We were lucky to catch up with Sara Dunn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sara, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

It was 2019 when I decided to take the big risk of focusing exclusively on wedding industry SEO. I had spent 7 years building a digital marketing agency that offered everything marketing— website design, graphic design, SEO, paid ads, social media, billboards, business cards, you name it. I basically felt like I was starting over, having to market to a brand new audience with brand new services.

Still, I knew it was the right decision to put all my eggs in one basket, because it truly allowed me to work toward all the things I really wanted in my business: becoming a niche expert, easier marketing and messaging, and more standardized and repeatable offerings.

It’s the best business decision I have ever made.

Sara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It was in 2011 that I first helped a friend build a website. I had taught myself to code in junior high to build a calendar website for my Girl Scout troop (so cool, right?), so I had a little background and loved figuring out how to turn code into a great visual design. I never thought I’d make it a career, but that friend told someone else who told someone else, and after about my 3rd site, I realized people would actually pay me to do it. My business was born.

My marketing agency has evolved a lot over the last 10 years, growing to offer way more services and then narrowing in to focus exclusively on search engine optimization for the wedding industry.

Today, I focus on helping wedding businesses get found on Google. In an industry with almost no repeat business, being able to be found online is incredibly important. Most of my clients are wedding venues, planners, photographers, makeup artists, and bridal shops.

Because I work in the wedding industry exclusively, my real advantage is that I study how engaged couples search online, every single day. I’m able to spot trends in searches and use what’s working in one market to help similar businesses in other markets see great success too.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Offering to guest teach for groups, masterminds, and industry associations has been instrumental in helping me get my name out in the wedding industry. Fueled by the pandemic and the rise in virtual presentations, I started doing tons of online workshops in 2020 for groups that were looking for online education.

I have found it’s a great way to meet new potential clients, with the immediate connection of being live on-screen. There is also an instant trust established when a group that someone trusts brings me in as a “guest expert.” Each time I do this, it brings in more opportunities to teach in other groups.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

One of the most effective marketing ideas I have had is my monthly “SEO Lunch & Learn.” (https://saradoesseo.com/learn/) It’s a free 30-minute training on an SEO topic, with an open Q&A at the end. Over 1200 people have attended, and I’ve offered it more than 40 times since 2018.

I started Lunch & Learn because I felt like small business owners weren’t getting very good SEO advice, and learning from reading articles online was really confusing. I also saw so many myths about SEO and bad tips being spread among business owners who didn’t have an SEO expert to ask when they had questions.

I wanted to create an open, welcoming opportunity for my target audience to show up and ask me any questions they had.

It’s been wonderful. Many of my clients and SEO students have built trust through joining me for these free opportunities, and many past clients and students still attend to stay connected. I would recommend to any online educator to teach live online for free (with no sales pitch) a few times each year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saradoesseo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saradoesseo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraDoesSEO/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@saradoesseo

Image Credits
Starling Studio
Petronella Photography
Traci Huffman Photography