Why So Many Wedding Pros Want To Quit Advertising On The Knot & WeddingWire (But Feel Stuck)

In this episode we’ll cover:

• Why so many wedding pros feel frustrated with advertising on The Knot and WeddingWire
• The real costs of advertising on The Knot and what you’re actually paying for
• How to evaluate if advertising with The Knot or WeddingWire is truly worth it for your business
• What most wedding pros misunderstand about these directory platforms
• Smarter, more strategic alternatives for generating leads without relying on paid listings
• How to transition away from directory ads and attract higher-quality inquiries directly

Why So Many Wedding Pros Want To Quit Advertising On The Knot & WeddingWire (But Feel Stuck)

0:00:00 – Heidi Thompson
Want to break up with The Knot and WeddingWire but feel completely stuck? Yeah, you’re not alone and I’ve got you.

0:00:09 – Intro
In a world where wedding professionals are struggling to market and grow their businesses, one podcast brings together top experts and actionable strategies to help you build the wedding business of your dreams. This is the Evolve Your Wedding Business Podcast. Here is your host, Heidi Thompson.

0:00:41 – Heidi Thompson
Hey there, welcome to the podcast. I’m your host, Heidi Thompson. I help wedding professionals book more weddings with clients they love and make their marketing easier and more effective, and over the past 13 years since I’ve been doing this work, I’ve always gotten questions about WeddingWire and The Knot. I’ve always gotten questions about is it worth it? Should I stay, should I go? But if you have been feeling frustrated with The Knot or WeddingWire lately and wondering if it’s even worth it anymore, oh my goodness, you are definitely not alone. This year, I have received more emails than ever from wedding pros who are saying the same thing I want to quit, I want out, but I don’t know what else I do, and I get it.

It’s scary to leave behind something that feels familiar, even if it’s not working anymore, because even when a platform stops performing, at least it feels known. So it feels a little bit safer than making a change. And this is actually what inspired me to record this episode and create something brand new that I’ll tell you about later, because this is clearly something that so many people are struggling with right now. Many people are struggling with right now. Every week, I hear from planners, photographers, florists, officiants, venues, all saying versions of the same thing. I keep paying, but I’m not getting any inquiries. I’m just getting ghosted constantly. The few leads that do come in are price shoppers or spam, and for a lot of people it’s not even about the money. It’s about the uncertainty. You start thinking what if I cancel? And this was the only thing keeping my business visible. That thought alone can keep you stuck and paying for something that isn’t working. But here’s what I want you to know Staying with what’s familiar isn’t always the same thing as staying safe.

So what’s really happening here? It’s not that you’re doing anything wrong. It’s that these platforms have changed a lot. Their business model depends on volume. They make their money by having more vendors listed, more ads, more clicks. But when couples are shown 25 planners or 50 photographers in one city, for them it stops being about connection and it starts being about price. Everybody blends in. By nature of the platform.

You’re not getting the chance to stand out for what makes you you, and that’s why so many amazing wedding pros are feeling invisible, even when they’re paying to be seen. The truth is, directories operate on the idea that more eyes equal more bookings, but that’s not actually how this works anymore. Views do not mean value. What you really need are the right people finding you, the ones who see your work and immediately think, oh my God, this is our person. I talk about this all the time and the importance of standing out to your specific ideal client. It is more important now than ever, and that kind of connection does not come from renting space on someone else’s platform. It comes from owning your marketing, building it around, how you stand out and the person you are trying to book.

But there’s an emotional trap here. The reason this decision feels so heavy isn’t just the cost. I’ve talked to so many people who really want to leave and can leave. You know they’re outside of a 12-month contract, but they’re afraid of losing what’s familiar. When you’ve been paying for years, canceling feels like you’re cutting off your visibility. But what I see happen over and over again is people stay thinking well, if I just keep it until I figure something else out, and that figure something else out period ends up lasting months, years, while they quietly lose money, confidence and momentum Because every month you stay on a platform that’s not performing. You’re paying for the illusion of safety and I get it, I really do. And if that’s you right now. I don’t want you to feel judged. I want you to feel supported, because this isn’t about being reckless. I don’t want you to make rash decisions in your business. It’s about being intentional. So when I started getting more and more of these emails this year, I realized this isn’t just the few people that I’ve been seeing in previous years. This is a pattern and we’ve seen this year.

The wedding industry is shifting. Couples are booking differently and more and more wedding pros are realizing that they want their marketing to belong to them. They want to be in control. They don’t want to be beholden to a third-party platform and just hoping that somebody will find them there and book. So I decided to put together something that walks you through exactly what to do before you cancel, how to make the transition safely and how to attract better clients through your own marketing without paying for listings that don’t work.

It is a free live masterclass happening Tuesday, November 11th, at 12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern, called Break Up With The Knot and WeddingWire Without Losing Leads. I’ll walk you through what’s really going on with these platforms right now, how to know if it’s time for you to leave and exactly how to do that and a roadmap to replace those directory leads with consistent, higher quality inquiries that come directly to you and see you as the perfect fit, see you as the only one they want to work with. You can grab your free seat at evolveyourweddingbusiness.com/breakup.

I’m really excited about this and I created this training because I’ve seen too many good, talented people stay stuck in something that’s draining their energy, their wallet and their confidence. And you don’t have to stay because you’re scared of what comes next. There’s a plan for that and once you see it, you’ll realize that you can leave these old systems behind and start booking clients through your own marketing calmly and confidently.

So if you’ve been thinking, man, I really want to quit The Knot, I really want to quit WeddingWire. I really want to quit any third party platform, but I don’t know what I’d replace it with. Come join me on November 11th. You will walk away with clarity and direction, not confusion and guesswork, because you don’t need to do more or be on more platforms. You just need a system that actually works for you.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen in today. If this episode resonated, share it with another wedding pro who might be feeling the same way, feeling like they want to quit The Knot and WeddingWire, but they feel stuck. And I’ll see you live on November 11th for breakup with The Knot and WeddingWire without losing leads. Be sure to go grab your spot for that training at evolveyourweddingbusiness.com/breakup. See you then.

Links & Resources:

Get your free spot for the Break Up With The Knot and WeddingWire Without Losing Leads training
The Wedding Business Collective – join for just $1
The Knot & WeddingWire: Are They Worth It For Wedding Vendors?
The New Rules of Booking Weddings: What Couples Want From Vendors Now With Adrienna McDermott

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