The young, social-media crowd wants to take in design and decorating inspiration almost exclusively in one way: through photos.
As magazines once saw readers head to the internet, now design bloggers are losing their audiences to Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram, sites made for photo-sharing.
But some design bloggers have figured out a way to rise above the fray and attract traffic because of their clear focus, beautiful photography, and DIY posts.
"Readers don't want to communicate online the same way anymore," said Grace Bonney, the founder of Design Sponge. "We try to engage readers on Pinterest, and a select few still want to have a longer conversation about design. But it's mainly about great photos."
"Design Sponge is dedicated to fresh, handmade design and inspiration, and making your home look more like your personality," she said.
The blog, which has been around since 2004, has around 80,000 hits and day and focuses on home tours, DIY projects, recipes, and makeovers. Bonney, who is based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said she gets a lot of her inspiration from Greenpoint markets, and more recently, student designers.
Ashlina Kaposta, better known as The Decorista, posts multiple photos in one post of cool visuals she sees each day or the best-of-the-best interior design she wants to share with her readers.
"I am definitely a nerd and read every marketing and branding book out there. At that time I was laid off so I just devoured videos online on how to brand yourself," she said. "If you are producing consistent content that is focused and has a vision, that will help you stick out."
Kaposta was later recruited by an Los Angeles interior design firm. But when she came to New York on a business trip to help decorate Courtney Love's new apartment, she decided not to leave. She now runs her blog and an e-decorating business.
After reviewing analytics, Kaposta saw that readers weer spending more time on her Pinterest board, which was taking away from time spent on her blog. But she considers it all part of her brand. The Decorista has about 11,000 unique visitors a day.
"What sets my blog apart is I don't use a lot of words," said Kaposta, who is based in Manhattan. "I use images and it's very visually friendly. I think there's something to that; people used to read a lot more, but now are inspired by photos."
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