How To Establish Yourself As The Expert In Your Field

This week one of my companies, The Heart Bandits, was featured in Brides Magazine. The article was called, “6 Major Proposal Mistakes to Avoid, According to Experts.” In the article, I am cited as the expert in Proposal Planning. Every time an article like this comes out, at least one of my peers shoots me a text or email to ask me how I got featured in XYZ. And my answer to them is that the magazines, websites, and media COME TO ME!

But it wasn’t always that way. There are a lot of things that I had to do to establish myself as an expert in the Proposal Planning and Pop-Up Wedding Industry. I teach you many of these steps in my courses that are going to be LIVE in February!! Sign up for the waitlist here.

For now, here are 3 free tips on how you can establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Actually Become An Expert

This may seem obvious but when wondering how you can get featured in media, you have to really ask yourself, “Am I actually the most knowledgeable person in my field about this subject matter?” If not, you need to become one. Take courses on the subject matter, read all of the blogs and interviews you can find, follow all the leaders in the industry on social media, and stay on top of all of the trends. If you are in a competitive space, try to niche down so that you are the expert at a specific niche in your market. Or become an expert in your field in your city specifically. That way, when someone starts looking for an expert in your field or area, they are lead to you.

Show Your Expertise

Once you feel like you truly are the expert in your industry, start showing that off in your social media and blogs. When you start sharing valuable tips and content on social media, so many great things happen. You start to seem like an expert in your field, people start sharing your content, people start following you, and most importantly, people start seeking you out when they are in need of your services or when they want to feature your service in the press.

By now, you know I am a HUGE believer in the power of SEO. When clients or journalists look for an expert in your field, they are looking in one of two places; Google or Social Media. I’ve already talked about showing your expertise on social media. To show your expertise on your website, you are going to blog about your expertise in a way that benefits your reader. In turn, you will eventually establish yourself as an expert to Google who will start rewarding you with rankings. SEO tips and tricks is a huge focus in my courses for this specific reason.

Get Media

The most powerful way to show you are an expert in your field is to be published somewhere. If you can get featured in major media, you will instantly have clout not just with your clients but with other media. And it completely snowballs. For example, I got featured in New York Times very early on after I started my business. Did I get clients from that interview? Absolutely. But what’s more is the other big things happened. Good Morning America saw the article and wanted to interview me. Hotels saw it and wanted to partner with me. When you finally get a major piece of media, a lot of things can change.

And that is why one of the Modules in my courses focuses on how to get media. Because getting media can create such big opportunities for your business. And the truth is, it really isn’t that hard to get.

A Mistake I Made That Cost Me Thousands

When I started one of the world’s first Proposal Planning companies 11 years ago, I made a lot of mistakes. After all, I didn’t have a mentor. There were no resources out there to help me get started. And there were certainly no courses out there to teach me the best way to get clients.

So I spent several years NOT doing something that I now know could have earned me thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that one thing is, having an email list. What is an email list? An email list is a collection of emails that you have received through your inquiries.

Why Do You Need An Email List?

Potential clients will come to you at all different phases in the buying cycle. Here are the 4 stages of the buying cycle:

  1. Awareness – This happens when a client finds your website and your marketing educates them that they have a problem.
  2. Consideration – At this phase, they know they have a problem and they are considering their options
  3. Intent – During this stage, they are ready to make a decision
  4. Purchase- They are ready to make a purchase

Why Does This Matter?

It matters because that means if a client visits your website at any stage in the buying cycle OTHER than when they are ready to purchase, there is a chance that they will browse your site and move on. They may never return again. However, if you capture their email, you can continue to market to them and nurture that lead. This ensures that when they are ready to purchase, you are in the forefront of their mind.

Interested in learning more about selling pop-up wedding packages or becoming a proposal planner? Download one of my FREE resources below.

When Is The Best Time To Start Offering Proposal Planning Services?

I was inspired to write this blog post by a few of my social media followers. Over the last year, I have been emailed by several potential Proposal Planners and they have been asking me the same question. When is the best time to start offering Proposal Planning services? One of my followers is in college finishing her degree and asked me, “Should I get started now if I am still in school?” A busy mom emailed me wondering if she could pull it off with young kids at home.

