How To Write An Interior Design Blog That Attracts Clients

View fullsize

Blogs are a fantastic tool for marketing interior design - if you can get people to read and enjoy them. And that’s a big IF. It’s not enough to create a blog, start writing and hope for the best. You have to know what readers want and how they want to read it. Here's an example. In December, about half a million interiors designers are going to write about Pantone's Color of the Year. It's a highly competitive topic that has very little chance for any business result. Interior design clients do not search for "Pantone's color of the year", they are more apt to look for "Best Colors for a Master Bedroom".  To add to the problem, Pantone is a marketing machine and they will own page one of Google Search engine results for this topic. Page two will go to Luxe, Interior Design, Houzz, Traditional Home, Design Milk etc... Pantone's Color of the Year is not a topic any interior design firm should blog about. Mentioning it in an article dedicated to choosing "Bathroom Colors That Won't Go Out Of Style" with a link back to the Pantone press release is a different story. (And a blog writing best practice)

The best interior design blogs come from firms and independent professionals who have spent serious time thinking about what potential clients want to know. They don't write about themselves so much as they write about the things that are important for their ideal clients. Interior designers with great blogs understand that formatting is almost as important as content and they know how to boost their blog’s ranking in search engine results pages - or they’ve hired someone who does.

Marketing Interior Design with Great Written Content

The web is flooded with interior design articles and advice. The blogs that succeed in marketing interior design services are both entertaining and informative. They inspire design ideas and spark the imaginations of their followers. That may sound vague, but it’s actually not hard to come up with topics that appeal to readers and keep them coming back.

Think about the questions your clients pose. Maybe they’re always asking if wallpaper is back in style or if granite counters are falling out of fashion. Maybe they want tips on how to decorate on a dime. Use your expertise to give them practical advice. Marketing interior design services is about establishing yourself as an expert in the field and building a brand over the long term, not just signing the next client (although that’s nice, too).

When it comes to tone, be authoritative but also natural and conversational. You want to come across as an expert, but not a stuffy one.

The Best Blog Format for Marketing Interior Design

Pictures are extremely important because the work you do is so visual. Your website and social media pages are full of pictures of your designs, and your blog should be, too. Images grab the attention of readers and help keep them on the page. But avoid being too vain when it comes to photos. Be sure to feature the work of other designers you admire and shots of products or materials you use or recommend. Readers will be more likely to appreciate your blog if it’s not overtly obvious that you’re marketing interior design services.

Pay attention to format. Web readers don’t like long stretches of plain text. In addition to pictures, break up the text with subheads, bulleted lists or infographics.

Length is a trickier subject. There’s no consensus among experts on the ideal length of a blog post - whether it’s intended for marketing interior design or cat food. Some marketing experts recommend posts as short as 350 words while others argue that 1,000-word blogs rank higher in search results. Your best bet is simply to give the subject the length it needs - don’t skimp or drag on and on. As long as the blog is interesting, people will keep reading. We use the 500-600-word blog length because it provides enough space to get a point across without boring the reader to tears.

Ranking Your Blog in Search Results

You might have a blog that rivals the best in the business, but it’s not going to generate leads if people never come across it. Search engine optimization or SEO, is the art of figuring out how to increase your rank in search engine results, in part by strategically inserting relevant keywords into your blog (although never in a painfully obvious, unnatural way). SEO is necessary for marketing interior design, but it can be tricky. Use a keyword phrase in your title, as a headline in a description of your image, in the alternative tag for the image and in your meta-data. If you don't know what these items are, call us. (603) 289-6616 We can help. 

We could dedicate a whole blog post - actually, a book - on SEO. The best we can do here is say you have to be willing to invest the time into learning how to find and use keywords (or hire a pro). But keep in mind that SEO isn’t everything when it comes to blogs. An active social media presence also improves your rank. Promoting every blog on a variety of social media sites will help you develop a following, too.