I’m very excited to bring you an article about the team behind PPC Hero. It takes about 20 people each month to help run the blog, write research and news articles and keep up the “cheekiness” that is PPC Hero. We’re a fun, hard-working group here at PPC Hero and I’m thrilled to share a bit more about some of the folks behind it all!
PPC Hero & Hanapin Marketing
PPC Hero is published by Hanapin Marketing, located in Bloomington, Indiana. We currently have 20 employees, the majority of which have a hand in the day-to-day success of our blog, PPC Hero in addition to their account responsibilities. Hanapin Marketing was founded in 2004 by our President and CEO, Pat East. We’ve grown by leaps and bounds since then and even moved offices a few times.
One of the first questions we receive when people start at Hanapin is where the name comes from, and in case you’re wondering, Hanapin means ‘search’ in the Philippines.
Here at PPC Hero, we believe in having fun in everything we do, but we also believe in working hard, achieving and surpassing the goals we set for our clients and for our company. Below is a picture of our company values that we put up on the wall to remind ourselves daily of what it means to be on the Hanapin Marketing team: Reliability, Integrity, Creativity, Hana-thusiasm, and Resourcefulness.
So why a super hero, you ask? Well, at our core, we’re basically a big group of nerds (yours truly, especially). In the execution and planning of PPC Hero, our team decided on a “cheeky” super hero as our mascot to keep the blog fun while delivering helpful and needed PPC information. Since the beginning, PPC Hero has contributed a story to go along with our growth and we hope you enjoy the regular drawings that we post of him as much as we do! If you didn’t know, PPC Hero isn’t alone. He has a team of fellow super heroes and even a villain, including Ms. Clicks, SEO Boy and the ROI Bandit.
The Account Managers & Writers
Who: Bethany Bey
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Blog Manager and Account Executive
Bethany Bey plays a vital role here at PPC Hero. In addition to the accounts she works on, Bethany is the Blog Manager and helps determine the blog’s strategy for everything from what sort of series we are going to publish to the design and layout of our blog. She’s consistently a top contributor for content and also coordinates all of our guest bloggers.
Familiar with Hanapin’s hometown of Bloomington, Bethany graduated from IU with a degree in Marketing & Management before going to Valparaiso for her MBA. She enjoys researching concepts that she doesn’t understand and making it easy for our readers to understand as well.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: Bethany enjoys researching concepts that she’s unfamiliar with and translating them into something easy for our readers to use and understand. She also loves interacting with our commenters and guest bloggers.
Fun Facts About Bethany: I am an only child, although most people say they can’t tell I’m an only child so I guess that’s a good thing. When I’m not ppc-ing I like to do yoga and read, and sometimes watch the Kardashians just to see if I can keep up. A fun fact about me is that I can play one song on the piano upside down.
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Who: Amanda West-Bookwalter
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive & Blog Contributor
Amanda works on all of the videos you see on PPC Hero in addition to writing PPC articles and managing client accounts. Amanda grew up in a small town in mid-southern Indiana (lots o’ corn) with a high school class just over 100 people. She graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English and Non-Profit Management. Amanda interned with the Monroe County Humane Association for a year and was even offered a job with PETA. After graduation she went to work for an eCommerce company selling costumes and bathing suits before coming to Hanapin and PPC Hero.What They Love About Writing On the Blog: Amanda loves being able to utilize her English degree with the creative opportunities on PPC Hero. She considers herself a lifelong student so the combination of learning and creativity makes the PPC Hero experience totally awesome.Fun Facts About Amanda: I used to show rabbits in the county fair, as I was heavily involved in 4-H. I was also involved in the FFA during high school, going to soil judging and entomology contests across the state.
**** Who: Jessica Cates, AKA the person writing this article 
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive & Blog Contributor
Since it’s awkward writing in third person, I’ll be upfront and admit I’m writing this article! My name’s Jessica and I’ve been an Account Executive here at Hanapin Marketing for nearly two years now. I’ve lived in Indiana my entire life and believe there’s much more than corn here -we have soy beans too! I went to Purdue University and earned my degree in Sales and Marketing. Before Hanapin, I worked in traditional advertising as a Sales Representative. I got the chance to explore SEO on my own and grew to really enjoy learning about the Internet. Lo and behold, I found Hanapin and joined the team.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: Writing for PPC Hero allows me to combine two of my favorite things: learning and writing. When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a writer and grew up creating my own stories, so it’s something I’ve always gravitated toward.
