I have been working as a Community Director for a social shopper marketing agency Collective Bias since 2009, and have slowly grown Skimbaco while having a full time job. Today I am announcing that I am leaving Collective Bias to start a new chapter in my career and to continue growing Skimbaco.
I never started as a blogger, I have always been more focused on marketing, sales, PR and then when people figured out a name for what I was already doing, I have been doing social media marketing and social media strategy. I have been a marketer online since 2004. Skimbaco started as an online store, and this blog was one of those ways I drove traffic and sales to my store, and it was built to build relationships. When many realized how I was able to market and drive sales to my store via blogs and social media tools, my days got filled by answering questions, and I realized my true passion wasn’t selling children’s clothing, but helping other people and doing social media; I closed down my store and started consulting.
Over the past few years I have consulted some of the largest companies in the US, and created social media marketing strategies driving sales to the largest retailers in the world and campaigns that got tens of millions online impression, and lead a blogger community of close to 900 members.
During the past three and half years, I fell in love with blogging and my own little space in the world wide web. As most of you know, English is not my native language, I am from Finland, and I never thought that I could even think of writing professionally. I know, I still have a lot to improve in my English skills, but it has humbled me that people listen even when I write or speak in my incorrect English.
Skimbaco is slowly growing to a blog network, currently including Skimbaco Lifestyle and Skimbaco Home and I will soon officially launch Skimbaco Travel and Skimbaco Food. I am thankful for the writers who helped Skimbaco for the past year by contributing some of the best content this blog has ever seen. The fact that I haven’t had time to write for my own blog has been killing me, and I miss being able to write more, and can’t wait to turn this new page in my blogging career, and grow my blog network and Skimbaco brand this year. I am also continuing my work as an editor for AETN TV Network’s LifetimeMoms.com and I am very excited about the growth and potential of Lifetime Moms.
I worked very hard to brand Katja Presnal as a social media strategist and to get the job I held at Collective Bias. I am forever thankful for the opportunity John Andrews, the CEO of Collective Bias, gave me by trusting so much of his company in my hands. The company saw a tremendous growth in the past year and is the leading agency in social shopper marketing. It is not an easy step to take to leave my job, and it is not something that I decided overnight. I am sad to leave the exciting work I did, but at the same time I have to stay true to myself to live life to the fullest and continue doing what I love the most; helping others to live life to the fullest too. I will remain an active member of Collective Bias as long as they have me.
I have exciting new things planned ahead, and I can’t wait to share them with you. I feel like this is one of those moments in your life when taking the first step exhilarates you and scares you a little too. But I am so proud of myself for being able to do it. If you want to hold my hand, and support me; tweet me, talk to me on Facebook, comment here and please subscribe to my blogs to show you support my decision to focus on making my main focus YOU and helping people like you to live life to the fullest. Subscribe: Skimbaco Lifestyle, Skimbaco Travel and Skimbaco Home and Skimbaco Food. Thank you for being there and taking this exciting step with me.
