How To Capture More Leads On Your Interior Design Website

With your interior design business, you can be a lot more creative than other businesses in the way you capture leads on your website. 

Your clients are looking to you to provide creative solutions. Not only during the interior design process, but during the entire experience - from inquiring first about services and well beyond the final finished product. 

One of the most effective ways I have found to capture more interior design leads is by using multiple ways to interact on your website. Most of your clients want to see your work on your website, but you then need to provide them the "next step" to take.

The more resources and interactions you can create, the more likely someone will engage with your website and end up getting in touch with you.

Here is a list of ideas I've used for interior design websites that have increased the amount of ways clients engaged:

- Fill out a project questionnaire
- Download our pricing
- Schedule a free phone consultation
- Schedule a free in-studio consultation
- Take an interior design quiz
- Download our interior design process sheet (PDF download)
- How to prepare for your interior design project (PDF download)

These are just a few ideas. The possibilities are endless, and they should specifically address the unique way that you do business.

With multiple ways for your clientele to engage on your website, the more likely they will try out 1 or 2 of them. And that means, they get to become more familiar with the way you do business. 

If you just stick with the standard "Contact" page on your website, this is old, boring and unclear to your clients. They need you to give them the information they need in order to pick the right interior designer. And the more educated your leads can become about your way of doing business, the more likely they'll pick you over someone else.

To ask your interior design marketing questions, email me at design@jpwdesignstudio.com

Should You List Your Interior Design Prices on your Website?

If you have flat-rate prices, you may be tempted to show those prices on your website, so people know what you offer. After all, it seems transparent, right?

But you are giving away valuable information to clients and your competitors if you do this.

That’s why I recommend you make your prices available only if someone offers to enter their contact info, for the following reasons: 

1. It ensures you capture some info from clientele so you can follow up directly via email or phone

2. It prevents some of your competitors from gaining that knowledge (they don't need to know) 

3. If someone is super serious, and truly want to know your prices, they'll enter their info - which means they're a better lead for you

This way, you can say something like:

“For our interior design pricing, enter your email address below”

Once they enter their email address, you can follow up more with more detailed information and capture them as a client.

4 Methods for the Best SEO Integration For Interior Design Firms

SEO integration sounds tedious. And it is, if you get hung up in all the details you hear about SEO.

SEO just means how Google finds you for a google keyword search. Just go to www.google.com and do a search for “interior design firms” and whatever shows up is basically what SEO is.

If you do SEO right, it can actually be fun and not feel like a big, boring project.

That is because the best way to SEO for your interior design business is to provide valuable content for your ideal clients, based on the skills, knowledge and interests you have as a business owner.

For SEO, the most effective way to do it with the following 4-step process:

1. Remember your lead’s first questions during the sales process. Figure out what your best customers typically ask before they become a client of your.  What questions do they have when first arriving? What worries them about moving forward with your design services? Why did they choose you over someone else?

2. Write about it on a blog. Once you figure out those initial questions your best clients asked in the past, develop content on your website to address those common client questions. It's best to set up a blog and address one question or topic per blog post. This way, Google can easily pick it up on your website and catalog topics with 1 topic at a time. That means you’ll get more visibility in Google overtime.  Write content typically once per week, or as often as you enjoy doing it. And you can keep it super short if you want. Just keep writing!

3. Offer some kind of free offering on your website. This part is important. Because even if you get traffic to your website through SEO (Google keyword searches), if they take no action on your website, it ends up being a total bust. Your free offering could be anything: A downloadable PDF checklist, a free 15-minute phone consultation to answer questions, a free in-studio consultation, or anything else you think is worth offering that wont suck up too much of your time! The goal is to collect email addresses from your website to then follow-up with more valuable content. 

4. Follow up with email marketing and more blog posts. Continue the process over and over and build a collection of email addresses to them continue to give new content, and offer valuable info until new clients trust you as the best interior design business in your area to go to. After all, people listen to others who offer valuable information, not create meaningless noice. Think of the leading people in certain industries. They offer valuable insights to others - for free. On TV, the radio, podcasts, blogs, books and more. Start becoming an expert in your field and give your insights away for free. People will start seeing you as an authority and want to work with you.

Schedule a free phone consultation with me about your website project.

9 Interior Designer Marketing Tips & Ideas

Most interior design firms don’t use their website and email marketing to their advantage.

While most businesses focus on Social Media (where people hang out and are not really looking to make big decisions), most interior designers neglect to use their website and email marketing effectively.

Here are strategies to start utilizing the best tools you have to convert curious leads into clients.

