Designed by Wingnut Social | Interior Design Business

There are a million ways to market your business, but if you’re not putting together some sort of lead magnet, you’re essentially selling yourself short. Luckily, the queen of lead magnets, Sandra Funk, is here to tell you how it’s done. Sandra is the founder and principal designer of House of Funk, a full-service and online interior design firm with offices in NY and NJ. House of Funk creates tho...

Are Instagram Pods Worth It? Today’s Marketing Monday Minisode dives into the mysterious and somewhat delirious world of Instagram pods. Are they worth it? Do they work? Do they glue you to your phone? Find out. If you’ve never heard of an Instagram Pod, it’s when people who are in a similar industry or share a similar interest join one big group direct message on Instagram. And when a member of t...

When designers need to buy products for their work, they often buy them through third-party middlemen. But why? Today we talk with John Dupra of Revel Woods hardwood flooring about how he works directly with designers, and how that saves them big bucks. John Dupra is the co-founder of Revel Woods fine hardwood flooring. Growing up, he watched his dad work in the flooring business, and after leavin...

On today’s Marketing Monday Minisode, Darla and Natalie dive into the world of Instagram hashtags, and how to get the most of them to expand your reach. Natalie plumbs her encyclopedic knowledge of social media marketing to cite a figure from a recent study that showed just one hashtag can expand the reach of your post by 12%. But how do you know what hashtags to use? It’s going to vary based on w...

Getting the top rank in Google feels like something only someone in 2004 could do. But that’s not the case! Search engine optimization is your friend, and on today’s episode Darla and Natalie talk with Megan Clarke all about how to improve your SEO. Meg is the founder and owner of Clapping Dog Media, a firm that specializes in helping businesses that help people improve their SEO. Her team of SEO...

Today, Darla and Natalie are kicking off a new series called Marketing Monday Minisodes. There are no guests and no lightning rounds because the whole episode is one big lightning round of knowledge. On today’s first minisode, Darla and Natalie dig into Instagram Creator Accounts. Instagram Creator Accounts for Designers Instagram’s director of product development Ashley Yuki recently spoke with T...

Referrals are the lifeblood of interior designers. But not only are they difficult to get, they can be awkward to ask for. On today’s episode, Darla and Natalie have Stacey Brown Randall, who literally wrote the book on Generating Business Referrals without Asking. Stacey Brown Randall is a business coach who helps small businesses, entrepreneurs and sales professionals generate loads of referrals...

  Ever look at one of those Instagram accounts or Facebook pages with hundreds of thousands of followers and think: How? How is that even possible? Well, on today’s show we have Kate O’Hara, CEO and creative director of Martha O’Hara Interiors to tell you how she made it happen. Kate pioneered the firm’s expansion into national and international clientele. She says her favorite part of her role is...

Everybody wants to get featured in a magazine or booked as a speaker, but how do you do it? On today’s episode of the Wingnut Social Podcast, Darla and Natalie turn to one of the industry’s best to get some answers: Andrew Joseph. With over twenty years in the world of publishing and public relations, Andrew Joseph is an experienced and strategic asset for home and design brands as well as designe...

Building a website ain’t what it used to be, and while many designers may want to rely on third-party platforms like Houzz to serve as their calling cards, you need a solid personal site. Why? Franziska Neuman explains on this week’s episode. Franziska Neuman is an interior designer whose work with small spaces in New York has landed her appearances on HGTV and the Oprah Winfrey Show. And her comp...

For some, getting onto HGTV is the holy grail of design. But whether you want to be a TV star or just want to be featured on the HGTV blog, in the magazine, on their social media, you’re not going to want to miss this week’s guest: HGTV VP Abbi McCollum. Abbi McCollum is the vice president of social media and convergence for Discovery Inc.’s home and travel channel category. She is charged with cr...

Sometimes you need to step out of the design world to get a fresh perspective. That’s why our guest this week is Alex Berman. Alex is the chairman of experiment 27 and has a keen eye and insight into marketing that designers may find refreshing. Alex Berman is the CEO of experiment 27, and something of a YouTube star. Experiment 27 specializes in getting clients meetings with big brands and Fortun...

