EP # 29 | Lead Magnet Ideas for Interior Designers

Welcome to the Designers Oasis podcast. I'm your host, Kate Bendewald, interior designer, mama, and CEO of a thriving interior design business, built on authentic word-of-mouth referrals. It wasn't that long ago that I stepped away from my corporate architecture job to build my own dream, one that would allow me more time with the people that I love, the ability to serve my clients at the highest level and to make a great living. It wasn't always easy, and I've made my share of mistakes along the way. Fast forward to today, and I've learned a thing or two. This podcast is for you - the inspired, creative, ambitious, and let's admit it,  occasionally overwhelmed interior designer who shares this dream of transforming lives by transforming homes. Join me and my guests each week as we walk through practical ways to build an interior design business you love, and help you transform your client's lives. You can do this. 

Well, hello there. And welcome back to the Designers Oasis podcast. I'm your host, Kate Bendewald. Today, we're talking all about lead magnets. And I am really kind of excited for this topic. We have had a lot of questions lately about do I need a lead magnet? What is a lead magnet? How does it work? What do I do with these emails? Once I have them? What I do is can you give me for lead magnets. So we're gonna talk a lot, a little bit about all of it. 

So let's get started with the basics. What the heck is a lead magnet? Lead Magnet is some kind of a free resource that you provide someone who visits your website in exchange for their email address, and you get their permission to follow up with them via email. And so the next obvious question is, okay, great. I have their email, what's next? What can I do with this email address? And how can I use this to as a business development tool. So there are a couple of ways you can use these email addresses, you know, bloggers and podcasters, and content creators, those folks are typically creating regular weekly content that goes out every single week. That's what I do with the podcast, right? But maybe as an interior designer, that doesn't make sense, right? That level of content creation isn't right for your business, maybe that just isn't something that you would have time to do and to create those things take a lot of work and effort. So there are a couple of ways that you could utilize these emails without having to become a content creator, in addition to an interior designer. 

So I'm gonna give you two simple ways, you can choose to use both of these, or one of them, you may have some other ideas for how you might be able to use this email address to communicate with these prospective clients. And the whole idea is that if they're a right fit, they're going to eventually reach out to you and ask to take that next step with you, which would likely be to book a discovery call or a consultation. So the first one that is to do once you get their email address, you you've sent them this tool, right that you this tool that you've created, and we're gonna get into some examples for that here in a minute. But then you could send them a follow up email series, three to five emails. And typically what you want to do is you want to take whatever this resource is that you created, and you want to expand on it. So on day one, let's just take a three day series, for example, on day one, you may share. Here's another way that you can use this resource and take it a bit further. And what you would do is when you deliver that, that that freebie that lead magnet or that download in that Email, he'd say, Here's your here's your free gift, I want to let you know, just for three days, I'm going to send you a little bit more information related to this. And then after that you won't hear from me every day. But for now, here's this, move this email to your primary inbox. So you make sure you don't miss this next email that I'm gonna get. This is going to help you keep from getting your emails down the line captured in other tabs for Gmail or possibly in spam. So you want them to make sure that they mark your emails as friendly, and something that they're going to want to hear from. 

So that's the step number one. And then for each of those days, you would just expand on the information that you have provided. And the final email is just going to wrap up and say thank you, this is the end of this little mini email series. I hope you enjoyed this and you found it helpful. If you'd like to get started with a project, or you want to talk about where you are with your, with your ideas and your project, we'd love to hear from you. And you make a very clear call to action, whatever that may be for you. But typically, that would look like a discovery call. So that is option number one is to do an introductory email series three to five emails that get dripped out over time. 

The other way that you can do this, and again, you can do these together and in conjunction with one another, where you can pick one or the other. But the other would be to send out, say a quarterly, you could do monthly to but again, that could be a lot of work, it's up to you monthly or quarterly kind of Studio Update, right? What's happening in the studio. This is a behind the scenes peek at what it is you're working on, showcasing some exciting projects that you might have coming up, showing what you're in the middle of making, really clear to show, these are some of the ways that we're solving problems for clients that we're working with. And we can do the same thing for you too, you may showcase or highlight a project that you just wrapped up, I think it's also really cool for you to showcase a little bit of behind the scenes of your personal side, your your pets, your children, your travels, showcasing a new restaurant that you just tried out, those kinds of things can really add a personal touch, both of these methods are going to help you to build trust with these prospective clients, which is really, really key to nurturing that relationship. 

