How To Get More Interior Design Clients in 2024

Jan 26

Running an interior design business can feel like feast or famine. You’re either crazy busy, or panicked because you have no upcoming projects. The key is to engage in ongoing marketing efforts to continually fill your pipeline

Running an interior design business can often feel like feast or famine. You’re either crazy busy, or you’re panicked because you have no upcoming projects in your pipeline.

So, if you feel like your workload or revenue is inconsistent, it’s likely because you quit marketing when you’re busy. The key is to engage in ongoing marketing efforts to continually fill your pipeline so you don’t experience extended periods of the famine part of this cycle. This is true in the lean times and the busy ones!

YES, I know, sometimes it feels like you cannot possibly add one more thing to your day. But guess what might be around the corner if you dismiss marketing altogether? Yes, that famine thing. To build a continual stream of new leads, it is critical to regularly market your business.

Keep reading for my top five marketing strategies for interior designers to generate more new business in the upcoming year. Here goes.

01 | Clean Up Your Interior Design Website!

Your website should never be considered something you can ignore after it’s up and running. It requires a bit of ongoing maintenance. You should regularly review the images and content on your website to ensure you are (i) attracting the ideal clients you want and (ii) discouraging the types of clients and projects you don’t want. You know the ones I mean: the ones who want to know what your discount is on furnishings, whether they can shop with you, whether you will lower your fee because they can’t afford you, whether you will give them copies of YOUR invoices from vendors 😱……yeah, make sure your website repels those types of people. (Note: There is certainly a market for this type of client and a service type that can help them; it’s just not you because if it were, you wouldn’t be reading this blog).

The thing about attracting the right clientele?

It’s a self-sustaining strategy.

Huh?

What does this mean?

Likely, your biggest source of new business comes from repeat clients and referrals, right? So, the better the clientele you bring in, the better your pipeline becomes. And your pipeline clients become the clients who will refer you later on. Good clients generate more good clients. Good clients say yes to your designs and go all in. You then photograph those completed designs. Your portfolio gets better and better. And then your clients refer even better clients, and your portfolio brings in more ideal clients, and so on, and so on…..you level up your company client by client.

Tip: This is also why nailing your discovery process is essential. Bring in bad fit clients and projects and you’ll slowly see things fall apart.

So, here are the things to regularly evaluate about your interior design business website:

Are all images aligned with your ideal clientele? If not, remove them. If there are images of styles or rooms you don’t want to design anymore, take them off. If there are images of project types you no longer want to take on, scrap them. And make sure you are regularly adding new content from your recently completed projects. The images you show on your website should make dream clients say THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT” so that you can simply say, “Perfect. This is exactly what we do!”.
Does every page have a call to action? Based on my experience with many design business owners, the answer is probably “No.” Thankfully, this is a fairly easy problem to fix. Make sure every page includes something like “Join my email list,” “Download this awesome thing,” “Learn more here,” “Book a call,” or “Fill out a project inquiry form.” Go through your website now and make sure every page leads them to where you want them to go. NO DEAD ENDS!
Is each page current? KILL THE “COMING SOON” pages and the blog page that only has two posts dated from 1999. YEAH, byyyyyyyyye. Obsolete content does you no favors. It may indicate to clients that you aren’t in business, you’re not a “real business,” you don’t pay close attention to details, your company and style are outdated, or you just don’t care because your business is a (gasp) HOBBY.
Is there a current professional picture of you? Not a headshot from the car. Not a selfie. Not a photo from 20 years ago. Not a stock image. YOU YOU YOU. Remember, the deciding factor for someone debating whether they want to work with you usually comes down to their perception of you, the designer — do they like you, could they see themselves working with you, do they have a vibe with you, do they trust you? You must show yourself on your website to allow these initial connections to form. And, there is NOTHING, I tell you, NOTHING more shocking than when you see someone in person for the first time and they look NOTHING like their photos. Talk about a business catfish moment. No thanks!
Do you have a contact form that looks completely #basic? Please, please have a beautiful contact form with real questions!! No more “name, email, message” — YAWN, BORING ← this isn’t serving anyone! (Read some other contact form mistakes that make us cringe here!) Remember, in the interior design industry, how things look is everything. Your site should be beautiful and customized. Make sure your contact form has questions that are specific to your business, your client, AND your services. Let this interaction with your company be beautiful and branded, instilling trust in the potential client that you actually WILL get their message and respond.
Are you leading people down a rabbit hole on your website? Hopefully not, but I do see this a lot. Anywhere your potential client links to from your site should be current and active. Don't send them to a Pinterest page you never use. Don’t send them to FB if you don’t post there and aren't engaged. Don’t send them to any 3rd party site that isn’t specific to you and your business.

