Get Quick Press: PR that Works for Design & Remodeling Professionals

Prospects decide who to trust long before they ever call, and the media they read shapes those choices. We break down a fast, practical PR system for design and remodeling professionals who want to be discovered as experts—without spending five figures a month on an agency. You’ll hear why third‑party credibility changes buyer behavior, how quick expert quotes outperform long project pitches for busy editors, and the compounding benefits of press logos and backlinks on your website.

We walk through the exact routine that fits real schedules: 20–30 minutes twice a week to scan Qwoted, HARO-style lists, and SOS threads for relevant queries, then craft crisp replies with specific, quotable advice. Along the way, we share real-world wins—early placements in Forbes and the Wall Street Journal—and set honest expectations about the numbers game behind PR. Ten thoughtful submissions might yield one or two features, but those features open doors to higher‑end clients, stronger SEO, and faster sales conversations.

If you’ve wondered what to say, we spell it out: give one sharp takeaway, add a concrete example from your projects, include a short credential line, and link to a relevant page on your site. Keep it simple, be consistent, and run your outreach in one‑ to three‑month sprints so the habit sticks. By the end, you’ll have a clear plan to turn your everyday expertise into media coverage, social proof, and a steady flow of better-fit leads. If this helps, subscribe, share the show with a colleague, and leave a review to tell us your first target outlet.

If you would like to get the links and show notes for this episode, click on the link below:​

• https://www.designerdiscussions.com/episodes/episode-152-Get-Quick-Press-PR-That-Works

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Designer Discussions is a partnership of three experts: Jason Lockhart, CEO of KABMS; Maria Martin, founder of DesignAppy; and Mirjam Lippuner, founder of Get Ink DIY

Episode Transcript

Jason Lockhart (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Designer Discussions
with Jason, Miriam, and Maria.
Today we are talking about GetQuick Press, PR that actually
works for design and remodelingprofessionals.

Maria Martin (00:13):
Welcome to the Designer Discussions Podcast
with Jason, Miriam, and Maria,where we talk about marketing,
PR, and business advice fordesign professionals.

Mirjam Lippuner (00:27):
Thanks, Jason.
Yeah, this is um really one ofmy favorite topics because I do
think it is the most relevantone that we talk about on this
podcast for our audience ofdesign and remodeling pros.
I want to start out um bytalking about why PR matters,

(00:51):
right?
Because people always like theidea of PR, but some a lot of
people don't really know what itis.
Like most people don't know howto go about it.
So I just want to talk aboutthat briefly.
What a lot of people are awareof that it is very expensive to
hire a PR agency.
And that is the truth.
Um, it can easily run betweenfive and fifteen thousand

(01:15):
dollars per month to have anagency on retainer.
And obviously, that is notrealistic for most um small or
mid-sized firms in any industry,really.
But it is also true that um aPR feature and certainly
numerous PR features really umgive you a boost of credibility

(01:40):
and now is talk aboutthird-party credibility, about
somebody else in the media thatis showing off um your expertise
or your project.
It adds an instant boost ofcredibility that really can help
you attract those higher-endclients that you probably want.

(02:01):
Press coverage builds trust andpremium positioning.
There's no way around it.
And especially today in the eraof AI and how that impacts um
how people um search and and andfind you.
People always think maybethey're not qualified to get the

(02:21):
PR, but it is also true thatjournalists don't just want
projects because that that's athat's like the next step in PR
that we cover um in a differentepisode.
And I teach about both of thesetopics in our designer
discussions academy too.
And those are separate,completely separate trainings.

(02:41):
But they don't just wantprojects, there's also a place
for you to contribute expertiseum to topics that are really
well within your yourwheelhouse.
And that's what we're gonnatalk about today.
I call this the get quick pressmethod, and it's really super

(03:04):
easy.
And Jason has heard me talkabout this um for, I don't know,
many years.
Um, and I wish Maria was heretoday because this is actually
how she got her start in PR whenshe joined um a PR-only
membership that I had years ago,and she was one of my founding

(03:25):
members, and she really hit itout of the ballpark.
And if you look her up today, Imean, she has been published
just about anywhere, likeincluding Forbes and AD and
different trade pubs.
It really has um, if I may saythat on her behalf, it really
has paid off for her.

(03:46):
Like her credibility, hercredibility in now is through
the roof.
So that's one thing you want tostart with is really you want
to position yourself as theexpert.
And it's not just positioning,you are an expert.
If you are a design orremodeling professional, you run
a design remodeling company,you are a professional in the

(04:09):
industry.
And there's so much opportunityfor this industry in the media
because there's always articlesabout um kitchen and bath, um,
interior design, um, colorchoices, um, trends, materials,
um, tips on how to upgrade yourspace.

(04:30):
There's just like there'slimitless um content that is
being written about uhespecially about interior design
and and remodeling,construction, maintenance, um,
even cleaning, there's uh tonsand tons of opportunity.
So you already are an expertand you just have to let that

(04:51):
sink in and you have to trulybelieve it, and then that like
inherently qualifies you uh tobe a source for a journalist who
writes an article.
And the way I teach this isreally focusing on simplicity.
We work with um uh mostly threedifferent free platforms.

(05:16):
The way we use them is free.
Some of them have paid umoptions, but we focus on the
free versions.
We work with quoted, um, haro,and SOS.
And it's gotten a little bitmore complicated in the world of
PR because all theopportunities that used to be
relevant for us used to be onHaro, which stands for help a

(05:39):
reporter out.
And we can put links um in thein the show notes as well.
But it used to, everything usedto be uh on Haro.
And then there was a lot of umtumultuous developments in the
world of PR, and Haro got boughtout by a big company and

(06:01):
everything changed, and so it'snot quite the way it used to be.
So we have to be a little bitmore resourceful in how we track
down the opportunities that wework with, but they're still out
there.
It just takes a little bit morework to find them.
And obviously, I can tell youexactly how to do that, and we
focus on those three platforms,like I said, quoted, Harrow, and

(06:25):
SOS.
And the other challenge thatpeople have, everybody is
strapped for time.
And this is the biggestchallenge that I see people
having when it gets to actuallyexecuting uh PR and getting some
of these placements.
But in reality, you can do thiswith very little time.

(06:47):
If you have good direction andyou know how to do it, you can
spend 20, 30 minutes a coupletimes a week maximum, and you
can do this 100%.
And I've seen it happen overand over and over again.
You know, we had, for instance,we had a member in our first

(07:08):
year of our academy program, anduh, they were pretty terrified
to do this, and they theythought it was a great idea,
they just couldn't getthemselves to do it.
I understand it.
It's you have to grow into themindset that um this is doable
for you.
And they ended up joining foranother year of the academy, and

(07:31):
then they started implementingthese quick press tactics.
And within, I can't remember ifit was the first or the second
month, they landed a placementin Forbes.
First month?
Yes.
Yes.
I mean, it was incredible, andthey were blown away, you know.
They're like, oh my God, thisactually really works.

(07:52):
I remember another member thatgot a placement in the Wall
Street Journal that was also inthe first month, which both of
these, I'm not saying this isthe norm.
Okay, I'm not saying you'regonna start doing this and
you're gonna land like atop-tier placement like that,
but you might start out smaller.

(08:13):
What I will guarantee is thatif you do the work, you will end
up with your first piece ofmedia coverage in the first two
months.
It would really have to be uh,I don't know, like somebody
would have to put a spell on youor something for that not to
happen if you actually put inthe work.
So you can definitely do this.

(08:36):
That is my main message foryou.
And every every pitch, once youget started, every pitch gets
easier.
You know, it's like a musclethat you grow and it gets easier
and easier and easier, whichmeans that the you're gonna be
continuing to accumulatecoverage and it'll get easier

(08:58):
for you because you're gonnaknow how to do it, it's gonna
feel familiar, and you're alsogonna have the credentials.
Like when if people like lookyou up and say, Oh, is this a
legit company?
It's like, uh, are they seriousabout doing PR?
If they go on your website oron your socials and they see
that you already have somepublicity uh in the past,

(09:22):
they're gonna be much morelikely to take you seriously and
want to include you in theirarticle too.
So it's cumulative, right?
It's like the the first one,two, three are harder, but then
it gets easier and easier afterthat.
And the big perk for a designand remodeling business really
is the reason why we do this, isbecause of it helps with SEO,

(09:47):
and you get to put those logoson your website.
You can say as featured and andthere's gonna be better homes
and gardens and forps and kb andwhatever other placements you
can land, but that is achievablefor everybody who's listening
to this call.