So the thing that I like, there's kind of pros to both of these. So ideally, you would use them together, right? But the very first one where you do that introductory email, number one, it makes sure that you're asking them to get your email into their inbox, and making it you know, safe and friendly so that you know it's not gonna get stuck in spam. It's also kind of rapid fire, you're adding more information which is showcasing you as the expert. And there's a really clear call to action and you're getting them kind of when they're they're a warm lead, right. They're warm leads, you know this because they're on your website, and they're downloading information that they're interested in from you. 

The reason why I really like the other idea, which is these monthly or quarterly studio updates, is because that then you continue to be top of mind for them, you're regularly showing up in their inbox and just saying hi, maybe you're offering some tips in there, or inspiration as well. Something to give them value, not just showcasing everything that you're doing, but you know, giving them something kind of fun to look at and to read. So, again, up to you. You can do them together or separately, but that those are just a couple of ways that you might use these email addresses once you get them. Of course, you're getting permission right when when they are signing up. They're clicking a box saying yes, it's okay to email me. They can unsubscribe at any time. You do need to be using an email service provider. MailChimp Squarespace I know Squarespace and Wordpress, they I don't know about WordPress. Actually, I do know that Squarespace now has the ability to create an email list within their platform. MailChimp is another one. There are all kinds of them out there varying price, price points. They're usually very, very inexpensive to start with. But the email service provider is going to keep a list of your, your your email list, but it's also going to make sure that people have the ability to unsubscribe, which is a requirement. So you just want to make sure that you're you're doing it right you're not sending this out from your regular Gmail. Okay, let's talk about a couple of principles of what What makes a good lead magnet? 

Okay, so there are a couple of things that I want you to think about. Number one, your lead magnet should be on brand, for the kind of work that you do and what you want to be known for. If you are a high end luxury designer, that's kind of the playing field you want to be in, your lead magnet probably isn't going to be centered around any sort of budgeting tool, right? If you are known as a kitchen designer, then your lead magnet might want to be related to kitchen design. If sustainability is central to your brand, and how you work, you may want to create a lead magnet around sustainability and green design and showcase your expertise in that way. Let's say you have a love affair with antiques and mixing antiques with modern design, you might want to create a lead magnet that highlights your knowledge around antiques, but again, it needs to be a value to them. So just think about creating a lead magnet that is on brand with your level and area of expertise. Number two, your lead magnet should speak to your ideal client and their pain points. So let's take the end. If you're an antiquarian, I'm going to I'm going to call it and let's say blending antiques into modern spaces is kind of what you're known for. Right?

You may provide a lead magnet that maybe you're not giving away all of your favorite sources and resources for antiques, no, that's your job. That's your, that's your creative database and knowledge. And that's proprietary. Instead, you might put together one that showcases I know 10 ways to mix in antiques with modern design, that sort of thing, maybe you are, you work with color, maybe color is your area of expertise, you may create a lead magnet that you know, you want your ideal, you want your ideal client to download this and to see themselves in it and to see spaces and beautiful imagery that draws them. And so, you know, if if color is your expertise, and you want to attract clients who are not afraid of color, or who need maybe some hand holding to help them because they want to use more color, but they're really not sure how to do it on their own, then your lead magnet would speak to them that way, but you want it to speak to your ideal client. 

Another way to think about that as is is, you know, budgeting our investment like it does you if your ideal client is somebody who is ready and willing to invest in their home and you want to put together a lead banquet that has something to do with investing, you want to make sure that the the language that you use around money is using words like investment instead of budget, those kinds of things. So just think about how you can put together a lead magnet that really speaks to your ideal client. 

