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Certified Wedding Coordinator degree but no experience......

Aloha from Hawaii,

I am finishing up my Wedding and Event Planning Certificate course in a week and I'm well on my way to starting my own business. My question is, how do I get clients with just a certification and no actual wedding experience?

I have already volunteered to shadow at 5 upcoming weddings, but what do I do to attract clients until then? I don't want to offer such deep discounts that I'm not taken seriously as a professional. I already have a website up and running and I have my business license. My business cards are on their way as well as some other marketing materials such as flyers, rack cards, and letterhead.

I've read about SEO and I'll be starting on that as well. However, I just need some advice on what to tell potential clients to get that sale. With no experience, I'm not sure how to go about doing that.

Thank you so much for any advice and tips.

Lisa

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Permalink Reply by Kirsten Juntunen on April 15, 2010 at 9:28am

Why don't you offer a wedding planning giveaway for brides looking to have a hawaii wedding. You can include an email opt-in and start building an email list. This can be promoted at bridal shows, on social media outlets and wedding blogs. Create a professional press release for marketing purposes. I would also recommend that you start writing a blog. This will help pad your website content while increasing your keyword count for free marketing outlets like search engines. A blog also shows how you have your finger on the pulse of the wedding industry.

PM me if you would like some help creating a giveaway.

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Permalink Reply by Caren Jeanty on April 16, 2010 at 4:03am

You can also partner with some of your local hotels to come up with a wedding package deal or a unique venue that no one has considered yet for wedding ceremonies