And I completely get it because I have been there before. When I started The Heart Bandits, I had a six figure corporate job and I was only 30. I kept thinking, should I really blow this business up and walk away from my “secure” corporate job when I am already this far up and I have 30-40 more working years left? I remember when I had my daughter, I thought, “how can I pull off raising a child and running my own business?”

But I am here to tell you that all of that self-talk is just your brain’s way of making you think that it is ok to put this off. Because if you put it off, you don’t have to face any of the unknowns that you will face as an entrepreneur. But what your brain isn’t telling you is that by putting it off, you also don’t get to experience all of the amazing and rewarding things that entrepreneurship, and more specifically Proposal Planning, can bring to your life.

When I worked a six figure job, I:

Worked 40+ hours a week to make someone else rich

Had to request time off to be able to visit family or travel

Would have had to go back to work after maternity leave when my time ran out, NOT when I was ready

Was always worried about job security

But since I took the leap of faith and started my own Proposal Planning biz, I:

Set my own schedule and every minute I spend on my business goes into MY pocket

I earn a MULTIPLE six figure income

I go on vacation when I want

I spend as much time with my children as I want

So back to the question. When is the right time to start offering Proposal Planning services? The truth is, there is NEVER going to be the perfect time. There will always be reasons why you “should not start now” or reasons you should wait. So what you MUST do, is do it NOW.

Just get started. Even if it takes you a while to launch, at least if you get started now you will be working towards something that is yours. And the very first step to building your own six figure Proposal Planning business, is simply getting started.

The right time to start offering Proposal Planning services is NOW. The industry is growing, the demand is high, the money is on the table. Take it!

Want to find out the top reasons why you need to start offering Proposal Planning? Download my FREE resources below.

How To Identify Your Target Market

If you are a Wedding Planner that is launching Proposal Planning services for the first time, you are probably overwhelmed at the thought of targeting this new market. After all, you are used to targeting brides in your current marking and this is a big change. And if you are new to event planning and starting your own Proposal Planning business, this is likely your first time needing to identify your target market and that can be a lot as well.

If you really want to intimately understand the type of client that books a Proposal Planner, you won’t want to miss my FREE masterclass that is coming up in March. Sign up for the waitlist here. In this masterclass, I go over the characteristics that almost ALL proposal clients have in common. But each Proposal Planner will also have a target market this is more specific to the type of client THEY want to serve. So how do you identify that market?

What Is A Target Market

Before going forward, we should define what exactly I mean when I say target market. A target market is a specific, defined segment of consumers that a company plans to serve with its services. So all Proposal Planners are targeting clients looking to propose. But you want to figure out which segment of those clients you most want to target. Examples might be LGBTQ+ community, luxury clients, etc.

Why This Is Important

You need to know exactly who you are targeting BEFORE you create any marketing materials. Marketing materials include your website, social media profiles & content, blogs, and more.

How To Determine Your Target Market

  1. Think about which segment of the market you want to service. Again, examples of this could be the LGBTQ+ community, luxury clients, etc.
  2. Think about the characteristics of that market and the aesthetic they may like. For example, for the LGBTQ+ community you may want to use bright colors and feature same sex couples throughout your website. For a luxury client, you may wish to stick to a neutral palette and a modern design.
  3. Brainstorm where this target market hangs out online. What Instagram profiles to they follow, what blogs do they read, etc?
  4. What are their hobbies and interests? For example, if you are targeting ultra high end clients, maybe they play golf and fly in private jets.
  5. Think about their values. Do they value exclusivity (being offered something no one else can get)? Do they value equality, being offered the same thing everyone else can get?

What To Do With This Information

Once you have done research on your target market, you will take everything you discovered and use it in your marketing. If you are a Wedding Planner, you will use this to create your Proposal Planning page, your blogs that are geared towards the proposer, your social media content, and your keywords & hashtag strategy. If you are new to event planning, you will use this information to create your website, your social media profiles, and all of your content, keywords, and hashtags.

Wondering if becoming a Proposal Planner is right for you? Check out my FREE downloads below.

Cheatsheet: Social Media Trends in 2021

If you are a Proposal Planner or Pop-Up Wedding planner, social media needs to be a huge part of your marketing strategy. But even though keeping up with the trends is completely necessary, it can be daunting. So I have decided to create a little cheatsheet for you and cover the biggest social media trends in 2021.

