5 Scrumptious Email Marketing Tips for Interior Designers

If you aren’t marketing your Interior Design company by email, you are missing a whopping opportunity to get easy, low-effort, low-cost leads!

Maybe you’ve tried and it didn't work. OR maybe you’re clueless where to start and what to say?

I've worked with over 150 Interior Designers helping them with their marketing strategies that include web conversions, lead generation, and email marketing.

And over the past few years, I've seen that email marketing still remains a mystery to most Interior Designers...for most business owners, really.

So let's see if I can untangle this mystery. 

But first...

Why should you care about using email as part of your marketing strategy, anyway?

Two reasons:

1. Your future clients are using it. 74% of Millennials favor email as their preferred means of communication*.
2. It's still the best return on your investment. For every $1 you spend on email marketing you get back $44**.

In a world where technology changes faster than a teenager’s temperament, email still remains top dog. So, you might as well jump on the email train before you get left behind.

That said…

There remains one small catch...it only works when done properly.

So, here are five delicious tips you can implement today.

Master Your Prized Client's Nature

This first tip is the foundation upon which ALL of your sales and marketing are built. So, in theory, you can stop reading this post right now...But,

you'd miss out on the REALLY good stuff (like all the freebies peppered throughout this post)...so keep reading.

Now, lean in a bit because this is important:

There is a critical difference between good design firms and EXTRAORDINARY design firms:

Good design firms know the FACTS of their target audience.

Extraordinary design firms MASTER their target audience's deepest fears, wildest dreams, tasty desires, and spicy pleasures.

Knowing your audience isn't just understanding their demographics such as age, gender, geography, and income.

It's also knowing your ideal client's PSYCHOGRAPHICS such as their values, goals, dreams, fears and motivations. 

Why on this crazy earth would you need to know that?

Simple, people hire designers based on emotion. How they feel about you. Do they feel like you get them?

So, when writing emails (or blog posts or website copy for that matter), tap into your prized client's emotional frame of mind.

Let me show you what I mean...

Here's an example of two different descriptions of design services that illustrate how to implement demographics and psychographics:

#1 - We design high-end kitchens.   

#2 - We rescue kitchens and transform them into high-end epicurean spaces where your friends and family gather to create a lifetime of memories.  

BOOM! See the difference?

Your savvy prospective clients want to FEEL like you get them.

And the only way to really ‘get them’ is to master what really moves them.

I give all of my successful designers a Client Portrait Sketchbook that paints the full nature of your prized client. Feel free to download it for yourself. 

Client Portrait Sketchbook→ https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/new-client-profile-workbook/

Have Something Juicy to Say to Your Audience

(not what you think they should know)

Now that you really really know your target audience's deepest needs and wants, you now know what they VALUE.

Right?

Ladies and gentlemen, your audience does not value a boring newsletter. YAAAAWN!

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but let me ask you: when was the last time someone signed up for your newsletter?

...You’re not alone.

So, how do you know what your audience values?

Do this simple three-step exercise and it will become clear:

1. Make a list of the top ten questions your target audience asks you.
2. Organized the ten questions in order of their highest priority.
3. Create topics from each of the questions beginning with their most pressing queries.

Do this simple exercise and you’ll never struggle for an email, blog, or lead magnet topic again.

Segment Your List Like You Mean It.

Grouping your contacts in your email management applications, such as MailChimp or ActiveCampaign (affiliate), into similar characteristics is often overlooked as part of a good email marketing strategy.

For good reason...it’s a bit more work than throwing business cards into your desk drawer.

The good news is grouping contacts can be automated after your initial list is organized.  

Here is how I instruct my Interior Design clients to group their contacts

First, divide them into three categories.

• Referral sources
• Clients
• Acquaintances

THEN...

Within each of those categories, segment the contacts by how far along they are in the sales cycle:

• Cold. Someone who doesn't already know, like, and trust you.
• Warm. Someone who knows, likes, and trusts you, BUT had not taken any action, such as hire you or send you a referral.
• Hot. Someone who has taken action, such as a past or current client.

Segmenting your contact list this way, allows you to personalize your emails which increases the likelihood that your audience will engage and hire you.

ABCE - Always Be Collecting Emails.

Think of email addresses as currency.

It works like this…

You give someone something of value, and in return, they give you their email address.

Now put on your creative thinking hats, because this part is fun...

A Lead Magnet is a way in which you deliver that something-of-value to your dream clients.

A lead magnet is a value-rich piece of content that has high PERCEIVED value AND has no cost to you. It’s used to lure your favorite type of clients to you and grow your email list fast.

Digital downloads are the most popular type of lead magnet for its unlimited availability and automation.

Over the years, I’ve collected a substantial list of lead magnet ideas for Interior Designers. Feel free to have a looksy at my list and see if there is something that will work for you.

Lead Magnet Ideas for Interior Designers → https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/lead-magnet-ideas-for-interior-designers/

Take Charge! Tell Your Audience What To Do Next.

Have you heard the saying "if you don't A.S.K., you won't G.E.T.?"

Same goes for email marketing.

I see a lot of designers fall short on this by not directing the reader to take some sort of action within the body of the email.

On the other side of that coin, I sometimes see email campaigns with TOO MANY calls to action (CTA).

Keep it simple: One email, One CTA.

Give your readers their next steps by using a compelling a CTA and I promise you will see an instant change in the results of your email campaigns.

Let me show you what I mean…

Let’s say you send out an email that critiques or reviews a particular kitchen remodel (Maybe its one of your projects, one you saw in a show home, or even one from a magazine).

Contained within the review is a lead magnet that gives the reader an opportunity to access the budget breakdown so that they can see how much that specific kitchen remodel costs.

Now, tell your readers what to do next by using a compelling CTA that entices the reader to take action.

Such as:

• Click Here to See How Much This Kitchen Costs
• Get Instant Access to the Budget Breakdown
• Download a Breakdown of This Kitchen’s Costs Right Now
• Get a Sneak Peek at the Cost Breakdown of This Kitchen.

If you don’t A.S.K them to take action, you won’t G.E.T them to take action. Right?

Well, kudos. You made it...

If you got this far into my post, it tells me you are serious about generating a consistent flow of high-quality leads for your interior design business.

So...

I'd like to invite you to our like-minded Facebook™ community called The Lead Lounge, the only online community solely focused on finding high-paying clients

Link to The Lead Lounge → https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/access-to-lead-lounge/

In this group, I give tips, tricks, answers, advice, and some I-can’t-believe-this-is-free resources related to email marketing, website conversion, and social media.

...all FREE of course!.

Click on the link below so you don’t miss out on my next group post. It’s a doozy 🙂  

The Lead Lounge → https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/access-to-lead-lounge/

P.S. Here are all of the links to the resources:

The Lead Lounge: A lead generation Facebook™ community for like-minded Interior Designers https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/access-to-lead-lounge/

Lead Magnet Ideas for Interior Designers https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/lead-magnet-ideas-for-interior-designers/

Psychographic Centered Client Profile https://jmgmarketinggroup.com/new-client-profile-workbook/

Bio: Jill is a marketing consultant for Interior Designers that are tired of the ebb and flow that’s inherent in referral leads. Jill and her team are on a mission to eradicate outdated marketing tactics and pilot Interior Designers into modern online techniques.

Having worked with over 150 designers, Jill develops practical strategies and execution plans in email marketing, website conversions, and lead generation so that design firms can supplement referrals with a consistent flow of generated business.

Join other designers and me in The Lead Lounge

*WordStream: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/06/29/email-marketing-statistic **Campaign Monitor: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/company/annual-report/2016/