WordPress Success Stories – An Interview with Karla Campos
What’s the name of your business/blog?
Social Media Sass
Who are you and what do you do?
Karla Campos is a single mom entrepreneur and a social media and digital marketing strategist, manager and speaker. She is the founder of Social Media Sass, a social media and digital marketing firm based in South Florida that is focused on education. She’s also the author of Social Media Fame, and the winner of a Small Business Influencer award for 2013.
Karla has spoken at different tech conferences including
WordCamp Miami and Orlando, WebCongress, Niche Parent Conference, and Hispanicize.
Karla enjoys making an impact in people’s lives through digital tech and
marketing education.
“Education leads to better career opportunities. Better career
opportunities help families become prosperous”. ~Karla Campos
Karla Campos is the founder of Florida Social Con – Social Media
Conference for business.
Karla has been featured on T51, NBC6, Entrepreneur.com, Social Media
Today, and the Sun Sentinel.
What did you do before starting your own business?
Before starting my own business I worked for the department of labor in both education and marketing. I also worked for the department of education as a program manager which included marketing, education, event organizing, and community outreach.
Why did you decide to start your web-based business?
I dreamed of being a business woman all of my life. When I was little I wanted to work for an advertising firm like in the movies. At 21 years old I had my first child. I had to put college on hold. Some years passed and before I knew it, I was a working mom of 2.
I decided to go back to college, my family encouraged me. Even though I was a skilled worker, a degree was necessary in the work world to grow. In college I read about Craig Newmark and how he started Craigslist, I wanted to be like him.
Even though I got my degree, I took the leap and started my own business when my talents weren’t being used to their capacity at work. I felt stuck in the waiting line of the corporate ladder. I started my first website on Joomla. I built a copycat Craigslist.
I went on a web journey of failure. In that journey I met bloggers, SEO people, developers, social media people, all kinds of marketers, hackers, sales people, scammers, spammers, and all kinds of online personalities. By taking that journey I learned a lot of things about the online world.
I learned WordPress along the way and started freelancing as a web designer. The demand for WordPress in South Florida was higher than that for Joomla. I started speaking about and teaching WordPress and social media. I also started working with clients who needed social media/Wordpress management.
My company became the digital marketing and tech education company known as Social Media Sass. We now hold the very successful digital marketing conference known as Florida Social Con. We trended number 1 on Twitter and sold out.
Why did you choose self-hosted WordPress?
I chose WordPress because most of the clients I started working with in South Florida are on WordPress. All of the blogger friends I met online also kept telling me to switch over. I still manage some Joomla and websites on other platforms. WordPress is the most common.
How do you make money from your WordPress-powered business?
eCommerce (digital products), eCommerce (physical products), Consulting, Other
- eCommerce (digital products)
- eCommerce (physical products)
- Consulting
- Other
How do you drive traffic to your website?
Social media, SEO, ads, traditional marketing, event marketing.
What’s the most important ingredient for a successful website/blogging business?
The most important ingredient is adaptation. I see a lot of people getting stuck on one idea and they won’t bend or adjust the idea to the demand of their environment. I also think perseverance is important. Adapt and don’t give up until you find your perfect formula. If something is not working, change it.
Where can our users learn more about you and your business?
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[…] You could run an online course, you could teach at a local school, or you could attend events like Karla Campos does and educate WordPress professionals […]