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Interior Designers – Build Your Tribe

April 8th, 2009 by Gail Doby • Related • Filed Under

Seth Godin, Author of Tribes (click here for more information) and many other brilliant books, is a master of marketing. I highly recommend that you follow his ideas and subscribe to his RSS feed for his blog at www.sethgodin.com/sg/subscribe.asp.
RSS Feed

(An RSS feed – Real Simple Syndication – allows you to receive the blog post updates in your Inbox instead of having to check the website or blog frequently. You should recommend that your readers subscribe to your feed, too. While you’re at it, just click on the orange button on the top right of our site and sign up for our feed.)

What is a tribe? It is a group of your followers. Do you have a tribe?

Why should you have a tribe?

In today’s Internet world, gathering a tribe of followers is the path to more business. First, you need to be online.

You can do this with free Internet tools, and I’ll give you a simple blueprint and strategy for creating your online presence. Just comment on this post, request a free copy of Internet Strategies for Interior Designers (I’ll be publishing it by the end of April) and ask your biggest question about Internet marketing for interior designers.

How do you get a tribe?

You provide valuable content or ideas and invite people to follow you. Twitter is one of the fastest ways to build a tribe, and if you missed our Twitter Power for Interior Designers FREE webinar with Joel Comm, NY Times bestselling author that was on April 7, 2009.
Click here to purchase the recording. There are many other strategies to get a tribe, too, and I will share those with you in the report.

What type of content do you offer?

A free newsletter, a free report, a free teleseminar about a topic for which you are an expert, blog posts, Twitter tips are among the ways you can offer valuable content.

What are the quickest ways to develop a relationship with your list?

Giving first is always the best way. And, one of the most amazing ways to cement your relationship with your list is through videos. When they see your face and hear your voice, they already feel that they know you, and that is the first step to knowing, liking and trusting you. All it takes is a Flip Video camera which is very inexpensive and so easy that I can use it! Click here for more information.

A blog is also an excellent way to build your relationship with your list. Offer advice, polls, coupons, suggestions and interesting ideas and you will can easily build a viral community, and that is a great thing.

Be consistent in your blogging and tweeting…that is also how you build trust with your list.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you liked this post, please share it with your friends (viral marketing).

Don’t forget! Just comment on this post, request a free copy of Internet Strategies for Interior Designers (I’ll be publishing it by the end of April) and ask your biggest question about Internet marketing for interior designers.

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Related posts:

  1. Interior Designers – Build Your Brand
  2. Interior Designers – How Is Your Client Service?
  3. Consumers Trust Online Opinions More Than Interior Designers?
  4. Twitter Power for Interior Designers

About the Author

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You're not alone any more. If you're looking for advice, solutions, strategies and support to help you take your interior design business to the next level, Welcome Home! We're experienced interior designers, and we truly understand the challenges and pitfalls of your chosen profession. We're constantly researching, learning and simplifying the latest information from the overwhelming glut of noise on the Internet to save you time and money. You'll learn practical techniques from innovative marketing experts and consultants that will help you transform your business and your mindset so you can achieve your dreams. We're different than other Interior Design Colleges - we offer interior design classes specifically tailored to your interior design career goals and needs. Let us know how we can help and feel free to email us with any questions and suggestions you might have. |Interior Design Business Success Mentor | Social Media Consultant to the Architecture & Design Community

See All Posts by Gail Doby

  • I need to learn more about useing the internet for my design firm. please send me the Internet Strategies for Interior Designers . Finally a way for us to learn.
  • Hi Pamela, we're glad you found us! I'll send that to you.
  • I would love to receive and read a free copy of your Internet Strategies for Interior Designers. I have been doing research on this lately and think this it is a great opportunitity for interior designers. I would love to read your ideas geared toward the interior design profession. I feel there are so many people out there that don't even know that they need an interior designer. Interior designers just have to figure out a way to connect with them, and internet social media seems to be it. There is such a need for more education of the general public of what an interior designer actually does, and that an interior designer does not only pick sofa pillows.

    Thank you!
    Suzanne Dummer Stafford
    http://www.elemental-design.net
    Improving Quality of Life for Everyone with Meticulous, Functional Interior Design
  • We will get that report to you, Suzanne. I agree that social media is a huge opportunity. The only catch is that it is time consuming, and other types of marketing may be more important if they can bring in immediate business. We just discussed that on a Master Mind call yesterday. I think it is time to educate consumers, AND, it is time to talk about effectiveness and efficiency in our businesses. Choosing how we spend our marketing time is definitely a part of it. The key is to have an online strategy and work on it every day. We just need to avoid letting it consume our day. Thanks so much for your comments.
  • Terrie Hall
    I am very interested in learning more. Please send me my free copy of Internet Strategies for Interior Designers. Everyday I read more about social networking and could definitely use more information!

    Thank you,
    Terrie Hall
  • Turid Solbakken
    Hi Gail,
    I thoroughly enjoy your blog. It is the place to go to for useful information.

    I am just starting out with social media, but clearly see the big change from outbound to inbound marketing. Having worked in sales, marketing and account management for years, it is amazing the shift which is going on! Makes me understand I have to change my bio on LinkedIN which actually screams"old school" with the term target markets.

    I have a question though; a "tribe" is actually a "target market" in the sense that you are looking for a particular group of followers (the tribe), who you think will benefit from what you have to offer? Or am I completely off the wall?

    Looking forward to your response. And I would love the free copy of Internet Strategies for Interior Designers.

    Best,
    Turid
  • Hello Turid,

    Your tribe is your target market, and I would take it a step further and say that it should be the people with whom you relate best. For instance, I think you should expand your definition to include similar values and interests. Your tribe might be members of a particular community group, political party, or their kids go to a particular school. They might have a certain level of education, and live in certain neighborhoods. The more specific you can get with your definition, the better.

    I also think that you can think about how you can best serve your clients. Find out from your current clients what they like about working with you (and ask to use it as a testimonial).

    When you communicate with social media, it is about being connected with people. For instance, I happen to watch American Idol, and some of my tribe likes it, too. We have something in common and it gives us that instant connection and bond. I look foward to sharing thoughts about what is happening on the show. Think about it for your business. What is it that you can do to engage your tribe. Think of polls and surveys or special events you can create.

    What is fun about social media is the new way we can connect and do business together over the Internet. We are working with people all over the country that we've never met in person and we do joint ventures, promotions and events together.

    This is an exciting time, and as we all focus on what we can do positively to be human and authentic, we have an opportunity to build a global business and brand for ourselves.

    I hope this helps, and I will be publishing the Internet Strategies for Interior Designers very soon.

    Thank you for being a part of our tribe. It's a pleasure to get to know you and we are so happy that you value our contribution.
  • Hi CJ, I am glad this helped. I will be publishing the report at the end of the month. Do you have any particular questions related to marketing? Getting blog followers starts with inviting people to follow your blog, letting people know about it on Twitter, sending postcards and word of mouth. Offer something for free on your blog such as a report and then post frequently. Those are a few strategies to get you started. Good luck!
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