Deb Mitchell Writing

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The 1 thing interior designers need to start doing before posting their images online

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Interior Design Copywriter Deb Mitchell Writing

 

Here’s the deal: As unfortunate as it is, it’s now a fact of life in the design industry that there are shady people out there on the *interwebs* who would just as soon snag your gorgeous project images and try to pass them off as their own as they would look at you! It’s gross and pathetic, yes, but it’s just how it is.

The coolest designers (such as my wonderful clients) not only watch their own backs for this – they also watch for their fellow designers’ work popping up in places where it shouldn’t be and without proper, ACCURATE credit. Yay for the rising tide that lifts all boats (not to mention good juju!).

Even so, the best way to help protect yourself against this egregious image theft is to watermark your images with your logo.

Now don’t flip out just yet – I know you don’t want to mar your beautifully designed, styled, and shot images with a watermark. I get it.

But I’m not talking about emblazoning your name and logo right, left, up, and down on your pics like school picture proofs. Just a small, semi-transparent png file logo in the corner will do the job nicely.

(And by the way, DIY bloggers have been doing this for years. Granted, I do think their watermarks are often larger than they need to be, but they’re being super smart to brand their images)

It’s actually double smart, because by adding your logo, you’re not only keeping someone from falsely claiming that image and the design work it represents is theirs; you’re also ensuring that even if a link breaks or something goes wonky behind the scenes on Pinterest (you ARE pinning all of your images to Pinterest, right?!), the folks who see just the images can still find you.

Think about it: I’m browsing around on Pinterest and I see the most AMAZING kitchen design. Because the designer watermarked her image, I also see at a glance – without even clicking on the pin – that Suzy Q Interior Design is responsible for this fabulousness. Even if I click away, when I see a few more of Suzy’s images, she’s getting in my brain. I’m eventually going to want to find out more about her and her work. If I get to her site via the pins, great; but if I don’t, I can just google her (and I probably will because I now know I love her work!).

So how do you go about watermarking your images, you ask? It all depends on what tool you want to use. If you have Photoshop, here’s a good tutorial. Otherwise, you can use freebie tools like PicMonkey (here’s a tutorial for that) or Canva (and a tutorial).

A word of warning: You’ll want to be absolutely certain your photographer’s terms of use allow you to add your logo to images they shot for you. There’s really no legitimate reason you shouldn’t have the right to do so, but better safe than sorry (and to be honest, I think it says something not so great about any photographer who would forbid that – just sayin’!).

I’ll be on the lookout for more and more branded images of your lovely designs, my dear interior designers!

Whip your interior design content into shape for the New Year!

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Interior Design Copywriter Deb Mitchell Writing

 

Maybe it’s the chaos of the holidays, or maybe it’s just the act of closing out our books for end-of-year, but as business owners, we get almost a visceral urge to start the New Year with a ‘clean slate’ in every area of our businesses.

If you haven’t started yet, you’ve probably at least thought about giving your desk a major clean-up, purging your emails and physical files, and getting a snazzy new planner for next year (for me it’s the Day Designer by Whitney English in ‘Black Spotty,’ thanks to a dear friend who has amazing taste!).

But have you given any thought to how you might clean the slate for next year’s content creation?

Here are a few things I’ll be ticking off my to do list in the next few weeks so I’m prepped and ready for writing faster, better blog posts and newsletter articles come January 1:

1.    Create an editorial calendar.

So basic, yet so many of us put it off because, let’s face it, it’s not the most glamorous thing or even the most immediately rewarding. It’s kind of like meal planning: It’s totally a chore; but believe me, it’s a chore you’ll be soooo glad you tackled when you’re pulling out your hair trying to come up with a blog post idea… and then you remember – you already did! [Insert audible sigh of relief here}

2.    Include your business strategy in your editorial calendar.

“Throwback Thursdays” and “5 Ways to Decorate Anything Anywhere Anytime” are great… but what will those topics really do to boost your design business? You first need to know where you’re going in your biz (Do you need to attract more clients or better clients? Or do you need to focus on getting your projects published?). Then and only then can you lay down tracks to accomplish those goals by choosing content topics that support them.  Be sure your editorial calendar has space for you to record the goal each post supports so you can double check yourself as you create topics and then again when it’s time to actually write the posts.

3.    Create an inspiration file for your content and start filling it up

You are a creative, after all, and inspiration is huge for you. Let that inspiration fuel your content creation by starting to gather items now for next years’ content.  Set aside a few hours to brainstorm and search for:

•    Blog post and newsletter article ideas, even if they’re half-baked
•    Images that inspire you, whether royalty free stock photos of floral arrangements, table settings, etc. (though they can be hard to find, some are actually non-cheesy and quite good) or other designers’ projects. – just be sure to follow best practices and either don’t actually publish the image in your content, or sweetly and respectfully ask the owners’ permission to use it with proper attribution.
•    Written content from non-designer sources (again, let it inspire you, but do not under any circumstance rip it off!) like furnishings manufacturers, artists, and (one of my favorites for inspiration because they tend to have such great ‘voices’) fashion bloggers.
•    Writing tips and tricks. There are loads of great blog posts out there these days about… well, writing blog posts, and tons of informative books about writing (I geek out on those myself, but I do realize not everyone wants to read about writing!). And of course, I’d love for you to consider subscribing to our services – even our lowest commitment service tier gets in on our monthly ‘telecalls’ where I teach everything I know about great writing!

Set aside a little time to take care of these 3 tasks and you’ll have a clean – not to mention planned out and inspired! – slate for all your content creation next year! 

If you want your website, blog, or newsletter to do a better job of selling you to your ideal clients, subscribe to my newsletter, reach out to ask me a writing question, or hire me to write for your design biz! 

3 Tips for Making Your Interior Design Content Writing Easier

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Interior Design Copywriter Deb Mitchell Writing

As one of my favorite quotes says, “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” (Gene Fowler)

Yeah, pretty much.

Your interior design blog posts and newsletter articles don’t have to be quite that painful, though. Just follow these techniques I’ve learned along the way for making content writing just a little bit easier.

1.    Begin at the end.

No, I don’t mean write your concluding sentence first. I mean start by thinking about what you ultimately want your reader to walk away with. Do you want them to have a few easy to use tips for styling a coffee table? Or maybe your absolute favorite go-to neutral paint colors. Just remember, though, that no matter what you’re writing about, you’re really introducing yourself to your potential clients. Write as the designer you want them to hire!

2.    Be empathetic.

No matter what you’re writing, never ever forget that real live people will be reading your words. Think of all those terrible Academy Awards speeches where the winners practically bludgeon the audience with their incessant ramblings. Ugh! Aim to write something you would want to read – be brief and to the point, don’t use industry-speak unless you can quickly offer a definition, and for heavens sake, turn on the charm!

3.    Write first, edit later.

Trying to edit as you write is like putting together a puzzle by removing only one piece from the box at a time. Dump it all out on the page first. Get all your thoughts downloaded out of your head. Then and only then, do the real writing work of cutting, rearranging, and rephrasing.

Writing still might not be your favorite thing, but if you follow these 3 tips, at least it might not be quite so painful – and it won’t ruin your makeup with all those drops on your forehead!

If you want your website, blog, or newsletter to do a better job of selling you to your ideal clients, subscribe to my newsletter, reach out to ask me a writing question, or hire me to write for your design biz! 

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