As an interior designer, you have probably asked yourself more than once whether blogging is really worth all the time and energy you spend on it. Do interior designers actually need a blog or is it just a time and money suck? When I begin working with an interior design firm on re-branding and website creation, it’s usually one of the first questions I’m asked. Followed by “what in the world is there to talk about that hasn’t already been said and do people even care what I have to say? I’m not an influencer, and I just want to design homes, not become a blogger.”
So is a blog worth it?
Yes.
What if I don’t want to be an influencer?
Yes.
What if my clients are all local?
Yes.
What if I’m not a great writer?
Yes.
Let me say it again for the people in the back. Blogging is always worth your time, provided you have a system in place where you aren’t spending countless hours on it with no strategy. We may be past the golden age of blogging, but here are a few reasons to strongly consider incorporating one into your website.
How does a blog help grow your interior design business?
Blogging helps Google push you in front of more potential customers
SEO…I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about this elusive facet of their website. Good search engine optimization requires a variety of aspects of your website to come together, like alt tags, headlines, title tags, body copy and more. It’s definitely not a one-and-done approach that will land you at the top of Google, and then you can walk away. It’s ongoing work.
But blogging can give you a great SEO boost because Google loves websites that provide new content on a predictable schedule. Every time their little bots troll your site and see something new, they get all excited and work harder to push your content higher in the rankings. Each new blog post is another opportunity for your dream client to discover your talent and singularity. In addition, blogging gives you the opportunity to post with specific keywords in mind so that an audience truly interested in what you have to say can find you.
Blogging gives you fresh content for Pinterest
Google isn’t the only search engine around, and for interior designers in a visual field, Pinterest is the place to be. Yes, the same website you use to find your dinner recipes is a search engine, not a social media platform.
Think about how many of your clients come to you with a full board of inspiration they have already sourced through Pinterest. Though this may not be your favorite way to begin a project, you know your customers are already there. Why not meet them where they are already hanging out? Maybe you can even catch them before they fall down a rabbit hole of terrible ideas!
You can pin fresh posts from your blog to Pinterest so that your content has a wider reach. The image you pin could pull someone onto your blog, and well-placed calls to action could effectively move them from someone looking at pretty images to someone reading more about your services and booking a consultation. While this may be easier to do for designers providing digital services, it’s an effective tactic for interior designers working in-person locally as well. As a local interior designer you can use keywords in the descriptions of your pin that include your location so that when someone searches “[City][State] Interior Designer” your content pops up.
Blogging educates your audience and pre-qualifies potential clients
Your website design is a delicate balance of beautiful design and photography with purposeful copy that work together to compel a potential customer to want your services and to schedule a call to learn more. There is only so much content you can pack in there before it becomes cluttered, confusing, and overwhelming.
“Your blog is where you cram all of that juicy educational information that will get them more prepared to hire you.”
It’s where you show the behind the scenes of projects and display your personality and expertise in a way that makes them feel like they really get to know you. With a rolling format, it can be consumed in bite-size chunks and potential clients can dig in as little, or as much, as they like without feeling overwhelmed. This will allow them to digest the information without feeling like they’re sifting through a million words to find a way to contact you.
Blogging connects with your audience on a more personal level while also showing your expertise
Your blog strategy should be largely tied to your brand personality. When we determine during your strategy session what that personality is based on and where your sweet spot of connection is with your audience, your blog topics and how you talk about those topics will become clearer. Knowing your brand voice is super important here and will dictate a lot about the style of your posts.
Writing website copy is anxiety-inducing because every word holds so much weight. On the flip side, nobody expects your blog to be perfect, but they do expect it to give them insight into what it’s really like to work with you. So don’t fret about being an amazing writer. Instead, loosen up, tell your story, and show them what makes you and your design firm truly unique. Give clients an opportunity to see the personality of your brand really shine.
One of my favorite clients that uses this technique so well on their blog is Nystrom Design. The Nystrom Design blog is full of interesting articles that have a personal touch but also appeal exactly to the type of client they are looking for.
Blogging helps you find your niche audience
Your blog is a golden opportunity to show, in-depth, what you really excel at. If you are really amazing at finding modern ways to incorporate family heirlooms into a new home design, this gives you a perfect place to showcase projects and speak on a deeper level about how it’s done. This could lead to snagging the perfect niche clients that want exactly what you’re best at. For those interested, they can dive into those posts and see what differentiates you from other interior designers.
Another way blogging can help you hone in on your niche audience is to write posts about topics that are complementary to what you do. You don’t necessarily want clients who are reading about how to DIY the type of design you do. If they are DIY-ers they probably won’t pay your fees. But if they are interested in incorporating family heirlooms into a modern home, they might be interested in articles about updating vintage furniture, historical homes, color combinations that merge old and new…there are myriad ideas of things to post about when you can drill down into a niche topic.
Blogging connects you with your local community
A lot of people think blogging is only relevant if they offer worldwide digital services, but your blog is actually a fantastic place to connect with local customers and celebrate your local community. You know what the people in your area are like. You know what questions they have and what specific issues pop up that are unique to your community. Use that knowledge to write posts that connect specifically to issues they may have in their homes.
One thing to think about as you write posts specifically meant to pull in local clients is to make sure you are using those keywords in your copy. For example, if you are an interior designer in Greensboro, NC, using “interior design†as your keyword is likely not going to help you. For one, there are billions of hits on that term because it’s not specific enough to rank significantly. And two, you don’t want to pull in clients that live across the country instead of ones in your backyard. Focusing on longer keywords like “Greensboro interior designer†would be much more helpful. And then you can niche down even further from there.
Many interior designers I work with tend to rely hard on social media but don’t want to put the time into blogging. I hope this post shows you how much blogging can benefit your business and potentially connect you more strategically with customers than social media can. It gives you the power of having customers get to know you on your own turf instead of having to compete with all of the noise on social media.
Next month, I’ll post an article about specific things to optimize your posts for search engines, so stay tuned for that.
