What’s news at Sounds Like Design?
The Sounds Like Design blog began in 2016 and since then we’ve covered business development and marketing topics, important policy and regulatory issues that affect the profession, and we’ve featured guest posts from several influential architects.
If you’d like to contribute to the blog about a topic or issue that you are passionate about, or think is important to share with your peers and colleagues, email us with your story idea, suggested images and proposed deadline, and we’ll collaborate to help you tell your story to a wider audience.
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Do architects in Melbourne win more architecture awards?
Are you concerned that some architecture and design programs appear to be biased or unfairly skewed towards some cities and states? A new data analysis of six awards programs over the past 10 years indicates otherwise... So how can you make your entries stand out to win?
CplusC Architectural Workshop is funding new scholarships and awards at UNSW
Breaking news: Sydney-based firm CplusC Architectural Workshop has partnered with the University of New South Wales to provide financial support and paid on-the-job experience to architecture students from socio-economically diverse backgrounds.
2022 in review: architecture highlights and lowlights
It’s been a big year - we’ve enjoyed seeing many clients celebrating major milestones and winning fantastic recognition for their work, unique approaches, and contribution to their communities. We’ve collected some highlights from practices around Australia that have completed SLD’s Review + Reset consulting package, and a round-up of local and global topics and events that shaped this year.
8 ways to elevate your architecture awards entries in 2023
Awards provide a fantastic opportunity to showcase all the ways you add value and transform places and buildings for the people who use them. To get the most out of your awards entries in 2023 – and to align them with your business development and marketing goals – think strategically about which projects to enter, and which programs will serve your needs best.
Is it possible to cultivate a waitlist of ideal clients for your architecture practice? – Part 3
You don’t have to be a world-famous architect to generate a waitlist for your architecture services (although brand recognition definitely helps!).
This article - the third and final part of my waitlist series - describes how to employ marketing techniques to identify and promote your specialist knowledge, and build a waitlist for your services.
Is it possible to cultivate a waitlist of ideal clients for your architecture practice? – Part 2
You don’t have to be a world-famous architect to generate a waitlist for your architecture services (although brand recognition definitely helps!).
In this article - Part 2 of a series - we explore the benefits of cultivating a waitlist, including how it can enhance the appeal of your practice and help you become more discerning.
Is it possible to cultivate a waitlist of ideal clients for your architecture practice? - Part 1
You don’t have to be a world-famous architect to generate a waitlist for your architecture services (although brand recognition definitely helps!).
In this article - Part 1 of a series - discover which Australian practices have cultivated waitlists of dedicated and committed clients, who ONLY want to work with them.
Why should you enter the Belle and InsideOut awards, and House & Garden’s Top 50 Rooms competition?
Entering architecture awards is a great way to raise awareness of your practice and projects, and maybe even connect with future clients. But how can you practice preparing great awards entries, in a low-cost, low-risk way? This article provides details of three great programs that enable you to polish your awards-entry skills.
How much time should I spend on business development and marketing, in my architecture practice?
Whether you are working on a new house, a major expansion of a school, or your future client pipeline – the likelihood of success or failure pivots on the interdependent relationships between time, cost and quality. In this blog post, we delve into how much time you should spend on business development and marketing for your architecture practice.
The downside of social media for architects: why you shouldn’t build your marketing assets on shifting sands
Getting locked out of your Instagram account is a stressful experience, especially if it’s your main channel to communicate with future clients. But there are ways around the account bots, and other channels that architecture practices can use to secure their connection with followers and future clients, as this blog post explains.
What are the main benefits of the Awards and Publishing marketing channels?
Publishing and Awards are closely linked and both are useful marketing channels to raise awareness around your architecture practice and projects. And - if you strategically select the most appropriate awards programs to enter - you can potentially use them to generate new projects, too.
How to market yourself as an architect (especially in your career)
I was invited to talk with Sarah Lebner about marketing yourself in your career, and she’s generously made the recording available to everyone to watch. Sarah asks all of her guests one final question: “What's your number one piece of advice for young architects?” – and I’ve included my response in this blog post.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Architecture Marketing 360 CPD Course
These are questions that we’ve received from architects who wanted to find out more about the upcoming Architecture Marketing 360 CPD course. If you have a question that’s not covered here, you can email Rachael directly to ask.
What do Amy and Kristina say about the Architecture Marketing 360 course?
Hear from two past students of the AM360 CPD course, and learn how it can help you to design and deliver your ideal practice. Find out how the course and SLD’s six-channel system helped Amy and Kristina to refine their business and marketing goals, and establish clear marketing implementation plans.
Referrals: 15 ways to elevate the unsung hero of your architecture marketing toolbox
Some architecture practices win 75% of their projects via Referrals, but this highly effective channel is often overlooked in favour of social media, publishing or awards. This blog post outlines how to collect Referrals, how to use them, and how to monitor their effectiveness in relation to inquiries from prospective clients, lead generation and new projects.
How much should you spend on marketing in your architecture practice?
Working out how much to spend on marketing in your architecture practice can be tricky. What activities constitute marketing and what are the industry benchmarks you can compare your budget to? In this blog post and video, I tell you what percentage of turnover professional services firms spend on marketing, with insights from Hollywood film marketing and pointers about the best channels to use.
8 ways that architecture practices can benefit from blogging (aka content marketing)
Blogging or content marketing can help to enhance your project pipeline and win more of the projects you love working on. However, most architecture practices don’t produce blogs consistently, preferring to focus instead on other marketing channels such as social media, publishing and awards. This article sets out 8 reasons to add blogging to your marketing strategy.
How to generate a steady stream of new client prospects for your architecture practice
A recent “FB whinge” by a well-known Sydney architect prompted this ‘Marketing how to’ post, focussed on lead generation.
It explains how to streamline your marketing and lead generation processes - so they are less reliant on the director/principal to execute - and also to ensure that potential clients you choose to meet with are your ideal clients, in terms of budget, brief and shared values.
What business development goals are you pursuing in your architecture practice this year?
Do you have a clear sense of your business development goals and how to achieve them? This blog post outlines various goals and metrics you can use to assess your priorities, and potentially shift your focus towards activities that will improve your project pipeline and the overall health of your business this year.
10 common misconceptions about architecture practice websites
All of your marketing efforts – across social media, referrals, awards, publication, and email marketing – should use Calls to Action to direct visitors to your website. And when they arrive, you can start (or continue!) a dialogue with customers who may turn into clients.
Is your website working as hard as it could be to generate new business for your architecture practice?.