Why is this all so important? The fact is many people are fearful of working with an interior designer because they have been screwed in the past. Maybe a previous designer ghosted them. Or showed up with a $20k rug and an invoice and said, “You owe me.” Or maybe a previous designer was completely unresponsive until it came time to get paid and then hounded them non-stop.

Active management of your website (which is, in essence, a potential client’s window into your world) illustrates that you are actively present as a service provider and that you take your business (and the details) very seriously. That builds trust. That shows you are a real business. You are front and center. You are actively marketing yourself and your company.

02 | Participate in Daily Outreach to Grow Your Interior Design Business.

Yes, I said daily! (If you have a lead magnet and email sequences set up, you can email people in your sleep). But as a business owner, you should be making connections with people every day. Why????? Well, sure, you may want to make a million dollars or get 100,000 followers on your Instagram, but you can’t control that. What you CAN control, however, is how many people you talk to and connect with each day.

Get 100,000 followers on Instagram VS. Email 10 people every day

^^^ Which one feels more attainable?

But how do you do this when you are also working IN your business doing client work?

Well, first, it’s critical. Marketing leads to new business. New business = sales. Sales = money.

I know the saying is ABC (always be closing), but it should really be ABM.

Always be marketing.

And even if you’re on a waitlist, guess what? You should still prioritize marketing to build up more demand for your services, which will allow you to increase your prices, be more selective with the project types you take, and expand your company in other ways.

Consistent daily outreach isn’t as hard as you might think. Here are some things you can do, right now, to connect with potential clients and referral sources.

Set a goal number of outreach emails to send each day.

Email past clients
Email current clients
Email past leads that didn’t book
Email realtors
Email your local partners (workrooms, trades, etc.)
Email your showrooms
Email other designers
Maybe they offer different services, and you could be a referral for projects that aren’t a fit for them, OR you can be a referral for projects when they are at capacity.
Email friends and family
Send cold outreach emails/letters to businesses you haven’t worked with before:
- Builders
- Carpenters
- Realtors
- Architects
- Landscape designers
- Art galleries

**Note: these interactions can also be phone calls or handwritten letters (my fave).

Engage with your online followers.

When someone new follows you on Instagram, send them a personal DM thanking them for being there and asking them a question.
Respond to comments quickly and open up a conversation. Don’t just say, “Thanks!” Ask them a question so they start to feel comfortable chatting with you.
Respond to DM’s from potential clients.
Engage with THEIR accounts by commenting on their photos and stories.

Pound the pavement.
- Drop off coffee and a beautiful branded guide that shares information about your company with people in your industry.
- See what your local chamber of commerce offers. Become a member, attend events, and talk to people. HAVE MORE CONVERSATIONS!
- Host a local workshop or event with a company that shares a similar clientele. Invite upstream and downstream referral sources.
- Host an event and invite past clients and ask them to bring a friend. Teach on something that would be helpful to them.
- Host a pop-up shop if you carry inventory or can place an order for small goods your people would like. No, this will not be a money-maker. But it will open the door for new connections.

Pitch your company and your projects!
- Reach out to local magazines, podcasts, blogs, etc., that serve your same industry and pitch them on a topic. Ask to be a guest.
- Send your projects to a publicist to see if they can place them. Publicists work in a variety of ways. Some only get paid when a project gets placed. Some you pay upfront and cross your fingers, though most PR firms won’t take on clients, they don’t think they can place.

