# 87 | Publicity and Marketing Strategies for Interior Designers with Selena Soo

Interior design Business3-ScalingBrandingAttracting Client

Jun 20

"We are our own worst critic. I think that many of us can relate to that. But now I just ask myself, did I show up with generosity? And if the answer is yes, then I did a great job." - Selena Soo

In today's episode, I chat with Selena Soo and Sharon Stokes. Selena Soo is a publicity and marketing strategist for visionary entrepreneurs and experts who has helped clients and students get featured in places like Domino, The Oprah Magazine, Forbes and Inc, and land interviews on popular podcasts and national television. Joining her today is Sharon Stokes, her head of publicity programs and senior media coach who has served as a TV producer for close to 20 years, producing interviews with notable personalities, including Oprah, Richard Branson, Marie Forleo, and Gabrielle Bernstein.

I have personally worked with Sharon and Selena and my very first publicity pitch after working with them was accepted, and featured in Domino! In today's episode we chat all about the best ways to get featured and gain the publicity you want for your interior design business.

Publicity and Public Relations

When it comes to publicity and public relations in your interior design business, it can be intimidating to sort out what you need to do, how it works, and what you need to get published and recognized successfully. Publicity can be in the form of TV, magazines, and newspaper as well as being on podcasts, doing lives on social media, being a guest speaker and more.

It is great to have your interior design work published and recognized but can be an entirely different thing to have someone else say go check out this person's work (such as a podcaster who can create additional buzz for your work and create credibility.

The Fear of Being Seen

Many of us may have a fear of visibility when it comes to getting our work out to the public. This is something I have always struggled with. We find ourselves being overly critical of the interviews, writings, or anything else we put out into the world. Stepping into the idea that even when you stumble, you are putting your work out into the world and helping others is hard but a huge part of getting publicity, recognition, and into the homes and lives of those you wish to reach. The idea of progress over perfection plays a big role in this.

Mistakes in Managing Publicity

1 - Not Tying Your Publicity to Your Business Model

There is likely an infinite number of things that we can share with the media about our life, our business, our line of work, and more but what you want to focus on is where 80% of your revenue comes from. That's not to say that when you speak and share your work and insight, you can't deviate but your main focus should be on the area's you are truly an expert in and feel like you can share with others that also brings in revenue. You have to focus on topics that are relevant to the clients that you are getting and want to continue to get.

2 - Not Pitching an Actual Story Idea

Pitching in publicity doesn't mean to just pitch yourself as an expert. Aiming to lay out an amazing, powerful, story idea and what the takeaways for the listeners, readers, etc would be plus having a really compelling headline can really help sell your ideas to the media. The less you leave media to figure out what your story may be, the better off you are when pitching. Storytelling is powerful in interior design so highlight mistakes that you learned from, adding in the human emotion element, and showcasing before and after stories where you bring a space to life are just a few ways to do this.

3 - Not Having a Call to Action

It's imperative to have a call to action for those people who do come across your publication, podcast, lecture, etc. Otherwise, you are missing out on gathering information while they are ready to connect. I really recommend that everyone get clear on what's a primary place with a primary next step that you want someone to take. That could be to download a document or video, collect a special free gift, or anything that brings them into your sphere more and allows them to continue to get to know you.

At the end of the day, we need to be able to promote the work that we do as interior designers and get other people excited about who we are and what our story is.

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