The Social Stager

Most home stagers believe their business isn't growing because they need better marketing, more services, or another certification. I don't think that's the problem. In this episode, Heather explores one of the biggest misconceptions in the home staging industry: the belief that becoming a better home stager naturally leads to building a successful staging business. She shares the patterns she's o...

Your staging certification taught you how to stage. What it didn't teach you is how to build a business that stands out, attracts the right clients, and grows past a certain ceiling. In this episode Heather breaks down the three gaps the staging industry consistently leaves open and why closing them is the difference between a staging business that struggles and one that becomes the obvious choice...

AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are changing how people find and hire home stagers — and most of the content stagers create to market themselves is completely invisible to these tools. In this episode, Heather breaks down what AI actually looks at when it decides whether your business is worth recommending, and what you can do right now to show up in those results. In this episode: W...

Most home stagers are pouring time into Instagram, only to wonder why their website traffic is flat and their inquiries are inconsistent. The problem might not be your content. It might be the platform. In this episode, I sit down with Pinterest marketing strategist Annie Russell of Annie Russell Media to talk about why Pinterest is one of the most underused and misunderstood marketing tools for h...

Only 18% of sellers actually hire a stager — which means most stagers are fighting for the same small slice of the market. In this episode, Heather sits down with stager and coach Catherine Lewis-Brown to talk about why that doesn't have to be the reality, and what it looks like to build a staging business that serves more clients, charges what it's worth, and isn't limited to physical staging alo...

Why Your Marketing Isn't Working If you've been showing up consistently on social media, posting your work, and still not getting the leads and inquiries you want , this episode is for you. Heather Cook breaks down why the advice most stagers have been given was never designed to get them results, and what it actually takes to build a marketing strategy that gets you leads, not just likes. In this...

Most stagers believe authority is built through their portfolios, certifications, and years in business. It's not. In this episode, Heather Cook breaks down what brand authority actually is — and what it actually takes to go from being just another stager to being the obvious, go-to choice in your market. She covers the three building blocks of brand authority, why mindset is the piece most stager...

She came to me wanting to build a stronger staging brand. Halfway through the process, she stopped everything — and built something entirely different. In this episode, I'm sitting down with Danielle Pivirotto, founder of House of Wabi, to talk about her shift from home stager to lifestyle designer and the role branding played in making that transition possible. This isn't just a story about chang...

You’re not losing staging jobs because you’re too expensive. You’re losing them because your value isn’t clear. In this episode, I’m breaking down the real reason you keep losing to cheaper stagers and why this is a positioning problem, not a pricing problem. I share a story from my own staging business, the moment a long-time realtor stopped calling, and what I realized I had failed to communicat...

Running a staging business shouldn't mean working 60-hour weeks or losing your passion for the work. Lori Fischer, founder of Rethink Home Interiors and the Staging Business School, shares how simple systems can help you reclaim time, reduce stress, and grow with confidence. In this episode: Why most stagers hit capacity faster than they realize (and what to do about it) The "Groundhog Day" exerci...

4 Types of Content Every Home Stager Needs Your content isn't the problem—your strategy is. Heather breaks down the four types of content every stager needs to grow their reach, build authority, connect with their audience, and drive real business results. In this episode: Why posting the same type of content repeatedly isn't converting The four content types and what each one does for your busine...

If reaching out to real estate agents feels uncomfortable, awkward, or discouraging, this episode is for you. Many home stagers want steady realtor referrals, yet hesitate to put themselves out there because they question their value, fear rejection, or assume they are not established enough. In this conversation, we unpack why mindset is often the biggest blocker and how shifting how you see your...

No one tells you the truth about marketing your home staging business, and that’s what makes it feel so frustrating. In this first episode of The Social Stager Podcast, I’m sharing the honest marketing lessons I learned while building and growing a staging business for over a decade. This episode isn’t about trends or tactics. It’s about perspective, branding, and understanding what actually helps...