Leah Weinberg of Color Pop Events On How To Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book
An Interview With Theresa Albert
…How to think outside the box. Anyone can buy a book on book promotion and come away with a handful of solid ideas, but it’s the authors who are ready to push the envelope and think outside of the box that are really going to get people’s attention. I’ve heard of some writers having amazing success with TikTok videos and others who have gotten creative with brand and influencer partnerships. The sky is the limit as far as I’m concerned when it comes to fun and creative ways to promote your book. You just have to be willing to get a little edgy.
As a part of our series about “How You Can Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leah Weinberg.
Leah Weinberg is the owner and creative director of New York City-based wedding planning company Color Pop Events and author of the newly published book, The Wedding Roller Coaster.
Celebrating eight years of business, Leah continues to leverage the organization skills, calm communication style, and ability to multi-task she initially developed as a commercial real estate lawyer in her previous career. Her colorful work and party planning tips have been published online and in print with Vogue, the New York Times, People, CNBC, Bravo, Martha Stewart, and The Knot, among others.
Recently, Leah has been recognized as a 20 on the Rise winner by Honeybook and the Rising Tide Society, one of the 25 Young Event Pros to Watch by Special Events Magazine, and one of BizBash’s Top 500 Event Pros in the US.
A WeddingPro Educator with The Knot + WeddingWire since 2020, Leah travels throughout the country sharing insight with her peers regionally, as well as at national conferences such as ALT Summit, NACE Experience, and The Special Event.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what motivated you to become an expert in the particular area that you are writing about?
There’s a story that I tell in my book, The Wedding Roller Coaster, about the conversation that inspired the entire book and inspired me to take a closer look at emotions, behavior, and psychology when it comes to planning a wedding. I won’t go into the entire story (you’ll have to buy the book for that, *wink*), but what I can say is that it was a conversation with one of my clients where I helped her understand what was really driving her parents’ behavior and encouraged her not to take the conflict so personally. After sharing this advice with her, I took a step back and realized how much I had observed during my time as a wedding planner, and I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of why people behave the way they do when it comes to weddings. I read books, interviewed experts, and really put the time in to learn more about psychology and people’s behavior.
Can you share a pivotal story that shaped the course of your career?
Back when I was an attorney and planning my exit strategy from the legal world, I knew definitively that I wanted to start my own business. What was unclear was what type of business that would be, so I started brainstorming all sorts of different ideas. One of my ideas was to enroll in pastry school so that I could open up my own bakery. I had done research on pastry schools in NYC, figured out how long the programs would be, how much they would cost, all that due diligence. Then one day I mentioned this idea to a friend who is a chef, and he told me that if I wanted to become a baker, it was something that I REALLY had to love and be passionate about because I’d be up at 4am every day baking for that day’s supply. Now, I thought opening a bakery would be cool and fun, but was it something that I felt compelled to do deep down in my heart? Absolutely not. Today I like to say that I came dangerously close to enrolling in pastry school, and that conversation with my friend is what kept me from making a giant mistake. Shortly after putting my bakery dreams aside, I landed on event planning as a business idea. And the rest is history!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Are you working on any new writing projects?
The Wedding Roller Coaster is my first book, and I already have ideas for books #2 and #3 but haven’t put pen to paper yet. I’ve got a few things in store for later this year and early 2022, so it hasn’t felt like the right time to start writing again. I can’t spill the beans yet on what’s to come, so folks will just have to follow along to find out.
Thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. Can you please tell us a bit about your book? Can you please share a specific passage or story that illustrates the main theme of your book?
The Wedding Roller Coaster is a resource to guide engaged people (and the family and friends around them) through the emotional ups and downs of the wedding planning process while maintaining healthy relationships with everyone involved. This book is going to be helpful for anyone planning a wedding, because it covers such a range of topics that every engaged person can relate to. It tackles topics like budgets and money (and how to have conversations with your partner and family about it), how to navigate divorced parents, how to determine your emotional intelligence and emotional style, why you shouldn’t take bad behavior from your guests personally, and so much more. Every single wedding vendor or married person who I talked to about the book before it came out all said the exact same thing: “This is EXACTLY the type of book that the wedding industry needs.”
