Never Write a “Brewery Profile” Story Again | Jess Baker, Editor-in-Chief of CraftBeer.com

Have you heard about the new dog-friendly brewery that has yoga on Saturdays? How about the brewery that has a Wednesday run club and a great IPA? Jess is here to talk about why she cringes when “brewery profile” pitches land in her inbox, and what she wishes freelancers would pitch her instead.

Transcript

1. Let Me Tell You a Story Jess Baker | jess@craftbeer.com | T: @craftcurious
3. April 2019! !
4. My Year in a Pitch “38-year-old woman has a baby, gets married and buys a house. As one of America’s working and breastfeeding moms, she’s super interesting. I’m convinced this is a story your readers will love!” @craftcurious
5. My Unextraordinary Year ➔ 4 Million American women have babies every year ➔ 2 Million marriages in the U.S. every year ➔ 5.5 Million homes sold in America in 2017 ➔ 17.5 Million cars sold in America in 2017 ➔ “Avengers: Endgame” made $1.223 billion in its first weekend • I am one of the millions who experienced these milestones. The pitch doesn’t stand out. • Unfortunately, these pitches are the norm in my inbox. @craftcurious
6. 7,000+ Operating U.S. Breweries! @craftcurious
7. Tell Me If You’ve Heard About This Brewery • “They have a great IPA!” • “They’re dog-friendly and kid-friendly!” • “They hold yoga on Saturdays and run club on Wednesdays!” • “Started by a homebrewer who went pro!” • “They give back to local charities.” @craftcurious
8. Show of Hands Who in this room has written about that brewery in the last slide? @craftcurious
9. It’s Not About the Beer or the Dogs or the Yoga @craftcurious
10. Our Mission ”Our mission is to bring you the stories of people, businesses and communities who are the heartbeat of small and independent craft brewing in the U.S.” @craftcurious
11. Why Do You Write About Beer? • Lucrative • Career advancement • Big fan of notoriously hard-to-contact sources • You like the smell of hops @craftcurious
12. Of Course Not! You Do It Because • Inspiring stories you heard during brewery tours • Inspiring people you meet who open breweries • You share ideals with breweries • Something inspires you! @craftcurious
13. Our Mission as Writers: Share Stories About People Who Inspire Us With Our Audiences @craftcurious
14. Elements of a Story Think about the great stories you remember (whether those stories are written, come from podcasts, told by musicians). • Those stories have conflict • Those stories have drama • Those stories have characters @craftcurious
15. Pink Boots Brew Day The “Yoga/Dog” Angle: Pink Boots Brew Day, celebrated on International Women’s Day, brings local PBS chapters into local breweries to make a beer. A “People” Angle: Did you know Pink Boots Society gives out scholarships that change the course of careers for women in beer? Five recipients tell us how they relaunched their careers. @craftcurious
16. Pointless Brewery & Theater The “Yoga/Dog” Angle This Michigan business is both a brewery and an improv comedy club. A “People” Angle Tori was diagnosed with cancer. She worried all their dreams were “pointless.” So they decided to stop putting off their dreams and opened the business. @craftcurious
17. Father of Homebrewing “Exits” The “Yoga/Dog” Angle: Charlie Papazian, the “Godfather of Homebrewing” announces his “exit” from BA/AHA. A “People” Angle: Charlie has a very famous homebrew spoon. Do you know how many people have learned to brew using this spoon? The stories it could tell … @craftcurious
18. Let’s Tell Stories • Stories that make audiences care • Stories that forge a personal connection between drinkers and breweries • As beer writers & editors, we owe it to readers, brewery workers and our craft to go beyond the beer to tell stories that connect our audience with breweries. • Drama, Conflict, Characters @craftcurious
19. Back to that Pitch ... The “Yoga/Dog” Angle 38-year-old woman has a baby, gets married, buys a house, travels for work with breast pump. A “People” Angle: CraftBeer.com editor-in-chief gives up beer for 9 months, has a baby boy named Harrison (after George and Ford) marries longtime partner who she’s known all her life (their parents grew up together). They get hitched in a courthouse ceremony ( ). Mere weeks after she has the baby, Jess’s parents put her childhood home in Ohio up for sale. She and hubby decide to buy it, making them first-time homeowners. They move 700 miles from Atlanta to NW Ohio with their 4-month-old and two coolers of frozen breastmilk in tow. She’s now raising her baby in the same house she was raised. When baby isn’t sick or teething, you can find their little family exploring NW Ohio’s independent breweries.
20. Namaste, Beer Friends! Jess Baker, CraftBeer.com Editor-in-chief jess@craftbeer.com Twitter: @CraftCurious @craftcurious