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Gabriela Alicia Leal

English-Spanish bilingual writer, editor, and copywriter with experience in content development for various digital marketing channels.

About

I have spent most of my life in Monterrey, Mexico—a vibrant city known for its stunning mountain views and world-famous barbecues. It was here that I pursued a Double Major in Law and Philosophy, driven by a deep interest in exploring the philosophical underpinnings of the law. 

While balancing my academic studies and clerking for a law firm, I discovered I had a keen eye for editorial work. Often, I found myself improving the clarity, grammar, and structure of legal contracts, which sparked my passion for editing and writing. This pivotal experience inspired me to pursue a career in editorial leadership and content creation.

My journey brought me to Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in Virginia, where I currently work as Managing Bilingual Editor and Writer. Some of my key accomplishments at HSLDA include:

  • Spearheading HSLDA’s first bilingual journalism initiative, reaching a new audience of 1,000+ Spanish speakers
  • Launching HSLDA’s inaugural monthly Spanish newsletter, which achieved a 52% open rate in its first year
  • Enhancing digital content by editing and proofreading 130+ stories in English and 200+ pieces in Spanish
  • Leading a dedicated team of three bilingual editors
  • Improving the English-Spanish translation workflow by reducing turnaround time by 66% 

Additionally, over the past year, I have consulted as a copywriter for the Hallow app, where I drove a 96% increase in subscription trials and elevated user engagement by 19.5% by crafting culturally adapted copy for their Spanish-language lifecycle marketing campaigns across the US, Latin America, and Spain.

With a proven ability to drive content strategy, streamline workflows, launch new initiatives, and produce high-quality marketing content that resonates with global audiences, I am confident in my ability to meet your company’s needs.

Bilingual Journalism Work for HSLDA

As a writer for HSLDA, I've written digital stories that are accessible, linguistically accurate, and aligned with brand guidelines. Throughout the past two years and a half, I have honed my ability to create attention-grabbing headlines, edit strategically, and deliver messaging that corresponds with HSLDA's core values. 

You can read some of my favorite pieces below. (To access each article's Spanish version, click 'Español' in the top-right corner.)

Newsletter Work for HSLDA

increased HSLDA's Spanish newsletter subscriptions by 79% in 2024 by collaborating with the Spanish and email team at HSLDA, leveraging A/B testing insights, and curating content tailored to the needs of our Spanish-speaking audience.

Launching and managing this newsletter has equipped me with critical thinking, creativity, and audience awareness—essential components for producing effective content for a specific audience.

Editing and Proofreading Work for HSLDA

I've edited and proofread +130 stories and articles in English and +200 content pieces in Spanish (the latter includes stories, blog posts, legal articles, video scripts, webinar copy, and more). I focus on enhancing quality, consistency, grammar, and punctuation while ensuring the appropriate tone and voice according to brand guidelines. 

Below is a selection of the editing and proofreading work I've done in collaboration with senior editors at HSLDA:

Copywriting for the Hallow App

Hallow is a prayer app that encourages users worldwide to find peace through prayer. It's the #1 Catholic app in the United States. As a copywriting consultant for Hallow's Latin American market, I create warm, accessible, exciting, and inviting copy for their push notifications and email campaigns, encouraging users to engage with the app's prayer content.

Below, I've included examples of my work in Spanish with their English translations and the strategies I use based on our brand tone and data insights.

Push Notifications

English translation: 

The Pope is counting on your prayer

Let’s pray for the monthly intention of the Pope: that each of us might listen with our hearts to the cry of the earth. 🌳🍃

Copy strategy: 

- Instead of using “Pray for the Pope’s monthly intention now!”, I use “the Pope is counting on your prayer” to avoid a transactional tone.
- I add what the Pope’s monthly intention is, so users feel moved to pray for that specific intention.
- I add emojis that are related to the prayer intention, to make the text colorful and appealing.
- I link to the specific prayer session in the app so users can access it as soon as they click on the push notification, per Hallow’s guidelines. 

English translation: 

Sleep in the presence of God 😴

Let God guide you to a deep sleep through the Scriptures. Listen to our Lectio for Sleep collection now at Hallow.

Copy strategy: 

- I indirectly address the pain point of not being able to fall asleep by inviting users to “sleep in the presence of God” in the title.
- I provide a solution to the pain point by inviting users to let themselves be guided by God to a good night's sleep through the Scriptures.
- I add the specific name of the collection and link to it, so users access it.
- We schedule the push to be sent around 8 pm, so users are reminded of this collection before they go to bed. This results in a higher conversion rate. 

Email Campaigns

Subject Line

English translation:

Day 1 with Mother Teresa 💙

Join Fr. Ignacio Amorós on this beautiful journey. “Mother Teresa's life is one of those captivating lives that marks a before and after in history."

Copy strategy: 

- Per Hallow’s messaging guidelines, I write a simple and short subject line to remind users that today starts the prayer challenge about the life of Mother Teresa. (We’ve already sent a previous email with more context inviting them to join the waitlist for this challenge).
- I use a blue heart emoji, because the color blue is associated with Mother Teresa’s image, and Hallow’s design for the challenge. 
- I mention the popular influencer who’s guiding users in this challenge: Fr. Ignacio Amorós.
- I add a captivating quote from Fr. Ignacio Amorós about Mother Teresa so users are inspired to join the challenge and learn more about her life.

The After 5pm Me

Taco lover. Auntie. Volleyball-obsessed. Music reviews reader. Album listener. Amateur baker.