1 | Identify your ideal type of client

You likely know this already, but if you haven’t done it already, write out your ideal client, based on your best previous clients. For instance, their typical age, gender, city/state, their interests, married or single, kids or no kids, residential or commercial. If residential, what type of residential? Single story? Apartment? Get as detailed as possible. If you’ve had 3 or 4 similar client that match each other, then write ALL of your marketing as if you were speaking directly to them.

2 | Identify your most popular, highest-margin, favorite service

The interior designer’s demise is when she or he picks too many services or angles to business. In order to scale and grow, you must identify which single, number 1 service is your top service. Whether it is e-design, design concepts, design/build. Once you identify your number 1 top service, develop a step-by-step process that can work for every single project you do. And for an interior design project, this can often be hundreds or thousands of steps. Can you imagine trying to scale a business with 3 different primary services, each which has it’s own one hundred-step process? You’ll never grow. Identify your best seller, and focus on a single core service.

3 | Clearly convey your primary service and primary client on your marketing

If Instagram is your #1 marketing method, always speak to your ideal target client as if you were speaking to just 1 person. This way, your ideal clientele will gravitate towards you specifically, because you speak their language! Then, focus on the 1 thing you do really well, and continue it through all your marketing, all the way to your website.

4 | Lead people directly to your website with a clear Call To Action

Start developing a website which actually engages your target clientele. This means you collect information from them in unique ways. Don’t just expect people to fill out a simple Contact form. Instead, gain their interest through the following methods:

• A PDF download or your pricing, services, of process

• A free project quesitonnaire

• A free “style quiz” or something interactive

• A free phone consultation

• “Ask the designer” free Q&A interactions, interview or podcast

Anything which is going to engage and interest people from your Instagram or other social media marketing to drive people to your website and take action by filling out their email address

5 | Capture their email and follow up regularly

While you have Instagram or other social media marketing, people become more serious clients once they are on your email address list. People are frivolous about making their social media accounts public. But their email address is a little more private. If they give it to you on their website, you’ve started to capture a real potential lead. Follow up with email marketing at least once per week for as long as it takes to convert them to a lead.

6 | Initiate a clear process to start services with you

Once you’ve made a path for clientele to follow from social media, to your website, to your email marketing, the lead has engaged with you in numerous ways, and they are going to start feeling more comfortable with you from afar. Using a podcast, audio recordings, and video recordings will then allow you to become more familiar to your potential clients. You can then start the “Le't’s get started with your interior design project” technique and Call them to a sale. Use words like this:

• Request a quote

• Request a proposal

• Schedule a design consultation

• Schedule an in-studio meeting

• Schedule a meeting at your project location

• Request an estimate

Or any other wording that makes sense for your business. At this point, get ready to follow up a few more times to ensure the lead has all their questions answered. This can often take 1 to 10 more times of engagement, so follow through once a lead comes in.

8 | Deliver and follow through

Marketing doesn’t stop there. You must make sure the client is super happy with the process you go through. Develop a clear project process that takes your client through a step-by-step journey that is clear. Remember that you are focusing on a primary service with hundreds of checklist items you know very, very well. So perfect every detail and ensure that you delivery is amazing.

9 | Go above and beyond

When the project is almost complete, do something a little extra and above-and-beyond so your clients are thrilled. Interior Design is the perfect industry to wow people, because they’re going to tell EVERYONE about their home or design project. So if you wow your clients, you’ll have a marketing agent for life after this process is over. This part to marketing is crucial. Stay in touch with your clients will beyond the end of the project to add value, such as how to take care of their new space, or ideas for how to make the most of their finished project. Don’t overlook the power of following all the way through and beyond way past the finished line.

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Should An Interior Designer Use Squarespace or Wordpress?

Choosing the right website platforms depends on what business you do, how much revenue you bring in, and how much your business depends on a custom websites.

Put simply, here are the differences between these two platforms:

WordPress is for businesses who need full customization to match their business’s unique requirements, like a fully custom Ecommerce shop, or a fully interactive survey website, or software company that is interested in extensive website customization. WordPress gives your web developer the ability to create custom plugins and unique experiences that larger businesses (who have thousands of customers) need in order to grow their business.

Squarespace is ideal for small professional businesses, like for architects, interior designers, therapists, doctors, lawyers, accountants or photographers, who need a professional website, but do not need high levels of custom web development. This keeps your business website costs low while still having a beautiful, effective website for your business.

We build websites for professionals with Squarespace. Get in touch with your questions here.