03 | Create Evergreen Content To Attract Ideal Interior Design Clients.

You can also accomplish daily outreach in a more indirect way. Rather than sending emails (which can sometimes feel awkward to write) or pounding the pavement (which can be time-consuming), you can create content that will reach your audience while you are sleeping. You can do this by developing share-worthy and searchable content, such as:

Blog posts your ideal client would be searching
- If you are a luxury full-service designer vs an e-designer, the questions your clients search for will be very different. Make sure the content is something your client would ask and be interested in reading.
- Go to answerthepublic.com and put your topic in to see what people are asking, then create content around that

Interview local shops and pros and leverage THEIR audiences to get your interior design business in front of ideal clients. This positions YOU as the expert. Turn these interviews into blog posts and share them via your social media, your website, your newsletter, Pinterest, with local papers, etc.
Start a newsletter and build your email list.

Create a lead magnet your ideal clients would be interested in getting and send it out via a digital newsletter.
Create a consistent cadence for emailing your list so they know what to expect. Read about why we love Flodesk for interior designers here.
Promote your email list on social media, your website, your blog, your email signature, on Pinterest, on Google My Business, everywhere! Here’s an example of one place I promote.
Email your list and tell them to reach out to you! Tell them what you are selling. Tell them how they can get booked in with you. Tell them about your services!! Make offers!!

And remember, you have to ask people to do something! Have a call to action with every.single.thing you put out there.

Every Instagram post should have a purpose. Is this post meant to engage? Entertain? Inspire? Educate?
Every email you send should have a clear CTA. Example: Fill out a project inquiry form. Click here to schedule a discovery call. Download this helpful thing here. Check out our newest project images here. ← You get the idea!
Every page on your website should have a clear next step. GUIDE them through your site as if they are a guest in your home. Don’t let them land on a page and get stuck there with no next step. Your about page? Should link to your contact page. Your services page? Should link to your contact page? Your home page? Should provide them with the paths you would like them to take.

I honestly feel that if you haven’t had at least 5-10 direct outreaches each day, then you’re not marketing your business sufficiently. (Skip to the bottom of this post to see my daily and weekly outreach efforts. I practice what I preach.)

So if you’re like, “Katie, I don’t have time because I'm too busy,” then guess what - if you are truly too busy to market your business because you are so buried in client work, then you should be in a financial position to hire someone to help you with your marketing. Don’t make the mistake of assuming your current flow of business will continue forever. Keep engaging in marketing!

And going one step further - if you are truly too busy to market your business and you say you CAN’T afford to hire marketing help, then you are wrong. Hiring a good marketing person will help you attract higher paying clients who are a better fit so you will generate more revenue and be in a financial position to hire.

ISWIS.

04 | Leverage Google So Local Interior Design Clients Can Find Your Business.

Your potential clients have already identified that they need an interior designer. Interior designers are lucky in this sense! Potential clients are 100% aware of what they need when it comes to designing and furnishing their homes.

They just need to be able to find YOU when they start their search.

And this means if they haven’t received a referral from a friend, they will undoubtedly head to Google and search “interior designer in city+state”.

So you have to make sure your business comes up in that search!

How do you do that?

Set up a Google My Business (GMB) account
Post your portfolio images regularly on GMB
Post new blog posts on GMB
Ask for reviews on GMB

Side note: Google has an algorithm just like social media platforms do. And when you feed the Google algorithm the things it likes (fresh content, new links, new images, reviews, articles people are searching) it helps your company show in search!

Here are some other ways to help with this:

Make sure your images and pages are optimized for search. This means you don’t want the images you post to be titled “blue_street_3974.img.” No one will search for that. Instead, save your images with file names such as “Emerson Interiors Full Service Interior Designer Chicago IL Lake Geneva WI.” People WILL search for that, and voila, they will find you!!!
Sign up for Ahrefs.com to get regular reports to ensure your website is optimized and your links are good.
Consider running Google Ads. Since your interior design business is likely operating in a certain marketplace, running ads to local clients can be highly effective for certain business types.

