Literie Candle: Making memories of NYC into Candles (and killing it on TikTok) with Erica Werber from Literie Candle

🎧 This episode of DTC was too hot to candle with Erica Werber, founder and CEO of Literie Candle .

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Literie is a one-of-a-kind company that captures the olfactory essence of New York City in candle form, with scents like “Brunch in the West Village,” “Pizza from a Guy Named Joe” and “Hot Roasted Nut Cart.” 🕯️

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In today’s pod (brought to you by notes of NYC) you’ll learn how the smell of hot trash became a business-changing PR hit, why Literie’s shifting from Google Ads to TikTok, and some LinkedIn life hacks for making collabs happen.

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‍The Takeaways 👇

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🔥🗑️ PR magic brought to you by “Hot Trash”

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Literie’s 2021 April Fools’ Day campaign was nothing short of genius.

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They created a limited edition “Hot Trash” scented candle. But they didn’t just try to sell a stinky candle to innocent shoppers…they made the campaign worth it for customers by donating a percentage of the profits to charity and sending them a surprise candle (y’know, one that didn’t smell like garbage).

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The campaign got picked up by dozens of media outlets and turned into pure viral success for the company. 🚀

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Moral of the story?

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👉 The right campaign strategy can turn even the “trashiest” of products into a marketing treasure.

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👋 Bye Google, hello TikTok

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Recently, Literie decided to ditch Google Ads…

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“I just wasn’t seeing any good traffic coming from [Google Ads]... Google was having me compete with the Yankee Candles of the world. I knew I was never gonna top that list so early in our business.”

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Now, they’re focusing most of their advertising on paid social. And the clear winner? TikTok, of course.

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“We’re spending the same amount of money on TikTok as we are on Instagram right now, and the traffic from TikTok is so much higher. I think you get more for your money from TikTok.”

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For the most part, they’re keeping it real on the platform and not overthinking it.

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“I quickly realized you can be as unprofessional and silly as you want on TikTok. No one’s looking for these perfectly edited videos. You find a sound that’s trending, you figure out how to throw some content together, and there you go.”

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Another hack: Literie found the #candletalk community on TikTok and now uses it to find potential influencers. 💡 If you’re looking for TikTok creators, try searching the platform for a relevant hashtag for your product!

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💰 What Erica would do with an extra $50K:

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“100% content creation, and probably all for TikTok… [whether] it’s paying creators, or hiring people on our team to develop content.”

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