You are a successful author and thought leader. Which three character traits do you feel were most instrumental to your success when launching your book? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Being a planner. Launching this book was the first time I’ve ever really launched anything (besides my business when I first started out and honestly didn’t know much about how to properly launch something), and I have to say that the process was no joke. It took a lot of pre-planning to determine exactly what I was going to do to market and promote the book and then in what sequence I would execute on those things. I had a very detailed strategy for the two months leading up to launch and the month after the book release date. Without having an organized plan in place, my launch would have been a mess.
Being a connector. I pride myself on knowing a lot of different people who do a lot of different things and having strong relationships with those people. I could not have launched this book without the incredible people I have in my network (many of whom I thanked in the book). My friend and publicist introduced me to my editor who introduced me to my book designer. I have a lawyer friend who was able to help me get my legal ducks in a row. I have a friend who is a whiz at emails and helped me with my email campaigns leading up to launch. I even have a friend who does gifting who was able to help me put together super fun gift boxes to send to various industry professionals for my launch. All of these people were already part of my network and my launch would not have been so successful without them.
Being ok putting myself out there. I hesitate to use the word “vulnerable” because it feels like such a buzz word at the moment, but you do have to be ok being vulnerable in order to put a book out into the world. A book is 100% a reflection of the author and when people read the words on the page, they are reading YOUR words. And when people judge what they’ve read, they are judging YOU. It’s a lot to live up to. For me, I felt strongly that I had something to say on this topic and that the message I wanted to put out there is an important one, so that’s what helped me move beyond the discomfort of putting myself out there like this.
In my work, I have found that writing a book can be a great way to grow a brand. Can you share some stories or examples from your own experience about how you helped your own business or brand grow by writing a book? What was the “before and after picture?” What were things like before, and how did things change after the book?
The Wedding Roller Coaster has helped me grow and enhance my brand in a few different ways. First, it brings a lot of legitimacy when chatting with prospective clients and really helps them see me as an expert wedding planner. It also doesn’t hurt that on pretty much every inquiry call, the couple tells me some issue they’re dealing with and I get to say, “I wrote a book about that!” Second, writing a book has helped me even further get my name out in the wedding industry amongst vendors. It’s helped me get on B2B podcasts, secure speaking engagements, and land webinar opportunities so that I can be seen as an expert amongst my peers. And third, it has helped show people what my brand is about. Hospitality and taking care of others is such a core part of my brand, that having a book that addresses empathy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, and relationship building makes it crystal clear what is important to me and my brand.
If a friend came to you and said “I’m considering writing a book but I’m on the fence if it is worth the effort and expense” what would you answer? Can you explain how writing a book in particular, and thought leadership in general, can create lucrative opportunities and help a business or brand grow?
I would tell them that it is 100% worth the effort and expense! Also, when it comes to the expense piece, you get to decide what your launch strategy and ongoing marketing strategy look like, and you can go as big or as small as you want. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s path in that regard….do what you can afford and what feels right to you. Also, if you are strategic about how you launch and market the book, you can absolutely increase your income from having a book. Whether it’s from booking more clients because you’ve got a book to back up your expertise, or from booking paid speaking gigs because your book positions you as an expert in your field, or from landing partnerships with brands you find synergy with, or even from the book sales themselves, a book is going to help you add to your bottom line.
What are the things that you wish you knew about promoting a book before you started? What did you learn the hard way? Can you share some stories about that which other aspiring writers can learn from?