What Marketing Tools Interior Designers Should Get Familiar With

Building a business online requires making thousands of small decisions. It's almost like building a custom home, with decisions to make about what door handles, window trims, flooring and countertops to select. 

What's important when building an online business, is knowing the right order to create your marketing material in, so you are not overwhelmed with everything that needs to come together.

1) Website
Everything you do online needs to come back to your website. It is the home base for your business online. It is the most important marketing tool you have and the first thing that needs to come together.

2) Logo Design
While working on your website design, a logo & branding scheme needs to come together at its own pace. That is because your logo is something you’ll be using for years to come, so it should be done carefully.

3) Email Marketing
To keep your business contacts, leads and clients in a single spot, I recommend Mailchimp.com - Email marketing should be the first marketing tool you use for your business, to collect emails and market to the 90% of Americans who use email on a daily basis.

4) Yelp & Google Business
To get started on SEO, the two best places to get started are setting up a Google Business account & a Yelp Business account and start asking previous clients for reviews. This will help jump-start your visibility online. Another good place to ask for testimonials is on Facebook, but should be a distant third.

5) Blogging & SEO
Blogging & SEO go together. In my opinion, SEO is a very long-term marketing strategy that can take months before seeing results, so this is something you should plan to work on at least once per week for as long as you are able to blog.

6) Google Adwords
Once everything is set up and working well on your website and optimized, you're ready to start online Ads. Google Ads is the most effective advertising platform because it target specific keywords, rather than broad demographics like on Facebook or Instagram ads. 

7) Social Media & Facebook Ads
Most businesses start with Social Media marketing. Yet it has the lower return on time & investment compared with any other online marketing method. That's why we recommend you focus on it as the very last marketing method you work on.

What interior designer should showcase on their website

Establish Your Niche & Expertise
If you’re an architect, interior designer, builder or photographer, don’t get lost in the crowd of every other professional. Specialize in a clear niche, that is very focused, so that your website speak to your ideal client.

Clearly State Your Primary Service
Don’t overwhelm visitors with everything you do. Focus on the 1 or 2 primary and best services you offer, the ones that draw people in for the first time, and capture their attention with your highest-converting, highest-margin services.

Address Your Client’s Primary Concerns
Clients are worried about hiring you. Are you going to get the job done? Do you have the right expertise? Are you going to be responsive each step of they way? Address their questions & concerns ahead of time, so that it makes it so much easier for your clientele to get started and hire you.

Create a ‘Call To Action’
Websites with the typical “Contact” page get lower conversion rates. That’s because it is too generic. Tell your clients the first step in getting started with you. Do you offer a free 20 minute phone consultation? Do you offer a free in-person consult?

What are the most important pages for an Interior Design, Architecture, Photography or other Portfolio website?

As you prepare for your website, it’s good to limit the scope of your website and focus in on the most important things you need to say on your website.

The vast majority of your website visitors to your website will only look at 3 pages.

So if you had to only have 3 pages on your website, what would they be?

For most interior designers, architects, and other professionals, it will typically be: Home, Portfolio & Contact.

Below are typical industry average percentages on the numbers of visitors to your website will actually look at a particular page.

100% means 100% of the people who go to your website will view the page.

For instance, only 20% of web visitors will look at your Contact page.  And only 5% will bother to look at a Press page.

Home - 100%
Portfolio - 50%
Services - 25%
Contact - 20%
About (or Team) - 10%
Press - 5%
Blog - 1 to 5%
Resources - 1% 

So, as you prepare your website and decide how large your website should be, and what pages to include, you can look at the list above to determine which pages will be worth it for you to prepare your text & images for.

Does Squarespace Work For Architects?

If you’ve been told that only a platform like WordPress is best for your architecture firm, whoever told you was wrong. Squarespace puts your architectural firm in charge of your own website by making it easy for you or a member from your team to easily update your website with new project photos and updates. Archaic web technologies, like WordPress, put you at the mercy of a web developer for your architectural marketing. Here are a few architectural websites we’ve done for our clients on Squarespace.

Request a free phone consult on pricing for a minimalist website design.

The 3 Most Important Tools Your Interior Design Website Should Have

Most architects, interior designers, photographers and other professionals showcase just their portfolio or services. But that’s not enough to drive new leads on your website.

You must establish a specific niche that clearly targets your ideal kind of clients. The ones you enjoy working with, and the ones you know how to service really well. 