Fun Facts About Jessica: I’m very antsy when I don’t get to travel so I spend as much time as I can going new places. I’ve managed to visit France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany so far. In 2010 I went on a “Battlefield Tour” of Europe where I saw the Normany D-Day sites, Vimy Ridge, Waterloo, Bastogne/Foy/Ardennes and many others. When I’m not working, I’m either reading up about war history, watching war movies or hiking on any trail or mountain I can find. My main “bucket list goal” is to either climb the Colorado 14’ers or hike the entire Appalachian Trail.
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Who: Felicia Coover
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive & Blog Contributor
Felicia is an Account Executive here at Hanapin. She writes News Updates when they come about as well as a monthly Greatest Hits article. Felicia also participates in a monthly series on various topics as well as occasional extra PPC posts. Before Hanapin and PPC Hero, Felicia has held positions in retail management and traditional advertising. She was a Senior Account Executive based out of Atlanta with TMP Worldwide, a digital recruitment agency, working mostly print and online recruitment with an occasional dose of SEO and SEM. Of course, she wanted even more online experience, so she came to Hanapin!
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: I like writing for PPC Hero because it allows my more creative side to come out but still showcase my technical chops. It’s also a break from the daily routine. I just wish I had more time to write!
Fun Facts About Felicia: I love to travel with my family, I love the ocean and I love living in Bloomington. Spending time with my two favorite guys, Marc and Aden, is really awesome and I also enjoy hanging out with my friends. I am an avid college football fan. I went to school at the University of Georgia so football is just ingrained in my soul. I scrapbook, cook and bake, read, spend way to much time on my Kindle and have a plethora of favorite TV shows that burden our tivo weekly.
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Who: Dave Rosborough
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive, Lead Generation project for Hanapin, Social Media and
working on our Mixed Work Environment program.
Dave is our “jack of all trades” guy. He’s an Account Executive and also plays a big role on some of our special projects. Last and certainly not least, he built our social media program from the ground up, including the early days of our monthly Hero View. Dave is from Cincinnati and went to Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana where he played soccer and lacrosse while earning his BA in Art and a minor in Economics.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: I enjoy learning through researching particular topics im unfamiliar with, and sharing that information with others to apply to their own accounts. I also use blogging as a tool for connecting with others via social spaces. In this sense, I really enjoy the fact that people are working together to share good content. It’s a really good feeling when one of those articles being shared is yours!
Fun Facts About Dave: I once won $10 from a lottery ticket.
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Who: Rob Boyd 
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Supervisor, Manages the Hanapin/PPC Hero team of Account Executives and develops strategy for clients while ensuring client satisfaction.
Rob is an Account Supervisor here at Hanapin Marketing. Before coming to work here, he was an Audio Video and Networking Technician and also worked in sales and consulting for a top eCommerce retailer. Rob is the only one of our writers who earned his Masters in Internet Marketing.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: Writing on the blogs keeps you fresh. It also keeps you thinking about how you work on your accounts. You need to have a deeper understanding of the actions you are taking if you plan on turning them into an educational blog post for the rest of the world. It also allows you to have a voice that is much larger than it would be by simply working at an agency. My blog posts have provided me opportunities to collaborate with some big names in the industry. It’s interesting to see the reaction and support you get from fellow industry pros.
Fun Facts About Rob: I am a big beer geek. Over the past several years, most of my recreational spending has been surrounding beer events, beer tourism, or just collecting and drinking rare bottles of beer. Luckily, my fiance loves it as much as I do and my father, sisters, and many friends enjoy a good beer as well. This makes for some good times with family and friends while enjoying a good brew. It’s also reconnected me with some old friends and I’ve met some new one’s as well.
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Who: Jeff Allen
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive and Blog Contributor 
Jeff started as an email marketer in early 2000 which led to a lot of chances to hone his skills in copy writing, lead generation, and creative problem solving (like getting honest emails past these new things called Junk/Spam filters). From there, he got into PPC while working as a partner at an independent record label. The label failed, but Jeff’s new passion became PPC and he’s been working with it ever since. Jeff is an Account Executive here at Hanapin and frequently contributes articles to the blog focused on strategy and concepts instead of specific PPC how-to’s.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: My favorite part of writing on the blog is that it forces me to think about how I manage my PPC accounts, and why my results are what they are. I also like the fact that my Mom reads my posts and texts me to tell me how happy they make her.
