How to get your interior design project published in press

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how to get your interior design project published in press

If marketing budget is limited, a great way to make your interior design business more visible is through press. But how do go about pitching your project you are so proud of to relevant magazines or newspapers? What kind of content and information do you need in order to get your interior design project published in press?

How to get your interior design project published in press

Speaking to many interior designers, I realise that when it comes to promoting your business and projects, it can be a little bit overwhelming and daunting. Approaching pitching to press as a mini project or a campaign may relieve some of the anxiety and overwhelm.

Let’s look at what you need before you can pitch to press.

1. Great photography

In the fast-paced editorial world we are living, one cannot assume that ALL magazines and newspapers will be happy to shoot your project and print it three to six months later. It can happen, don’t get me wrong, but even before they reach out to you, they need to see well-photographed interiors to give them an indication whether the design project or story is worth pursuing and publishing.

Print or online, majority of media companies rely on the business to provide them the content they need. So when you are pitching one of your projects, the quality of your photography is going to be a key element. Investing in professional photoshoots that help to capture the essence of your work can ensure that your design project stands a chance to get noticed.

TOP TIP: When photographing your project, make sure that each scene is captured well-lit and in both, portrait and landscape formats. Also, don’t forget to capture the details, especially when texture and contrast are important part of the design story.

2. Press release

To get your interior design project published in press, a well-structured press release is absolutely essential. It is a great vehicle to share information and more insight about the design project you are pitching. When writing a press release, think about the magazine’s audience and the reader, while keeping the journalist or editor in mind too. Use creative keywords to capture the attention, especially the headline, and describe your project, room by room, with the following:

  1. Where was the project located?
  2. Who was the client?
  3. What was the brief? And why?
  4. What was the concept behind the design?
  5. How did you use certain elements to meet the brief?

 

Providing such detailed description, the goal is simple: to give enough information to journalists or editors and to be published in their media outlets. Conclude your press release with a bit about your business – one or two sentences are enough, but if you want to share more use one paragraph. In “Notes to editors”, the very last section of your press release, include photographer credits and your contact details. Adding a link to the visual assets (photography) folder is also very helpful.

TOP TIP: Create your press release in MS Word or similar and also have a PDF version.

3. Research the publications

It is important to spend time researching the different publications that will be a good fit for your business, in terms of visual aesthetic and audience relevancy. This will help you for two reasons – one: it ensures you that if you get published your work will actually be in front of people who will potentially be interested in your work and two: having a well-aligned pitch (visuals and story) will help you get the attention of the editor faster.

While researching, create a spreadsheet or contact list with editors’ names (these can be found under the article title like on this example). You should also make a note of their publishing schedule or calendar, which you can find in their media packs (usually located in the footer menu on the website under advertising like in this example). Also make a note of the style, features and story formats they publish on a regular basis.

TOP TIP: The biggest mistake we see is receiving design project pitches which are not interesting for our readers. Don’t make that mistake yourself, spend some time on research in a similar way you’d normally do for your design projects.

4. Organise imagery in a folder

Clearly label the files with your company name and project title so the journalist or editor can allocate the project visuals correctly. Depending on the agreement you have with the photographer, don’t forget to also include the name of the photographer in the file name.

Upload all files into a Google Drive or Dropbox folder.

The pitching process

Now you are ready to start pitching your interior design project to press. Here are important elements to bare in mind:

  1. Subject line – make it intriguing to attract curiosity.
  2. Explain why your project is so interesting – why should it be published?
  3. Add one quality image. Avoid PDF and other files. For more information or images you can add a link to the folder as mentioned above.


TOP TIP:  
Keep it short and cover only the key points. In your email signature include your contact information, website details and social media handles.

Examples: 

If you are still struggling, have a look at these examples of press pitches we recently received and published.

Project 1. Eye-opening sensory-led design with Jolie Studio

Project 2. Adding a contemporary extension to this retro house designed by XUL Architecture

In conclusion, getting your interior design project published in press can have a huge impact on your company. It is one of the best ways to promote your business. More visibility means better brand awareness which leads to more enquiries and sales.

Inside our KNOWLEDGE SHARE membership we have special PR templates, publication lists and more detailed guides to help you create and use PR effectively in your design business. If you want to find out about it more, please click or tap here.

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to our bi-weekly “Creative Advice” round-ups? That way you never miss out on a good idea, case study or tip that you can get inspired by and use in your own business.

Want to pitch us your design project? Get in touch here. Please put “Design project” in the subject line.

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