Most successful designers I’ve met always have one thing in common. They define a niche for themselves and serve it really well. To do this consider your skills and how they best match the clients you wish to work for.

It is also important to look at the opportunities in your area. Demographics such as location are really important in defining your target market. For example, a rural or urban situation or the life stages of people in a certain area may define whether your potential clients are large country homeowners, show apartments for property developers, holiday rental properties, young professionals or homes for families with children.

Focus on your passions:

• do you love colour?
• is biophilic design and wellbeing important to you?
• are you great with neutral schemes?
• do you love planning and zoning large open plan spaces?
• can you come up with inspiring innovative ideas to entertain children in their rooms?
• are you a maximalist or a minimalist?

A focused message is direct, easy to understand and therefore much simpler to market. Showcasing your signature style and unique skills helps attract your ideal client to exactly what they are looking for. Once you have them in mind create marketing messages around the perfect service that you can offer them.

Next, you need to get visible with these messages and showcase your expertise at every opportunity. Be consistent across website copy, social media, blogs and printed materials and use every opportunity to use your marketing messages to create a brand that simply and honestly shouts your style.

2 Advertise your business

Give yourself a helping hand by promoting your business to people directly looking for your services. Nowadays online advertising provides an easy pool of well targeted customers for you to showcase your business. Google Ads, Facebook Ads and a Houzz Pro profile are easy ways to find clients in your local area looking for specialist interior design services. Professional advice on how to set up your adverts, target your keywords and turn those clicks into leads will save you time and money in the long run.

3 Build your SEO

Whilst advertising is a quick way to get traction from Google, SEO is a long term strategy that continues to bring results long after your initial investment in time and money. Growing the strength of your website and brand in Google searches is essential for any successful business

Here are 5 easy steps that will build your SEO 

1 Start from the ground up with a great website platform
Whilst Wix and Squarespace are easy to implement, if you are serious about getting found in Google Wordpress is the one to choose. It is easy to update and manage. Most importantly as a platform originally designed for blogging, Wordpress websites have many SEO friendly features which simply don’t exist on other platforms 

2 Complete your Google my business profile
Google My Business is a marker for your business in Google rankings and local search. Make sure you complete your profile with as much information as possible. Don’t forget to get reviews for your business.  Also regularly update your profile with posts about what is happening in your business. Just as you would post on your social media accounts - only this information is feeding Google directly with information about what your business is about.

3 Make sure all of your social media profiles are connected to your website
Making your SEO stronger is all about building a spider’s web of connections which link your business around the internet. Building links from your social media profiles to your website helps search engines define what your business is about. Complete your social media profiles and then use them to showcase your portfolio, projects and knowledge through sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest which can directly link back to your website.

4 Build links back into your website
Social media isn’t the only place where you can build links back to your website. Write a guest post for a supplier, get featured on a blog with an interview about yourself or a business project or add your business to an industry directory.

5 Start Blogging
When considering how to rank your website Google scans your site looking for keywords to decide exactly what your site is about. As well as this it assesses how relevant the content is to people searching for specific topics on the web. Google also looks for fresh content. If you haven’t updated your website since your launch it’s time for a bit of an update. Creating regular blog posts is an easy way to update your website with fresh and relevant content. Start a content plan and write blogs based on keywords which you want to rank for on Google. This interior design marketing tip covers 2 of our key actions, reinforcing the consistent messages about your brand and expertise mentioned in tip 1 and keeping Google happy with fresh content.

4 The Power of Networking - Events and Experiences

Whilst social media and online marketing are important and effective ways to get seen and heard nothing beats the personal touch. Meeting people in real life makes lasting connections and offers a chance to bond through shared experiences. Get out and about to Interior Design events to see what’s new and meet new suppliers in the industry.

Local networking groups such as your chamber of commerce are great places to find professionals to drive your business forward. Accountants or graphic designers for example are all services you need as you grow. Also bear in mind that interior design can be a high end and luxury service so mixing with successful business people is one place to find clients who value your service.

However there is also a lot of value in joining a network whose members are specifically focused on interiors, property or creative business. If you work alone these kind of networks are great for peer support. They will also help you with find other industry professionals such as decorators, architects, trade suppliers. As well as suppliers you're more likely to find people like me who are not just marketers but have a wealth of knowledge and contacts in the interiors and home decor industry. If you are based in the north try attending a Concept North event. If you are based in the south check out The Decorcafe for regular social meet-ups and business networking.

5 Build your tribe with e-mail

My final tip filters across all of the interior design marketing activities we’ve mentioned so far. This is that whether online or in real-life all of these activities must focus on collecting names and email addresses so that you can stay connected and keep your business front of mind for these new potential customers. Did you know that emails beat social media hands down on visibility, engagement and most importantly conversion into paying customers. Make sure you collect email addresses at every opportunity by integrate subscriber boxes across your website and social media. Share links to these regularly and mention your newsletter at every opportunity. Then create a regular email newsletter to nurture and convert your readers into loyal clients.