Do you need more interior design clients?
Interior designers face many challenges when trying to get more clients.
You have many options when it comes to growing your business, whether that’s driving traffic to your website, converting leads into clients or being more well-known in your local area.
There are so many options, so I have compiled the best nine ways to get new clients for your interior designing business in 2022.
Let’s get to it!
Quick Links:
1. Potential Clients with Facebook Advertising
2. Referrals with Word-Of–Mouth Marketing
3. Discover Potential Clients at Houzz
4. Google can help you by supercharging your SEO
5. You don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot with Google Adwords
6. Create Your Brand with Blogging
7. Build Your Own Tribe by Building An Email List
8. Unlock The Power of Instagram
9. Hire a Digital Marketing ge
1. Facebook Advertising: Hyper-Target Potential Clients
For interior designers, Facebook advertising is an extremely underutilized channel to drive new clients. Start with a low budget ($100) to test the waters and see if it works for you.
Facebook advertising has one of the most appealing features: the level of targeting granularity.
For example, target people who live within a certain area. The below image shows this targeting people living within 40 km of Leeds. It can be defined as a smaller area or a larger one depending on the business.
You can also specify the gender and age of the clients you are targeting with your ads.
You can also target specific interests and behaviours. This allows you to test different ads to find the one that works best for you. You can target interior designers (so they are more likely to take pride and care about their home) or engaged shoppers, which is when Facebook determines that they have made a purchase in the past after they see an advertisement on Facebook.
Targeting people who have liked your Facebook page, attended events that you’ve organized, and many other details is possible, but this information should be kept for a separate blog post.
You can test the waters with a modest budget, as I said. It will be possible to see how many leads you generate and how quickly you convert them into clients. If it is successful, you can increase the amount you spend on the initial test.
Some designers have seen amazing results using Facebook ads, some even getting multiple clients every week.
2. Word-of-Mouth Marketing Drives Referrals
Referrals from interior designers can be life-sustaining for your business. They may happen naturally, but you can do much to make sure they happen regularly and consistently.
How can you drive interior design referrals?
First, if you’re already working with the client, and they appreciate your talents, ask them. Tell your clients how much you enjoy working with them, and ask if there are any friends, family members, or colleagues who would appreciate interior design services.
It is important to remember that marketing to attract new clients should be about the client, not you. Let them know how wonderful they are and how you would love to have more clients like them.
To maximize your referral efforts, you can create a reward system that allows your clients to refer their friends. Although most clients don’t want or need a reward, it’s great to thank them for their referrals.
To entice clients to come back, you could offer vouchers for your services. They could be giftable to make it easy to refer others.
The key to success is to continue asking. Don’t be desperate or spammy. After the project is completed, check in with your client to make sure they are happy with the space. Also mention that you enjoyed working with them again and ask for recommendations. You can also remind them by sending small gifts and Christmas cards.
3. Houzz helps you find potential clients
Houzz marketing is a great way to generate regular leads for your interior design business. It is important to update your profile and make sure it is complete. Your profile can be used as an advertisement for your business.
Houzz’s platform is disrupting the way homeowners search for and select professionals. Houzz has created a platform that is extremely popular with search engines for keywords like “interior design in london” so make sure you’re on the platform.
Houzz did extensive research and found that their users are:
• 89% of upscale homeowners own their homes
• Have an average home worth of $450,000
• An average income of $124,000
• 78% of married people are
• 27% of them are living in their first home.
• Actively building, remodelling or decorating
• 72% of respondents plan to redecorate or decorate.
• 40% of respondents plan to add or remodel.
• 10% plan to build a custom home.
• These projects are quite expensive (average kitchen remodel costs $27,000)
These are the top interior designers you could find – it’s crazy not to take Houzz seriously.
Top Tips from Houzz in 2022
• Houzz reveals openly that their algorithm incorporates the factors of frequency and relevancy.
Therefore, it is important to stay active on the platform.
• Houzz will help you rank higher than others by getting as many reviews.
• Upload your most striking projects. Include high-quality photos and a description of each image. Most
people upload and forget. You will stand out by adding more information.
• You can interact with the community by asking and answering questions on the platform. This will help you to both drive your accounts activity and build your network.
You can find more information on how to make the most of Houzz by reading the Houzz Marketing Strategies Tips guide.
4. Google can help you with your SEO
SEO has been described to me by some as a “dark art” – which makes it seem a lot more fun to do than it actually is.
SEO can turn new leads into customers for your business. It can generate consistent 10, 50, 100 and 1000+ leads per month if you put in the effort.
SEO is complex. There are many articles covering different aspects of SEO that can be confusing for non-SEO experts.
Let’s start by saying that WordPress is the best platform to use for SEO in order to build your website. Squarespace and Wix can be great tools for website building, but you must use WordPress if you want to get more clients from SEO.
Keyword research is the first thing that you should do when it comes to SEO. This is the foundation of almost everything you do. It shows you which search terms are most likely to bring you more visitors to your site.
Most interior designers I have worked with are local and serve a specific area. For example, they may be based in Essex. I will assume that you are also. [Note: If you’re not local, I can help you select the keywords you want to look at.
