Heather Skomp

Web Developer
  • Connect with Heather Skomp

I have so many interests and enjoy learning so many different things, it was difficult in the early days of my career to decide what I would do for the long haul. Everything I got into, I wanted to convert into a means of earning a living. And then I’d get bored, abort, and then try something new.

The one thing that stuck was website development. My age is showing when I say that the internet wasn’t around when I was in college (Gasp! You mean there was a time when there was no internet?!?!) so I had to teach myself how to build websites once they arrived on the scene. As soon as I did, I was hooked. It’s such a beautiful marriage of art, language, math, writing, business and marketing, that no self-respecting multi-potentialite as myself could turn away. You get to practice photography, copywriting, video creation and editing, graphic arts, programming, email marketing, social media, SEO, ecommerce and more, for any subject known to man. And some not known to man… yet. If you’re a knowledge and skills junkie like me, who also happens to like the freedom of being able to work from anywhere, there is no better profession.

And now with the advent of AI, it’s even more wild and crazy. And wonderful!

But make no mistake, website development isn’t for the faint of heart. With technology changing all the time, if it’s not your business and/or you don’t love it, then it’s best to let someone else handle it.

Which is how I ended up working with Magellan! Michael wisely recognized that his magic and that of his staff is in providing the exact right promotional products to their customers, while mine is in making sure the website is awesome and functional. It’s a beautiful thing.

My personal life is a lot like my professional life, in that there have been many twists and turns. I was born in Oklahoma, grew up in Louisiana, went to high school in England, and went to college in Ohio. I’ve been in every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota. I’ve railed across Europe and lived in an RV traveling all over the USA. I was on a TV show for cake decorating. Eventually, I landed in Colorado, and hope never to leave. It’s been an interesting life so far, and who knows what’s next.

What would be your baseball walk out song?

Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson. It’s been my favorite song since I first heard it back in…. a long time ago.

If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be?

Jerry Seinfeld. I think it would be most entertaining.

What was your favorite band/artist 10 years ago?

Well, I looked at the Billboard Top 100 to find out what bands were popular ten years ago, and I have to say Aretha Franklin. No matter the decade, she is tops.

If you could instantly pick up a new skill, what would it be?

Online marketing. If I could be brilliant at that right now – and like it – I’d be set for life.

What job would you be terrible at?

Oh, there are so many. How do you choose between what you’d be genuinely terrible at, and what you would hate to do? Right now I’m leaning towards sewage plant operator as being the leading brand in either category. Childcare worker would be a close second. I have deep admiration and respect for anyone who does either job. Thank you for making it so I don’t have to do it!

If you could tell your childhood self one thing, what would it be?

Don’t listen to anyone but yourself. Other people only know what works for them, not necessarily for you. Do what you love… you’re gonna anyway. Might as well bypass all the heartache of trying to follow someone else’s path first.

Variable Data Best Practices

  • At the quoting stage of your project, please let us know how many fields of variable data your piece will have as this can affect pricing.
  • Data should be provided to us as an Excel spreadsheet with only the applicable data included.
  • Verbiage for variable data fields on artwork file should match up exactly with data fields on spreadsheet.
  • Spacing on artwork must allow for longest data entries. We recommend that your designer tests this in advance to confirm that the fields in the design can fit your longest pieces of data.

Postage Permits

We are happy to mail using a client’s USPS non-profit number. Here are a few best practices for this to go smoothly. Let our team know up front on the project so we can make sure to get the information we need right away. 

While our mail house does prefer to use their permit number for the mailing, we can use the client’s permit, If using their permit number, ensure there is enough postage to cover the mailing.

The information we need to in order to use a client’s nonprofit number includes the following:

  • CRID (customer registration ID)
  • Non-Profit Authorization Number (with USPS, not their nonprofit number for the university)
  • Non-profit indicia
  • Return address that is on file with USPS for the non-profit authorization number
  • Permit number

Formatting the Mailing List

Our account team will advise on specific requirements for your project’s mailing list.  We generally recommend these best practices to format the mailing list:
  • Send your data in a spreadsheet, saving it in the comma-separated values (CSV) format
  • International addresses must be separated from domestic addresses
  • Domestic addresses should at least contain data fields for “first name”, “last name”, “address 1”, “address 2”, “city”, “state” and “ZIP code”