05 | Niche Down!

This piece of advice seems counter-intuitive. It may seem that in seeking additional clients, it would make sense to broaden your offerings. A wider net catches more fish, right?? Not in this case.

And PS, I know you don’t want MORE fish. You want BETTER fish. BIGGER fish.

In any industry, putting a finer point on your target market may defy conventional thinking, but it IS actually the way you should approach niching yourself.

Don’t go wide. Go deep.

Why? Because interior design clients want what they want. They want to hire a designer who most accurately matches their vision for their project and understands their functional needs. So, by carefully defining and communicating exactly what you offer and who you offer it to, you are more precisely attracting the clients that want THAT.

Don’t be the every-thing-to-everybody designer. Be the designer who does THIS ONE THING for THIS TYPE OF CLIENT for THIS TYPE OF PROJECT. When you speak directly to ONE person, your ideal clients will think, OH MY GOSH, SHE IS TALKING TO ME. THIS IS FOR ME! THIS IS MY SIGN TO REACH OUT TO HER!!

So, be very clear in your marketing what you provide (or want to provide) to clients. Do you want more preppy, layered, colorful projects? SAY IT! Show pictures of it.

Do you want more vacation homes? SAY IT! Show pictures of it.

Do you want more new builds? SAY IT!

Do you want more lake homes? More high-rise condos? Specify exactly what your specialty is (or, what you want it to be). And you will attract those projects. It will honestly feel like magic. And I know this because I have helped interior designers do this with their marketing.

Think about these things:

Would you rather work with the personal stylist who helps women feel more stylish OR the personal stylist who helps female business owners who need to go from client meetings to mom mode without a $10,000/month dry cleaning bill?

🤷

I know who I’m choosing!

A Glimpse Into My Marketing

I know there are a lot of people out there who would write a big post like this and tell you, “do all these 1,793 things, and you’ll get clients”, and then you look at their business, and you’re like, HUH? You don’t provide done-for-you services to clients (you’re a business coach) or even do any of these things. Or they’re only on social media…or they only email when they’re selling something.

Yeah, no.

I practice what I preach!

I promote my business in a very consistent and robust way, using EVERY SINGLE ONE of the strategies described above. And I have built my team over the years to ensure all these things get done (and get done well).

Here’s what my team and I do daily, weekly, and monthly in my business to market it. Let’s take it from the top.

Write one to two blog posts per week.
Send The Weekly Install™ every Friday morning.
Create and share resources in The Resource Library. We currently have eight complimentary resources in here, plus we’ve created additional emails that go out with each resource to support the content further, share about my business and how I help interior designers, and ask them to do something!
Write Instagram posts and stories. We generally create three posts and three stories/week. Every now and again, I throw a reel in there.
Post on Pinterest every day. We have a Pinterest manager who does this with all of our content.
Post all blogs, new products, new website links, and lead magnets on Google My Business throughout the week.
Run ads to promote our paid and free offerings.
Update website SEO and make changes based on our monthly Ahrefs report.
Respond to emails during business hours.
Respond to Instagram messages during business hours.
Engage with our followers' accounts on Instagram.
Do monthly outreach for our designer & expert interview series that we share on the blog.
Send monthly pitches.

I’m telling you this because I'm an established business, yet I still do this much marketing every.single.week.

I know what I’ve done to build my client base over the years. Every program I offer is currently on a waitlist (DTS Method, The Studio, 1:1 services).

AND I STILL DO THIS MUCH MARKETING EVERY SINGLE DAY, WEEK, MONTH. No stopping. Ever.

Or, as my middle daughter used to say, “NEVER SEVER.”

IT NEVER FAILS.

You must ABM.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to getting EYES on your business. And how do you do that? You do things that will get traffic to your website and encourage people to reach out. Executing the five strategies above in a consistent and resolute way WILL get you there.