Sophie from Zola explains how to set up your Zola Vendor Profile to attract more clients and book more events.
As an event planning professional in the wedding industry, finding ways to connect with your ideal clients is necessary for keeping your business profitable and healthy. A fantastic way to do this is by creating a vendor listing on wedding platforms like Zola. When you list your business on Zola’s vendor directory, you boost your visibility for couples searching for wedding vendors and allow them to connect with you quickly and seamlessly.
However, simply signing up and filling in your contact information isn’t enough. It’s important to be strategic when creating your vendor listing to get the most out of the platform and stand out from the crowd. Read on for a breakdown of how to create the best vendor profile possible to maximize inquiries and connect with your ideal clients.
Related: Setting Up Your First Website For Your Event Business
Put Thought and Effort Into Your “About” Section
When a potential client lands on your Zola vendor listing, the information you choose to display is the first impression they’ll receive of your business. You want to ensure it’s written with your ideal client in mind and is a full representation of you and your brand. Take the time to write a compelling “about” section for your business if you don’t already have one on your website. And include what you’d want a potential client to know about you upfront. This ensures you put your best foot forward for people browsing your page but can also help to weed out clients that might not be the best fit.
Ideally, the right clients will navigate to your website after reviewing your vendor listing. You want to do everything you can to lead them to your website button, so make sure you’re intentional about the information you include!
Upload High-Quality Photos
One of the biggest “wow factors” of any vendor listing on a site like Zola is the photos you choose to add. Whether it’s an intimate rehearsal dinner or a spectacular picture of a ceremony in action, these photos are a great way to highlight the special moments you helped bring to life.
Every Zola vendor profile has a photo gallery section for couples to browse. You want to ensure you have high-quality photos to showcase your hard work and talent (if it’s relevant to your business.) Humans are visual by nature, and beautiful images are an excellent way to hook your ideal clients and lead them to learn more about your services. If you don’t have any photos, finding the time to capture some is a wise investment of your time!
Related: Demystifying Image Files For Event Planners
Respond to Inquiries Promptly
As an event professional, you likely have a lot on your plate—and no one should ever be chained to their phone or email. However, making it a priority to respond to any inquiries as quickly as possible is necessary to stay top of mind with any potential clients.
Zola’s vendor platform keeps any inquiries open for 14 days before expiring, but you shouldn’t ever leave a couple hanging. It’s best if you respond to any new inquiries within a few days, if not sooner. Any later than this, you open the possibility of your potential clients being wooed by someone else before you get back to them!
Remember that failure to respond to 3 or more inquiries places your Zola vendor profile under review. Be sure to make your inquiry responses a priority item in your daily workflow.
Related: Productivity Tips For Event Planners: Get More Done With Less Effort
Showcase Reviews From Past Couples
Reviews are everything these days, and they’re a great tool for grabbing the attention of your potential clients and instilling trust up front. If you don’t have any reviews in your arsenal, that’s okay – just ask! It’s entirely acceptable to connect with past clients and kindly ask for a review of your services for you to showcase on your website and vendor listing. This small effort can reap enormous benefits for creating a standout vendor listing and let your potential clients know that you can help make their dreams a reality.
If you work closely with other vendors (or have in the past), you might consider sourcing reviews from them as well. Anyone who can attest to your quality of work and has worked with you personally is a good resource for showcasing your talent and quality of service.
Keep Your Website Optimized and Up-to-Date
When listing your services on Zola’s vendor market, you’ll ideally be able to lead potential clients to learn more about you on your website. If your website is outdated, hard to navigate, or not user-friendly, it will deter potential clients from moving forward. Your website is like a window into who you are and what you have to offer. You want to ensure that it’s curated to reflect that in a way that will entice and impress potential clients.
Aside from being aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate, you want to optimize your website so that it’s SEO-friendly. Here are some of the main elements that you should pay attention to:
Your service area:
Location-based content is a huge part of SEO. It creates opportunities to reach local clients searching for the skills and services you have to offer. There are a few places your service area should be visible to improve your search engine optimization and client experience.
Your site tagline:
You should be able to find this in your website settings, and it’s a simple thing to adjust. WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace users can usually change this setting in a minute. For example, if your website title is your business name, your tagline should read something like “Orange County Wedding Event Planner.” The main thing to remember is that your tagline includes some key terms describing your area and the services you offer.
Your contact page or form:
If you only have your service area listed in one place, make it your contact page! Simply add a paragraph on your contact page that focuses on your service area, for example: “Orange County wedding event planner located in XYZ. We’re a short drive from X, Y and Z, and surrounding areas.”
In your website footer:
This is another quick and easy update that will appear on every page of your website. Website footers are an important part of an optimized website. It signals to Google that your website is relevant for searches for services in your area.
Your price range:
It’s a common belief that showcasing your prices or even just a range of prices can turn away business. However, communicating a price range with potential clients up front helps target clients that are the best possible fit for your business.
List a minimum booking amount, some package options if you have them, or even just an estimated price range. This will increase your chances of attracting solid prospective clients who have already budgeted for your services. You don’t have to display exact prices, but when couples know what to expect upfront, they’re more likely to book down the line.
Vendor Platforms Support Event Businesses
With so many couples turning to the Internet to support their wedding planning process, making yourself visible online is a critical business strategy for any event professional. If you’re not using a vendor platform like Zola, you’re missing out to the competitors who are! Use these tips to create a standout Zola vendor profile and attract the clients you want to connect with most. While it may take a bit of work upfront, it’s a worthwhile investment!
Sophie writes on behalf of Zola about all things wedding planning, serving couples from engagement to “I Do.” Specifically, she’s interested in simplifying the wedding planning process with the help of modern tools and actionable solutions.