Rafael Velez
I started as a writer and editor. The instinct that made the writing good — knowing what to say, who it's for, and how it should land — is the same instinct I've spent years applying upstream: to brand voice, editorial planning, campaigns, and the messaging behind a product.
Experience
Roughly fifteen years writing and editing for brands people recognize — a decade at Groupon, then five years as the sole copywriter on Threadless's brand team.
What I do
Voice, structure, and clarity held to a real standard — line editing, style rigor, and knowing what to cut. Years as an editor before anything else, and an artist-interview program I owned end to end.
Turning a brand's identity into practical, channel-specific guidance writers can actually use — including how a consumer voice should differ from a business one, and how it shifts by channel and subject.
Owning the editorial and messaging layer: editorial calendars driven by audience need and timing, content paired with email as a distribution system, and concepts pitched upstream in planning.
High-cadence B2C and B2B email programs, plus SEO-informed educational content — keyword research and on-page optimization at the content level, not chasing an algorithm.
The verbal side of integrated campaigns across email, web, landing pages, and social — interpreting a theme into a brief, then carrying one story consistently across every channel.
Selected work
Fuller case studies are on the way. For now, three projects that show the range — from voice systems to integrated campaigns to content programs.
Co-author — voice, tone, and style
A brand had broad principles but no practical guide for how it should actually sound. I wrote the bulk of the voice, tone, and style guidance, and defined how the consumer voice should differ from the business-facing one across channels and subjects.
Presented here as a described contribution — the internal document itself stays private.
Editorial ownership across the campaign
A 25-year story to tell across every channel. I researched the company's history, built the editorial schedule, wrote the landing-page copy and the historical timeline, drafted the press release from scratch, and carried one anniversary story through email, homepage, and social.
Owned the editorial calendar and content SEO
A content program teaching independent artists how to grow their businesses. I owned the editorial calendar — choosing topics from audience need, seasonality, and search — handled keyword research and on-page SEO myself, and paired each piece with email to actually get it read.
The through-line
Each stage built on the last. The judgment I sharpened as an editor is exactly what made the brand, content, and marketing work credible — the same questions about language, audience, and clarity, asked earlier in the process.