Daniel Barnes

Copywriter; Brand Content Manager; Copy Editor; Journalist; SEO Specialist; Podcaster

United States

I’m a Senior Copywriter and Brand Content Manager who shapes brand voice, builds messaging systems and turns complex concepts into clear, audience-focused content. My background spans journalism, criticism, copywriting, brand management and SEO, which means I bring both editorial judgment and campaign discipline to the work.

I’ve led content for cross-channel campaigns, app launches, store openings, fundraising programs, advertorials, websites, email journeys, audio spots and social campaigns. I also enjoy the small stuff that still has to be exactly right, from process documentation to weekly puns for the famous Freeport Boulevard marquee.

Whatever the project, I’m looking for the same thing: the sharpest message, the cleanest structure and the clearest path between what a brand needs to say and what an audience needs to understand.

Portfolio
https://vimeo.com/1212409327?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
TeachForCalifornia.com
07/01/2026
Teacher Recruitment Videos

For Teach for California, I developed the messaging strategy and scripts for a suite of campaign video assets supporting statewide teacher recruitment. I researched prospective teacher audiences, recognized key motivations and barriers, collaborated with the designer on creative direction, wrote the scripts and revised the work based on internal and client feedback. I helped guide the video assets from concept through shoot-ready creative, keeping the message clear, audience-specific and...

TeachForCalifornia.com
07/01/2026
Teacher Recruitment Campaign

I created messaging architecture, multiple audience matrices and cross-channel content for this statewide teacher recruitment campaign. I developed copy for web, paid media, social, audio, display and partner outreach assets, adapting the message for prospective teachers at different stages of consideration while keeping the campaign voice and calls to action consistent.

The Raley's Companies
Summer Produce Campaign

This email was just one piece of a multi-channel, multi-phase seasonal campaign to promote Raley's as the best source for fresh summer produce. I worked with the brand manager, marketing manager and Produce team to determine the schedule, channels, assets, key products and copy points for the campaign. In addition to creating copy, I also coached my team on the style, tone and content of the campaign so that they could assist in content creation and proofing.

Capital Network Solutions
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) FAQ

This blog post was part of a major campaign to market cybersecurity services to companies affected by the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In collaboration with sales and leadership, we formed a stratgy involving email marketing (with MailChimp), print brochures, organic social and blog posts. For this post, I used the SEO tool Ahrefs to target valuable keywords to improve our organic search rankings. I also used Ahrefs and Google Analytics to assess the campaign's effectiveness.

Raley's
Holiday 2025 Campaign

This sign is just one small piece of Raley's massive annual multi-channel Holiday campaign. I collaborated with the marketing director to concept a campaign that focused on taking "Time" to celebrate the holidays (tagline: "The Most Wonderful Time"). We wanted to create a campaign that felt aspirational yet affordable, so we eschewed our usual title-case headline format in favor of sentence-case. We used shorter sentences and callouts on print assets to make key points quickly for shoppers.

Raley's
Get Curious Campaign

In-store signage to promote Raley's new Get Curious offerings. This was a new initiative that required both long-form and short-form copy across print and digital touchpoints. Headlines and key copy points were created in collaboration with the brand manager and product innovation team.

Raley's
Pharmacy Campaign

In-store signage to promote Raley's Pharmacy. We collaborated with high-level stakeholders on the Pharmacy team to determine the messaging hierarchy and hone key copy points.

Raley's
Freeport Sign Puns

I created a new food-related pun every week for the iconic sign at Raley's Freeport Blvd. store. All puns needed to follow a strict format (2 lines of copy, 16 characters per line including spaces) and get approved by the marketing director. I worked with Western Sign company to make sure the puns were correctly added to the marquee.

California Community Colleges
05/05/2021
I Can Go to College (icangotocollege.com)

As a freelancer working with Runyon Saltzman, I created copy for the California Community Colleges (CCC) new website. This included organizing and copy-editing over one thousand sub-pages encompassing every college, major and degree in the CCC system.

Food City
Mi Club App Launch

Website copy to promote the new Mi Club app at Food City, a Hispanic-themed grocery store. This app launch required extensive marketing copy across all channels, including print, e-commerce, email, in-store and terrestrial audio, paid media and much more. I worked with the Food City Brand Manager to determine the tactics, schedule and key copy points.

Comstock's magazine
02/19/2020
Loving the Lager - Comstock's magazine

One of my hundreds of published articles about craft beer and spirits, food and restaurants, film and music and other local issues. I love being able to interview and pick the brains of local legends and subject matter experts like Peter Hoey of Urban Roots Brewing Company.

Sacramento News & Review
11/20/2018
SN&R * Film * Film Reviews * Turkey talk

Feast your eyes on cinema's worst Thanksgiving dinners. This is one of the nearly 1,300 reviews and articles I wrote for Sacramento News & Review. I also write, host, produce and edit several film-related podcasts, and I am an active member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle.