242: Carla Aston - How To Grow Your Interior Design Blog, Intentionally

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

LuAnn Nigara

Design, Business, Arts

4.9 • 810 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2017

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

LuAnn is really happy to have Carla Aston as her guest on today's show! Many of you may know Carla from her Design Blog, Designed With Carla Aston, where twice a week, she shares quality content and also her passion for Interior Design, with her two hundred thousand loyal followers. When Carla's inbox started getting really full of questions and messages from her readers, she branched out and started doing E-Consultations, where she personally and intentionally addresses home owner's questions about Design, via email. Then Carla realized that if she made E-Books on the same topics and dilemmas, with the same solutions as her E-Consultations, she would be able to sell these on her website too. Listen in now, to find out more about Carla, her Consultations, and her E-Books. Carla, a very smart lady, obtained a B.F.A. In Interior Design and then spent nine years working in Architectural Design Firms, both large and small. Since then, Carla and her family have lived in Norway and Australia, which has really given her a great perspective on culture, lifestyle, architecture, and design, all of which she brings to both her business and her blog. Carla has invested time and money and she has built her career very intentionally, so listen in, because you are really going to love the way she explains all of this, on the show today. Show highlights: Carla, who has a really clear and perfectly laid out website, explains why she likes to educate her clients, prior to working with them. Carla explains how she tailored her business over the years, to become a perfect fit for her. Carla explains where her Designed In A Click E-Consultation service came from and how works. Carla explains her alternative service, Designed By Styling. Carla explains all about her ninety minutes Designed With A Consultation service, which is done in the way that she really prefers to do things. Carla discusses the purpose behind the Outlet Area on her website, which mostly consists of PDF's on various topics that she's dealt with in her blog posts, available for between $10 and $12. Carla talks about which of her services provide the best revenue streams. The value in re-purposing certain content, that has already been used on your website. Carla discusses the biggest piece that she's selling currently, a nineteen-page PDF based on her own experiences, which deals with the issues and concerns that Designers tend to have when doing consultations. Carla discusses the components of her successful blog, Designed With Carla Aston, which is really a huge catalog and also the gateway to everything that Carla is selling. The branding mistake that Carla made, prior to getting started on her new, improved platform. What really drives Carla. The Consultant/Coach that Carla hired for the first few years before she found her own, unique voice. The most common questions that Carla gets from Designers. Carla's advice for a Designer who lives far out, in a rural area. Carla's plans for the future. Links: Email: Carla@CarlaAston.com Her social: https://www.instagram.com/carlaaston/ https://twitter.com/search?q=carla%20aston&src=typd Her website: CarlaAston.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you heard about the exciting new exhibit by the Black Artists and Designers Guild,
0:05.6	which was commissioned by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City?
0:11.1	Big news, right?
0:12.6	The Cooper Hewitt's exhibition is called Making Home, Smithsonian Design Triennial.
0:18.2	Now, the batch designers exhibit is titled the Underground Library,
0:23.8	inspired by the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is the clandestine network
0:28.6	established in the early 19th century through which many enslaved African Americans
0:33.6	traveled in search of freedom. This library installation represents a 21st century sanctuary surrounded by art, objects,
0:43.5	artifacts, and books of black legacy.
0:46.9	In reimagining and repurposing the Andrew Carnegie Personal Library,
0:52.7	badge invites you to examine the power of home libraries
0:56.1	and the significance of literacy, remembering that African Americans were denied the right to read
1:02.3	under slavery. I'm honored to share that Window Works in Livingston was asked by badge to create
1:08.7	the flat panels for the windows. We used a custom design fabric
1:12.5	by badge members, and the fabric was fabricated by Stacey Garcia's team at Libatex. So please make a
1:20.0	point to visit this inspired space the next time you are in New York City. The exhibition runs
1:25.5	from November 24 all the way through August 10th, 2025.
1:31.1	So you have plenty of time to get this on your calendar.
1:34.0	We will put links in the show notes.
1:44.0	Welcome to a well-designed business with your host, Luan Nigara.
1:48.3	Luan has a lifetime of experience building a multi-million dollar business with her husband and cousin,
1:53.6	and she knows the challenges you've faced in your interior design business.
	...

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