Marketing Strategy,
built at the intersection of communication and technology.

Hi! I’m Mariana Santiago, New Orleans-based writer, email geek, and marketing strategist. I’m currently accepting new clients and looking for challenging new projects.
Here’s how I can support you.
> Lifecycle Marketing
> Copywriting
>
Email Marketing
>
Marketing Automation
> CRM Architecture + Strategy
Get in touch!

> Email me.
> Add me on LinkedIn.

Abandoned Cart Email for D2C eCommerce brand​

Email for B2B SaaS

Email for IT Security Software Provider

This is an email written as part of a promotional campaign by Ivanti supporting their latest publication (which, in turn, was meant to encourage IT and security professionals to buy their software.) 

This email uses industry jargon, but that’s deliberate. By using the words that the people buying this product use (as opposed to simplifying the vocabulary in some foolish effort to avoid jargon), the email demonstrates that Ivanti is IT security software made for and designed by IT security experts. 

The email does a great job of emphasizing why this report is important (“destroys both of these assumptions” paired with “brave new world” CTA really works here) and successfully paints the report as urgent, must-read content.

Email for IT Security Software Provider​

This is an email written as part of a promotional campaign by Ivanti supporting their latest publication (which, in turn, was meant to encourage IT and security professionals to buy their software.) 

This email uses industry jargon, but that’s deliberate. By using the words that the people buying this product use (as opposed to simplifying the vocabulary in some foolish effort to avoid jargon), the email demonstrates that Ivanti is IT security software made for and designed by IT security experts. 

The email does a great job of emphasizing why this report is important (“revolutionary new approach” paired with a simple “READ NOW” CTA really works here) and successfully paints the report as urgent, must-read content.

Website Copy for B2B Software Implementation Consultancy

Website Copy for Wedding Photography Studio

Abandoned Cart Email for D2C eCommerce brand

Email for B2B SaaS Platform

Email for IT Security Software Provider

This is an email written as part of a promotional campaign by Ivanti supporting their latest publication (which, in turn, was meant to encourage IT and security professionals to buy their software.) 

This email uses industry jargon, but that’s deliberate. By using the words that the people buying this product use (as opposed to simplifying the vocabulary in some foolish effort to avoid jargon), the email demonstrates that Ivanti is IT security software made for and designed by IT security experts. 

The email does a great job of making the vague feel personal (given that the majority of the recipients are IT directors, asking what President Biden has in common with 98% of IT directors creates much more curiosity than asking what President Biden has in common with 98% of all humans on Earth) and successfully paints the report as urgent, must-read content.

Email for IT Security Software Provider​​

This is an email written as part of a promotional campaign by Ivanti supporting their latest publication (which, in turn, was meant to encourage IT and security professionals to buy their software.) 

This email uses industry jargon, but that’s deliberate. By using the words that the people buying this product use (as opposed to simplifying the vocabulary in some foolish effort to avoid jargon), the email demonstrates that Ivanti is IT security software made for and designed by IT security experts. 

The email does a great job of emphasizing why this report is important (“no IT director can be everywhere at once” makes the situation personal; it’s not that no human can be everywhere at once, it’s that no IT director – and the people reading this email are IT directors – can be everywhere at once, which is a far more specific issue!) and successfully paints the report as urgent, must-read content.

Email for B2B SaaS

Email for B2B SaaS Platform​

Email for Travel Agency

This email copy, which I wrote as part of a nurture sequence for a travel agency, does a great job of turning something that might seem like a nice-to-have (a travel planner) into something absolutely necessary if you’re going to enjoy your vacation. 

The tone is relaxed and confident, which is the exact attitude you want in a travel planner, and the email includes a clear call-to-action: take a trip and contact the agency today. 

Email for IT Security Software Provider​​

This is an email written as part of a promotional campaign by Ivanti supporting their latest publication (which, in turn, was meant to encourage IT and security professionals to buy their software.) 

This email uses industry jargon, but that’s deliberate. By using the words that the people buying this product use (as opposed to simplifying the vocabulary in some foolish effort to avoid jargon), the email demonstrates that Ivanti is IT security software made for and designed by IT security experts. 

The email does a great job of emphasizing why this report is important (“jarring findings” is a great turn of phrase in this context) and successfully paints the report as urgent, must-read content.

