Maxwell Huppert
Chicago-area copywriter and content designer with over a decade of B2B and B2C experience — from onsite UX and checkout copy to lifecycle email, brand voice, and long-form content. Currently building out Maximum Retroverse, a side business reselling retro games, toys, media, and collectibles, including the tools that run it.
I've spent my career making complicated things easy to say — whether that's a $1B+ eCommerce brand's checkout flow, a SaaS client's launch campaign, or a listing description for a 30-year-old game console. Most recently, I was Senior Copywriter at Zoro.com (a W.W. Grainger company), where I wrote across email, UX, print, and paid media, and helped shape the brand's voice and tone guidelines. Before that, I worked client-side at MarketSmiths, a New York content strategy agency, writing for brands like LinkedIn and Wyndham Hotels.
I hold a BA in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with Distinction in the Honors Program and a double major in Creative Writing. Outside of work, I run Maximum Retroverse, reselling retro games, toys, media, trading cards, and electronics — and I've been building my own tools to run that business, which you can see below.
Founder & Owner
Sept 2025 – Present · Skokie, ILFull-time eCommerce business sourcing, refurbishing, and reselling pre-owned retro gaming hardware · $100K+ in annual revenue
- Built a self-run business to over $100K in annual revenue, selling refurbished Nintendo hardware and accessories across eBay, Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon.
- Write all customer-facing content — product listings, storefront copy, and step-by-step troubleshooting guides that turn technical repair knowledge into clear, reassuring help for buyers.
- Refine listing titles, descriptions, and photos based on sales and search performance to improve visibility and conversion on each marketplace.
- Designed and built a custom listing and inventory tool (Python/Flask) that creates and manages eBay listings, tracks stock, and cross-lists to Etsy, replacing hours of manual work.
- Run the full operation: bulk sourcing (including direct relationships with sellers in Japan), refurbishment and repair, pricing, fulfillment, and customer service.
Senior Copywriter
Jan 2019 – Sept 2025 · Chicago, ILB2B eCommerce ($1B+ annual revenue), owned by W.W. Grainger · joined as Copywriter, promoted Nov 2019
- Wrote B2B and B2C copy across email, catalogs/print, onsite UX/UI, social, integrated campaigns, and paid media (PPC and programmatic).
- Authored and evolved the company's Brand Guidelines for copywriters, partnering with the in-house Brand team and an external agency to define voice and tone.
- Wrote resource articles, white papers, and press releases; later partnered with Product and UX teams to rewrite onsite copy across the purchase and checkout flow.
- Copy changes drove measurable lifts in email open rate, direct-mail response, conversion, and promo-code usage.
- Certain product-specific copy projects contributed to revenue lifts of up to roughly 50% for the affected product lines, on a business generating millions of dollars in revenue per day.
Copywriter & Content Strategist
Nov 2014 – May 2018 · New York, NYWoman- and minority-owned content strategy & copywriting agency · freelance from 2014, full-time from July 2016
- Managed and ideated for a roster of B2B and B2C clients, writing digital copy and building content calendars against contract deliverables.
- Developed long-term content strategy for clients, including pitching blog and article concepts built for shareability.
- Clients included LinkedIn, Wyndham Hotels, Panasonic, Kintone, and the City of New York.
- Drove measurable gains in clicks, views, and viral reach; retained key clients long-term and negotiated retainer growth on the strength of results.
Education
BA, English Literature
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 2012 · transferred from St. Olaf College
Distinction in the Honors Program. Traveling Quinn Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Fiction Writing. Double major in Creative Writing (Fiction).
Skills
Selected work from my time at Zoro.com and MarketSmiths.
Building Zoro's Voice From Scratch
When I joined Zoro, there was no established brand voice, and direct mail and social were handled by outside agencies. I brought that work in-house — writing email, direct mail, and social campaigns from the ground up and working closely with designers and channel owners to define the brand's tone.
Rewriting Zoro's Checkout Copy
I worked with Zoro's Product Managers to rewrite on-site UX copy, including an overhaul of promo code error messaging at checkout that explained restrictions and failures more precisely — leading to a measurable lift in promo code usage. Other product-specific projects like this one helped drive revenue lifts of up to roughly 50% for the affected product lines, on a business generating millions of dollars in revenue per day.
Thought Leadership for LinkedIn
While at MarketSmiths, I pitched and wrote thought leadership posts for LinkedIn's Talent and Sales Solutions blogs, including “5 Must-Do's for Writing Inclusive Job Descriptions.” Several posts went on to rack up thousands of views, likes, and shares.
Elevating the Fan Experience for Panasonic
To write this white paper and PDF guide, I worked closely with Panasonic's gigantic screen division — the folks who build state-of-the-art displays for sports arenas and concerts. I interviewed their marketers, salespeople, and engineers to better understand (and explain) how they're making a difference in fan experiences with cutting-edge tech.
Maximum Retroverse, a retro games, toys & collectibles business I run on the side — and the tools I've built to run it.
Maximum Retroverse — Retro Games, Toys & Collectibles
Sourcing and reselling retro games, toys, media, trading cards, and electronics, with a focus on 80s, 90s, and Y2K nostalgia. I write the customer-facing side of the business myself — listing copy, category guides, and everything else that helps buyers rediscover the stuff they grew up with.
Shop the eBay store →
eBay Listing & Inventory Tool
A web and iOS app I built to run my own reselling business — creating and managing eBay listings, tracking inventory across items, and cross-listing to Etsy without duplicating work by hand. Currently being beta tested by a small group of users.
View the beta →