding wire merged to become wedding pro in 2019. And I'm just curious from a marketing perspective, how has becoming a one brand not only internally, but making sure customers see the organization as one holistic brand.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah, I think there's still education going on that. The names. The knot and WeddingWire are household names within the wedding industry wedding pro is that newer brand. And so part of our job with education is to get that name out there and brand recognition for wedding pro so that people in the wedding industry know that we represent both brands.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Do you feel this is the first time in your life where you finally found. The true Holy grail in doing what you love and an industry you love.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I have to say it is pretty amazing to be able to wake up and do this every day. We have an amazing industry. I am honored to be able to work with so many of the wonderful people on the wedding pro and the not worldwide team. There's some great people behind the brand and I really do love what I do, and I truly love helping. Small business owners and wedding pros succeed and get better. And so if it makes me very happy
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):there's definitely no shortage of content on Meghan and Brown. And Meghan, I'm just wondering what is like you wake up in the morning to talk to me. The day is like a vegan Brown
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Oh boy. Right now it's pretty weird because I don't have a commute. So I wake up and. Spend my entire day in my New York city apartment. So get up, I get on my Peleton because that is what has been saving me throughout this whole pandemic. And allowing me to still. Eat my weight and chocolate. So guests definitely do that. Do a lot of our content planning work with the other members on our B2B teams in terms of what are our needs right now, are there, is there any new data and insights that our teams are hearing and seeing that we need to get out and make sure that we're educating other pros about It's working with also our consumer side what are they hearing? How can we help support them? Another big part is planning out the content like I talked about. So each month we're focusing on a particular theme. So we spend a lot of time doing deep dives into exactly what we should be talking about, what we should be covering. But then a huge portion of my day is actually spent talking to pros because I can't know. What's going on in the industry if I'm not actually talking to anybody. So it's so important. Some of my closest friends are wedding pros. They're amazing. I. I give them so much credit for all the hard work, especially this year that they've been going through, but it helps me to understand exactly where we can be helping. Where are we missing something? Is there something we should be talking about? Is there other thought leadership that we can be providing and putting forward into the industry? So for example, one thing that I'm really excited about for this year is we've actually introduced a fellowship program called fellowship for change that helps to support and promote underrepresented pros with the industry. So these pros will have access to an eight month long intensive educational plan program. They will have a mentorship, networking and financial support. Really excited that we've been able to put a program like that in place. And I can't wait to get that off the ground in March.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):And leads. It's just a general have gone up on the wedding wire and the knot, since it started with the pandemic, what does this say? About the optimism within the events industry right now.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yeah, I think this is it's a comeback story, right? I think there are so many couples that maybe paused planning for a little bit, but now they're back. They're ready. And then we also see the couples who've gotten engaged throughout this process. They are out there planning to 2021 and 2022 are going to be big. Busy years for the wedding pros. You've got the weddings that we've been rescheduled. You've got people that maybe were got engaged in 2020, and hadn't started planning and now are, and then the couples who are getting engaged right now, who are starting to plan, there's so much opportunity out there. So you're right there. The leads are happening.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Because people are at home. I wonder if it had almost an opposite effect of what I originally thought, because now people are planning their weddings because number one, it's something fun to do as a couple when quarantined, and I've got to ask you, Megan, where do you see 20, 21 for weddings. Where do you see summer in particular?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I, I'm an optimist. So I think we're going to be back. I think that this is things are on the upswing. People are out there having weddings. It's also forced, I think wedding pros to even elevate their experience for their couples, it's forced couples and to be more creative and figuring out how to make certain things happen, it's pushed our industry. It's been tough, but I think it's, we're coming out on for the better.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Have you seen vendors and especially venues shift their marketing toward bigger events again, now that the vaccine is rolling out or is it still a little too early?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I think the hard part is it's really dependent upon regions and the guidelines in those areas. So that's one of the difficult things that we're seeing right now is things are changing so quickly. We are seeing people plan larger events for sure. But I think it ultimately depends on the guidelines in there. The area that they're planning,
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):What marketing advice would you really. Implement to stand out in 2021 in particular.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I think getting your face out there People are spending more time online, like you said, they're home. They're trying to get that connection. And we know social media and what people put out in the world is the highlight reel. So don't be afraid of being yourself and getting your face out there because that is what couples are truly going to connect with. My personal motto is to not take myself too seriously and people like weird. So I'm totally a little weird it's okay. I own it, it makes life more fun. And being able to give something for people to actually connect with. So don't shy away. This is now this is not the time to be pulling back in your marketing efforts. You should be doubling down, getting your face out there and giving people the opportunity to get to know you like the real you.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I want to chat about some of the best marketing strategies with you. One of my favorite Chats that. That I've heard from one of your webinars is with Alan Berg and the webinar's called how to avoid getting ghosted and convert more leads. I'm going to ask , what it's like preparing a chat with Alan Berg. He's got like a whole stack of books behind them that he wrote. And then he comments on you. He's Oh, I love the bottle of alcohol behind you.