Bullcon 2020 Speaker Sarah Snyder-Castañeda: Digital Marketing for Bullicorns- Finding Focus In A Shiny-Object World

February 5, 2020 Editor Digital Marketing 0

Whether you are an experienced digital marketer, a savvy lady boss looking for freelance digital marketing jobs, a bullicorn beginning a career working as a digital marketing intern or looking for entry level digital marketing jobs, you’ll find tremendous value in Sarah Snyder-Castañeda’s Bullcon 2020 presentation, Digital Marketing for Bullicorns: Finding Focus In A Shiny-Object World.

As a digital marketing consultant and ADHD advocate, Sarah is no stranger to the horrors of shiny object syndrome, all-or-nothing thinking, perfectionism, impatience, performance anxiety, and much more. She’s on the front lines of these battles not only as a digital marketer, but also as a woman with ADHD. When not counseling her clients through their latest marketing crisis, she is also the brains (and voice) behind the Adulting With ADHD podcast.

Hi Sarah, first we’d like to express how happy we are that you’re joining us for Bullcon 2020!  We’d love to learn a bit more about your mission as an ADHD advocate.  Can you tell us a little about what inspired you to become an advocate and the impact you hope to achieve?

Sure, I was diagnosed in my mid-30s and was just completely blindsided. I thought ADHD was something that happened to young boys, I was completely uninformed about the condition in general. It was a terrifying experience leading up to the diagnosis – I really did think I had something like early onset Alzhimer’s. I literally felt like I was losing my mind. Once I was diagnosed and realized it was manageable, I had to learn everything I could. This eventually would lead to a blog, online community and podcast. I just really needed other women to know that they weren’t alone and provide them with the tools they needed to succeed. I had seen how undiagnosed ADHD held me back over the years and how simply knowing the why had made such an impact immediately. Once you have the tools to live with the condition, it becomes much more manageable.

We love that you are using your digital marketing expertise to help your fellow Bullicorns get their microbusinesses off the ground.  How did you get started as a consultant for small businesses?

Originally I was a journalist and found my way into the digital marketing space as a content writer. This would eventually lead to my developing other skills such as SEO and social media. Over time, I grew bored of just doing the tasks and got more reward out of helping businesses owners make sense of the big picture. That’s when I started taking on more consulting work and less of the actual task execution. It’s been working out well so far!

How has ADHD impacted your career?  Also, can you talk to us about your podcast, Adulting with ADHD?

It’s funny because had I remained a journalist I may never have been diagnosed. Because writing and editing came naturally to me, there was rarely any friction when it came to performance issues. Once I was in my second career, one job in particular really shined a light on some major weaknesses I had in terms of organization, memory, etc. Even though eventually I would find a work environment more suitable for my personality, being forced to face those weaknesses eventually led to my diagnosis.The podcast was something I started for fun in 2018. I love listening to podcasts because I rarely pay attention long enough to finish books or courses. I was thinking maybe there were some ADHD folks out there who felt the same and would appreciate having a podcast like the one I had in mind. The episodes are short and the early ones are mostly me talking about what’s been working for me lately. I had no idea I would get such a loyal community out of it. Every time I consider maybe stopping, I always get a random bit of fan mail that keeps me going. People have really responded to it in a way I didn’t anticipate.

Are there any misconceptions about dealing with ADHD that you’d like to clarify for us?

Yes, having ADHD doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bouncing up and down. If you’re inattentive type, which many women including myself are, your symptoms are expressed differently than what we traditionally associate with ADHD. I’ve had people tell me I’m lucky because at least I’m not bouncing up and down like so-and-so, but the type of symptoms you have do not correlate with the severity of the condition. You can be withdrawn and subdued and still suffer quite a bit even though you aren’t hyper or fidgety. In fact, it’s that misconception that lead to many girls with ADHD getting overlooked – they were daydreaming and doodling, not making noise in class, so they got left alone and fell through the cracks.

And lastly, can you tell us one quirky or unexpected thing about you?

I am really into karaoke. Not in a humblebrag, could-actually-be-a-professional sort of way. Like, I really am terrible at singing. I’m semi-retired because I have a 3-year-old now, but it’s actually how my husband and I met.
Thank you, Sarah!  We could now be more pleased to have you speak at BullCon 2020!
Join us at BullCon 2020 to meet Sarah and our other fierce speakers!

The post Bullcon 2020 Speaker Sarah Snyder-Castañeda: Digital Marketing for Bullicorns- Finding Focus In A Shiny-Object World appeared first on GetBullish.