Instead of just using beautiful pictures, your website needs these to display these 3 most important pieces of information:

1. What is your market niche and primary service? If you're an Architect, is your best selling service designing mid-rise buildings in Seattle? If you're an Interior Designer, do you specialize in elaborate Master Bedroom spaces in Texas? If you're a Photographer, do your best clients come from commercial photography for law firms in Chicago? Establishing a clear niche helps you target your best clients, and they'll respond to your website immediately because you're a 100% match to their needs.

2. Why will your specific niche help solve your client's problems? Clients are looking to solve problems and experience progress. How do your services specifically address your client's concerns? Will your interior design services save your clients tons of money? Will your architectural services address the complex zoning laws of New York? Will your construction company get the project done on time no matter what it takes? What is the unique offering you have that no other firm in your industry can accomplish the way you can? 

3. How can your clients easily take the first step in working with you? Your website needs to be the very first interaction clients take with you. And it needs to be so darn simple, they'll practically stumble into it because it requires very little effort. Clearly show how clients can make the first step towards potentially work with you, either by providing a free consult, a free meeting, by filling out a project questionnaire, or by requesting a proposal. Make this "Call To Action" so easy to find, that it's on every single page as clickable, rectangular button. 

If you have these 3 things on your website, you'll already be ahead of 80% of interior designers, architects, photographers or other professional business in your industry
Most creative businesses don't make these things clear on their website. And they're losing business because of it.

Or get a proposal and estimate for your branding & web design project.

The most important pages and content for your Interior Design Website

You are trying to plan for your website, right? Because every business needs a website to display their most professional work.

I have you covered.

The three most important pages on your website are:

• The home page

• Your portfolio

• Your contact page

Why? Because that’s what your clients want to see. They want to see your work, and they want to see if you’re the right fit for their project.

95% of visitors look at these 3 pages only. The other pages are often skipped over. People are pressed for time. They want to make a decision on who to hire. And they’re looking at 5 or 10 of your competitors. Give them what they want!

When I design websites for commercial photographers, architects, interior designers, and builders, I tie every single page to the "Contact" page. That is where we want people to end up to "Take Action" on your website.

So at the end of every single web page, you need a clear way for people to get started with you. They’re not going to hire you today. They just want to see if you’re maybe, possibly, the right fit for their needs.

So use works like: "Here is how to take the first step in working with us, get a proposal, request a phone call, or schedule a meeting". 

On the home page of your website, you need to account for these 3 areas:

1. Explain clearly what you do so people aren't confused

2. Tell people why you can clearly tackle the problems they are having and take care of their worries

3. Tell them how to take the very first step, the easiest step in order to see if your business is the right fit for your clients 

Do this, and you will already top 95% of your competitors. Because no one in the industries of architecture, interior design, custom home building, or commercial photography do this. They just take pretty pictures of their work, but don’t give clients any context or meaning.

After all, your clients are worried if you will actually solve their problems and do it professionally. So clearly showcase that you can by addressing their fears.

What should you name your interior design business?

In the age of Website searches, your name is an important part of the lead-generating process. If people can't find you in a Google search, or type your web domain name correctly, you will definitely lose business. It might only be 5% of your business, but that is 5% you should try to keep. 

The important areas to think when choosing your business name are:

1. Is it easy to spell?  If people don't type your name correctly, you will lose business online.

2. Is it easy to say?  If they can't spell it correctly, then they won't type it correctly.

3. Can it be found on Google? If your company name is John Smith Company, then you will compete with 1000 other Jon Smiths. Find a name which has very few other people using on Google. No celebrities, no big businesses, no over-used common names.

4. Is the name easy to remember? If the name is not memorable, if other people can't remember it later, you will lose opportunities. Test your name out with other people. See if others remember the name a few days later.

5. Is the company domain name available? If your company name is "John Jacob Interiors" your domain name should be www.johnjacobinteriors.com. Names with & or Inc. at the end make things more confusing. Keep it as simple as possible.

6. Is it easy to type? If your fingers get all jumbled together when typing the name, people will misspell it frequently and you wont be found on Google searches.

We help people with their business branding, naming & logo design.

Get in touch today for pricing or a consultation.

Should interior designers have a blog on their website?

While blogging is a great way to bring stable traffic to your business through SEO keyword searches on Google, it may not be the right time for you to get started. 

Here's how to know what you're ready to start blogging on your website:

1. You have expert knowledge in your industry that you have spent years learning about and practicing. Now it's time to share that knowledge with the world to benefit other people's lives by helping others be educated in your area of expertise. For instance, I've been doing web design casually for 19 years, and 8 years professionally. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I realized I had amassed a lot of expert knowledge that I felt confident enough that my insights were valuable to other businesses. 

