How to Beat ‘Invisible Interior Designer Syndrome’

Your Interior Design Business

You’ve been networking, advertising and asking for referrals, but no new clients are coming in.

No phone calls. No new appointments. No referrals. No signed contracts. Just … silence.

I hate to break this to you, but you may have what I call… Invisible Interior Designer Syndrome. Fortunately, this condition is curable.

Invisible Interior Designer Syndrome is an equal-opportunity menace. It doesn’t just hit lazy designers, or those that don’t care. In fact, it may surprise you to find out that every interior designer starts out this way.

Although some grow out of it quickly, others seem to get stuck there. And…being stuck with Invisible Interior Designer Syndrome is amazingly frustrating. Let’s see what we can do to get you out of there…

1. Your prospects are looking. Do they find you? – Believe it or not, even with the hundreds of millions of interior

designers out there today, not enough are putting much effort into being visible in the places where their prospects are looking.

Did you know 34 million Google searches are performed every single day? Do you know how many searches are for interior designers? What about interior designers in your specific area?

What if you knew there were 100,000 people per month searching for interior design information online?

Then let’s be conservative and say just 10% were ready to purchase the kind of design related services you offer…that’s 10,000 people looking and ready to buy!

And if just a measly 1% of those prospective buyers were in your area… that would be 1,000 buyers in your locale searching for you every single month! Do they find you?

If you’re not online… get online!

If you are online… expand your reach!

2. Blog. Blog. Blog. Even if you don’t know what to write. - If you have a solid understanding in the basics of  interior design or your specialty, but not the world’s foremost expert, you’re in luck.

Most people, are beginners in any topic. So start writing to prospects on your blog, as if they were beginners.

Teach them the basics that you’ve mastered. Go back and teach them as if they were the newbie you used to be.

You’ll understand the newbie perspective far better than the 10,000-hour genius ever could. She’s too far removed from what it’s like to be new.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Go find a kingdom of blind people to help. Become an expert by helping people who know less than you do.

3. Stay with it. Give it time. – It amazes me how many designers gripe about being invisible when they have an outdated website, no blog and no email newsletter – standard advertising methods in today’s business environment.

Get on board with today’s savvy clients and get online. Yes, it takes time. But no, it doesn’t have to take years to get noticed and recognition. You do however, have to be persistent and continue to diligently pursue your prospects online.

Remember… every successful interior designer started out with an audience of two … yourself and your other email address. How far beyond that you grow depends on how well you apply yourself to these principles.

How about you?

Have you been through Invisible Interior Designer Syndrome? How long did it take you to break out? Or are you still stuck there now?

Leave a comment and let us know your favorite strategies for getting visible again.