Raising free-range chickens for eggs, operating 3 beehives to produce local honey, growing unique organic produce and offering small events on our little farm.

Returning to her roots in Chicago after writing and marketing in California’s wine country, Sarah Graybill covers everything from beverage brand creative and innovation in packaging, to responsible manufacturing and products simply too good not to buzz about. Sarah has two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Public Relations and English from Drake University, but has been writing since age 8. Sarah’s favorite aspects of her role as associate editor are the dynamic industry wavemakers she gets to know, and the journeys and stories that make their products noteworthy.

Attended events and conducted interviews to write 1-2 articles per published issue; redesigned The Somm Journal media kit.

- Researching and reporting data-driven insights on target markets, brand offering and positioning- Content planning, strategy and production, including writing, editing and placement- Designing digital ads, brand identity, social media assets, etc.- Product label and packaging design- Google Partner - Google Adwords, Analytics, Adsense and SEO proficiency: certification pending- Web/Landing page design and digital billboard design- Coordinates website development from design and coding to QA, UX, UI and debugging- Media relations and press planning and event coordination- Social media campaign strategy, planning and management for B2B and B2C- Product descriptions and product packaging copywriting- Copywriting for web, blog: SEO optimized- Website and brand auditing for optimization and strategyWe are a private boutique agency serving a select list of clients that came to us via direct referral. We design, set-up and implement as well as manage all marketing efforts, we are the choice outsourced marketing arm/division for our clients. We focus on 360 marketing that fully integrates with in-house teams and executive leadership. Our efforts include all digital platforms that are applicable to industry, market and demographics, our full-service marketing includes graphic design, website design and development, copywriting, SEO, SEM, SAP, Social Media, CRM all tied into data driven and built path-to-purchases. Our strategies and work result in creative marketing that generates revenue and directly impacts the bottom line. We only take clients on direct referral basis.

Conducted in-depth industry research and data-mining to inform an extensive recommendation on:- How the four companies under the CauseMedia Group umbrella should co-exist,- What the merged agency's solutions should be, based on market demand and capabilities,- How solutions and services should be defined and delivered, and - What the new agency model would look like and how it would function.In addition, Sarah created a full-fledged go-to-market strategy and plan for implementation, including:- The complete internal and external reboot and tasks related to the reboot,- A PR, social, marketing and advertising plan and calendar, and- A strategy for partnerships, branding and content.Finally, any extra bandwidth was spent writing press releases and participating in branding, campaign and proposal strategy for clients such as United Nations, American Airlines, Nationwide Insurance, Lansinoh and more. The efforts related to Sarah's work came to fruition June 2016 with the official launch of the merged agency, Matchfire. Sarah was excited to see this high-impact agency model launch, creating a farther reach of the greater good from which it began.

- Increased blog content volume by 131%, boosted blog traffic by 22%, increased time spent on page by over a minute.- Produced ongoing social content that led to 12x more shares, 10% more clicks, 10x more fans/followers and 4x more replies.- Managed internal and contracted design and development teams to produce mobile-optimized, strategic online content.- Catalogued volumes of research daily to write industry-insight blog posts, social content, reports, proposals and webinars.- Provided copywriting/copyediting and sales pipeline/client support to client services, business development and sales teams.- Led Hathway’s webinar/whitepaper campaign initiative, managing everything from design and dev to promotional and social content.- Directly recruited 60% of Hathway online event attendees via personalized outreach, social sharing and targeted promotion.

- Developing innovative new strategies and digital marketing solutions for a wide range of clients, currently specializing in Consumer Product Goods.- Advising clients on how we can leverage technology to solve internal business problems or optimize internal and external efficiencies.- Developing marketing and social media strategy, campaigns, design direction and copy to support comprehensive marketing plans and goals.- Creative ideation and strategy development for brand identity and voice, as well as coinciding visual communication of this brand/voice. - Proactively identifying opportunities to achieve clients' business goals.- Planning new client initiatives as well as long-term business strategies.- Communicating project progress to client weekly, monitoring metrics for success and helping manage client deliverables.- Providing oversight to design, video production, copywriting, strategy, marketing, and tech development teams.