Ubersuggest allows you to do this for free. Enter your location and interior designer as keywords (in the example below, I used “essex interior designer”).
It will then display the average monthly searches of your keyword. If it is not zero, then we are in business.
You will find a section called “keyword ideas” further down the page. This will display similar keywords to help you get more clients.
You can repeat the process for all locations. Make sure to include a mix between city, county, and town locations. They may all be searched for by people.
Once you’ve identified your target keywords, it is time to put them into practice.
Your chances of ranking high for a keyword will improve if you include them in the core areas of a page. (Note: There is a term called “keyword stuffing” so be careful. It won’t work well with Google traffic. Include your keywords naturally in places like:
• Title Page
• Meta Description
• Headings (H1, 2,3,4 …)
• Copy for the Body
• Image alt tags
• Internal Links
It’s now time to start building links. Ranking in Google is not possible without links. Although you don’t need thousands or hundreds of links to compete, it is important to keep your links relevant to the design industry. These are some suggestions to help you get started.
• Ask suppliers to be featured on your site. Maybe give them a testimonial.
• Guest post on blogs of interior designers
• Your local press loves a success story or new business story.
• Find contributors to your blog. Ask bloggers and brands for help.
If you are an interior designer who is based locally, you must make sure that you have created your Google My Business page. This is a must if you’re serving a local market. You can see an example of one below.
These are some quick tips to make the most of your Google My Business profile, and increase your chances of being found for these searches.
• Complete your profile as fully as possible
• Upload the best photos of you and your work.
• It is important to keep it current. If you move, change your address.
• Ask clients for reviews and to respond.
• To increase engagement, add posts and videos
SEO is not a quick fix and it takes time to see the benefits. However, you can reap serious rewards if you do it correctly.
5. Google Ads: It is also a good platform to generate the leads.
It’s easy to get on the first page of Google if you pay them. It doesn’t have to cost a lot.
Cost depends on how competitive the keyword is in comparison to how many people are trying the same keyword. New York will be more expensive than other cities like Dallas, Chicago, or Seattle for traffic to your website. The table below shows the average cost of each visit to your site.
Keyword Avg. Cost per Click
interior design Dallas $5.00
interior design Texas $3.00
interior design NY $7.50
interior design Chicago $ 4.00
interior design San Diego $3.00
interior design Seattle $2.10
You’ll be able to identify the keywords that you can use in your SEO keyword research.
Google Adwords has many moving parts, but this is a quick guide to help you get your advert setup.
Google made it easy to create your first advertisement with an easy step-by-step form.
• First, choose your goal. This is not something to worry about, but it will help you learn more advanced features of Google Ads. This option is useful if you are trying to drive leads to your site.
• Google Ads can combine many advertising options such as Search Ads and Display Ads. To keep things simple, we will select ‘Search’ for our ad.
• Then, you will be asked how you would like to achieve the goal. Since we want to drive people to your site, select “Website visits”.
• Next, choose your daily budget. There is no minimum amount, but I recommend at least PS5. You will not be charged for every click you make on your ad.
• Next, it’s about setting up the keywords that you want to target. You can use keywords from your SEO research and just paste them here.
• Now it’s time to create the advertisement. The headlines and the descriptions are the two main components of an ad.
• Google stacks them together (see the preview image below). It is important to highlight your key value propositions.
• You can also include keywords from your research in an advert. This will reassure the searcher that the advert is the best.
• Spending on Google Ads should be done in the most effective way. Target the right keywords and experiment with low spending to see if they turn into clients and leads. If they don’t convert, it could be that the keyword is wrong or your site isn’t selling you well enough.
Tip: To maximize the return on your Google Ads investment, send them to a landing site that has been specifically created for that keyword. You may choose a different landing page that has fewer distractions, but it should still be focused on your strengths as a company and include a simple form to allow them to contact you.
6. Blogs can also help you to build your brand
Businesses that use blogs in their content marketing mix receive 67% more leads compared to those who do not.
A blog can help you to supercharge your interior design and make it more client-generating.
This gives you the chance to show off your talents. Make sure to use imagery in your projects to make your work stand out. Be careful not to be too salesy in your blog posts. This can turn off your readers.
Instead, use your blog to establish yourself as an authority in the field, regardless of whether it is interior design in general or niche design in particular rooms.
Blogs are a great way for new connections. You can showcase other brands, designers, and bloggers, which can be a valuable source of future clients.
Many businesses make the error of writing articles blindly and expecting miracles with traffic and leads. You can beat your competitors with a little more preparation.
What does it all boil down to? Keyword research is back!
This time, however, it is for a different purpose.
We’re now looking for keywords people might be searching for to help them solve a design problem.
Google is a great resource for this. Go to Google and type in “how decorate a bedroom*” into the search box. You will see all the options available. These are long-tail keywords that people have searched for. Genius!
You now have your keyword(s), but you must make sure that you use them. Keep in mind the key locations:
• Page Title
• Meta Description
• Headings (H1, 2,3,4 …)
• Copy for the Body
• Image alt tags
It is important to have a compelling headline when blogging. A simple headline like “Interior Design tips” is not going to make people want to read more. A headline such as “Interior Design Tips for living room” will get them excited about reading on.
