Author and Celebrant: Separating yourself from other Celebrants

Monday, June 27, 2016

Separating yourself from other Celebrants

You’ve done your training and your research, now you’re waiting for all those clients. How do you let them know that you’re ready, willing and able, and how can you convince them that you’re the celebrant for them?

First of all, decide what special talents you have that will differentiate you from other celebrants, or which will allow you to provide a service that other celebrants can’t provide. Before you just shrug your shoulders and decide that there’s nothing really to separate you from other celebrants, do some brain storming. You’ll find that almost everyone has some special talent that he can make use of. For example:

Have you studied public speaking, taken drama classes or singing lessons? All these are some of the talents which other celebrants won’t have.
Have you studied law, or languages or done volunteer work? These are some other talents which can differentiate you from other celebrants.
If English is your second language, you might be just what your compatriots are looking for. Not only will you be able to conduct a ceremony in a language which all of their guests will understand, you might offer to be a translator for other celebrants who are associated with couples using your language.
Celebrants who are parents or grandparents might have a natural affinity for ceremonies dealing with children.
Celebrants who themselves have enjoyed long, happy partnerships might look to attract couples celebrating their Renewal of Wedding Vows as part of their Wedding Anniversary Celebration.
If you enjoy photography or art generally, it might make you a bit of an expert when it comes to drafting certificates for various ceremonies or even taking a few snaps for those couples who’ve decided on an elopement ceremony with only two witnesses. You end up being not only their celebrant, but also the one to create memories for them through your photographic skills.
If you’re young and exuberant, the younger clients might love your energy.
If you’re an older, more sedate person, clients might enjoy your unflappability.
As a retiree, your accessibility might be a real plus for the client who is tired of talking to the answering machines of Celebrants who are in full time employment and never home.

Having found out what some of your talents are, the next thing you should consider is how these talents will benefit your prospective client, always remembering that it is not your talents which are important to your clients, but how these talents will benefit them.

In your dialogue with the prospective client, be it directly person to person, or indirectly through the advertising medium, the emphasis should be on the benefit to the client, and not the cleverness of the Celebrant. You should be able to tell a client what is different about your services, as compared to that of any other Celebrant, and, indeed, what makes you different from the other Celebrants.

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