Okay, number three, a good lead magnet should be inspirational. And we are visual people. So I think it is wise to put together a lead magnet that includes some really compelling imagery. So it can be inspirational in that way through imagery. But also, maybe it is a lead magnet that makes something that feels hard to clients, and makes them feel like it's a little bit more approachable. And that's going to kind of help them get unstuck, right? Maybe, maybe, for example, a client is they've been on Pinterest for years, and they've just got stuck all over the place. Maybe you give them information that teaches them how to do something or inspires them to take one little small step, right, maybe that's create a new Pinterest board and only put in the stuff that is meaningful and relevant for you right now today like your your style, what you want to go for and just really clearly edit into one kind of new pin board, ideally something that they can share with you down the line, right. So that's inspirational in the sense that it's asking them to take some action. So inspirational lead magnets are very effective. 

Number four, principle of a good lead magnet is it should demonstrate your expertise. This is not the time to get shy, this is not the time to sit in your little corner and not showcase your work and your expertise. Even if you have a small portfolio, you're just getting started, put in your absolute best imagery, and use tips and advice to showcase your expertise. So thinking about your lead magnet, making sure that it's on brand. But it's speaking to your ideal client. And it's inspirational. You also want to make sure that it is showcasing your expertise in one way or another. Let's say that you're a kitchen designer, and you put together a lead magnet that showcases 25 Creative organizational methods for a kitchen, right. So this is going to showcase like really, it's going to inspire them to see all the different ways that they can have a highly functional and beautiful kitchen. And it's also going to show that you are aware of all the solutions and tools out there. And that you can be the one that helps them put together the right solutions that are unique and specific for them. Your clients. So demonstrating your expertise. That's just one example. 

And then the last principle, I'm sure there's more but these are just the ones that I am thinking about today at the top of mind today is your lead magnet should include a call to action, a really clear simple call to action. Ideally, this is to book a discovery call. So maybe you've got a cover page, and maybe you've got another page that is the information that you're sharing. And the last page would be ideally, you know, a photo of you a little short blurb about you and then a link that they can click on these always, I would say almost always need to be a PDF that you create Canva is probably the simplest way to do this, and then turn that into a PDF. And then that very last page should have the opportunity where they can, you know, click here to book a complimentary discovery call to talk about your project. So just to recap, number one, they should be on brand. Number two, they should speak to your ideal client. Number three, they should be inspirational. Number four, you want to demonstrate your expertise. And finally, make sure that you end it with a call to action, no dead ends my friends. 

So real quick, just to wrap up, I do want to just highlight a couple of ideas for lead magnets. By all means there are probably there's endless options for how the kinds of lead magnets that you could create, I would say to start, it's best just to have one simple, straightforward lead magnet, I don't think it's effective, or that you need to necessarily have a whole bunch of lead magnets in in this scenario. So take the time to figure out what might be the best one for you. And if over time you find that maybe it's not performing as well, then you could consider changing it up. But for now just start with one figure out what's going to make the most sense, and test and refine as necessary. But here are a couple of ideas. One, you could do a quiz. So everybody loves a quiz. They're fun, they are informative, and it's usually a pretty insightful for people. So you could either do something like a style quiz, where people you know, this is kind of the obvious one, like, what's your style and you show pictures and they pick this one or that one or whatever or you ask questions or have questions about travel to so many ways you can put this together but helping people to get clarity, right? This is helping them to get clarity on something of what their their ideal style might be. would be one way or another might be a project management style quiz. You This kind of quiz would help. Maybe somebody is on the fence of whether the Gosh, I don't know, if I need designer for a date, let's say you offer a couple of services designer for a day design only, or full service design. 

A quiz in this scenario, could ask pointed questions that are going to help them reveal what kind of help they actually need. In some cases, you may have somebody that comes to you, and they, they think they want design only, and they want to take everything from there and then do the implementation ordering project management themselves. But in doing this quiz that you provide, they realize, gosh, they really don't have what it takes, or the time or the resources that it takes to actually implement this on their own, and they might actually need full service. So it can be a good preliminary tool to help them self identify what kind of service might be best for them. And then that way, when you get on a on a phone call, you're already a step ahead. Because you're you've you've identified most likely what the what the best case scenario would be for them. 

