3 Success Sparks from Harriette’s Campaign . . . and How You Can Use Them, Too!
Can article marketing be effective for you? Yes, if you want to drive traffic toward a website. Here’s how to set up your article marketing campaign.
Behind the Scenes of an Article Writing Campaign . . . An Interview with Harriette Knight
Harriette Knight, author of CHAKRA POWER!
Today CMC|Creative Marketing Campaigns interviews Harriette Knight, an author who launched an article-marketing campaign on eHow.com to promote her book CHAKRA POWER! How to Fire Up Your Energy Centers to Live a Fuller Life.
Our interview is below.
CMC: Were you were able to track data connected with the success of your article writing campaign?
Harriette Knight: I was able to track results by watching how many hits my website got per month and the numbers significantly increased with the more articles I wrote. This was linked to Facebook, Twitter, and eHow, but there is no denying, the hits started to escalate the minute I began writing the articles.
CMC: How did your article-writing campaign come about?
HK: As with most marketing campaigns, this one came about strictly by accident. I saw a posting on Facebook for an article someone had written for eHow.com and I clicked on it. Once there, I found a forum of How To Articles that could also generate some income.
At the time, I had just published my book CHAKRA POWER! How to Fire Up Your Energy Centers to Live a Fuller Life and part of me was missing the writing process, and part of me wanted to drive traffic to my website. Since I had a wealth of information to share, I began to write a frenzy of articles which were instantly published.
CMC: What was your initial goal? Did you meet it or modify it, or is this effort still in progress?
HK: My initial goal was to write 100 articles for eHow and publish a book of them, but after 57 articles my direction changed. I felt satisfied with the body of work and the recognition I sustained from doing it, and had no desire to continue. My marketing became more focused on my website, blog, radio interviews, workshops, and speaking engagements.
CMC: What did you hope to achieve? Greater exposure for your book? A certain amount of web traffic? Something concrete to share on social media?
HK: When I began to write the articles for eHow.com, I was simply excited to share the information I had and revel in the instant gratification of people reading the articles. However, what I quickly learned was that the number of hits on my website were radically increasing, and I was establishing more credibility as a writer.
Ehow.com is set up so that when an article is published, it is posted on Facebook, Twitter, and any of the other social media sites available, so the exposure became significant, and many of the readers began to follow my progress.
CMC: What kind of results and feedback did you get?
HK: I have to give eHow.com a lot of credit for their integrity and format. They have a huge member base, which is free, and the members are encouraged to rate and comment and recommend articles to other members. This creates a snowball effect for driving people to read your articles and ultimately to your website and other services. I noticed the numbers on my website increased significantly each month since beginning the article campaign.
CMC: What planning was required?
HK: In this case, there was no planning involved except the desire to drive more traffic to my website and tapping into my passion for writing.
In my opinion, using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, eHow, and others is necessary for any marketing campaign. Adding the articles on eHow proved to be a formidable asset to what I was already doing.
CMC: What did you learn from the experience?
HK: I learned that there are a lot of receptive people out there who want to know what someone else already knows. This has turned into a mutually supportive endeavor where the information is shared openly so others can succeed.
CMC: What was the most memorable thing about it for you?
HK: I believe that I am here to be of service to others, and the comments I have received from readers from my articles and/or book have reinforced that notion. Hearing the words, “Your article/book has changed my life,” has filled my heart in immeasurable ways. Knowing that my work is accessible all over the country and the world is greatly fulfilling.
CMC: Who do you think would benefit from launching a similar campaign?
HK: If anyone has something to share, they should share it, and writing articles for eHow is easy and fun. You can have mutual links from your own website driving traffic to your articles, and you can have a link from your article driving traffic to your website. Everything should be linked. Add lots of friends on your Facebook and eHow profiles, and comment on other people’s articles. This establishes relationships and trust which is imperative for selling yourself and your products. This is something that takes time and is nurtured over a period of months and years. It is not a quick fix, but a jump start to establishing credibility.
Within my first year of publishing my book, I have held workshops, numerous radio interviews, speaking engagements and a booksigning at Barnes and Noble. As a writer, having a booksigning has always been a dream, and my dream came true. Never give up on your dream. Do what you love. Success comes in many forms.
