It’s easy to feel like we live in two different worlds these days, one online and one in real life. And so interior designers often craft two separate marketing and networking strategies, one for each. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Just because you’re working to develop your social media presence doesn’t mean your real-life connections don’t play a role. Today we’re talking about how creating community with real people in real, high-definition life can help you build your online presence as well.
That’s because today we’re talking with Amy Flurry, author of Recipe for Press and Recipe for Press: Design Edition, and a leading expert in how interior designers can get more press for their work. Amy Flurry is an editor and contributor to some of the biggest magazines on the newsstand (Lucky, Country Living, Condé Nast Traveler, InStyle, Better Homes & Gardens). Her book, Recipe for Press, has been called “the small business blueprint for DIY publicity,” packed with good, no-nonsense advice on how to get your story or product onto the pages of influential publications. Amy’s lectures and workshops serve to further educate entrepreneurs on how to refine their message, engage media and create relationships with editors and bloggers, including powerful examples from across industries and around the country, plus her own art company.
What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut SocialAmy’s book was initially a total DIY project. She wrote it, produced it and launched it herself. And she booked her own speaking engagements. But instead of trying to land large auditoriums, she started putting together gatherings with other interior designers for the book. The events then become about more than just the book, Amy puts on her editor’s cap and thinks about how the events can produce content that all of the attendees can take and share and use for themselves.
When Amy throws an event, she invites other designers, or people who enjoy design, who might be interested in what she has to learn. But she also invites local magazine editors who might be interested in meeting those designers, and she will share photos from the event and encourage others to do so as well. And so the idea is that the event happens in one, real-life place, but has many other “tentacles” as she says, that can help a variety of people and be used online.
It’s about creating community, not competitionWhen Amy first started putting together her small events, she realized quickly that she wanted to invite people she didn’t know, instead of default to the people already in her contacts list. And she invited a designer from Nashville who came and was so excited by it, she emailed the group afterward with a recap of all the takeaways, and then invited Amy to Nashville to do a similar event in her town. That designer then used that gathering that she threw to take pictures of her home, which she then used in a myriad of ways, including landing an article in HGTV Magazine.
Amy says that while designers may have concerns about their competition, the truth is there’s enough work for everyone, and creating community can help foster learning and networking that lead to amazing opportunities. You want to make sure if you’re throwing events for other designers, you’re offering something of value for them. Otherwise, as Amy says, “it’d be really weird.”
Connect With Darla & Wingnut SocialSubscribe to The Wingnut Social Podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or TuneIn
Break Boundaries as a Female Founder with Casey Gromer - Episode 235
Convert Calls to Clients with Nikki Rausch [Throwback] - Episode 234
Wingnut REPLAY: Reach Your Soul Goals with Anna Tsui - Episode 233
Achieve Massive Business Growth with Monique Allen's Methods - Episode 232
Infuse More Joy in Your Life with Tanya Dalton - Episode 231
Learn to Rewire Your Brain Patterns with Adele Spraggon - Episode 230
Niche Until it Hurts: Erica Reiner’s Love for Eco-Friendly Design - Episode 229
Why You Should Use Case Studies to Boost Your Business - Episode 228
Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs to Charge What You’re Worth [Sarah Schneider] - Episode 227
How Using a UTM Will Transform your Marketing Metrics with Chris Mercer - Episode 226
An Unexpected Way Designers can Leverage Pinterest per Chandler Oldham - Episode 225
Interior Designers: You NEED to Network with Realtors [per Eric Reeves] - Episode 224
Rachel Gill’s Spectacular Success with Client-Facing Facebook Groups - Episode 223
Crappy Copywriting: How to Be More Marketable with Gregory Anne Cox - Episode 222
Conversational Commerce is the Way of the Future [According to Paul Ace] - Episode 221
Overcome Your Inner Shadows to Reach Your Soul Goals (with Anna Tsui) - Episode 220
How to Brand Your Design Business According to Mike Peterson - Episode 219
How to Use Pinterest to Up-Level Your Social Media Marketing [Kate Ahl] - Episode 218
REPLAY: Infuse More Play in Your Day with Jeff Harry - Episode 217
Here’s How to Convert Your Expertise to a Money-Making Consulting Business with Laura Meyer - Episode 216
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Dear Alice | Interior Design
99% Invisible
The John Clay Wolfe Show
A Tale of Two Cities
The Count of Monte Cristo
Design Better
How to Decorate