How to get your design projects published in the media
Working with the media and getting your name out there is one of those marketing tasks that is going to take some time to build up over time.
But being featured in media this provides you with massive social proof for your business and really helps to build up your authority.
Having your work in the media doesn’t necessarily mean you will end up with lots of high quality projects. In fact my experience of having been published in a number of places is that you don’t get that many projects from this kind of exposure.
BUT what it does help with is building up your reputation and positioning you as an expert in your niche.
Think about your ideal client….
If they follow you on social media and enjoy the helpful and informative content you are putting out, and then see your name included in an article that you’ve been quoted in and then a while later see one of your projects published in their favourite design magazine – this really helps to build up a picture of you being someone who knows what they are talking about and helps them to be more confident in appointing you to help them with their project.
Plus, they get used to seeing you everywhere, which means that on the day when they decide they need a designer to work with on their project, you will be the person they think of!
So in this article I will share some tips for how to approach and interact with the media in order to get your design work published and help establish you as an expert in your niche.
What do I mean by media?
Now the first thing to mention is that when I say media there are so many different types of media these days that you can be featured on and that will help you to build up your reputation and credibility including;
Smaller blogs in your niche and related niches (including lesser known blogs who may be happy to feature you as you are getting started)
Design Magazines – lots of types from smaller niche magazines like Adore Home or The Local Project to more mainstream like Vogue and Belle
Established design blogs – e.g. Est. Living, The Local Project, YellowTrace or DesignMilk – for more established designers
Social media influencers – DM them and see if they will share your work
Suppliers – DM suppliers if you have products you have bought from them and see if they will share your images. Always tag suppliers if you have used a product of theirs – many will share your images on their own platform. This gives you social proof plus will boost your own following
Other media – newspapers, podcast interviews, video shows, television, other printed media
And when you are approaching the media outlets that you are keen to be featured in there are some basic principles that I suggest you keep in mind.
Seek the clients’ approval
Firstly – always make sure you have the approval of the client before you start trying to get their home in to publications.
Some clients are very private and don’t want their homes in magazines and you don’t want to have gone to all the trouble of getting in to a publication only to find that you don’t have the permission of the client to do this.
Having a clause in your design agreement about permission to photograph the project is the best idea for this if you want to avoid issues down the track.
Get some good photographs of your project
Before approaching any media outlet the first thing you will want to make sure of is that you have some good images taken of the projects that you want to have featured.
Many magazines will come and take their own images for their publication, but many won’t as well – they will just print the images that you have had taken. So if you do have a project that you think is magazine worthy then you will want to make sure you invest in some good photography.
Here’s a few suggestions for how to find a photographer:
look in publications that you are hoping to be featured in and you can try and see if you can use those photographers for your images. Some of these photographers will be well established – and therefore very expensive. But not all of them.
Another place to look is on Instagram at designers you like and follow. Have they tagged the photographer they used for their projects? If they haven’t you can always reach out to them and ask who took the images.
You can also try searching on Instagram under hashtags like #sydneyphotographer – as you may be able to find someone who is just starting out and therefore not as expensive this way.
If you are going for a professional photographer try and split the cost of your photography with others who have collaborated on the project – e.g. an architect, builder or cabinet maker. This will keep costs down for you. But if you do this make sure that you have a clear arrangement up front with these companies about how the photographs will be used and permission from everyone to enter these in to magazines and for awards.
If there is a particular magazine you are hoping to be featured in another option can be to ask them which stylist and photographer they suggest you use – as this will help your chances of getting featured.
And if you can’t afford photography then don’t worry as often magazines will still be willing to feature the project based on reviewing low-res images that you take yourself. They will pay and send a team themselves to photograph the home. So take some good photos on your phone or camera if you can’t afford to do it professionally and don’t rule yourself out if you can’t afford expensive photography quite yet.
If you want tips for taking interior design photos with your iPhone then read this blog post.
Only approach one outlet at a time
The next thing I want you to remember before you start to reach out to any publications is to only be approaching one media outlet at a time. And I want you to reach out to them in order of where you would ideally like to be published.
The reason for this is that many publications won’t feature your projects if they have already been featured in other magazines or blogs. All magazines and media outlets are looking for ORIGINAL content. They don’t want to be publishing a house that was in a different magazine last month.
The larger, more established magazines or blogs will probably make you sign an agreement where you agree to keep the content exclusive to that publication for a certain period of time.
If you reach out to multiple outlets at the same time you run the risk of not having that option of the exclusive access that the media is looking for.