2. You're already getting leads to your business and generating stable income. For many business owners, blogging feels like a chore if the rest of their business is not figured out. Blogging should be one of the last things you implement. Blogging should come well after things like establishing your website, setting up email marketing, creating ads in Google & Facebook, and standardizing your business model. Blogging & SEO, in my experience, is the slowest way to get new clients and leads to your website, but it is also one of the most stabilizing marketing methods if done regularly for many months. Blogging should be done once all of your other business elements are roughly in place.

3. The idea of sharing your ideas is exciting. For most business owners, blogging is a chore. What should you write about? Will other people read it? Over time, if you keep at it, you will get more and more readers in the next 6-12 months. But if you do not enjoy the idea of writing, then it will be an unnecessary chore.

4 benefits of blogging

1. Your writing has the potential to be found by Google Searches for years to come. There are blogs I have written and that my clients have written from over 2 years ago which still get found and read today from doing keyword searches on Google. Blogging is one of the most effective ways to build SEO value into your website. I get thousands of views to my websites every month because of blogging.

2. You establish yourself as a leader in your industry. Writing about expert topics that most other people do not know is an important way to build credibility for your company. 

3. Genuinely help other people. Reading is one of the most valuable ways to learn about complex or theoretical topics. When you write about your expert knowledge, you given hundreds and thousands of people the opportunity to make their lives better. Your audience wants to learn, and you can genuinely make people's lives better by teaching them things they would have a hard time finding elsewhere.

4. Practice your skill or writing and communicating. Blogging is a very low-risk way of practicing your skills in writing. Websites can be changed at any time, unlike a published book, so you can remove blog posts, edit them, change them and use it to get better at expressing your thoughts and ideas. 

If you love writing, if you want to share your knowledge with others, and you believe that your knowledge with help others learn new topics, then it might be a good time to start blogging.

Here's how to get started:

1. Write at least once per week. The more topics you write, the more opportunities there are for being found in Google searches as well. Plus, people want to see that you are consistent and involved, which builds credibility as well. 

2. Track your ideas. You can save ideas on paper, in a project manager, on a phone app, or as a draft on your blog. I personally save all my ideas as a 'Draft' in my Squarespace blog so I can come back and work on them later, or schedule them out in the future. This way, I'm not losing any progress or losing ideas as they come up.

3. Use your blogs also as email newsletters. When you write, you can reuse topics in all other kinds of places, like emails, social media, even e-books or how-to manuals for clients and customers. 

The 5 biggest website mistakes that Interior Designers make

Your website is the most important marketing tool your business will have in 2018.

Today, the internet is far more important than tradition marketing. Recent research is even showing that word of mouth referrals have become less important as well. People are able to "see for themselves" and do additional research on the internet to find the product or service that is right for them. 

You already know that your website is an important marketing tool - but it is likely even more important than you realize. And it will become even more so as the years go on.

Today, a website can make or break your business. And I see it all the time. Businesses with poor websites are more likely to fail. And businesses with strong websites are more likely to succeed. And that is because it is the most important sales tool your business has in 2018. 

Since 2010, I have helped over 600 businesses develop websites. Back then, you could get away with a poorly designed website, because it wasn't quite as important as it is now.

After seeing what the most successful businesses and least successful businesses do with their website & online marketing, here are the 5 biggest mistakes business owners make when building their website:

1. Choosing A Platform That Is Too Complex To Manage
I've heard of this from hundreds of clients and also prospective clients who end up not working with me because I do not work with WordPress. Non web-experts, website developers, and people on the street know that WordPress is the biggest and most popular web platform to use. Second is Shopify. The problem with these platforms is that they require tens of thousands of dollars per year to work properly. Not only in the set-up costs, but even more so for maintenance costs. They are so code-heavy, that in order to fully use the website, a web developer must constantly be involved, which sucks thousands of dollars per year (sometimes tens of thousands) out of your business. I see this all the time, and it's not fun for the business owner. Custom WordPress & Shopify websites only make sense for very large companies with very large budgets. For everyone else, Squarespace is the best web platform. I don't get anything out of promoting their platform. I have just seen hundreds of businesses thrive with Squarespace, because their costs are lower, they can manage the majority of the site on their own and the website stays up-to-date with the best technology on its own. These are the reasons I decided about 2 years ago to exclusively work with Squarespace. It's the right move for small businesses, and I will no longer touch WordPress or Shopify. 