Instagram Reels

No doubt you have seen Instagram’s version of Tic Tok. Every time you open you open your search tab in IG, you are bound to see the newest Reels from your followers. That is because Instagram LOVES video and pushes video content over all other types of content. If you want to increase your visibility and engagement on Instagram, you need to post reels frequently. 4-7 posts a week would give you the most ROI for your time. To make one, simply hit the + button on the top of your account, choose Reel, and get to creating.

Clubhouse

I am sure you have heard of this new platform because everyone is talking about it. And more importantly, people are talking about how to get in because it is invite only! I think that is part of the appeal and why this new social media platform is blowing up, because it feels exclusive. But what is it? It is an audio-based platform where users can hop into various virtual chat rooms and talk with other creatives about a range of topics. It may not be a practical way to connect with your target market, but it is a great way to build your referral partners (people that will refer clients to you.) Download the app and apply to get in. If someone you know is already on the platform, you will get in faster.

Microblogging

This year, Instagram announced that they were changing the way they display search results and now they actually will present posts to users based on content. So that means IG is no longer only presenting posts that have hashtags that match the users inquiry, they are also presenting posts that have CONTENT that match what the user is searching for. And that is why you may have noticed that people are posting longer, blog-like captions on their social media profiles. This is known as microblogging and if you want more exposure, you need to include it in your marketing strategy.

Social Causes

In the past, businesses have often been careful about using their platform as a way to voice their own opinions on social causes. However, according to Forbes, 70% of Gen Z buyers attempt to purchase goods and services from brands they deem socially responsible. So don’t be afraid to use your platform to talk about the causes that are the most important to you. Not only will you feel good and do good, you will be rewarded for it.

If you haven’t yet started your Proposal Planning or Pop-Up Wedding planning services, check out my freebies below. The Heart Bandits Academy offers the only Proposal Planning school and we also have a course teaching you to create pop-up wedding packages.

Top 3 Clients From Hell

After planning marriage proposals for 11 years now, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any clients that were a royal pain in the you know what. But there are a few that stand out and belong in my secret “wall of shame.” So why am I sharing this with you? Well I am sharing these hellish client stories for 3 reasons. 1, If you are a seasoned planner, I know that you have had your own clients from hell and I want you to know you are not alone. 2, if you are new to Proposal Planning, I want you to know that these things WILL happen and you should never let it get you down or make you question yourself. 3, I believe that the worst client experiences help shape you as a professional and help you define your future business practices. So without further ado, here are my top 3 clients from hell.

Why Don’t You Answer My Calls Guy

This client hired us on Friday late in the afternoon. We emailed him to let him know we looked forward to working with him and that we were getting right to work. Immediately upon hiring us, he started calling us non-stop without leaving a message. He would call, hang up, and call right back over and over. On the weekend, he would call all day and night and not leave messages. On Sunday we received a text message that he couldn’t believe that he paid us “this much” and we don’t return his calls. On Monday we called him and addressed his text message. We explained that we do keep normal business hours and that if there was something urgent going on and he left us a message, we would have gladly made an exception. He informed us that he expected call backs right away, day or night, weekday or not. We politely offered him a refund and told him we probably aren’t a good fit.

We felt he didn’t respect or value our time or the fact that we also valued our own family time which that is something very important to us. So we learned that if a client shows signs of that early on, we would rather not take the booking at all.

I Want A Refund Guy

You may know this guy all too well, but this particular client was extra special! He booked a rooftop in NYC for an hour proposal and it turns out his girlfriend said no. However, there is more to that story. He had proposed 3 times before and she had said no each time. So after enjoying the rooftop, even running over his time by a whole hour which we didn’t charge him for because we felt bad for his situation, we were shocked to receive an email where he was requesting a full refund. His reasoning was even crazier. He wanted a refund because there were water spots on the rooftop. NYC is a very old city and midtown is an old area. A true rooftop is exposed to outdoor elements and could obviously have water spots. Also, we include photos of the space and the water spots are not even noticeable unless you are looking hard to find something to complain about. His second reason was that he didn’t like that there were offices in the building on his way up to the rooftop. Tenants in high rise buildings constantly change and he wasn’t renting the building, just the rooftop. We politely declined the refund and he did a chargeback through his bank. We fought the chargeback and provided evidence that it was a frivolous claim. We eventually won!