I wish I knew how exhausting launches are in general. Not that that knowledge would have made me do anything differently, but it would have been nice to mentally prepare for what was in store for me. One of the BIG lessons I learned (and I was given this advice AFTER I had published my book) was, if you’re self-publishing, not to set a release date until the book has finished the editing process and is final, final. Then you should give yourself at least three weeks for production from that point until your release date. I announced a release date early and ultimately had to push things back a week because of a hiccup in the editing process. It obviously wasn’t the end of the world, but I definitely would have rather not had that happen.
Based on your experience, which promotional elements would you recommend to an author to cover on their own and when would you recommend engaging an expert?
In theory, if an author has the time (and the time to learn if they aren’t already knowledgeable on a particular tactic), there’s not much you can’t do on your own. A person can learn how to optimize Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon ads. They can write their own content and create their own email campaign. They can reach out to press and pitch podcasts on their own. That being said, if an author is tight on free time and has the financial ability to do so, I am a big advocate of outsourcing to experts. There was a lot I didn’t have time for when I was putting the finishing touches on my book, so I worked with a lot of different people in various roles to help promote my book.
Wonderful. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your own experience and success, what are the “five things an author needs to know to successfully promote and market a book?” If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1. Who their audience is. An author needs to be clear on who their book is for and who they want to market to. You can promote and market a book all you want, but if you’re trying to sell to the wrong people, you’re never going to convert. In my case, while my book speaks directly to the person getting engaged, it actually has a much broader audience. First, anyone tangentially involved in the wedding planning process (parents, siblings, wedding party members, etc.) can benefit from reading my book because it will give them insight on what the person planning the wedding is experiencing and may also help the reader become better at relationships in general. Second, wedding vendors will get a lot out of reading The Wedding Roller Coaster. I always say that when you can understand what your clients are going through when planning a wedding, you’ll be able to offer them a superior client experience. That realization gave me a much larger audience than just engaged people to market my book to.
2. What feels most comfortable to them. Authenticity is another buzzword floating around, but authors need to be true to themselves when it comes to promoting their book. As a result, knowing what methods feel right to them and what showcases who they really are is critical. If you aren’t super comfortable in front of a camera, then maybe one on one conversations and individual outreach is how you go about spreading the word about your book. If sales aren’t your thing, consider building a street team to help sell for you! If you’re uncomfortable doing something, it’s going to show, so make sure you’re being your genuine, authentic self when promoting in order to have a positive outcome.
3. What their message is. You’ve got to know what the key message of your book is and be able to convey that to people succinctly and easily. You basically need to have a strong elevator pitch for your book ready to go, and that elevator pitch needs to explain what the heart of your book is. People have really short attention spans these days, so if you can’t communicate your message and win people over with it in seconds, then you’ve lost your chance.
4. How to think outside the box. Anyone can buy a book on book promotion and come away with a handful of solid ideas, but it’s the authors who are ready to push the envelope and think outside of the box that are really going to get people’s attention. I’ve heard of some writers having amazing success with TikTok videos and others who have gotten creative with brand and influencer partnerships. The sky is the limit as far as I’m concerned when it comes to fun and creative ways to promote your book. You just have to be willing to get a little edgy.
5. What they stand for. After publishing a book, there will be a lot of opportunities that come an author’s way, and the author needs to make sure that those opportunities align with their values and what they stand for. You will be associated with whatever opportunity you take advantage of, so make sure you research that brand or that influencer or that podcast before you say yes to something. And remember, that equally as important as what a person or a brand says is what they DON’T say and what they aren’t speaking up for or against.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
I would LOVE to have lunch with Luvvie! She is total #lifegoals for me. She’s a New York Times bestselling author, a public speaker, a podcast host (might be in my future, too!), and from what I heard from my friend who worked with her on her wedding, an absolutely incredible human. Not to mention she’s a fellow sneaker enthusiast, so we’d totally be able to nerd out on that together, too. And she’s got an amazing sense of humor, so I know that simply being in her presence would be an out of this world experience.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My website is colorpopevents.com. I am @colorpopevents on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And The Wedding Roller Coaster is available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578883015?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success with your book promotion and growing your brand.
