Moyer Sees a World of Opportunity for Writers
It’s hard to pin down Christopher Moyer (’07). He has written about hackers and doomsday preppers for Vice, interviewed cult leaders for Rolling Stone, and covered artificial intelligence for The Atlantic. Moyer has ghostwritten books on everything from raising chickens to Zen meditation. He’s crafted messaging for international conservation projects.
Now he’s the vice president of marketing for Western CPE, a company based in Bozeman, Montana. “I’ve worked in this big variety of roles, but they’re really all flexing the same English major muscles,” he said. “It’s all telling stories, making persuasive arguments, and communicating effectively.”
After graduating from UT, he taught English as a Second Language in Japan. He began freelancing after returning to the US in 2011, taking any gig work he could get while pursuing an MFA in creative writing from the University of Memphis.
Eventually, he opened Hard Luck Creative, a small firm devoted to marketing, design, and photography. In that capacity, he worked on projects for tiny start-ups all the way up to companies like Microsoft and Target.
“There’s something to be said for doing more mercenary creative work in addition to the writing projects that might be more artistically fulfilling,” he said. “It makes it easier to pay the rent, for one. But those different projects end up informing each other in surprising ways.”
According to Moyer, they’re also rewarding. Marketing challenges him to figure out how he wants the readers to feel, what he wants them to do, what problem they have that he might be able to solve, and how he can achieve all this in 50 characters or fewer. Meeting this challenge makes him better at every other kind of writing.
“I’ve also had opportunities to contribute to projects I sincerely care about—particularly conservation projects—where real good gets done,” Moyer said. “Doesn’t everyone want that?”
In Moyer’s estimation, more English students should consider career paths in marketing, public relations, and advertising. “There’s a whole world of professional writing that English majors often overlook. Most of what we do in marketing is about writing, reading, and analyzing,” he said. “We’re writing ad copy, producing blog content, crafting scripts for videos, and helping brands mold how they speak with their audiences.” Moyer asserts that the best copywriters he works with today weren’t business or marketing majors—they were English majors.
In 2020, Moyer moved back to the Knoxville area with his wife, Gretchen, a professor at Maryville College. He hangs out with his dogs, fly fishes, and continues to keep himself busy with a variety of creative projects. “If you’re like me, when you stop making things, it becomes hard to get back in the groove. So, have projects,” he advised. “It’s okay if they’re dumb, or if you know nobody’s ever going to read them. Start a blog in the morning, write a screenplay in the afternoon, and write a rock opera at night. It’s okay if things don’t go anywhere. You may be surprised to find where you end up.”