A new year brings with it new opportunity to reevaluate your business, enhance whatever is working well, and eliminate things that may have either run their course or that no longer fit into your brand’s vision.
    These are never easy choices, because the answers typically aren’t obvious. However, the reality is with a finite number of hours in a given day (and a limited amount of personal energy, too, even when enhanced by multiple cups of Starbucks), decisions must be made.
    VOWS is no different – we are constantly evaluating all aspects of the magazine, adding features that better enhance the messages we want to convey, or eliminating  components that may have run their course.
    For 2018, here are the key changes we have made:

Out: Consultant’s Corner. This column, authored by Katie Roberts, did an amazing job of covering issues pertinent to sales consultants for two years. However, we felt that moving forward, we wanted to expand its intended audience. Therefore we changed it, albeit slightly, to…

In: On the Sales Floor. This new column, debuting on pg. 108 of this issue, has been expanded to cover all sales-related issues, not just those specific to consultants. Its broader focus will allow us to delve deeper into a variety of important selling issues. Hands down, this is a subject matter readers say ranks very high on the interest scale to them! It’s still being authored by Katie, who’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for future topics. E-mail her at katie@vowsmagazine.com.

Out: Lengthy Spotlights Captions. We LOVE our Spotlights sections, which showcases beautiful gowns from a variety of designers and manufacturers. In 2017, we started giving each spread a theme (i.e. back treatments, bridesmaids, prom, etc). We also cut back the lengthy captions that accompanied each dress, opting instead to include designer or collection name only (with company contact info found in our Ad Index). This is a format we will continue into the New Year; we love the fact that it allows us to run bigger, more vibrant images. This after all is a highly visual section!

In: VOWS Podcast. This is news I am super excited to share! Plans are in the works right now for me to debut a Bridal Business Podcast in early 2018! Each episode will be short, sweet and full of insider knowledge (business tips and ideas, interviews with industry figures, cool stories, and updates on important industry events and happenings). They will be available for free download at your leisure; links will also be posted on the VOWS Facebook page.
    Hosting a Podcast is something I am super excited to do! It’s a new way for me to communicate with the VOWS audience, and to share knowledge and insights from a variety of sources. Plus, it sounds super fun! If you’re not at all familiar with podcasts, or if you know a little and want to learn more, check out writer Daniel P. Smith’s story on pg. 72. He does a great job outlining the basics and explaining the benefits of this emerging medium.
    Moving forward, I can’t wait to share the VOWS Podcast with you. As we continue plotting and planning for its debut, I could use your help with something: I am kind of stuck trying to choose a name! I’d love your ideas on what to call it. Something short, catchy, to the point and creative! Please e-mail your suggestions to me!

    With that all said, Happy New Year! I hope 2018 is off to an awesome start, and brings with it all the love, happiness and success you deserve!