Portfolio Selections

As a digital copywriter with Spectrum Brands, I develop content for our Global Pet Care and Home & Garden brands. As a creative writer, I publish my own poems, stories and creative essays.

Scroll for samples of my work.

Creating a Brand that Connects for St. Louis Language Immersion School

Together, the brand elements reflect the warmth, vibrancy and possibility St. Louis Language Immersion School represents. They also led us to the tagline, The Language of Connection.

Now, the school has a rallying cry that expresses both its mission and its benefits.

Traveling In Spite Of

There’s that memory of standing on the St. Charles Bridge in Prague and being in love with someone who’s in love with someone else. 

The trip to New York where my brother and I argued with our mother and then roamed Avenue A in Manhattan, looking for a good bar.  

There’s the camping trip on the north rim of the Grand Canyon and the experience of feeling, rather than seeing, the depth of that enormous gorge at night. 

What We Owe

What do we owe our animals? How can we say which relationship, animal or human, is more valuable? More necessary?  

As I led him to the car and watched his legs quiver a bit before he hopped in, there were tears in my eyes because I knew what I’d have to do.

What Educators can Teach You about Developing a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy

Applying educational concepts to marketing can improve the work you do for clients. 

Imaginary Wine Labels

Best on an empty stomach, with bread after the initial sips to soak up the coffee grounds one might imagine on the roof of the mouth. Recommended for people who like caves, pepper plants, and experimental films.

Burnout Will Break Your Heart

As I struggled I asked myself, what happened to me?

What happened to the girl who, when faced with nearly 30 English language learners in a half-finished classroom with only 25 chairs and zero resources, could just handle it?

How to Take the “Boring” out of B2B Content Marketing

I used to tell my students, “If you’re bored writing something, I’ll be bored reading it.”

Our job as content creators, and as a content marketing agency, is to amplify the importance of B2B brands and engage customers with the kind of details that energize them, not make their eyes glaze over.

My Complicated Journey to a Child-free Middle Age

For the young men, in my experience, pregnancy was merely a way to validate how they felt about themselves or their relationship.

As a thoughtless or naïve young woman, any public judgment on having or not having a child would be placed on me. And it would be unforgiving.

Your Children are Watching

I remember so vividly the joy–the young people leaping up on top of the wall, bringing hammers down, hugging their East German neighbors! I don’t exactly remember this, but I like to imagine my dad or mom saying, “wow” in an awed voice. What I do remember, clearly, is the feeling that the world could be an inspiring place. Shit. Even today I can’t listen to the Scorpion’s schlocky Wind of Change without tearing up a little.

Industry Goals in the Age of the Coronavirus

What hasn’t changed is this: The U.S. needs its manufacturing base. That’s clear as GM and Ford adapt their manufacturing plants to produce much-needed ventilators and Brooks Brothers shifts from Oxford shirts to hospital gowns.

“I’ve been a fan of Holly’s creative and professional writing for over 20 years. Over that time, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with her on creative projects, and she is my go-to editor for my own work. Holly knows the importance of words, like any true custodian of language. I trust her dedication to the written word and would highly recommend her for your next project!”

Shawn Shimazu, UX Designer | Writer