Getting your work published in magazines can really set your interior design career on a steep trajectory. But how do you do it? And what work do you need to put in before submitting? Designer and recent cover girl Vanessa Helmick has you covered. Vanessa Helmick is the owner and principal designer of Fiore Interiors in Portland, Maine. She was born and raised in California, but moved to the North...

If there’s one thing that’s a constant in marketing, it’s change. The way interior designers market their firms now, compared to just a few years ago, is worlds apart. Today on the show we have someone who’s done it all, and successfully, Crispin Butterfield. Crispin Butterfield is the creative force and mastermind behind Urban Theory Design in Kelowna, British Columbia. Even though she’s still a...

Depending on whom you ask, e-design is either the next evolution for interior design, or a bubble that has already burst. But no one is savvier about online design than the guest on today’s episode, Chaney Widmer. Chaney Widmer started Mix & Match Design Company in 2015 with the goal of making interior design affordable and accessible to everyone. Her company uses online tools to make interior des...

Having a showroom can be an amazing calling card and home base for interior designers. But is it worth the overhead and the headaches? On today’s episode, Cheryl Kees Clendenon answers all your questions about showrooms. Cheryl Kees Clendenon is the owner and lead designer of In Detail Interiors on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Her innovative work has earned her firm more awards than any other firm on the...

  Marianne Cherico has owned and operated a home staging company in New England for more than 20 years. She’s also a professional development coach who has helped countless entrepreneurs level up their businesses. She is also a bona fide ginger, making this week’s episode a little dangerous for Darla as she faces two soulless gingers for the first time. What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut...

High-end, luxury clients are the white whales of the interior design business. But like Moby Dick, they’re difficult to land, and you may question your sanity once you get there. On today’s show, industry veteran Debbe Daley gives us a peek behind the bling. Debbe Daley has been in interior design for 30 years, working with nearly 700 clients, many of them high-end. Debbe has seen it all in the in...

Everyone says it: If you’re going to be successful on social media, you have to be authentic. If you think you know what that means, think again. Today, Shana Heinricy, Social Media Director for Wingnut Social, blows your mind. Darla and Natalie talk to Shana (on her own free will) about how to achieve authenticity in social media, and why it’s different than what most people think. In addition to...

There is a whole untapped market out there for interior designers that you may not even be thinking about: Vacationers. People who buy second homes need someone to help them beautify it. That’s where Nicole O’Dwyer’s expertise comes in. Nicole O’Dwyer is the owner of NS Interior Designs, and because she lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania, right by the Poconos, she specializes in helping with new h...

The Wingnut Social Podcast has already definitively answered the question “Is Blogging Dead?” with a resounding no. And on today’s episode, Darla and Natalie talk with Adam Japko about how to be a design influencer through your blogging or your social media. Adam Japko is the founder of Esteem Media, home to leading national and local media brands in the luxury home design, gardening, and fine win...

Networking can be sort of a dirty word, but don’t let that scare you off. Instead, think of it as building genuine relationships. And there’s no one more genuine, or more connected, than today’s guest, Jane Dagmi. Jane Dagmi is the editor of Designers Today, a great interior design magazine that all designers should be subscribed to. Jane has been in the magazine industry for more than 20 years, a...

Marketing is important to any business, but there’s maybe one thing that’s more important than marketing: profit. So on today’s podcast, we’re doing something a little different and talking about the Profit First approach with expert and fellow podcaster Michele Williams. Michele Williams is a certified Profit First professional who focuses on helping creative business owners grow the profit of th...

  Blogging is one of the most effective ways to engage with potential clients and get your search engine optimization up to speed. So why does it feel like the last thing interior designers want to do? Today on the show, Carla Aston hits the reset button and tells you why you should be blogging. Carla Aston has had her own design firm since 2001 and has been an industry leader in blogging, with he...

Marketing is essential to growing your interior design business. But a lot of times creative types (i.e. interior designers) suffer from a lack of confidence or what’s called imposter syndrome. Today on the show, Darla and Natalie tackle the problem head on with Heather Havenwood. Heather is a self-described serial entrepreneur, of Havenwood Worldwide, LLC and Chief Sexy Boss. She is regarded as a...