Email for Educational Platform​

Email for Educational Platform​

Email for Educational Platform​

Email for Educational Platform​

Email for Travel Agency

Email for Educational Platform

Email for B2B SaaS

Reengagement / Churn Prevention Email for D2C eCommerce brand​

I worked carefully to develop the tone I used throughout Sleepgram’s assets. There’s a sort of sleepy sensuality to it and a nod to the joy of treating yourself to life’s little luxuries…like laying your tired body down silky, softer-than-cotton sheets! 

This reengagement / churn prevention email is lighthearted without seeming desperate, introducing the 10% off coupon in a way that doesn’t devalue the brand’s products but emphasizes the reader’s importance as a customer to the brand. 

The merge field’s fallback, “dreamer”, is something I particularly like in this context. Whenever a brand personalizes an email with a customer’s first name, it’s important that they have a fallback entry in case their database is missing the first name. For example, if you’ve ever received an email that looks like it should say “Hey, Bob!” but just reads “Hey,  !”, that’s because that brand’s email marketer forgot to include a fallback. 

Using “dreamer” as the fallback means that anyone receiving this email whose first name isn’t on file for whatever reason would have read “You’ve been hard to pin down, dreamer.” In some ways, that’s actually better than using the customer’s first name: there’s about that verbiage that’s intimate and playful without being creepy. Moreover, it’s sleep-related, which works well here. 

Website Copy for Wedding Photography Studio

This website copy sample demonstrates my ability to find the perfect brand voice for organizations in any industry. Brides on the hunt for a wedding photographer want to hire someone (or a studio) that will consider her wedding day as important as she does. 

This “story of us” section makes the reader feel that anyone hiring Precious Pics Productions is in good hands, while laying out the exact process the studio uses so brides know exactly what to expect when they hire this studio. It’s romantic while being informative – exactly what this studio needed.

Content Marketing Article for Databox

This article (written for Databox and published to their blog as part of their content marketing / SEO strategy) benefits from a fun, snappy writing style that makes this blog post a fun, interesting read despite the dry topic. 

I incorporate quotes from subject-matter experts without resorting to clunky, awkward transitions, which provides a level of credibility and humanity to this blog post it wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Finally, the actionable insights included mean that the reader can actually act on and benefit from the things they learn by reading this article, making the blog post relevant to its readers beyond “here’s the theory of increasing conversions on your website!” 

If you’d like to read this article in its entirety, you can find it on Databox’s website or by checking out this PDF.

Product Description / Checkout Page for D2C eCommerce brand

$74.95 for a pillowcase may sound exorbitant, but this product description / checkout page for Sleepgram’s silk pillowcase justifies the price.

I worked carefully to develop the tone I used throughout Sleepgram’s assets. There’s a sort of sleepy sensuality to it and a nod to the joy of treating yourself to life’s little luxuries…like laying your tired head down on a silky-soft pillowcase! 

The “Choose Silk for Healthier Hair and Skin” section offers an additional reason to make the investment without providing so much detail that the consumer is overwhelmed with data. 

I wrote the “You’ll Love Sleeping On Silk” section to evoke a very specific feeling in the consumer. I wanted them to imagine falling asleep on silk and enjoying the best sleep of their lives (by the time you’re an achy adult in your 30s, that makes for a pretty dreamy fantasy!)

Product Description / Checkout Page for D2C eCommerce brand

Does $139.99 sounds like a lot for a set of sheets? The answer largely depends on your circumstances and priorities, of course – but as the copywriter responsible for this page lucky enough to receive a set of these sheets from my client as a bonus “thank you!” gift for my work on the page, I promise you these sheets are worth every penny. 

I worked carefully to develop the tone I used throughout Sleepgram’s assets. There’s a sort of sleepy sensuality to it and a nod to the joy of treating yourself to life’s little luxuries…like laying your tired body down silky, softer-than-cotton sheets! 

The “A Dream Come True for Sensitive Skin” section does a great job of making an additional, health-related argument for investing in this sheets without providing more data points than the customer actually wants or needs. 

“Sustainably Made and Eco-Friendly” keeps that fantasy of a beautiful night of sleep going while adding in an environmentally-friendly pat on the back to the brand’s customers.