2. Building A Website With No "Call To Action"
Without driving people to take some sort of action on your website, your website then becomes a dead-end. If someone comes to your website and says "What should I do now?" with no clear way to take the next step, the your website has become a waste of money for your business. There are 2 kinds of "Calls to Action." One is a "Soft Lead," and the other is a "Hard Lead." A "Soft Lead" invites users to learn more and initiate in the process to learn about your brand over time, such as an email newsletter, a free online course, or a PDF pricing sheet download. A "Hard Lead" is typically when someone is ready to make the jump towards making a purchase very soon. For instance "Buy Now" or "Get Started Now" are hard leads, because they are geared toward the client or customer who is very close to making a decision. They just need you to give them the right place to jump into. If your "Calls To Action" are vague or nonexistent, you will have a severely ineffective website. 

3. Building A Website That Does Not Capture Email Addresses
The most important ongoing marketing tool you have is email marketing. While about 50% of Americans have a Facebook account, and about 25% of Americans have an Instagram account - about 90% of Americans use email. What's more is that people who use email are more intention about their decisions, while Social Media users are often using the platforms for social means, and not productive means. Yet most business owners are tempted to use Social Media and not Email Marketing for their business. Even today, the most effective marketing you can use for your business is Email Marketing. Typically, you collect emails from "Soft Leads" on your website as well as the "Hard Leads" - and if you are not collecting emails or sending our email marketing on a weekly basis, your business will stagnate. Most of my Clients do not use email for fear of the time commitment or not knowing what to say. But I believe you should be afraid of not using email marketing, for the sake of your business. 

4. Building A Website With No Blog, SEO or Value-Added System
As soon as you become an expert in your field, you should be blogging on your website. That is because the majority of people looking for products or services do their homework to become educated, typically through Google Searches. People want to look at reviews, to learn about something - at least mildly learn the basics - and weigh their options. Creating an ongoing blog each week will establish you as an expert. Your posts will also be picked up by Google. And when you post valuable knowledge about your industry to help people's lives become better, people will trust your brand more than other brands. Starting a blog right away isn't always the easiest thing to do for business owners, but the long-term benefits are impressive. For my own websites, and for my clients that blog, the weekly or daily work can result in thousands of views per month to your website to ensure your business will be sustainable for many years to come. 

5. Not Channeling Online Marketing Towards Your Website
Finally, if no one goes to your website - then your website sits dead with no value a all. Email Marketing and SEO are basic building blocks to build sustainable ongoing marketing on your website. But having other third-party websites bring traffic to you is also crucial to build sustainability online. My personal favorites for online marketing are Yelp and Google Business - which are business-oriented platforms and are free to set up. The final stage of marketing for your business should be paid advertising like Facebook Ads & Google Ads. Online ads can cost hundreds of dollars per month and take about 30 days to optimize, so it's not typically my favorite to start out with. But once your website is up and running, and working properly by collecting Leads and Email Addresses, Blogging & SEO integration - your final investment into Online Advertising will be worth it when all the other pieces of your website are already in place.

These are the 5 major areas that business owners fail to think about. Often times, business owners are given opinions by non-website experts, especially when it comes to which platform to use. But focusing on these 5 areas will only bring your business stability in the coming years. As retail stores and malls close across the United States and the world, your website is now your true "storefront" that you should work hard to make sure it is never torn down.

Are Squarespace Websites easy for interior designers to edit on their own?

Squarespace is the easiest and most simple platform for small businesses to manage on their own. If your Squaespace web designer was to die or retire, you'd still be in the best position possible compared to other platforms (like WordPress and Shopify) to edit the website yourself or find someone else who can easily help.

That's because Squarespace is a closed-source web platform, unlike WordPress which is open-source. Open source means there is a lot of custom functionality that can be added, but that it is very code-heavy and requires a skilled web developer to keep up and manage to make sure it is still working. 

But when you pay for web hosting with Squarespace, you're paying for their technology, which is very high quality and rarely ever breaks. If something on Squarespace isn't working, the team at Squarespace has hundreds of employees working to rapidly fix the problem.

If you are a small business, sole proprietor, or even a mid-sized business, Squarespace is the best platform to put you - the Client and business owner - in control of your website, and not in the hands of a web developer.

Ideas for Interior Designers To Capture Email Addresses with Call To Actions

Collecting email addresses is the most important marketing goal your business should have. That is because Return on Investment is the highest of any online marketing method. And more people have an email address than a Facebook or Instagram account. 

When collecting your email addresses, your "Call To Action" needs to be something unique, compelling and worthwhile for anyone who goes on your website. What I've learned is that you must constantly think of new ideas to capture more emails by different creative methods in order to figure out what clicks with your audience. 

