As designers and decorators there should be no question as to whether you plan to blog or not.  You definitely should be a blogger if you work in this industry.  Why you ask?  I don’t have time you say?  Nonsense I say, you must make time and this is why:

Free Advertisement – That’s right everyone blogging is free (well except for your time to write it).  Who doesn’t want free advertisement?  If you are like myself and many other designers we run very small operations, a lot of us working on our own, and we don’t have advertising budgets to be placing ads in the latest issue of Style At Home.  Why not take advantage of this amazing resource we have at our fingertips for self-promotion.  The more you update your blog the better your web presence will be and there will be a higher chance that potential clients will find you when they do as everyone seems to do now and Google services just like yours.

Ongoing Education - As designers/decorators/stylists we should all be hungry for knowledge about new and exciting ideas in our industry.  We are a part of an industry that changes day by day.  Colours, styles, furniture, art, fabrics, you name it, the things that make our world go round are always changing.  As a commitment to our industry and a commitment to our clients we should all be learning and growing in our trade.  Blogging is the perfect reason to research changes and new and wonderful ideas and then share with others what you have learned.

How do you stay current?  Set up a Google Alerts for the topics you want to know about, or subscribe to other great interiors blogs, your own community of designers is a great resource as we can all share and learn together.  Here are a few of the design blogs that I frequent, Tobi Fairley, House of Turquoise, and Sashay just reading them inspires me daily.

Be the Expert - Why do we buy the things we do?  Why do you hire one company over another when you are looking for a service provider?  The answer is simple, trust.  You trust that the product you are buying or the person you are engaging in services with.  In our industry of design and decor trust is a huge barrier to get over.  You are asking people to let you into their home to see their most private spaces and help them make them more beautiful.  That is a huge gap to overcome.  Why should they trust you in their home over anyone else?  

A lot of designers and decorators assume the only issue potential clients worry about is the price when this is truly not the case.  Yes price of service plays a factor but it is the trust they have in you that is the real key.  How can they trust someone they don’t know?  Let them get to know you by being the expert who provides tips, ideas, tricks, new products etc. via your blog.  They will begin to know you via the blogs you write and in time will feel more comfortable about hiring you to work with.  The more that your potential clients trust you the more likely they are to engage in your services, plain and simple.

So now that you know why you should be a blogger it is time to find out how to go about it.  Read my 10 Tips to Starting a Blog in the Design Trade.  And if that post doesn’t help you enough, give me a call or send me an e-mail I am here to help wherever I can.

Happy Blogging!