There is a question almost every designer asks at some stage, and it usually arrives during that uncomfortable moment when the enquiry form is quiet and the motivation to post anything feels painfully low. How long do you actually need to spend on marketing your interior design business? It sounds like a simple question, but most designers either underestimate how long it takes (by a lot) or completely burn themselves out quickly (because they’re posting without a strategy).
Before we go any further, here is your quick win. If you only have one hour this week, spend it improving one existing piece of content instead of trying to create something new. Update an old blog post or rewrite a caption on a recent post to make sure it’s really clear who that content is for and how it helps them (or why they should care!) It is the fastest way to get results without doubling your workload. If you haven’t got much content to work with, choose one topic and split it into three separate posts (even if it’s just explaining the same concept three different ways).
When it comes to marketing, the reality is much less exciting than people think. You do not need to spend hours every day and you don’t need to be on every platform. You also don’t need to chase trends or pump out content for the sake of it. You only need two things. You need consistency and you need clarity. Consistency looks like choosing a rhythm you can keep. Clarity looks like knowing who you are speaking to and why.
For most designers who already have momentum, two to four hours a week is genuinely enough to see steady growth. That might look like recording one simple video, writing one blog post a week, sharing one story about what you are learning, or giving your potential clients one helpful insight that is relevant to them. Most designers waste time because they sit down to create something from scratch instead of building on what they already have. The truth is that most potential clients do not need more content from you. They need the same message said clearly, repeatedly and confidently in different ways!
I always tell my mentees that marketing is not a sprint. It is a small, consistent practice of showing your face, sharing your opinion on design and letting people get to know what you’re about and why. When that becomes a habit, you stop feeling like you are shouting into the void and you start seeing real conversations, enquiries and opportunities appear.
That’s when you find your people in the theoretical “same room”. That’s when you finally feel like you’ve found your peeps (those that agree with you on the topics you talk about and the ones who love the work you do.. even if it’s too gothic for some). The overwhelming feeling that designers get from trying to market themselves comes from indecision, not from the work itself!
One thing that most designers don’t realise though is that if you haven’t picked up momentum yet in your business, you will need to spend a bit more time building that visibility at the beginning. What most people do is they put in soooo much effort, but when they don’t see any results they stop and say “it doesn’t work”.
I have this analogy and it’s perfect for marketing your interior design business. When you’re growing your audience and launching your business ) or relaunching if you’ve not been marketing for a while), the amount of energy you’re putting in isn’t visible yet. It’s like getting a pot to boil on the stove. The first ten minutes there is so much energy going into heating up that pot, but you don’t see anything happening… not for ages!
There is this period of time where everyone puts in this huge effort and there appear to be no results whatsoever. It’s just like that pot! But then, just when you think it’s not going to boil, you see one tiny little bubble, then another and another. Then after what seems like the biggest effort, you start to pick up momentum and we’re boiling.
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The boiling happens within minutes of seeing that first bubble, but getting to the point of seeing that first bubble can literally feel very, very painful. This is when most people give up. They have put a huge amount of effort in, but they stop three feet from gold. What I find is that most people stop just before they see that first bubble. Then once the pot cools down, they have to almost start over again so no wonder they’re exhausted. There’s no consistency, they lose momentum and they’re understandably exhausted and demoralised!
If you are trying to grow your interior design business and feel overwhelmed with marketing, just simplify the whole thing. Think about one person you want to help, then choose one platform. Choose one message. Choose a rhythm you can actually keep. You will be amazed at how much progress you make when you stop trying to do everything and simply focus on showing up in a way that feels manageable and straightforward.
Jo Chrobak
