If you’ve read our blog entries, you know that the written word is a big part of how we show you what InkSoft is all about. Whether that’s features of our platform, stories about our clients, or interesting pieces of content we’ve learned about from industry colleagues. So, it’s probably no surprise that we need people who can help us write that material.
That’s why we’re excited to announce the addition of Mike Clark as senior copywriter. Mike’s joined forces with the marketing team so we can bring you quality written content every day, whether that’s in a blog, email, or on our social media channels. He comes to us with more than a half-decade of experience in the publishing industry and varied background in writing.
Early days
Mike originally started his career path to become an English teacher, attending the State University of New York at Oneonta.
“I thought I would be an English teacher because I liked books and literature as a kid, but I eventually got more involved in other forms of writing,” he explains.
Mike focused heavily on playing, writing, and recording music in college and switched his major to Music Business while building up his songwriting chops. That change in major also helped set Mike on the career path to where he is today, in a very indirect manner.
Career Path
Mike moved to the New York metro area not long after college and started working in the e-commerce world while performing as a singer-songwriter in Manhattan and Brooklyn on the weekends.
“My first big job was testing musical equipment for an e-commerce company,” he explains. “That led me to another e-commerce company that sold high-end guitars and musical gear.”
He wrote product descriptions, product reviews, and blogs for the guitar dealer and got interested in writing for the web. Since then, Mike’s written everything from product descriptions for baby strollers and concert recaps to in-depth interviews with high-profile CEOs and business owners.
Since then, he’s moved on and has been involved with the decorated apparel industry for the last six years.
Present Day
In recent years, Mike’s served as an editor for two graphics industry publications; Printwear magazine and GRAPHICS PRO. He’s also spent considerable time on GRAPHICS PRO EXPO, The Printing United Expo, and Impressions Expo trade show floors. He’s talked to distributors, manufacturers, and small business owners at the shows to learn about evolving apparel and promotional products trends. It’s taught him that print shops are adding more services to their offerings to meet customers’ needs and that manufacturers need to have a digital presence to grow.
Mike’s also learned from companies like InkSoft over the years that mastering your e-commerce game is key to growing your business.
Outside of work, Mike likes cooking and traveling with his wife Jenny and hanging out with their dog Rufus. He makes music for art installations and short films and enjoys running a few half marathons every year near his home in the Denver suburbs.
Goals
In joining InkSoft, Mike says he wants to learn more about the industry from a business owner’s perspective.
“Branded merchandise businesses currently face a lot of challenges,” he states. “Whether it’s heightened expectations from customers who are used to a need-it-yesterday buying mentality, or finding ways to stand out from the competition of massive print-to-order retailers. They have a lot of work cut out for them.”
Mike adds that he thinks the InkSoft team can help meet those challenges with technology, and he’s excited to be a part of that. And, his borderline obsessive T-shirt collection shows his enthusiasm for branded merch. Welcome to the team, Mike!
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