Meet a Colorado copywriter: Q&A with Cathy Harris

July 6, 6:40 AMDenver Copywriting Careers ExaminerKen Grindall

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Local marketing consultant and blogger talks about how, and why, she does it. The copywriting, that is.

When she isn't guiding a customer through new marketing campaigns, Cathy Harris fuels the conversation among marketing pros in Denver. She works full-time as Business Development Consultant for Allegra Print & Imaging in Wheat Ridge. This must not completely burn out her energy for learning more about marketing (and sharing what she knows), because she also writes a regular article series as the Denver Marketing Examiner.

In this 2-part interview, DCCE pestered Cathy with nine questions over lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory on 18th Street in downtown Denver...

DCCE: How are you? What have you been up to?

CH: "My husband and I just went on vacation to Vegas—the "Advertising Capital of the World." Do they call it that? I just did. All of those lit-up signs and ads everywhere for everything... I do love it!
"Back here at home, I've been busy. At Allegra Print and Imaging, I'm working on a pURL campaign to introduce and market our new range of web design services. Denver's Examiner.com is getting more and more writers, which helps add to the value of what we (you and I) are doing.
"At home, my daughter celebrates her 14th birthday next month, and between the rain and the sunshine I am working my tail off in the yard. I'm also knee-deep in Bikram Yoga at the best school in Colorado, Bikram’s Yoga College of India."

[DCCE note: the "p" in pURL stands for "personalized." Did you know you can build a marketing campaign around unique web pages you create for each customer or prospect? If you want to get a group of copywriters into a really excited debate, bring up pURL at happy hour. Some copywriters love it for the customizeable touch you can add to the web that connects a prospect to your other collateral; some hate it, saying the "name in lights" ego-stroke factor is a writing crutch that's lost most of its power (and only adds unneccesary cost to your campaign). What do YOU think? Leave a comment!]

DCCE: How did you get into marketing? What makes you love writing copy? 

CH: "I found a tremendous amount of satisfaction in talking with my clients in many years I spent as a studio photographer. While I took a few photographs, I learned about their life and their problems with work, raising their kids, health—just about everything. I also spent a lot of time working to market my business and develop in new areas.
"Unfortunately, the owners of the photo studio decided to sell. I set off in a new direction, and found that many of my skills could translate to a new career in marketing. Allegra Print & Imaging was looking for someone who could help them reach and retain customers. I always say that my job isn’t to make a lot of money for Allegra—my job is to make a lot of money for my customer, Allegra's customer. If I do that, I get rewarded with more business."

DCCE: What do your marketing clients need most from a copywriter these days?

CH: "Two words... relevant content. Many customers want a 'partner in problem solving,' so I spend a lot of time in consultant mode. When I work with a customer, I give them every bit of information that I can and go through everything they tell me—to make sure everyone agrees on a strategy.
"Once we talk things through, most clients see that they don’t have relevant content that strongly calls the recipient to act. Lots of good info, with no call to action, is like a maze with no entrance. When I coach a customer as their partner, they begin to detach themselves from what they hold to be true."

DCCE: Tell us about one new copywriting trick you’ve learned recently.

CH: "When you use enticement offers, you should test how you do it—just like you would other content. I have used a P.S. in my email signature for a while now, testing different things to see what gets the best results. For example, right now I'm working on Allegra's “Pie in July” campaign. Any customer who orders $150 or more gets a free pie...
"Last year in my P.S. I wrote, 'Order $150 or more in July and get a pie.' Or, 'Wanna free pie? Place your order today.' And 'Who doesn’t want a pie? Ask me how you can get yours.' That test told me one thing: the more mystery, the better. I got lots of reply emails asking, 'How do I get a pie?'
"By extending my conversation with these customers, I converted 62.5% of those estimates to paid orders at the quantity that got them the pie. People want to be enticed."

In part 2 of this interview, Cathy talks about writing sales copy in a recession, the highest-rated "direct mail" month of the year, her current "tagline," favorite Denver distractions and a little bit more. You can also jump to her Denver Marketing Examiner page, including a regular Local Spotlight feature on the marketing work of Denver area businesses.