Use this Easy Hack when Blogging for Interior Design
Blogging is a marketing beast that scares many interior designers, home stagers, and workrooms. It requires consistent creativity, a knowledge of SEO, and at least a decent amount of writing ability. Oh, and don't even get me started on the photography aspect of it!
With all these things in mind, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of blogging for interior design, especially if you aren't sure what to say, how often to write it, or where to source your photos. More importantly, you might not even be sure whether having a blog is necessary for your business. I mean, what exactly does a blog do and why should it matter to you?
I'm diving into the details of blogging for your home industry business and sharing tools that will revolutionize the way you blog, making it easier to include this powerful marketing component in your sales funnel.
Blogging Tips for Interior Designers, Home Stagers & Custom Workrooms
As I compiled my notes for this post, I knew that no blog post about blogging for interior design would be complete without input from my real-life BFF, business bestie, and entrepreneurial cohort Jaquilyn Edwards. She runs a blogging company for the home industry, OCHRE & BEIGE, and has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things blog-related. Jaquilyn has contributed heavily to this post. I hope you'll check her out by going to www.ochreandbeige.com.
(Side note: We've partnered with OCHRE & BEIGE to offer blog post templates within Socialite Vault! These templates aren't available anywhere else. Scroll to the end if you want to check them out.)
Is blogging for interior design still relevant?
Yes, but you'll need to expand beyond just talking about paint colors and discuss topics that are specific to your ideal client.
What are some signs that my business needs a blog?
Running out of ideas for social posts
Not great SEO
Clients with expectations that don’t match how you work (or reality!)
Clients who question or devalue your time and skills
Lack of new clients coming in the door
How do I know I am personally ready to blog?
You are active on social media and have at least a small or growing following
You have a lead magnet or freebie on your website
You send a monthly newsletter
You can commit to consistency
You really, REALLY know who your target client is.
How does blogging fit into a sales funnel?
Remember, a sales funnel is simply the path you create that draws in the right lead and converts them to a paying client. Blog posts are the first step in your sales funnel, along with social media. Blogging for interior design gives you content to share on social media while also improving and increasing your SEO. They work in conjunction with freebies, branded magazines, and lead magnets to get more people into your mailing list. Once people join your mailing list, they will (hopefully) receive your monthly email newsletter. That newsletter's job is to finish the conversion from "interested lead" to paying clients.
Does blogging actually help my SEO?
Writing regular and consistent blog posts is excellent for SEO, or search engine optimization, because it gives Google more content to search and more keywords to find on your site whenever someone searches for items or services that happen to be related to your business.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is similar to categorizing a document in a filing cabinet. In the real world, you'd put that document in a clearly labeled folder, making it easy for your team to pull up what they need in a moment's notice. Google is a giant filing cabinet, and your website, including your blog posts, are documents within that cabinet. Giving your blog post an eye-catching title and writing your post with the proper format will make it easy for Google to help people find what they need.
What needs to be done to boost SEO in a blog post?
SEO-savvy header (don’t be a slave to it, though! It’s a creativity killer!); I use Coschedule to get a rough idea of what works
Headers within the post that are appropriate to the post’s BIG ideas
Categories, keep them straight-forward not abstract so Google knows what to do with them
Label image files or “Alt Tags” with a description of the image, your location
Write an excerpt, straightforward with words that are most important
NO TAGS (they create additional pages, which can be interpreted as blank if there are only a couple posts for a given tag, not great for SEO)
Blog regularly
What does every blog post need?
Catchy intro (ask a question, tell a story, start with a quote)
Content broken into sections, called “headers” and formatted as H2 or H3
Conclusion that shares a wrap up and some supportive, positive words
Call to Action
How do I write a good blog post title?
The title of your blog post should represent the format that Google prefers. Google loves to see how to's and lists that include positive, emotional language. If you aren't sure how to do that, try using the Headline Analyzer tool here: https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
What are headers in a blog post?
Headers are the main ideas of a blog post. For example, if it’s a “How To” post, your headers could be steps. If it’s an educational post, your headers can be formatted as questions (like an FAQ). If it’s an inspiration, make your headers a list of each inspirational item or theme.
What call-to-action should I use in my blog posts?
Freebie or newsletter sign up 80% of the time. This is the whole point of blogging - getting warm leads into your mailing list where you can serenade them with more valuable, exclusive content. Other options include asking your reader to book a consult, ask questions, or leave a comment.
How often should I post a new blog?
For best results, you should post a new blog article every week. If that is too much, you should aim for bi-weekly. Writing a post and then going radio silent for 2 months doesn’t help your business, and your followers (especially if they’re target clients) have no idea what to expect from you. You’re a loose cannon. Create a noticeable pattern in how you post… the 1st Monday of the month? Every 2 weeks? You decide.
What keywords should I use?