CMC: Thank you for the interview Harriette! Harriette is speaking at the Lunch and Learn at the Betty Ferguson Foundation in Santa Clarita this Thursday at 12. If any Southern California readers would like to attend, Lunch and Learn requires a $10 minimum donation at the door.
Buy Harriette’s book on Amazon (affiliate link):
Harriette Knight Drives Traffic and Builds Interest in her Book by Writing Articles
Article marketing is a winning campaign for author Harriette Knight.
Harriette is the self-published author of CHAKRA POWER! How to Fire Up Your Energy Centers to Live a Fuller Life.
In the publishing world, self-published authors are largely on their own when it comes to marketing. They must come up with promotional strategies to move their book and gain new readers.
Harriette decided to launch an article-writing campaign and was successful in driving traffic to her website and building interest in her book.
Harriette wrote a series of articles for eHow, a free article directory. At the bottom of each article, she included a link to her book under her “further resources” section. This exposed her book and ideas to a broader audience.
Harriette Knight at a Barnes & Noble booksigning
3 Success Sparks From Amanda’s Campaign . . . and How You Can Use Them, Too!
1. Provide a remarkable experience.
When a teenager books a senior portrait campaign with Amanda, they get an unforgettable experience. Not only do they get a fabulous professional portrait shoot, but they also get to be made over by a stylist.
Success Spark: What can you add to your customers’ experience to make your business not just professional, but remarkable?
2. Encourage “sneezers.”
Seth Godin has a name for people who tell everyone about the fabulous product or service they are in love with . . . they are called “sneezers,” and they are a powerful ally for your business. Amanda rewards her spokesmodels with additional portraits when they send in new business, thus actively encouraging them to talk about her and send business.
Success Spark: How can you encourage people to talk about you?
3. Engage social media.
Amanda gives her spokesmodels pictures to post on their online profiles. When the teenagers post these images online, their social networks become aware of Amanda’s brand.
Success Spark: Does your business have an online presence? How can you encourage your clients to share you with their social networks?
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Success Sparks
Success Sparks . . . Let Others’ Campaigns Inspire You
One great way to find successes of your own is to figure out what other people are doing right, and then find a way to adapt it to your own circumstances.
The purpose and mission of CMC | Creative Marketing Campaigns is to highlight some of the spectacular marketing campaigns going on out there, and look at individual elements of what makes them so successful. Then we’ll expand the conversation with a discussion question to see whether there’s a way you can duplicate the success and make it work for you.
Now that I’ve introduced Amanda’s campaign, let’s take a look at what makes it work . . . and see if there’s a way to follow her success for your business.
Photo by MartinPhoto Sport
Teen models for a day
When Camarillo photographer Amanda Elkins set about creating her high school senior portrait program, she launched a creative marketing campaign that has generated buzz throughout area high schools, on Facebook, and on other social media sites.
Amanda has based her campaign on creating a network of teen spokesmodels. She allows up to two high school juniors from each area school to participate. Each spokesmodel receives a free sitting and then is given pass-along cards and digital images from the session to use for marketing purposes.
The images each have Amanda’s info attached. When the spokesmodel shows the images to delighted friends, those friends learn about Amanda and the phenomenal portraits she takes. Friends can bring the pass-along cards back to Amanda to set up a photo shoot of their own, and the referring spokesmodel gets credit that he or she can apply toward prints.
Backing up this grass-roots campaign is the solid modeling experience Amanda offers her teenage clients.
To achieve this, Amanda has partnered with stylist Laura Paley. Before the shoot, Laura works with the client on wardrobe, outfitting them in pieces borrowed from local shops. Once the teen is photo-ready, Amanda shoots portraits that are magazine-worthy. A former model herself, Amanda is able to work with the teens on posing. She captures their personalities well.
“I like them to feel like one of the boys or girls in the magazines,” she says.
What teen wouldn’t enjoy working with a stylist and a pro photographer to create gorgeous senior portraits?
The campaign has been successful in bringing in new business and Amanda is currently booked through the end of the year.
A sampling of Amanda's teen spokesmodels.