Category: WordCamp DFW Speakers

Topic: WordPress for Non-Profit Organizations

I own a boutique agency in Van Alstyne, Texas, and built my first website in 1996. It was HTML and it was dial-up, because I wanted to share photos of my Pit Bull, Lucy. Lucy sent me down a path of advocacy and volunteering that informs my work today. My ideal project is one that helps people engage with local services or motivates them to give to a cause that lifts up our community. My passion is education. I support our public schools and serve on the board of a foundation that provides community college scholarships. My other job is as a shepherd of actual sheep.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

When Blogger, Movable Type, Joomla, and WordPress came out, I started experimenting with all of them, discovered WordPress, and never looked back!

What do you do with WordPress?

I have been using WordPress since 2007. I have been most energized over the last couple of years when I have been focusing on projects for local government and non-profit corporations supporting public service, public libraries, and education.

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

This will be my fifth WordCamp as an attendee and my first as a speaker. When I attended my first WordCamp, y’all had -women’s t-shirts-. That thoughtfulness impressed me. And now, two women keynotes at WordCamp DFW 2017? Heaven! I wish this inclusiveness had been the norm in my early tech career.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

I felt that I have gotten so much out of the WordPress community that it was time for me to give back.

Why did you decide to speak on WordPress and non-profits?

As a volunteer, board member and communications professional I have seen non-profit organizations fail to attract the resources they could have because their websites made it difficult for people to engage. WordPress is the ideal platform to address this, because it’s highly adopted, flexible, easy to use, and allows multiple authors with different levels of permissions. Thanks to the e-commerce capabilities that have developed over the past few years, WordPress even makes it easy for donors to give non-profits money.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

Whether you create WordPress sites for clients or as a non-profit employee or volunteer, this session will help you use WordPress to engage donors and volunteers, represent the organization as a good steward of donors’ money, and protect its security and reputation.

We will discuss needs assessment, plugins, and project management and maintenance issues. This toolkit will also be useful for those who work with faith communities, local government, and education.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!

Topic: SEO, Design, and Analtyics – The WordPress Tifecta That Brings In More Traffic, Leads, and Income

Treva Marshall is the owner of Marshall Web Studio, where she uses her signature SMART Website System™ to help small businesses create a powerful website that’s not only beautiful but also search engine optimized (SEO) to bring them a steady flow of warm traffic to their business. Prior to starting her website design and technical support business, Treva spent over a decade in the IT industry as a Senior Software Developer for companies such as ExxonMobil and Atmos Energy. A teacher at heart, Treva’s passion lies in combining her technical skills with her love for helping small businesses thrive by teaching online and in person workshops and through her signature program – The SMART Website Academy™. Treva is also an Adjunct Professor in the Business College at Richland College and her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Search Engine Journal, and more. When Treva isn’t geeking out on websites, SEO, and internet marketing, you can find her reading a classic period piece novel or planning our her family’s next road trip adventure.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

When I started my business, I researched various website platforms.

What do you do with WordPress?

I design smart websites for small businesses

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

The community is very informative and helpful.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

To help others understand the importance of having the total package (right platform – WordPress, right traffic for conversions – SEO , a means for tracking and monitoring – Google Analytics) in order for a website to be a valuable business asset.

Why did you decide to speak on SEO, design and analytics?

It’s a topic that I’m passionate about.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

Take-aways they can implement or have someone implement for them.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!

Topic: How to raise your web design rates

Erin has been making websites since 1999, and started her own web design and development company in 2012. After a few years creating websites for clients, Erin shifted her business. Now, her primary business is helping other designers and developers navigate the difficult waters of entrepreneurship by providing courses and guides to teach everything from how to start a web design business to how to deal with nightmare clients. When she’s not teaching designers or working with her own design/development clients, Erin can be found exploring the mountains near her home in Aspen, Colorado. Find out more at erinflynn.com!

How did you get involved in WordPress?

I started using WordPress in 2010 for personal blogging–and quickly started using it for other websites. By 2012 I had a personal blog, comic blog, ecommerce shop, and began taking on client work with WordPress.