So I suggest only reaching out to one publication at a time and waiting to hear back from them before moving on to the next one.
Do your research
Make sure you are approaching publications that are a good fit for YOUR style of project.
Just because you might like the idea of being featured in Belle doesn’t mean that it is the right magazine for your project.
You will need to read the magazines and blogs you want to approach and think about whether the aesthetic of the project is a good fit. There is no point approaching Vogue to do a feature of your functional family home – it’s just not their style.
The best person to contact is normally the editor of the magazine or publication – or the features writer or other person in a decision making role.
Normally the email address of key contacts can be found at the beginning of the magazines or in the contact section of the blog – so look for them there. Otherwise a google search will often reveal this as well.
If you’re searching on blogs then the larger ones will normally outline their submission process on a particular page on the website. If this is the case then make sure you follow their submission process exactly – as this will give you the best chance for success.
If they don’t explicitly state what their submission process is then look for the email address of the blog owner or use the contact form on the site to reach out. Instagram DMs or LinkedIn is also another great place to reach out to people.
Make personal contact
As someone who is sent unsolicited emails multiple times per day there is a massive difference between the ones that are sent to me and addressed personally versus those that I get that clearly come from someone who hasn’t bothered to do any research about me or my business.
A sure fire way of being deleted straight away is to start your email in a way that makes it sound like you are sending it out to hundreds of publications at once and haven’t bothered to research the editors name or anything about the publication.
So make sure your initial email is addressed personally to the editor or blog owner.
And also make sure you do make initial contact via email and not a phone call.
Again, as someone who gets lots of calls and emails from people trying to pitch me for things each week there is nothing more annoying than having cold calls from people when I am in the middle of spending time with my kids.
Your email or DM should be as short as possible and include:
A polite and short opening that is personalised to that person and magazines
A small amount of Information about the project (no more than a few hundred words) – for example the location, who designed it, what kind of project it was. Use point form to make it easier to read.
A few images (see below)
This is just to give them idea of the project. They will likely interview you about the project in more detail if they decide to feature it.
Do not send a wall of text - you’ll likely just get deleted. Busy people don’t have time to read long emails.
Send low res images in one presentation document to start
Let them know you have high res available but only ever send low res to start and ideally prepare a story board type document of the project – this makes it quick and easy for a busy editor or writer to look at all the images at once without having to download and open multiple files.
Send more photographs that are of the larger spaces (rather than close ups) as the editors or site owners will want to be able to understand the space as a whole when they are deciding whether or not to feature it.
The easier you make it for someone to see your work the better chance you have of them publishing it.
Make this document look good - Canva is a great tool for this.
Wait for a response
My experience is that most outlets won’t come back to you straight away – although I do find I get a much faster – and often immediate response when they are interested in the project.
So be patient when you are waiting to hear back from a publication. It may take up to a week or two – at which time a polite reminder email would be fine.
My suggestion is to wait for a clear no before moving to another publication due to most magazines featuring houses exclusively.
You also have to remember that they are really doing you a favour as much as you are by providing them with content. You are going to be getting free press so try and co-operate and do as they request of you.
Keep trying
Be prepared that rejection is high when working with the media, especially when you are first getting started and don’t yet have an established brand.
But don’t get put off and keep trying. Move down your list with other options and keep trying until you find someone who is a good fit for your project. You will also find that as your reputation becomes more established you’ll build up a better relationship with some of the magazines and editors and this will help you with getting your work published.
Also go back with other projects – sometimes one project won’t be a good fit but another one will be.
Be quick to respond
If you do hear back from people that you reach out to then the next tip I have is to now be quick and helpful in the way you respond.
Magazines and other media publications tend to be on tight deadlines and they remember people who make their life easy for them. So if you do get an email or call then make sure you go back to them as quickly as you can and do exactly what they are asking of you.
Thank them!
If you do end up getting your feature published remember to send a thank you email once you’ve seen the work in print.
This is just good manners of course but I also had a journalist once tell me that hardly anyone ever writes to thank them for the feature – so this again will help you stand out to them and they may then feature you again down the track.
So those are some of my tips for working with media to trying to get your projects published. I hope that helps to give you some ideas for how to go about doing that. Working with the media is hugely beneficial to your brand and is something I want you to start thinking about as soon as you feel ready for it.
There are so many different types of media to be featured on these days – so you may already even have images of your own home that you could use to approach suppliers on DM and see if they will feature on their social media sites. All exposure is great for you business, no matter how big or small.
So start putting yourself out there and getting others to share you and your content. It will be great for your brand exposure!
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