It's also good to save as many of those email capturing ideas as possible, and use them in a variety of ways over time. There are a ton of creative things you can do, for instance:

- A Checklist PDF download
- A free video course
- A free email course
- A free trial or sample
- A free phone call consultation, quote or pricin
- A free e-book in PDF form
- Exclusive access to some sort of membership

The possibilities are endless, and creative unique ideas work better than traditional, boring and repetitive incentives such as:
- Sign up for our free newsletter
- Get 15% off your next order

Capturing emails should be the number one purpose of your website. If people are not submitting their email address on your website, then you are likely not using your website effectively.

Should I Include Testimonials On My Interior Design Website?

The most common places for a small business to get testimonials is on Yelp, Google Business and Facebook. 

Very rarely, you will have people who willingly post a review on your business unless you ask them to do so. And the best way to do this is typically several weeks after their experience. If you ask for a review right when they pay, they may have the negative association with your business. You really want to end their experience and ask for their review on a positive note, when you've had time to provide a positive memory, a gift or a free after-payment service that gives them a good experience. 

Once you've done that, it makes it really easy to ask for a testimonial on Yelp, Google Business or Facebook - usually on whichever one seems like it will be the most important for your business. Don't ask for a review on all 3, just ask for a review on one of them. 

Once you've done that, you can easily use those testimonials on your website. However, you may not need to. What people need is "social proof" - which is proof that other customers or clients had a good experience in working with you, as well as proof that you are reliable, trustworthy, professional and educated. 

Testimonials are just one way to prove that. And you really only need a few. But there are lots of other ways to provide social proof, or show that your business is professional. 

For instance:

• Show real-life examples of other work you've done for other clients. This, in a way, is like a testimonial because it shows the final outcome other people experienced.

• Include a professional photo of yourself with info about yourself that ties to your Yelp, Houzz, Google Business, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other online social websites that prove you are credible and trustworthy

• Pull just a few, 2 or 3, testimonials for your website. People will still research you on other platforms liked LinkedIn, so you don't have to put everything. 

How Often You Should Interior Designers Send Email Marketing

Most small businesses are scared to send out regular email marketing to their clients and customers. But it is the most important way to drive new business back to your website, being more important than Social Media & online advertising. Don't be afraid if you're email marketing isn't that good at first, or that people might unsubscribe. It's more important that you continue to practice and send out email marketing at least once per week. 

If you're a small business, using Mailchimp.com is the best way to get started because it is so easy to use and learn, as long as you understand the basic principals of email marketing. 

Should Your Interior Design Firm Use Google Ads?

In 2018, the number one way people learn new things is from the internet. Brick and mortar stores are going out of business, and online stores are growing in sales. 

So if your business is still relying on older methods of marketing from the past, like flyers, brochures, magazine ads or business cards, and you're not putting over 50% of your marketing investment into the internet, then you will definitely see a decline in your business over the coming years. More and more people do their research online, and that trend will continue to rise for several more years.

I've mentioned multiple times before that Google SEO (the way Google ranks your website when someone does a search) is an important way to help people find your business online. 

But the 2nd most important online marketing tool is Google Adwords, which is the paid version of how Google shows your website in searches. 

Now, Google Adwords is not for everyone. If you don't know what your business model is, or if you sell low-cost products, then Google Adwords is not for you. 

There are 4 things you need to make sure your business has before you start using Google Adwords:

1. You must run a business with high margin services or products.
The cost per click of a Google Ad is very high. The average click for a competitive keyword is usually around $5 or $10 per click. So let's say you need 100 visitors to your website in order to get one person to sign a contract with you and start a project. That means you've spent up to $1,000 USD on Google Adwords to get that client. If the product you sell is $1,000 USD, then you have broken even. But if you perform a service, like a custom home design service that brings in an average of $20,000 USD in profit per client, then $1,000 USD in advertising is likely worth the investment. Google Ads is very expensive, but can be very effective, so you must know what your margins are for whatever you are selling. An average Google Adwords campaign will typically cost about $300 USD per month in order to effectively drive people to your website and capture a few good leads. 

2. You must be specialized in your field of expertise with not too much or too little competition.
Google Adwords works well if you're not competing with huge brands with giant budgets. But if you are a small service business with a popular type of service like an architect, interior designer or photographer, Google Adwords is more likely a better fit for you. If you sell things that are too easily accessible to everyone like selling jewelry or clothing, then Google Adwords will likely be a wasted investment.

