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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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.
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 the new clients and projects you love 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?.
How to use Instagram to market your architecture practice (and turn Followers into Clients) - Part 2
In Part 2 of this blog post about how to use Instagram to market your architecture practice, I outline 6 steps to enhance your Instagram activity to deliver visitors to your Website, so you can start turning Followers into future clients.
How to use Instagram to market your architecture practice (and turn Followers into Clients) - Part 1
Many architects use Instagram to promote their practice but few understand the role that it plays in your overall marketing strategy, or how to turn Followers into Clients. This blog post (and its sequel) explain how to get the most out of Instagram, and use it effectively to generate new clients and projects.
Do you repurpose your architecture awards entries for business development?
The 2021 Architecture Awards ceremonies are now over, so it’s time to repurpose your awards entries into marketing materials to promote your practice. With a few tweaks, you can easily ensure that your entries speak directly to new clients to bring in new projects. Read on to find out how…
Do you make it easy for potential clients to find, commission and pay you? (Part 2)
The second instalment of my article about jewellery shopping provides useful pointers for architecture marketing, especially around how you price your service offerings, and how to communicate your pricing and payment options to future clients.
Do you make it easy for potential clients to find, commission and pay you? (Part 1)
Two recent shopping experiences - forays that started online but led to physical store visits - provided useful pointers for architecture marketing, especially around how you price your service offerings, and how to communicate your pricing and payment options to future clients.
Talking about architecture in the media: insights from Kirsty Volz
Kirsty Volz recalls her first brush with the media, which prompted her to learn new media engagement skills. Now she regularly appears on radio and in print, and she offers insights here for architects keen to enhance their media presence.
Create a publication strategy to maximise coverage of your architecture projects
Publication is all about building brand awareness and attracting new clients to your architecture practice. But how do you navigate the various tiers of publication and maximise your coverage across print magazines and newspapers, and online platforms and blogs? This article lays out the strategy in a step-by-step process.