Putting up a website does not mean that your ideal clients will automatically find you. But the more traffic you have to your website, the more likely that people will contact you.  So how do you get more traffic to your site?

Here are 8 easy suggestions:

1. Add your website address to your email signature and give your email readers a compelling reason to click on to your site. Example: Don’t you wish your bedroom was a dream retreat? Click here to get some tips: www.YourSite.com
2. Create an email address at your domain name
   Instead of using Jane@aol.com, make sure you have a professional email address. Example: Jane@JaneInteriors.com
3. Submit articles to online article marketing sites
   Example: www.ezinearticles.com
4. Add content-rich keywords to your website
   In order to be found when your target customers are searching for your services online, you must have the right “keywords” on your site.  People won’t find you if you don’t use the words they are using when they search.  Include the name of your town or area, and use words like: interior designer, home, consultant, firm, ideas, photos.
5. Advertise on Facebook – it’s inexpensive, and you can target your ideal customers.
6. Post frequently on your blog
   The more often you post, the higher up in the search engines you go.  Be sure to use valuable keywords in your posts (interior designer, home, consultant, firm, ideas, photos)
7. Comment on other “like-minded” blogs, and include your website signature.
8. Send a monthly email newsletter and end your articles with a link to your site.

    

 

 

Jennifer Abernethy, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing, says:

Think of Facebook as the world’s largest trade show (with more than 350 million active attendees!), and they have just offered you a F.R.E.E booth.

How can you pass this up? You now have a f.r.e.e booth at the world’s largest trade show. So how are you going to promote your business? Here are 5 tips to make your marketing more effective:

1. Use Facebook for BUSINESS
   Keep most of your shared information business-oriented. This is a business, not a social party. However, you don’t want to come across as stiff, so use the general rule of 80% business and 20% personal – just as you would in a professional environment.
2. Get a professional headshot
   A snapshot taken on a friend’s iPhone (with your other friends cut out from the background) is NOT a professional headshot. Take a great picture that shows off your personality and professionalism. This photo should be used consistently – in ALL your marketing materials, and on all the social networks that you join, so that prospects begin to recognize you.
3. Network openly
   It always amazes me when a business owner rejects a requested “friendship” on Facebook because they don’t know the person. If a stranger came up to you at your trade show booth and asked for your business card, would you say, “No, I won’t give you my card because I don’t know you”? When you use Facebook for business, you WANT to connect with new people. You never know where your next profitable connection lies.
4. Automate status updates
   You don’t want to have all of your social media automated, because that defeats the purpose of “social networking” – participating in conversations and building relationships. But to save time, you can schedule a week or two of daily tips to go out in your status update. This will give your followers great value and make it look like you are spending more time on Facebook, while you are really out working with clients! Check out SocialOomph.com
5. Share your expertise with “Facebook Notes”
   The “Notes” application is a great way to share your expertise, cultivate your following, and virally get your information out to the masses. Write about a new service you are providing or share your thoughts on a design trend. Write as if your ideal clients are reading it. What would interest them? Use the Notes application on a regular basis. Provide value, information, and entertainment, and your followers will love it.

The number one activity you can do on Facebook to build momentum and keep your fans engaged is to update the “Whats on your mind?” status every day. If you do nothing else, spend 2 minutes doing this. Remember to set realistic expectations for the amount of time you spend on the social networks, and always look for timesaving shortcuts and tools to help you.

I love what I do. And it is my passion to show others how to do what they love… making a great income without sacrifycing ANY other important priorities.

When you see the question, “Who is your ideal client?“, what do you think?

Do you come up with a big group, like women, or people who own big houses?

Or are you clear and specific?  Can you answer something like:

My ideal client is a professional, married woman, age 35-45. She works in the city at a large company.  She’s been there for at least 10 years, and has had several promotions.  Her husband is also a professional with a high-paying job.  They do not have children.  They shop at high-end stores because they like to get the best quality.  But they also appreciate a good bargain.  They don’t like spending too much, but they do spend more for better quality.  They want me to go out of my way to make their lives easier, and because I do, they are very happy to pay me my high fees.

The more specific and clear you are on your target client, they more likely you are to attract them.

So go create your ideal client profile, and look at it (and feel it) every day.

To your success!

Yes… you DO need to share your knowledge for free.

It’s a common fear among designers, but it is a fear that is based on myth. And if you want to be taken seriously as an expert designer, you need to get past this now.

Here are a few ways that I’ve heard the fear expressed:

• “You can’t be too generous with your knowledge, or else clients and prospects won’t need you anymore.”
• “If you give it all away for free, why would anyone pay you?”
• “Why would I give a class or write an article for free?”

Designers use this fear of being too generous with their knowledge to hold back when writing articles and giving classes. I’m telling you now… get over it!

Now before I go any further, let me be clear. When I say that you need to be generous, I DO NOT MEAN creating a design plan and giving it to your prospect for free, or spending time at a prospect’s home giving them specific custom design advice for free, or spending hours of your time doing research for a prospect who hasn’t decided to hire you yet. Those things will frustrate you, waste your time, and lessen your expert status. I’m talking about being generous in a way that will strengthen your expert status.

Studies show that business owners who are more generous with their knowledge attract more clients than those who hold back.

I’ve witnessed this myself with my own business and with other designers and entrepreneurs. Those who are fearful about giving away too much information are not as successful. Plain and simple.

I’ve interviewed many authors for teleclasses. A few of them were afraid to give away too much information about their book. One even said that he would not answer certain questions because it “gave away too much for free.” He didn’t sell any books from our class. On the calls where the authors shared openly and freely, many dozens of books were sold.

I was actually at a seminar where an author with a newly released book announced that she would share the main theme of the book. “I’ll tell you so you don’t have to even buy the darn thing,” she said. I ran right out and bought the darn book.

I often recommend writing articles for newsletters or magazines, and giving design classes at a showroom, college, or telecourse because these are extremely effective ways to create expert status and promote your design business. But if you’re not going to be generous with your expert knowledge and provide valuable tips and useful information, you aren’t going to see those incredible results.

If YOU aren’t attracting as many clients as you’d like, maybe it’s time to be more generous with your knowledge?