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Oh, my gosh. I know, of course he notices that's really funny. Alan is awesome. He is such an expert when it comes to lead replies and sales and pricing, and just understanding your audience and. Not giving up. I think that was also one thing that really resonated with me in that in the webinar you're referring to is the fact that he's talking about just keep following up because most of the time, your competition won't and just because they're not responding, doesn't mean it's a, no, it means that maybe they took a pause or maybe they're focusing on something else at the moment. And so following up. In his creative ways, which I hope everyone goes and watches that webinar because his ways of following up in his tips and tricks, there are pretty awesome. I think it can go a long way and really have a big impact. And it shows, again, going back to that resilience, which I think is super important practice makes perfect. Keep trying. You never know what can happen.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):There's a really great chat with you. And I believe it's on Jenna Kutcher's Gold Digger. I'm sorry. Gold Digger. Gold. They're not gold. And you really demonstrate that no, in the publishing world often means not yet. And hearing no isn't forever and it doesn't mean your work is bad and you have to remember this. And I feel like you and Alan really compliment each other really well because I love his analogy when he talks about following up with a lead after not getting a response. When you get a lead, you just made it to the shortlist. The coach said, get in the game, you swung and missed. And then if you don't follow up, you just left the game. After the first strike, you feel that some vendors and some wedding professionals are mistakenly taking silence as a no.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Totally. Unless you've actually heard a no, you never know. So keep trying following up and exactly like what you said in, in publishing and same goes for this. No, now doesn't mean no forever. So keep drying. You made the short list originally?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I'd love to read what Alan says and this webinar, he writes this, I believe he writes it in his books. And this is an example of an email he'll send When a couple is ghosting and the subject is called, did you run off? And the lope, it was great meeting you guys. And I thought for sure, yeah, you were going to choose us for your wedding photographers. Since we reached out a few times and haven't heard back, we can only imagine that you decided to skip the wedding and go right to the honeymoon and that you're warming your toes on a Sandy beach with a cool drink and a small umbrella. If that's not the case, would you still like us to capture your beautiful images for your wedding? I actually use that. I use that, but I added one thing. I added my signature. I actually added John Cusak holding up the boom box. I'll say anything.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:That's amazing.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):And I feel like this really speaks your personal brand. Some people come up is really sarcastic. Some people I don't know. Do you have any advice on following up with couples and because some couples have some wedding bands, for instance, they have great websites, but you don't know how they're responding to couples, do you have any advice on that?
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I think. I know, I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record on this, but being really you and your authentic self, like showing how your brand and your personality within your responses is going to be super important because they may have seen you on. Instagram or really the way you wrote about your business on your storefront or on your website may have resonated with them. And so making sure that you're staying consistent with that and also responding where they are. So if somebody sends you an email inquiry, you want to make sure you're actually emailing them back and not switching communication styles on them. They started it that way. So continue it.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I love how Alan says he wishes he had a flashlight to erase all over the links and social media, because some people, they send a bunch of social media links and he mentioned that you're one step away from leaving your page completely and clicking on something else.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Yes.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):I love this one too. Here's another email he says R E like reply. I thought this might be useful. Hi, Alan. I know you're busy. So I prepare three convenient cause of action for you. One, ignore this email and eventually I'll get the picture and write terrible poetry about the deal. We never did most popular to hit reply and I'll do the same recommended. And then number three. Call me on. And then there's the phone number and interrupt my day. Like I have yours, I deserve it. Limited time offer. Then this is option two is my favorite, have a great day. And then he says, and then he puts his name and he writes chief of magically picking up a profitable business out of thin air.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:I know, I love it. I love some of his examples. And I think it's important that you're using an using a format or a style that resonates with you. Not everything is going to not, everyone's going to be able to pull off the humor and but it works for a lot of people.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-01-30--t04-50-53pm--mikezabrin (1):Megan, thank you so much for chatting with us today. I cannot wait to follow your future webinars and everything else that the wedding pro has going on. So this is Megan Brown, the director of content strategy and B2B education at the not worldwide and wedding for OPEC. And thank you so much. It was so much fun.
meghan-brown-podcast_recording-1_2021-02-09--t06-00-56pm--meghan:Thank you. It was great to be here. And that was Megan Brown. I've followed Meghan for many months now, and I encourage you to do the same. Meghan's Instagram handle is Megan that's M E G H a N underscore S B Meghan, underscore SB some great insight on knowing what you stand for and incorporating that into your. Marketing strategies, turning clients and the brand fanatics, especially during the COVID era and leads in general have gone up on wedding wire and the knot since the start of the pandemic. And I think Megan is right. This is a comeback story of the wedding industry, weddings that have been rescheduled people that were engaged at 2020, and now starting the planning process and newly engaged couples. There's just a ton of opportunity out there. Next week I'm chatting with the former VP of sales of the not Alan Berg. Ellenberg is fluent in the language of business he's been in marketing sales and sales management for over 20 years, working with businesses, just like yours in the wedding and events industry. And before striking out on his own as a business consultant, author professional speaker, he served as vice president of sales and the not market intelligence at the knot worldwide. We're going to be talking about his latest book. He's got five out by the way, but we're going to be talking about his latest book wisdom and the business of weddings, a compendium of ideas, insight, and inspiration from an industry leader. And in this book, you're going to get actionable content, not just exhaustive homework. So whether you're new to the wedding and events industry, or you're a seasoned veteran each chapter really stands on its own. So this book is not meant to be read front to back, although you certainly can, if you like. Ellen Brown is the leading international expert on the business of weddings. You're going to love this episode. Be safe, be extraordinary. And we'll see you next week.