HOME FURNISHINGS NEWS MAGAZINE’S TOP 40 MOST INSPIRING WOMEN IN HOME - 2018

In November of 2018, I was given a TREMENDOUS GIFT that I didn’t know was coming. I received notification that I had been named to the inaugural list of Home Furnishing News Magazine’s Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home.

What follows is the backstory and a long overdue thank you.

FOR A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW I MADE THIS LIST AND HOW TOP LISTS NORMALLY WORK.

Many times in the world of digital marketing, making a top list of some type is based on who can get the most votes during a specific period of time.

Companies use it as a legitimate way to build backlinks for SEO and to build brand awareness, and the people making any particular list are often those with large and engaged social media followings who have the ability to activate their communities to vote for them.

(A tiny digression: I strategized and ran one of these contests back in 2012 for my then TKP client, Olioboard, in partnership with High Point Marketing Authority, for a 9th Style Spotter position. Who remembers when Lisa Herring Mende won that? )

The person with the most number of followers and the most engaged audience usually “wins”.

Whatever the prize is, it’s always exciting for the person who has invested the time and money to build up an audience of engaged followers, and it’s equally valuable for the company who started the list, as it provides them with amplified brand awareness during the time of the voting contest and backlinks for SEO that live online forever.

However, in the case of this list, HFN put out a call for nominations, (which I never knew about) and I was nominated, along with hundreds of other women. Then, HFN’s editors discussed each nomination and they chose the final list of women to be included.

So when I got word that I had made this list, I was 100% surprised - and deeply honored. I had no idea it was coming.

If you’re not familiar with Home Furnishings News Magazine, the image below is from their website.

(Note how it says to contact Jessica Byerly at Progressive Business Media at the bottom? This list came out right before it was announced that Progressive Business Media’s furniture industry magazine titles (this one plus Designers Today, Furniture Today, Casual Living, etc. ) had been bought out by Bridge Tower Media (itself a division of Gatehouse Media.)

(FYI: When I share with you that larger media companies are buying niche magazine titles… this is a good example.)

THE SUMMARY AS IT APPEARED IN HOME FURNISHINGS NEWS MAGAZINE

Here’s the summary that appeared about me in the print and digital editions. FYI: When they notified me I was to be included, they asked for my bio and then they asked me a few other questions.

From the information I provided to them, their editorial team then wrote this.

WHO ELSE WAS HONORED ON THIS LIST?

Here are screenshots of the article with all of the women on the inaugural list of Home Furnishings News Magazine’s Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home.

I can definitely tell you I NEVER thought I’d see my name listed alongside these other women when I started my main business, The Kaleidoscope Partnership 18 years ago and my second business, Savour Partnership, almost two years ago now.

To read the inspiring biographies of all of these accomplished women, I invite you to click on this link:

http://www.hfndigital.com/news/hfn-recognizes-inspiring-women-home/

Thank you, Home Furnishings News Magazine, for including me in your inaugural list and for being the FIRST home furnishings trade magazine to ever spotlight, in one place, the accomplishments of women in the home furnishings industry across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

And to the woman who nominated me, THANK YOU so much. I hope I have the opportunity to pay it forward in 2019.

Leslie Carothers/@tkpleslie

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www.savourpartnership.com