Free and Pro Tool: If you use WordPress, you should install Yoast’s SEO plugin. It is very easy to use and helps you to ensure that your blog posts are well-structured. You simply need to enter the keyword that you want to target and they will use a traffic light system for you to ensure your article is optimised.
7. Build Your Tribe by Building an Email List
To land more clients, building an email list is the best investment you can make.
Although many designers believe it will not be worth it, in reality it can lead to repeatable, high quality clients who love your work even before you start working with them.
You don’t have to make a large investment of your time and money.
• Start for free with ConvertKit, which is free for up 1,000 subscribers. It will keep you going for quite some time.
• You can set up a Welcome Sequence (I will explain more about that shortly), which can take anywhere from a few hours to several days depending on what you need.
• Send a monthly newsletter . It can include your blog posts, case studies and trends you are seeing, as well as any other information you feel people will be interested in. This should only take a few hours per month.
How to grow your email list
Pop-Ups
These pop-ups may seem annoying, but they actually work! In general, between 3-10% and 10% of people who see an email signup lightbox complete it and sign up.
Sumo, which offers a free plan, is one of the most popular tools for creating pop-ups. This allows you to customize the pop-up with title, copy, call to actions, images, etc. It is also very easy to use.
Landing pages
It is smart to use dedicated landing pages to gather subscribers for your blog’s mailing list.
Landing pages are a great way to increase your conversion rate. In fact, over half of visitors to landing pages become subscribers.
Landing pages are a central point for traffic and a way to sell the products your subscribers will be buying.
A few forms on your website can drive people to sign up for your newsletter. If you have limited time or are pressed for time, this is fine. However, to increase your numbers, you will need to offer incentives to get them to give up their email address.
Content Upgrade.
You will see more traffic and earn more money if you increase your email list quickly.
Brian Dean, of Backlinko, coined the term Content Upgrade. It basically puts your lightbox popups on supercharge. This can increase the number people who sign up up by as much as 5 times. Instead of getting five subscribers for every 100 visitors, you could get up to 25. From the same traffic, you could gain up to 25 more subscribers!
Content upgrades are unique lead magnets that can be downloaded based upon the post the visitor is reading. They provide a highly-relevant resource for the reader. You could, for example, add an upgrade to a post on Hygge.
They have signed up, now what?
Once someone signs up for your email list, the first thing you should do is to thank them. Let them know that you appreciate their effort in giving your email address.
This can be done as part of a welcome sequence. Depending on the purpose of their sign up, you can deliver what it was (a guide, a checklist, etc).
You can then follow up with bonus content every few days so they can get a feel for you and what you expect from being on the email list.
You can include the following items in your welcome sequence
• Invite to follow your social media accounts
• Display case studies/projects that you have worked on
• If they ever needed them, educate them about your services
If executed properly, your welcome series can convert potential leads into customers quickly.
After the welcome sequence, it’s important to get into a habit of emailing your list at least once a month with any new content, projects or features that you have created. This will keep them interested and help you to be available for them when they need you.
You must give potential customers a compelling reason to sign up, and keep them interested.
8. Unlock the power of Instagram
Instagram is the only social network which fits perfectly into interior design with its heavy imagery focus.
It can be a powerful tool to increase awareness about your interior design business.
Consistency is important. When someone visits your profile, they need to understand who you are. Your imagery should reflect your style. If they are able to see this, it should convince them to follow.
Your image must be high quality. Images with high resolution can help convert people to your profile and push that elusive “follow” button.
You should aim to post 2-3 times per week to increase your followers. It can be difficult to do this with all the other things you need to run an interior design business. However, using tools like Schedugram and Later to bulk schedule your posts ahead of time can make it easier.
You must ensure that you use the correct hashtags when posting. You can use hashtags to search for Instagram posts. This allows users to search for new accounts (like yours!) Followers are encouraged to do the same. It is easy to get new followers by using the right hashtags for your interior designing business.
Engaging with both your audience and others who are posting similar content is crucial. Regularly search for and comment on posts from other profiles. However, make sure that your comments are not just great. This is a sure way to appear spammy.
How to get clients via Instagram: Drive traffic to your website
Let’s get to the important part: Getting more interior design clients via Instagram. Instagram is an international platform that allows you to attract followers from all parts of the globe. Some may not be your typical ‘radius’ of work, but I have seen incredible opportunities through Instagram.
First, make sure to use your Instagram bio and the link. This link will be your powerful tool to drive traffic and leads to your site, as links are not allowed in posts.
You can encourage your followers by directing them from your posts to the ‘link in Bio’ to encourage them to visit your site.
You can modify the link to make it more relevant to the image in order maximize the return on your investment. You could, for example, post an image of a project that you have just completed. Then link it to your case study so that users can see more of the project.
Performing all of these tactics may seem like a lot of work, my advice would be to focus on one at a time to see the best results.
9. Hire a Digital Marketing Agency
It could be difficult to focus on all the above mentioned points to get the more leads for a interior design company so it would be good that you should hire a well-known digital marketing company which can help to manage these activities and provide you fruitful results.