We learned that it is important to always stand your ground. I would 100% offer a refund in any case that my service was lacking. But not for things I can’t control.

Indecisive & Cheap Guy

We were hired to plan a New Year’s Eve proposal for a guy with 4 days notice. The client did not appreciate the time restraint we were under, that we were planning a proposal on a holiday, and planning an event during a pandemic. He wouldn’t make any decisions and he wanted multiple scenarios presented for every option before he could make decisions. He didn’t even end up finalizing until a day and a half before. He changed his mind so much that the violinist ended up pulling out because they just couldn’t deal with all of the changes. His proposal ended up being a success but that wasn’t the end of it. After the proposal he requested that we return all props that he had used for his proposal to get a refund. After our service had ended, he continued to text us asking to help him return the used items.

Be sure to put a clause in your Proposal Planning contract that if your client causes delays in the planning, you can’t be held liable.

Although these clients were a bit of a nightmare, most of my clients are amazing. My clients generally are very appreciative of the fact that we are there to help them through one of the most stressful moments of their life. They typically send me heartfelt emails, cards, and sometimes gifts as they are so grateful for our service. If you want to be a part of an amazing industry, check out my free resources below. In my Proposal Planning school you will learn all about being a Proposal Planner and how this profession can change your life.

How To Diversify Your Wedding Business

Whether you are a Wedding Planner, Florist, Photographer, Videographer, venue or any other type of wedding vendor, diversifying your wedding business is a must.

We all saw it first hand during the pandemic. Businesses that relied solely on income from large weddings sadly took a big hit. And while I pray this ends soon and never comes back again, none of us can predict the next thing that will come and impact the wedding industry.

That is exactly why diversifying your wedding business should be on the top of your to-do list. In fact, if you ask any wealthy person what their secret is, 9 times out of 10 they will say, “diversification.” It is critical to have income coming in from different avenues. So HOW do you diversify your wedding business? Here are a couple of options:

1. Proposal Planning

Offering Proposal Planning is such an amazing way to diversify your services. The market is huge and the earning potential is too. It is also such a great compliment to your existing wedding business! A photographer, florist, planner, videographer, or venue can easily adapt their marketing plan to start attracting clients looking to propose. And who will that client call to photograph their wedding day? Provide their wedding flowers? Plan their wedding? YOU!!

Download my FREE resource, “3 Reasons You MUST Add Proposal Planning Services To Your Existing Services NOW!!”

2. Pop-Up Wedding Packages

When I started my Proposal Planning company, The Heart Bandits, I knew I needed to diversify. Wedding Planning made sense but the market is so saturated and bridezillas are not my jam. So I decided to start a pop-up wedding business where I sell simple, streamlined pop-up wedding packages. This is a great way to diversify because once the packages are built, they are so streamlined that they are a really simple way to get a nice cash injection into your business. And these types of weddings don’t follow any traditional wedding rules. They are popular during off-seasons and they don’t take much time to plan. These packages are great for any wedding vendor to add on and pop-up weddings, microweddings, and elopements are all the rage right now due to the pandemic. When it ends, you will have a whole new source of revenue coming in!

Download my FREE resource, “The Ultimate Guide To Selling Pop-Up Wedding Packages“

The Heart Bandits Academy is the only educator teaching you how to become a Proposal Planner. Sign up here and follow my journey from being a Proposal Planner to educator teaching students around the world how to market their business to clients looking to propose.

How Getting Featured In Media Can Boost Your Biz

My absolute favorite module of my Proposal Planning course is “Getting Featured In Media.” Why? Well because getting featured in media can really boost your business in ways you may not even know about. I want to talk about some of the ways that being featured in media can really boost your biz.

First, let me define “media.” Media is the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet) regarded collectively. So this means TV, radio, print, and Internet.

When you are featured in media, there are 3 things that can happen that can really boost your biz:

1. Potential Clients Will See The Media

This is probably the number one reason people hope to get PR. When you are featured in a major media outlet, you are going to get your name in front of potential clients. Some of them may contact you right after the feature and some of them will save your information for later. They may even tell their friends about your services weeks or months later in conversation. So the more media exposure you get, the more potential clients will hear about you. Now this is an amazing benefit to be featured in the media, but not the only one.