3. You must have a well-designed website that is easy for people to use and understand.
Nothing is worse than getting 100 people to your website, and then seeing them leave your website because it doesn't make any sense. Your website must be clean, easy to use, and match what the visitor was expecting to see. You must clearly explain what your business does and how it will help your visitors solve the problem they are thinking about. Without doing this, Google Adwords is a total waste of money.

4. You must have a way to clearly capture email addresses and leads through contact forms, phone numbers and clickable email addresses.
Your website must not only be easy to understand, but visitors must have a clear way to interact with it. That's why a "Call To Action" is so important. If someone finds your website for the very first time with a Google Ad, they need to understand what they need to do in order to "Take the first step" with your business. It could be to download a pricing sheet, request a phone consultation, schedule an appointment, get a free online course, or simply ask a question. Whatever you have seen work well for your business with previous clients or customers is what your website needs to do in order to clearly lead people to interact and take action on your website. 

If your business matches these 4 main criteria, then you will likely find success with using Google Ads. The cost of using it might scare people away, but compared to traditional methods of advertising, such as Magazine Ads, Newspaper Ads, or postcard delivery, Google Ads is still often less expensive. 

Plus, with Google Ads you are targeting people specifically by the keywords they type in, as well as their demographics - such as by Zip code or by age or gender. With traditional marketing, you are trying to hit everyone at once, and just hoping that someone might be interested in your service. With Google Ads, you have a higher chance of matching your ads with someone who will be interested in working with you.

4 Elements Your Interior Design Website Home Page Should Have

On average, about 50% of your customers or clients will look at your home page, and then leave. Often times, your customers are comparing you to 5 of your competitors in order to figure out which business is right for them. They quickly look at your home page, scan everything for just a few seconds, and then leave your website if it's not clear that your business offering services that match what they're looking for. 

That's why perfecting the home page of your website is so important. Your website's home page is the make-or-break moment that determines if visitors will view other pages and eventually take some sort of action on your website.

Here are the 4 elements your website Home Page must have in order to be effective
 

1   |  Show The Most Popular Example Of Your Work
I've worked with a lot of great clients who have tons of incredible work building custom homes, creating interior spaces, or taking photographs for special events. But there is always just one or two examples of your work that everyone talks about & everyone loves. You'll figure this out my talking with clients and customers over the phone or at your office. Listen to what people say they like as examples to help inform which photos you should be showcasing on your home page. For instance, the first 3 examples on my own website are the 3 most clients say the love and talk about often. You don't have to show every photo you have. In fact, the most effective websites only show their absolute best work and nothing else.
 

2   |  Clearly State Your Most Popular 1 or 2 Products Or Services
You might have 5 or 10 services you offer. But overwhelming people with every single service you can do on the home page will make it less clear about what you offer. And usually, people will come in for that main product or service you offer, and come back later as a repeat customer for other product offerings. For instance, most of my clients come to me for Website Design or Branding - which is the essential foundation of their online marketing - and later will do Email Marketing, SEO, Google Adwords or Social Media Marketing. But 90% of my clients are initially looking for help with a Website or Branding Design. You want to focus on your brand new customers and address the 1 or 2 most popular inquiries that people are always coming to you for.
 

3  |  Clearly State Why Your Product Or Service Solve's Your Customers Problem
Explaining why your product or service is valuable to your ideal customer or client is going to make it so much easier to connect with their values and goals. You'll discover this as well while talking with your clientele. Knowing why your customers need the product you offer will help you understand their goals or frustrations, and makes it easier to discuss how to solve those problems. For instance, most of my Clients are looking to "establish their business as a professional leader" as well as to have a strong, clean aesthetic that accurately conveys the quality of their own work. 
 

4   |  Lead People To Take The First Step Through a Contact Form
Most websites are dead ends. People visit a website and see no clear way to engage with the website to take the first step towards become a client. And most of your visitors are not going force their way through your website and figure out what they need to do. You need to make it really easy and clear how to use your website with as little effort on their part as possible. These "Calls To Action" make it easier to help your visitor take the next logical step towards becoming a paying customer or client. So instead of using vague action words like "Contact Us" or "Learn More", use language that has a more specific goal in mind, such as "Get A Free Quote Now" or "Schedule An Appointment" or "Visit Our Showroom" or "Download Our Pricing Sheet." These kinds of words help the visitor engage with a specific purpose that clearly shows what the next step should be. 
 

Making these simple changes to your website's home page can often double the amount of leads you get through your website, as long as you are already getting some traffic to your website in the first place.