Karen Zapp, PE

Expertise: Construction, Energy/Oil & Gas, Environmental, Aviation

Since the turn of the century I’ve been exclusively involved in sales, marketing, and direct response copywriting.  Yup; I’m a hard-hat-wearin’ licensed professional engineer (PE) who loves marketing.

Karen Zapp at workHow can I help your business be even more successful? What do I bring to the table?

  • I’m a problem solver.
  • I have experience as a B2B buyer and in direct sales.
  • I have extensive marketing experience and I thrive on learning all I can about marketing (online and
    offline).
  • I continue to study and hone my craft. I don’t stop learning.
  • I’m a business owner.
  • I have a knack for simplifying the complex . . . for explaining the very technical in ways that prospects and customers can easily understand, and more importantly, respond to.
  • I’m comfortable talking with engineers (I’m one myself).  I can talk "features" and turn these into the benefits your prospects are looking for.
  • I have decades of leadership and managerial experience.
  • I believe in "old fashioned" courtesy. I value clients like precious metal (and I’m a former geological engineer, so I know what I’m talking about!).

For the curious, right after college I began as an engineer with a natural gas public utility.    After a few years they transferred me to a subsidiary within the corporation which was an independent oil and gas exploration company.  To this day I remain fascinated by the energy industry.

I’m also very patriotic so in my late 20’s I launched a career as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer. Here my work experience involved the design and management of large construction projects – anything from schools to power plants – and facilities maintenance.  Even though all my formal education and experience was in the engineering world, it was after my Navy career that I discovered I also have a tremendous passion – and a knack – for marketing and copywriting.

I’ve found that all this adds up to a greater ability to relate to diverse businesses. And this translates into stronger copy.

I can supercharge your marketing promotions with copy formulated to tap into core reader emotions; formulated to reach readers at a more penetrating level than ever before. You’ll get more mileage out of the same marketing budget.

Here are my credentials:

  • Recipient of the Clayton Makepeace & The Total Package "2006 Copywriter’s Challenge" Award (3rd place category)
  • Member:
    • Business Marketing Association (BMA)
    • American Society of Association Executives
      (ASAE)
    • Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
    • Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
  • Courses I’ve studied published by American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI)
    • Secrets of Writing High Performance Business-to-Business Copy
    • The Masters Program for Six-Figure Copywriting
    • Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting
    • Secrets of Writing for the Fundraising Market
    • Secrets of Writing for the Self-Help Market
  • Additional courses I’ve studied plus on-going education
    • Program by Clayton Makepeace, the "Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach" which was augmented by coaching
    • Program by John Carlton, “Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel” augmented by critiques
    • Plus I read B2B and other marketing and copywriting newsletters (online and print), blogs, books written by the classic copywriters and marketers of the 20th century, books just published; and I attend workshops and conferences all with the goal to keep me on the leading edge of marketing know-how . . . both online and print . . . and to keep honing my craft.
       

Licensed Professional Engineer
Colorado, Civil Engineering

MSE – field of Environmental
Engineering
Purdue University

BS – Geological Engineering
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Hobbies & Interests: hiking; nature and the environment; private pilot; piano; classical music; photography; solving mysteries; travel; energy conservation; home improvement projects ("Karen The Handyman"); and discovering how things are made (e.g., just about any type of construction falls here); I lived in the Philippines for two years; I have traveled to 22 countries; and I’ve lived in 9 states and traveled to all but Alaska.  I love variety!