(10:07):
I a hundred percent.
So why does this work, right?
And I talked a little bit aboutthis.
It's because this people,design experts are ideal media
sources.
It's like because youunderstand budgets, timelines,
trends.

(10:28):
Um, so you really are youyou're uh sought after by the
media, they want your expertise,and it's not like they're doing
you a favor.
This is a mutually beneficialrelationship where they need
information and background, andyou have this.
I actually just sent out uh Ihad an editor friend who sent me

(10:54):
a media request.
It was about kitchen cabinets,and I sent it out to um some of
um the contacts that we have andto some of the people that are
considering joining our academyprogram, and I got some
responses back, you know, and anumber of people, however, did

(11:14):
not respond to me.
And this is as easy as it gets.
You know, it's like if if itcomes right into your inbox and
then somebody says, pleaseanswer these questions.
Um, and if you then don'trespond to that, that means
you're not really serious.
No, so and I always say it'slike everybody wants to get the
PR, but in my experience, mostpeople are not willing to do the

(11:38):
work.
And the reason I'm being soopen about this and I'm saying
this is because I don't want youto be one of those people.
Because it truly is doable, butit only works if you take
action.
You know, if you if it's justwishful thinking, it's not gonna
happen.
And my recommendation uh foranybody listening is that, and

(12:04):
if you want to do this, okay,don't go in crazy and say, oh
God, this whole next year, I'mgonna be focusing on PR and am I
gonna do it every day of theweek for the whole year.
That's most likely not gonnawork.
So, what I recommend is thatyou maybe dedicate two to three
months, and you could even startwith one.

(12:25):
Let's say between one and threemonths, that you are gonna
proactively work on PR.
You learn how to do this byeither joining us in the academy
or listening to podcasts whereI've talked about this in the
past, and you put it on yourcalendar, you dedicate time, and

(12:48):
you actually do it.
And if you do it for threemonths, my best guess would be
that you are gonna end up witharound four to six placements at
least, maybe even more,depending on how many queries
you submit.
I always say like a good um agood measure is that if you

(13:12):
submit 10 responses to 10different requests, you're gonna
probably end up with one to twoplacements.
So don't think if you'vesubmitted five and you haven't
gotten any coverage to think, ohmy God, this is not working.
You know, it is a numbers game.
It is a numbers game.
So you need to be consistentwith it at least over a period

(13:35):
of time.
And honestly, what if you didthis for two or three months
every year and you get a bunchof new media placements and you
have some content for yoursocial media, for your
e-newsletter to put on yourwebsite?
That's as simple as it is.
That's all it really takes.

(13:56):
And I really, really wish morepeople knew this, which is why
we're doing this podcast andwhich was why why we're teaching
this to people, because that isthe most important piece of PR
for your business right now.
So my plea to you is, you know,don't listen to this and and
think, well, you know, that,yeah, I should do that sometime.

(14:18):
It's like, because we'realready towards the end of the
year.
So make a plan, you know, say,I'm gonna commit to getting this
media coverage that's really sosimple to get.
And we're either gonna welcomeyou into the academy and I can
help you, I can walk side byside with you, with the other
members, and make sure you haveaccountability to actually get

(14:40):
it done, which is a big piece ofit.
Or if you're self-motivated andhave self-discipline, just go
do it yourself.
So, either way, um, I want foryou to get the PR that you
deserve.
If you I'd love to hear how itgoes.
So please um always uh feelfree to send us feedback, um,

(15:01):
email us, um, contact us onsocial media.
So good luck to you.
Uh let me know if we can be ofany help.
I hope you join us in theDesigner Discussions Academy,
and we'll see you back here intwo weeks.

Maria Martin (15:17):
Did you know that your client learns 80% of what
they will know about you beforethey ever contact you?
Now imagine when your potentialclient searches for the perfect
kitchen remodel.
Will they find you or yourcompetition?
We can help you make sure it'syou.
Our Designer DiscussionsAcademy membership with your
favorite podcast hosts provideweekly steps to simplify your

(15:40):
marketing and boost yourbusiness.
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