Today's interview is the first of three, which are as a follow up to the recent Design Bloggers Conference, which was held in LA, this last March. LuAnn really loves the process of how these designers create blogs to serve as a marketing arm for their business and a lead generator for their design firm. Listen in today to get some really great, actionable tips that you can duplicate. Today's guest is Claire Staszak, who won the award at the Conference for the best blog writing of 2017. She is a Chicago-based interior designer who is known for her holistic design process of combining refined aesthetics with wellness principals, as she draws on her years of experience as a Yoga and Meditation Instructor, to gently guide her clients through the process of unearthing and then refining their own, unique style, resulting in a sanctuary which is timeless, rather than trendy. Claire studied Interior Design at the School of Art Institute in Chicago and she holds a Certificate of Kitchen and Bathroom Design from Harper College. She's a certified Yoga Instructor, with more than five hundred hours of training and she also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from the University of Dayton. Claire did apprenticeships at two high-end firms- Nate Berkus and Associates and Kate Marker Interiors. Her own work has been featured in Design Sponge, Rue Magazine, and Domino. In 2016, she had the honor of being nominated for HD TV's Fresh Faces of Design Competition. With her latest project of renovating her own home, a 1932 Tudor Style brick bungalow in Chicago, Claire is using her own, eclectic style. You can follow this renovation on her blog. Listen in to today's show to find out more about Claire, and how she uses her blog as an effective tool for marketing her business. Today, Claire talks to LuAnn about: How she got to do her internships with Nate Burkus and Associates and Kate Marker Interiors. The advantages of getting as much work experience as possible. The benefits of working for a large and well-run business, in order to gain necessary experience, to run a successful business of your own, later on. Where she found the inspiration for her blog. How she incorporates Yoga and Meditation into her design work. How she's starting to be recognized by her clients, who know that she really gets them and knows what they want. That consistency is really important with blogging. Creating blog content that readers want to come back for. Her Renovation Series- how it helps her to draw people to her website. How collaboration has really worked for her as a marketing vehicle. That she really doesn't try to sell things from her blog, yet it still makes money for her in other ways. That you should go to conferences to renew your energy, expand your horizons with blogging and keep you moving forward. The great networking opportunities that she found at the conference. How the conference has helped her to partner up with other Interior Designers, to enhance their blogs and hers. Her Spring Into Home collaboration with other design bloggers. You don't need to spend a lot of money on your blog, however, you do need to spend something, to make it look really good. Using the correct etiquette and ethics to credit the source of the photographs that you use on your blog, from the internet. An idea to help people to network better with the people that they connect with at conferences. Claire's website: www.centeredbydesign.com http://centeredbydesign.com/spring-home-tour-week-one-doreen-corrigan/

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