Targeted Advertising Opportunities and Bridal Leads for Members
Chicago Wedding Market

Wedding Study Statistics

	"I just wanted to let you know that your wedding site is a great source of information to brides and you are doing a fantastic job keeping those referrals coming. We appreciate it! We wish you much success this year! I'm just delighted with the service." - Sharon De Jong - Claudia's Mementos www.claudiasmementos.com

According to a study by the Fairchild Bridal Group, there were 82,076 weddings in Illinois in 2003. With the Echo Boomers (children of the Baby Boomers) reaching their age for getting married, "the bridal market is projected to grow 22% over the next 15 years."

Although most (about 19%) of all engagements are still in December, engagements are spread fairly evenly throughout the year. During this engagement period, To-Be-Weds in the United States decide to spend over $50 billion dollars for their wedding and honeymoon.

The average cost of a Midwest wedding is $20,678. How much of that bridal market do you share?

Why become a member of ChicagoWeddingServices.com?

ChicagoWeddingServices.com, of the Sound ReCreation and Lucid State website network, is an online directory and wedding resource with a lot of highly targeted traffic. Most visitors are looking for local service providers and vendors as they plan for a Chicagoland based wedding.

Whereas many online wedding directories are comprehensive wedding resources covering a wide array of content, our focus at ChicagoWeddingServices.com is on the venues, service providers and vendors that To-Be-Weds and wedding planners need to make a wedding vision become reality.

	"The site is classy, well-organized and easy to navigate, especially compared with many other wedding planning sites. It projects the image that I also want my business to project." - Devon Haupt, Harpist - www.theclassicharpist.com

Many will argue that the wedding markets have become too saturated with competition, and that this makes advertising less effective when there are too many competitors in any given media channel (especially the Internet!). We disagree. The problem is that many small business owners have not yet learned how to market effectively. We approach this directory differently by refining your marketing message and focusing on HOW your service is unique, as well as WHAT makes your business worthy of attention. When that's taken care of, it's a lot easier to connect you with your ideal client.

ChicagoWeddingServices.com understands that online marketing needs to generate qualified leads in addition to bringing traffic to your website. We generate many local wedding leads through our general inquiry form online. Relevant leads are sent via email to all members in the respective categories. Moreover, we also provide tips for improving conversion rates... converting the leads you receive into sales and revenue.

>> View the number of leads generated Year-To-Date for each category

As one of the most visited Chicago wedding directories online, this is an ideal medium for any business looking to improve their overall revenue through more referrals and wedding clients. It is also a great way for national businesses to establish or further strengthen their role in the Chicagoland market.

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Why businesses shouldn't advertise on ChicagoWeddingServices.com...

1. Not in this years advertising budget... Spending money on advertising when it's not part of your budget can lead to major disappointment if you expect an immediate return of investment. If not now, plan for next year.
2. Don't have a consistent track record of converting leads into sales... Does it really matter how many click-throughs you get to your website, or leads you receive via email? If you're conversion rate is not yet at the level you would like it to be, you may get more negative exposure than positive impressions.
3. Don't have a well designed website... Once ChicagoWeddingServices.com brings attention to your business, the quality of your website reflects your attention to detail. Your credibility should be supported by an impressive web presence, especially if others in your category have great sites.
4. Not sure what separates your business from the competition... When you list yourself in a directory, potential clients can be overwhelmed by the choices. It's important that they can quickly understand what makes each service unique and why they should choose your particular service over the others.
5. Not open to changing your advertising strategy... Although any wedding-related business is invited to become a member, it becomes very difficult for us to do our job fully if you are not open to revising your advertising approach to target this particular medium.

Why businesses WANT to be a member of ChicagoWeddingServices.com...

1. OUR business is to bring YOU business... We understand that if we fail to give you a positive return on your investment, you won't renew your membership. That is exactly why we continually develop our content and service to give a great experience to both our visitors and advertising members. Popular membership benefits include business, sales, and marketing tips as well as lead generation. We go way beyond being just an advertising channel. We share the knowledge and tools that help maximize your marketing dollars. We've already invested a lot of time and money to rank high on the search engines and deliver targeted traffic, but if you're a do-it-yourself kind of business, here's how we did it >>
2. It's cost effective compared to traditional print advertising... Not only do you get more bang for your buck, but business trends indicate that the web has increasingly become the medium for finding services and vendors. With Echo Boomers tending to be highly tech-savvy, the Internet has become the choice channel for advertising. If you have the funds, start advertising now before web advertising costs equal that of print ads. The Internet drives more targeted customers to your business than any print ad. And, yes, you can better measure and monitor your advertising campaigns on the Internet.
3. Early bird catches the savings... Since the inception of ChicagoWeddingServices.com, membership dues have more than doubled with our increased traffic and site popularity. As long as the membership is maintained and not cancelled, our members will never have to pay more than their original sign-up rate... even if advertised rates change.
4. Investment... We all like to spend our money... morning coffee, eating out, our membership to the fitness center, whatever makes us feel good. Entrepreneurs feel good about spending their money on things that help them make even more money.
5. Leverage... Of course, you can do everything yourself and save money. That's the way to go if you have the time and experience. Leverage your time and efforts by investing in the work already put into making ChicagoWeddingServices.com one of the most visited local wedding directories online. (See our site stats for monthly traffic trends and the number of leads generated year-to-date)
6. Branding... "A study by Dynamic Logic for the European Interactive Advertising Association analyzed 200 online ad campaigns quantifying the impact of branding. On average online advertising boosts brand awareness (+5.4%), ad recall (+45.3%), message association (+21.6%), brand favorability (+5.6%) and purchase intent (+4.9%). The study shows similar results for both U.S. and European online branding. These are numbers that prove the powerful impact of web and email advertising." - WebProNews 2004
7. We build our businesses together... We believe that businesses grow through relationships. Open communication and cooperation between ChicagoWeddingServices.com and our clients create a healthy forum for sharing ideas and achieving desired results.
8. Our guarantee... If you do not receive a return on your investment after the first year, you can cancel your membership and still have a free lifetime listing without meeting the prerequisites outlined in our membership options.