Fun Facts About Jeff: I am an absolute information junkie. Whether it’s online, print, or television, I soak up all the new information I can. Which is great for me, but drives my wife nuts when we are waiting in line at the grocery store and I’m zoned in on my phone reading news updates or listening to a podcast.
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Who: Sarah Storm 
What They Do for PPC Hero & Hanapin: Account Executive & Blog Contributor on PPC Hero
Sarah Storm (be jealous, that’s really her last name) is an Account Executive here at Hanapin Marketing, working daily in the trenches of PPC account management. She works on everything from eCommerce to SaaS clients. Before Hanapin and PPC Hero, Sarah worked in a variety of different roles. She was previously in a client relationship role at an online job board before moving into web dev and design roles. She has worked for a large non-profit, an ad agency and also did some independent consulting.
What They Love About Writing On the Blog: I enjoy sharing tips I’ve learned to make my job easier, and I really like the interaction with blog readers. I also participate in PPC Hero’s monthly series posts, and I enjoy collaborating with my team members on those.
Fun Facts About Sarah: You know that crazy runner you see on the streets at 6AM? That’s me. Oh, and I’m also the only person on the planet who detests the movie Garden State.
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Who: Up & Comers!
We have two new team members, Shirin and Sean, who have started writing News Updates on PPC Hero this month! They’re very excited to start and we know they’ll be awesome – be on the lookout for their future articles!
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Who: The Sales Team
What They Do For PPC Hero & Hanapin: Sales
Originally, all sales were done by our CEO, Pat, and our Account Supervisor, Rob. As we grew, however, it was apparent we needed to dive headfirst into a designated sales team. Tom Hootman is our Director of Sales at Hanapin, and Kayla Kurtz is our Paid Search Consultant. Tom has a large sales background, and worked with U.S. Food Service for many years before coming to Hanapin. Kayla actually started as an Account Manager before moving over to the sales department and writes regularly for the blog.
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The Marketing Team
Our marketing team is made up of Bethany Harvey and Laura Johnston. They work closely with the team and third parties to help promote Hanapin and PPC Hero, break us into new unchartered territory and plan Hero Conf. These ladies are responsible for helping the Account Management team start up our new monthly webinars and they’ve been busy planning Hero Conf and interviewing all of the speakers for our readers to learn more about them.
Fun Facts About Laura:
Laura has a BBA in Marketing along with a minor in French. Prior to Hanapin Marketing, she worked with the non-profit Harbor of Hope and interned with Sam’s Club and MTS Travel. Laura loves traveling, and has studied in France, Hong Kong, and volunteered for a year in Denmark. When she has the chance, she enjoys practicing her French, Spanish, and Danish. In her spare time, Laura can be found listening to music, training for triathlons, reading mysteries, cooking new recipes, horse training, snowboarding, or visiting her home state of Texas.
Fun Facts About Bethany: I love candy, reading, and was captain of the IU cheerleading team in college. My boyfriend, our dog, and I settled into Bloomington for the long haul when we bought a condo almost 2 years ago. A few items from my bucket list: swimming with dolphins, learn to ski, and attend a party with a magician.
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The Founders
Who: Pat East
What He Does for PPC Hero & Hanapin: President and CEO
Pat is the CEO of our Hanapin which launched in 2004. Specifically for the blog, Pat writes a monthly Letter From the CEO detailing what’s currently happening on PPC Hero and within the walls of Hanapin Marketing. Pat has 15 years experience in online marketing, sales management, and executive leadership and teaches one of the nation’s only search marketing courses at Indiana University’s School of Library and Information Sciences. He recently received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Small Business Development Center. He also works closely with aspiring entrepreneurs as an angel investor and advisor for high-growth potential startups in the web/tech industry. Pat graduated from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana with a B.A. in English.
Who: Jamie East
What She Does for PPC Hero & Hanapin: VP of Accounting and Administration
Jamie East is co-founder of Hanapin Marketing. A life-long Hoosier, Jamie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Indiana University. She has worked in various industries, from radio broadcasting to publishing. Jamie oversees the accounting and administration of Hanapin. When not at the office, Jamie enjoys spending time with her husband and children.
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There you have it! A small snapshot of the behind the scenes gang here at PPC Hero and Hanapin Marketing. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about the people behind the articles, growth and daily upkeep of PPC Hero.
