AS A WEDDING PROFESSIONAL, HOW DO I REPLACE STYLE ME PRETTY?
POST UPDATE:
As you probably now know, Style Me Pretty is sticking around ... I'm not going to delete this post ... but feel free to check out my most recent blog posts here:
... the original blog post begins below :)
Ever since Style Me Pretty announced that they are shutting down this morning, my phone has been blowing up like crazy ... questions coming to me:
What happens to all the SEO leads that SMP was sending my way?
What happens to all the Pinned images that lead to a Style Me Pretty feature that I was a part of?
What happens to my badges that I post on my website that show brides I am a Little Black Book member?
What happens to all my features that helped guide potential clients to my website by being linked on SMP?
What blog(s) fills that 'special look' that we could trust SMP to feature?
The list could go on ... the truth of the matter is:
IF YOU TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF EVERYTHING STYLE ME PRETTY HAD TO OFFER, YOU PROBABLY SAW SOMETHING OUT OF IT
So what now?
First thought that comes to my mind is:
THIS REMINDS ME OF WHAT HAPPENED TO DAILY CANDY AFTER THEY WERE BOUGHT BY AOL
Daily Candy was purchased ... and then out of nowhere: BOOM, they announced that they were completely closing down their website .... zero warning, zero reason ... just that they were done ...
The question I don't want to ask, but have to is this:
DID WEDDING PROFESSIONALS FORCE THIS TO HAPPEN WITH THEIR ANTI-ADVERTISING ATTITUDES?
Did Style Me Pretty see the shift on their end and decide it was time to shut down before everything went completely to sh*t? Running a blog the size of Style Me Pretty isn't cheap ... think of the size of the team needed to keep that monster wedding blog going?! And if people are spending less on ads these days ... welp, even a beloved blog like SMP will eventually start to lose money :( Since SMP was purchased and became more corporate, if those numbers aren't looking good ... well, they will make a BUSINESS decision to close it down.
I've touched on this before on The Editor's Touch ... but the wedding industry runs on a cycle ... the cycle is:
BRIDES HIRE PROFESSIONALS FOR THEIR WEDDING >> WEDDING PUBLICATIONS KEEP THE INDUSTRY EXCITING BY FEATURING TRENDS AND WEDDINGS >> WEDDING PROFESSIONALS HELP KEEP THE PUBLICATIONS IN PLACE BY ADVERTISING AND SUBMITTING THEIR WORK >> BRIDES FIND PROFESSIONALS ON PUBLICATIONS TO HIRE >> AND SO ON IT GOES ROUND AND ROUND
Take out a piece ... being the publications ... and what happens? Maybe we're all about to find out! SMP is pulling the plug ... they are out ... are we all going to feel the weight of that?? Probably.
So, back to my original focus of this post ... let's take question #1
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE SEO LEADS THAT SMP WAS SENDING MY WAY?
If you see traffic from Style Me Pretty, it sounds like that's about to end ... they are telling their 'featured' people to take screenshots of their features if they want ... reason for that?? The features are going bye-bye starting April 30th ... which means the SEO will go away ... which means the direct links to your website are going away ... anything stylemepretty.com/ related is going away. Now, we don't know what they have planned ... maybe they have a bigger better idea for their Vault ... who knows ... but, plan on the searches from anything coming from SMP that you now receive to end.
moving on to question #2
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE PINNED IMAGES THAT LEAD TO A STYLE ME PRETTY FEATURE THAT I WAS A PART OF?
This is a little different because Pinterest isn't going anywhere ... but the LINKS will be dead .... so Pins should still be findable on Pinterest ... but when people try to click on them, it won't take them to your feature or your ad ... the good ish news is that if the Pin has your business name listed or your website people can still sorta find your SMP pins via Pinterest ... but then they will have to be internet savvy enough to 'Google' your business name to find you ... so make sure your website is in TOP NOTCH shape so if that happens, they will still see something that's all about the pretty to look at ...
question #3
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BADGES THAT I POST ON MY WEBSITE THAT SHOW BRIDES I AM A LITTLE BLACK BOOK MEMBER?
Should you keep SMP badges on your website ... oof, this is a tough one ... the brides who are planning their wedding NOW will be super sad about SMP ... but brides coming to you in 2-3 years may not even know SMP was a thing because they weren't in the 'wedding mindset' ... sorry to say, the wedding industry isn't cool unless you have a reason to be 'in it' ... my friends who aren't planning a wedding or working weddings don't know the wedding blogs ... so my best advice would be: leave the badges up for the next 3-4 months ... and then, wipe a tear and take them down ... they won't mean anything and some other blog will fill the void of SMP.
question #4
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL MY FEATURES THAT HELPED GUIDE POTENTIAL CLIENTS TO MY WEBSITE BY BEING LINKED ON SMP?
Those are going away. Period. The domain, from what their announcement sounds like, will be dead. What would I do??? I would resubmit anything that SMP featured of yours in the last 6-9 months ... if it's still current 'trend wise' I would be passing it out there to replace the link you'll be losing.
question #5
WHAT BLOG(S) FILLS THAT 'SPECIAL LOOK' THAT WE COULD TRUST SMP TO FEATURE?
As I troll around FB today reading all the SHOCKED posts about this news I see a mixed attitude ... we all know the joke: if you want your blush and gold wedding featured, just send it to SMP ... they had a 'look' ... they knew their audience ... but they aren't the only blog around ... and for those brides who are blog obsessed, they will find another place to look for the pretty. Some of my favorites?? Wedding Chicks ... uhm, hello large amount of traffic and social media following!! Carats and Cake ... clean, modern, and the editors have great taste in photography styles from what I've seen ... Ruffled ... similar style as SMP but with maybe a bump up on the color factor ... look, my point?? You can fill the hole that SMP is going to leave.
AND CAN I JUST SAY??
This could 100% be a shift in the industry ... a change that has to happen based on social media, SEO updates, the way people use 'information' these days, and the climate of our world in general ... Style Me Pretty was the first wedding blog I ever truly loved and felt a connection to ... and in that way, it's super sad they are going away ... but they are also the first major wedding blog to say:
GOOD-BYE ...
that has to mean something .... we all look at SMP as this monster of amazing ... a blog nobody can touch and tries so hard to replicate ... and they are closing their website. Their analytics may be telling them something the rest of us just don't know yet ... and their announcement is the reminder to us all that:
FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL IS MOST IMPORTANT.
You can control your relationships (for the most part), you can control the state of your website, you can control networking with local venues and professionals, you can control how often you post on social media ... we'll all miss Style Me Pretty ... but I have to say I'm excited to see how this all turns out and what the new shift in this industry is all about.
XO~ Heather