What do you do with WordPress?

I currently use WordPress to create websites for my clients (online entrepreneurs) and to run my coaching/consulting business!

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

The reason I stuck with WP over other platforms that I tried was that the community was always welcoming. I’ve run into very few bad eggs in the community over the past 7 years, and 99% of those I’ve met who use WP are friendly and willing to help out wherever they can. I’ve not seen that with any other platforms! No matter whether you’re brand new to WP or a seasoned pro, you’re welcomed with open arms and made to feel included.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

Because y’all are so friendly in Texas! 😉 I’m excited to meet a new group of WordPressers, make new friends, learn new skills, and share what I know.

Why did you decide to speak on how web designers and developers can raise their rates?

Every designer and developer under-charges when they’re starting out. That’s okay! We all start somewhere. But it’s easy to get stuck in a rut charging too little, and your business can become unsustainable as you take on more and more work just to make ends meet. I know, I’ve been there! In order to run a successful freelance business, without burning out, you have to raise your rates.

Unfortunately, raising your rates not as easy as just sticking a new price tag on the same services you’ve been offering. There are steps you need to take in order to raise your rates and actually get clients to pay them. It took me a few years to figure it out, and now I want to share the process with others, so that they can get their prices where they need to be to run a successful and sustainable web design business while delivering real value to their clients.

What do you hope the audience gets from your talk?

I want the audience to leave with actionable steps they can take to start raising their rates immediately!

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!

Topic: Starting Your Digital Agency With WordPress

Brennen is the CEO and founder of the North Texas digital marketing agency, PixelCutLabs. At 18 years old, he is a member of the American Marketing Association and an expert on the subject. His marketing agency provides services to local and multinational companies, with clients including The College Football Playoffs, Retreat Central, and MyClouset.com. Brennen is recognized for crafting results-oriented strategies to brand high-profile businesses, helping them stand out among the established competition. With Brennen, you get the best of both worlds, a young man able to keep up with the fast changing times of the digital marketing world, and an experienced professional with the track record and acclaim to take your brand and digital reputation to the next level. Every venture Brennen partakes in serves as a conversation starter, as Brennen makes an effort to disassociate himself with the status quo.

How did you get involved in WordPress?

I got involved in WordPress when my mom, a small business owner, needed a website for her company. Naturally, she brought it up to the 15-year-old me (as she does with anything tech-related, no matter how much it makes me cringe haha) and I was ready to capitalize! Regardless of the fact that I probably made about a dollar an hour, that was the beginning of my relationship with WordPress. I used a pre-built theme, a concoction of (probably super cruddy) plugins, and her new website was and remains online haha. It took me about 3 months to get that online, a time during which I became very familiar with the WP environment, on the frontend at least.

What do you do with WordPress?

Today, I run a marketing agency that has made a website for roughly 30% of its clients. Of those websites, all but one run on WordPress (for technical reasons). This month, we launched a website for the College Football Playoff Foundation (cfp-foundation.org) which, to no surprise, runs on WordPress! It makes development streamlined and content management easily achieved for our clients, especially after we make modifications to the CMS to suit every scenario.

What has your experience with the WordPress community been like?

For me, WordPress has acted as a community builder. I can’t even begin to name all of the people (contractors, business owners, freelancers, coworkers) I have met because of WordPress. It’s an incredible feeling to know that there are always people available to answer my questions, many times for no cost. It’s also wonderful to be able to grow my network at events like WordCamp, which I’ve attended once in the past.

Why did you want to speak at WordCamp DFW?

I want to speak at WordCamp DFW because I am working on building my personal brand and growing my business network.

Why did you decide to speak on starting a digital agency?

I decided to speak on my topic because it’s something I know like the back of my hand (terrible figure of speech, lol). There are so many directions one can take with WordPress, and I’m very happy with the one I’ve followed. I hope that sharing my experience will provide some inspiration for others with similar entrepreneurial spirits and get them started or propel them forward down the path to building a business.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WordCamp DFW held on Nov. 11-12. There are also plenty of opportunities to sponsor the event or help run it. We hope to see you there!