Writing Services for Distillers and Distilleries

[Matthew Rowley]

As a business owner, there’s so much you want to say about your company. As a distiller, though, some restrictions apply.

I’m Matthew Rowley and I’m a professional business writer; I help business owners and marketing departments around the world tell stories about their products and services every day. Those of you who know me understand that craft distilleries are especially close to my heart. I can help you, too.

Running a distillery takes skills you might not have known you possessed. Securing your DSP permit, for example, is hardly the only hurdle. There are business plans, marketing plans, grant applications, and SBA loans to write. A website is necessary, even if it’s only so suppliers and distributors can find you.

But your brand should be more than a bare bones website. It should attract and engage journalists, bloggers, state tourism boards, and consumers without alienating regulatory bodies. Your brand as a distillery owner encompasses every point your audiences come in contact with it—from your website to POS materials, newsletters, recipe cards, social media outreach, pitches you give to beverage managers, and even your company’s name. Just like your spirits, the story you tell about yourself needs to be top-shelf.

I can help.

From global corporations such as Cisco Systems to law enforcement agencies, nonprofits, and small businesses such as yours, I help smart people articulate their stories for the right audiences. Some know me as the author of Moonshine!, a 2007 book on the history and practice of very small-scale distilling. My day job, though, is freelance business writing. I’m good at writing—and I can be good at it for you.

Services

Writing and Editing: Whether you are totally lost about what to write on your distillery’s website (the TTB and DISCUS won’t let just anything fly), don’t have the time to do it yourself, or simply need help polishing something you’ve already written, I help. In close consultation with you, I’ll create the right messaging and provide support for making sure that your distillery brand says what you want it to say. Ghostwrite articles? Create recipes? Write spec sheets and press releases? You bet I do.

Proofreading: I once found nine typographical errors on a specialty spirits bottle that was already in production. Don’t let that happen to you. Before your bank loan officer decides that typos are reason enough to turn down an application, let’s fix them. Anyone can find extra commas or missing periods. That’s easy. When I proofread grant and loan applications, articles, labels, blog posts, annual reports, and other written pieces, I root out logical problems, spreadsheets that don’t add up, unsupported facts, and missing data. Then I’ll work with you on a plan to fix it.

For more on writing and editing services for your distillery, go to www.matthew-rowley.com.

~ Matthew

rowley [at] matthew-rowley.com

Telephone: 619.573.4090

Skype: mbrowley