This depends on your target client and geographic areas of service. Are you trying to reach stay-at-home moms in Fort Meyers, Florida, who are interested in kid-friendly interior design? Use keywords that they would already be typing into Google. That way, when they search, they find YOU.
This benefits you because all your blog posts can be accessed by search engines at any time, whether you posted them yesterday or six months ago. As you prove to search engines, especially Google, that you are consistently releasing new content every one or two weeks, you will gain a better and higher ranking in search results.
Can I use other people's content in my blog post?
While you can certainly quote other people or reference their images, you must always link back to them and give them full credit as the original source of the information you're sharing. Don't merely link an image you are using back to their site. Actually type out their name, their business name, and hyperlink to their website. It should be evident to everyone that you are referencing and crediting someone else.
To be safe, check their website to verify whether they want anyone else to share their content. While most people are happy to receive the extra exposure to your audience, not everyone will feel that way. If their site says that no part of it can be used without permission, get permission first or find a different source.
How many words and photos should be in my blog post?
Your blog posts should be at least 500 words (in case you're wondering, that is a full page of a Word document, single-spaced) and contain a cover image and/or thumbnail image that is tall and rectangular. This is the image that Pinterest will pull. You should also have an image to illustrate each of your main points.
If your blog post is a home tour that showcases one of your recent projects, use as many photos as preferred but avoid any near-duplicates. Also, give your photographer credit by adding their business name and website link to each photo caption or add a sentence with that information to the beginning or end of your blog post.
Side note: many newbie bloggers make the mistake of writing long paragraphs, which totally overwhelms their readers. Keep your paragraphs around 3-5 sentences each. Don't go nuts. Sprinkle photos throughout.
Where can I get photos for my blog posts?
While it is best to use professional images from your own portfolio, you will run into situations where you 1) don't have a relevant photo for your topic or 2) you don't have enough portfolio images. In these situations, your safest option is to use stock photography with a Creative Commons Zero license (CC0). Photos with this license are free to use for personal and commercial purposes and don't require you to cite the stock photo site or the photographer as your source. This is because both amateur and professional photographers have donated their work to these websites for whatever reason. A few of my favorite stock photo sites include Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay.
What different types of blog posts are there and which ones should I use?
As a home industry entrepreneur, you have many blog post types to choose from, including the following: project tour, behind-the-scenes, how-to, shopping guides, gift guides, Highpoint Market finds, a day in the life of you, room-specific design, person-specific design (children, professionals, elderly, etc.).
How do I make sure more people read my blog?
"Publish your blog and they will come," is not a true statement. Like anything in business, you need to build it and market it. Each time you publish a new blog post, it is your responsibility to make sure people see it. You'll need to share it on your active social media platforms right away, then again a month later, and so on. This includes your Instagram feed, your Facebook page, your personal profile, and any relevant Facebook groups that 1) target your ideal client and 2) allow you to post your content.
Blog Post Templates for Interior Design, Home Staging & Workroom Businesses
Blogging is a ton of work and can take dozens of hours per month if you are creating a post from scratch. As a busy business owner, you can either set aside time in your schedule, hire a capable employee to handle this labor-intensive part of your marketing or hire a ghost blogger who is already familiar with your line of work.
Until now, these were your only options. Home industry pros have had to decide whether they wanted to carve out a large chunk of time to write their own content or carve out a large part of their marketing budget to hire a good writer.
As of today, there is a third option… Blog post templates
I'm excited to share that we FINALLY offer blog post templates for interior design, home staging, and window treatments as part of the Socialite Vault membership platform (https://www.socialitevault.com/). My members have been asking me for these templates for years, but until Jaquilyn and I teamed up, I simply didn't have the womanpower or bandwidth to make it happen.
Thanks to Jaquilyn of OCHRE & BEIGE, Socialite Vault is the only place you can get these templates. Here's what you'll get with each template:
Quiz-style questionnaires that transform your answers into blog posts (no, this is not a joke)
New topics added frequently, plus you can send us your topic requests for consideration
SEO-driven titles, headlines, and suggested keywords
Stock photos already resized for site loading speed & pre-labeled for SEO
2 social media captions for each blog post
Professional blog post-editing, formatting & publishing [available in our Elite membership only]
New templates will be released every month. Here's a sneak peek at some of the topics currently available:
What is Home Staging?
Reasons Realtors Should Offer Home Staging
High Cost of Not Staging Your Home
How to Style Your Airbnb
7 Benefits of Hiring an Interior Designer
HGTV (or Reality-TV) vs. Design in Real Life
How to Make Your Home Extra Cozy this Season
Value of Custom Window Treatments
How to Discover Your Ideal Design Aesthetic
How to Mix and Match Patterns for an Interesting Space
Check out our blog post templates here.
If you don't think you're a good writer...
If you don't understand SEO...
If you barely have enough time to remember your own birthday...
If you care about having a complete sales funnel and reaching more of the right clients...
If you want to grow your design, staging, or workroom business using tactics that actually work...
...you're going to love these blog post templates.