The next sort of category are informative guides, and these are, this is probably the longest list. They're they're the there's so many topics that you could cover. When it comes to providing your website visitors with an informative guide, here's a couple of ideas to share with you one, your services and investment guide. So I often will tell designers that that is something you would provide after the discovery call. But that's not always the case. In fact, there was a period of time where we were getting more discovery calls than we could really handle. Not always from ideal clients. That sort of meant also that we needed to do some work on our website to tweak the copy a little bit and make sure that we were tailoring it to our ideal client. But also we were just so busy. And so the services and investment Guide, which reveals kind of the ballpark of where you might be when it comes to spending money on services only I'm not talking about projects themselves, but just services investment guide. So what we did is we switched it up a little bit where we didn't provide that service guide, services and investment guide. After the discovery call, we made that a lead magnet and that way, anybody that wanted it could access our services and investment guide, and understand a little bit more about our process and how we work and how we charge. Just initial sort of like ranges, right, we're just talking about range of price ranges, you're constantly your proposals are generally customized for each project. But then somebody could read that and decide for themselves. Yeah, this is exactly what I was thinking what I was hoping for. And then of course, in there is a call to action to book a call with us. And so by the time we did get on the phone with somebody, we were, by and large talking to people who were already primed in the right category to be working with us. So you can play around with it that way. So services and investment guide could be your lead magnet, pretty straightforward. 

Some other ideas, The Ultimate Guide to working with your interior designer or an interior designer or us, you know, things to know about working with an interior designer. So I think this can be really informative. You can provide lots of examples of how you work and why it's better. And no, you don't pass on your desk, those kinds of things. But doing it in a really kind of fun and inspirational and educational way. Another one, you could just highlight your design process, maybe you're not ready to pass out your investment guide to just anyone who comes to your website. That's okay. But maybe you could whittle that down to just showcase your design process. And what does that look what does that process look like? I think people feel a lot more trusting and eager to work with somebody when they kind of know what to expect, right? They can see down the road a little bit and see what this is gonna look like it makes them feel a bit of comfort and security and working with you. So I think showcasing your design process can be informative as well. Thinking back to your area of expertise here some additional ideas. Maybe you're known for working with families with kids, and or pets. So maybe you provide an informative guide around the essentials of creating a kid friendly home or a pet friendly home or an allergy free home. Or if you are known for your area of expertise around sustainability. You could say principles of eco friendly design.

Maybe you're known for helping people design their forever home, it's a home that they want to age in gracefully and they don't want to you You know, rebuild this custom home, again and 1520 years as they get older. So your area of expertise is aging in place, right. So you could then create a lead magnet all around design principles for aging in place. So just a couple of ideas for informative guides to get you started. Don't forget, checklists are super popular and, and fun for people to download. Maybe this isn't a project planner checklist, maybe you want to give them some sort of a checklist to help them think through what all it is that they want to do on a project and have them start thinking about flooring, lighting, ceilings, walls, like what are all of those envelopes? Surfaces gonna be? Are we keeping floors, are we resurfacing are we putting in knew what the case may be. And giving them a little checklist to get started just to think about these things so that by the time they get on the phone, and they talk to you, they've already helped written out write out the scope of work. So some sort of a project plan or checklist could be one way. Another one, which is a lot of fun, are round ups. So maybe it's your favorite paint colors 10 ways to mix antiques into a modern home 10 things you'll never find in a high end home. These are, again, just some examples. Maybe in that one, you mentioned things like knockdown texture or mass produced art or faux wood flooring. Again, that would need to be specifically on brand for your clientele. So you really need to understand who your ideal client is who you're talking to. 

Again, just to recap, a lead magnet is designed to help you cultivate a relationship with your prospective client and give them a call to action. It also is going to get their permission to email them from time to time. And then you can deliver high quality, inspirational and informational, informative content to them on a regularly scheduled basis. I would love to know share with us your lead magnet let us know what you've come up with and and how you might utilize this in your business. Have fun creating it too. I think it can be a lot of fun to put this together. All right. That's all I have for today. I will see you guys next time. Bye for now. 

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