2. Potential Partners Will See The Media

One of the things that typically happens when you are featured in the media that you may NOT think about is that potential partners will see the media. Now what do I mean by this? Well let’s look at my business The Heart Bandits. After I was featured in New York Times, I had restaurants, jewelry stores, and many other vendors reaching out to me. They emailed me to say they saw my feature and they wanted to collaborate with me. Creating a partnership can not only boost your sales, but can get you in front of a whole new audience.

3. Other Media Outlets Will See The Media

Unless you have been featured in a lot of media, this may never even cross your mind. But when you are featured in major media, there is a high probability that other media outlets will see it. Again, let’s take my company as an example. After I was featured in Good Morning America, I was contacted by the Oprah Network, Time Magazine, and LA Times. They wanted to feature me as well!

All of these reasons are EXACTLY why I urge all of my students to try to get media when they launch their Proposal Planning businesses or services. Not only that, but I walk them through my PROVEN techniques on how to get featured. And believe me, they work.

Just ask my student Jasmine from Jasmine Rose Events who just emailed me that she is going to be featured in The Boston Globe and she JUST LAUNCHED!!!!

If you want to find out how starting a Proposal Planning business can transform your life, download my FREE guide here:

How The Pandemic Inspired The Heart Bandits Academy

When I was 7 years old I turned my first profit. I created a neighborhood circus and I recruited the talent, marketed the show, sold tickets, and made money.

I got my first taste of being an entrepreneur then and have been chasing that thrilling rush ever since.

I know EXACTLY what it is like to be an entrepreneur with no business idea. Or an an entrepreneur with an idea but feeling much too overwhelmed about getting started.

I know what it is like to want something so bad but not have a clear path to get there.

Because of this, I always wanted to create a training program for entrepreneurs that wanted to follow my path and start their own Proposal Planning biz.

After spending a decade running the world’s most successful Proposal Planning business, and after receiving hundred is not thousands of emails from people all around the world asking me for advice on how to start Proposal Planning, I believed this was my next calling.

But I just never had the time to do it.

And then the pandemic hit. And my industry was ravaged by a blow of event bans and gathering size limitations.

I knew I had to step up.

I created The Heart Bandits Academy and quickly launched my first course designed to help Wedding Planners pivot their business and offer Proposal Planning. And in about a month, I am going to launch The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™which will teach entrepreneurs how to start their own Proposal Planning biz from the ground up.

In The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™, I teach:

  • Everything you need to know about the Proposal Planning industry
  • How to choose your Proposal Planning target market, niche, and style
  • Create a solid Proposal Planning Business Plan
  • Develop a business naming strategy and tools to create your website
  • How to plan a proposal from A-Z
  • How to price your Proposal Planning services
  • Develop a robust Proposal Planning marketing strategy
  • How to maintain the momentum and continue to grow

If you want to be the first to know about the launch, make sure to join the Waitlist here.

Avoid This Mistake That Can Cost You Thousands

There is one mistake I see aspiring Proposal Planners make time and time again. This is a mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars AND waste weeks or months of your time. That mistake is……signing up for a Wedding Course or Wedding Certificate program.

Now don’t get me wrong, if you are hoping to be a Wedding Planner then these courses might be just what you need. But a Wedding Course will simply NOT teach you how to be a Proposal Planner. Proposal Planning is its own specialty and if you are going to learn how to be a Proposal Planner, you need to learn FROM a Proposal Planner.

Here are the ways that Proposal Planning is very different than Wedding Planning

  1. Completely Different Target Market – Wedding Planners typically target females and brides. You will be targeting males.
  2. Different Marketing Strategy – I have spent 10 years marketing to the proposal client and believe me when I say, marketing to guys is completely different than marketing to a bride.
  3. Each Event Is Different- A Wedding typically follows the same itinerary. There is a ceremony then a reception with cake cutting, dancing, bouquet toss, etc. With proposals, things are always different. One day I am organizing a 50 person flash mob, the next day I am organizing a helicopter landing on a skyscraper, and the next working with the cast of The Nutcracker to create the perfect ballet proposal.

This is why it is CRITICAL that you learn how to be a Proposal Planner from a Proposal Planner. To get started, I have some free resources for you below.