Daniel Hightower Smith

Copywriter

About

Daniel is a copywriter and editor with experience in agency, corporate, and media settings.

Recently he wrote email marketing copy - both B2C and B2B - and social media ad copy for the San Francisco education tech company Chegg. Before that he was a copywriter for Mary Kay Corporate, and a copy editor at the Omnicom ad agencies Targetbase and Javelin in Dallas.

While living in New York, he completed numerous freelance writing and editing projects in the pharmaceutical and health care industries, at agencies including Euro RSCG, Sudler & Hennessey, Harrison and Star, and Grey Advertising.

Shortly after college Daniel taught high school English in Hungary and traveled all throughout Eastern Europe. It was a great year. He's also an avid songwriter and music fan.

Freelance copywriter and editor

2004 - present

Areas of expertise

I. Education Tech

Chegg - San Francisco August 2018 to September 2018

Contract copywriter

Wrote, updated, edited content for web and mobile interfaces to market the launch of Chegg’s CareerMatch platform. Chegg CareerMatch is a service that enables students to quickly create a skills-based resume and apply to jobs requiring those skills.

Strategized with project owners to refine messaging at creative briefs.
Collaborated with designers and CRMs to improve user experience.
Wrote Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn advertising.
Wrote B2B and B2C email advertising campaigns.
Wrote advertising copy for Chegg partners, including 5-Hour Energy.

II. Health Care and Pharmaceuticals

Mary Kay Inc. - Dallas June 2015 to January 2016 & March 2017 to July 2017

Contract copywriter

Wrote, updated, edited corporate site content for web and mobile interfaces.

Delivered content including new skincare product unveilings for the web, emails to the salesforce about incentive programs, banner ads, and catalog-style product information about Mary Kay products.
Brainstormed with team members at creative briefs to focus messaging.
Determined and entered search engine optimization (SEO) terms for the content I authored.
Collaborated with project managers, art directors, and translators to improve content experience for Mary Kay’s audience, all within house style.

Viverae, Targetbase - Dallas September 2004 to November 2013

Euro RSCG, Saatchi & Saatchi,

Sudler & Hennessey and others - New York

Freelance copy editor

Edited, wrote, and proofread digital and print marketing assets including email templates, web microsites, and physical media such as brochures, letters, and direct mail advertising.

Used InDesign, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver, as well as CMSs such as Basecamp and Teamsite.
Applied content standards according to house style guides.

Mount Sinai Medical Center - New York July 2008 to November 2009

Freelance web content editor

Edited, coded, updated, and preserved the integrity of content on using Vignette Content Management 7.6, HTML 5, and Javascript.

Performed ongoing site modifications for Mount Sinai faculty and staff.
Worked with transition team in planning new site design and migrated content from old site.
Organized and maintained supporting files across website in various file types including PDF, JPG, GIF and cascading style sheets (CSS).

III. Media

D Magazine – Dallas June 2006 to June 2018

SPIN Magazine, Interview Magazine - New York

Freelance fact-checker and copy editor

Fact-checked and proofread news pieces, record and concert reviews, online content and city guides. Wrote restaurant and nightspot reviews.

SKILLS

InDesign; Dreamweaver; CMS, specifically Vignette Content Management and Sitecore; Basecamp; MS Office.

American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th Edition; Associated Press Stylebook 2013.

INTERESTS

Guitar and songwriting, languages, travel, baseball, reading.

View My Portfolio

Education

Santa Clara University

BS, psychology

George Washington University

MA, economics

University of Vienna, Austria