 

Website Copy for Web Design Agency Homepage

This website homepage sample, for which I provided both copy and design, works well for a number of reasons. There’s a clear call to action in the hero section. The agency’s offerings are immediately made clear. 

The “Here’s What You Need To Know” section provides all of the information a prospective client would need to know in order to take the step of booking a call with the agency, while maintaining a tone that’s inviting, easily understood by a customer who’s not terribly technology-savvy, and evokes a sense of “wow, these people are competent!” 

There’s clearly-delineated pricing, which helps prospective clients know exactly what they’re agreeing to pay and what they’ll achieve in return.

The point of a homepage is to ensure prospective clients that the service provider in question is competent enough to get the job done and that they can afford the service provider’s offerings. I did exactly that in this homepage.

 

Website Copy for D2C eCommerce brand

This sample demonstrates my ability to pinpoint the perfect brand voice for any brand while discussing the aspects of a product that make it worth buying. 

Pairing “ideal for sensitive skin” (in and of itself a fairly clinical phrase) with the phrase “these sheets are a dream come true” takes the boring part of bedsheet shopping, where you ask yourself if these sheets will leave you covered in rashes, and turns it into something more exciting – you’re not shopping for bedding anymore.

You’re making your dreams come true.

Press Release for Artificial Intelligence PaaS Start-Up

Article on Giving Tuesday for Funraise

Article on YouTube Viewership Retention Optimization for Databox

Article on Non-Profit Fundraising for Funraise

Whitepaper for Robotics Company

Email Newsletter for D2C Cosmetics / Skincare Brand

Talk given at EIS 2021 on Writing Email Copy

Talk given at Inbox Expo 2021 on Email Marketing for Political Campaigns

Podcast appearance discussing CRM Architecture and Marketing Automation

words

Email Sign-Up Form for D2c eCommerce brand's website

This is from an email newsletter sign-up form for a sleep and bedding products brand’s website. I don’t think I’ve yet to write a better pun over the course of my copywriting career. 

I’ll forever be patting myself on the back for this one. 

Launch Email for Entrepreneurship-focused Social Networking Platform

Website Copy for Software Implementation Consultancy

This website copy, which I wrote for a consultancy focusing on software implementation, succeeds because it frames the problem in a way that prospects understand (the majority of this sort of project goes overtime and over budget!) and offers a clear value proposition: get your software stack to the point where you’re achieving the promised ROI sooner rather than later. 

It explains exactly how its services will benefit your business (you’ll be able to offer a better customer experience, which will lead to referrals) without resorting to dumbed-down, simplified language. 

Email for SaaS platform

Reengagement / Churn Prevention Email for D2C eCommerce brand

I worked carefully to develop the tone I used throughout Sleepgram’s assets. There’s a sort of sleepy sensuality to it and a nod to the joy of treating yourself to life’s little luxuries…like laying your tired body down silky, softer-than-cotton sheets! 

This reengagement / churn prevention email is lighthearted without seeming desperate, introducing the 20% off coupon in a way that doesn’t devalue the brand’s products but emphasizes the reader’s importance as a customer to the brand. 

The merge field’s fallback, “dreamer”, is something I particularly like in this context. Whenever a brand personalizes an email with a customer’s first name, it’s important that they have a fallback entry in case their database is missing the first name. For example, if you’ve ever received an email that looks like it should say “Hey, Bob!” but just reads “Hey,  !”, that’s because that brand’s email marketer forgot to include a fallback. 

Using “dreamer” as the fallback means that anyone receiving this email whose first name isn’t on file for whatever reason would have read “You’ve been hard to pin down, dreamer.” In some ways, that’s actually better than using the customer’s first name: there’s about that verbiage that’s intimate and playful without being creepy. Moreover, it’s sleep-related, which works well here. 

Email for Entrepreneurship-focused Social Networking Platform

This email, confirming one’s addition to the waitlist for a social networking platform’s launch, does a great job of keeping the reader interested now that they’re got to wait for the doors to open. They know exactly what to expect during the wait, they’re motivated to spread the word (and are assigned a referral code, enabling the platform to identify their top evangelists), and they’re reminded of exactly what they have to gain by contributing to this platform’s success.

Email for Travel Agency