- Coordinates and implements social media outreach and community management- Conducts daily marketing operations of the “Licensee Loyal Family” program- Implements marketing and digital (social, search, web) strategies, plans, and objectives- Plans and organizes promotional calendars; updating calendars- Designs proposal decks under the supervision of the VP of PR & Marketing- Prepares marketing reports: collecting, analyzing, and summarizing sales data- Researches competition by identifying and evaluating product characteristics, market share, pricing, and advertising; maintains research databases.- Helps develop new global website - content organization and management of ongoing updates

- Web copy and design for Bush Turf.- Marketing/Social consultation for Assets barre studio.- Design and marketing consultation for Life Elements.- Editing a book on the topic of health hacking for health coach Thomas Joel Anderson.- Infographic design for "Pharmacy Today" magazine- Marketing strategy, PR/Social Media planning and copywriting for Carter and Paige mom/baby brand.- Freelance writing, reporting for Paso Robles Daily News- Freelance writing, reporting for SLO Visitors Guide- Brand and materials development, 6 Degrees Coffee Shop, Orcutt, CA- Social media campaign development for "Lives Well-Lived" documentary project, San Luis Obispo, CA- Creative brand development for House of Bohemian fashion boutique, CA- Concept ideation for new product lines - Therabee Honey, Atascadero, CA- Slogan/tagline writing (Mazda 2011 winter mailing), pro-bono, Aditya Birla Minacs, Milwaukee, WI- Social media, blogs and graphic design - LXV Winery, Paso Robles, CA- Graphic design - TheraBee Honey, Atascadero, CA- SEO Assistance - Yoga in the Vines, Atascadero, CA- Graphic design & copywriting - Updegrove Realty, San Luis Obispo, CA- Public Relations campaign plan and promo materials. Client: Oakville Dental Care, St. Louis, MO- Marketing materials, social media and public relations campaign/studio promotion. Client: PowerLife Yoga, West Des Moines, IA - Promo Fliers (design and copywriting). Client: PowHer Fitness, Des Moines, IA- Promo Fliers/Materials (design and layout). Client: Polk County I-Club, Des Moines, IA- Marketing materials, posters & annual newsletter creation and design, pro-bono. Client: Women’s Choice Center, Bettendorf, IA- Wedding and event photography. Client: Margaret & Brian Youngblood, Carollton, TX- Display and convention materials, multimedia presentation and brochures. Client: Bush Sports Turf, Milan, IL- Daily e-newsletter blasts, social media, content creation, html formatting. Client: DSM Daily Deals, West Des Moines, IA

- Managing cohesion between client accounts' vision/needs and outcomes/deliverables.- Acting as direct liaison between agency team and client.- Serves as main point of contact for PR, web, design and social media strategy or content needs.- Provides reputation management on the front lines for clients, directly diffusing any customer dissatisfaction and addressing consumer complaints.- Photographer for catalogs, social content, brands' social creative imagery, websites, etc.- Develops social strategy and social media content plan for all clients month-to-month.- Writes social media and website content.- News releases and impact monitoring. - Directs/Provides topics and guidance for outreach via the agency's Community Manager.- Actively researches and studies industry/social trends & meets one-on-one with industry leaders to stay ahead of the curve and at the cutting edge with social media and marketing strategy for clients.- Develops creative concepts for clients, including branding, campaigns, voice, content, identity, etc.

- Led Brand Activation Team through planning, implementation & widespread communications strategy for launch of new brand.- Serves on OutcomesMTM Innovations Committee, which forms and implements progressive ideas for advancing the company externally in the industry and internally as a culture.- Optimized company’s social media marketing, boosting views and audience engagement by 10,000% in one week, compared to several years of prior efforts.- Manages marketing projects, controls task delegation, ensuring team meets deadlines, and handles follow-up with departments.- Writes content & graphic elements: web site, press releases, 60,000-pharmacist network newsletters and national publications.- Partners with CEO and COO to create presentations for national conferences/events, speaking engagements and ceremonies.- Serves in OutcomesMTM Finance Division to help make major decisions for the company regarding team events, fund allocation, investments, property acquisition and team management.- Collaborates with Director of Marketing to maintain company materials, oversee image library and manage file database.- Composes/edits video scripts, records (and is the voice of) audio for company messaging, training sessions and other mixed-media productions.

Assisting professors in Drake University's College of Business and Public Administration by reviewing student assignments, teaching format and business writing mechanics through edits, question-answering and examples, and being available to students as a resource and mentor to teach them writing skills they'll need in the professional world as well as refer them to additional tutoring where it is needed for optimal growth and development of these skills.

- Occasional print model, event spokesperson, runway model, voice talent, commercial actor, etc.- TV/Online Commercial Actress: Orton Homes (unpaid) - March 2013- TV Commercial Extra: Mediacom - May 2013- Gala fundraiser Model/Coordination Assistant: House of Mercy - June 2013- Promotional model at Barnstormer's season opener: McDonald's - June 2013- TV Commercial Actress: Casey's General Store - July 2013

- Generated written and graphic content for companywide published materials and internal/external websites.- Managed social media (research, photos, news, etc.) for Facebook & Twitter, tracking media hits and online activity.- Edited/Revised all departments’ communications, national publications and composing our 100-year history book, 2011.- Built layout, graphic concepts/pieces and photographic components of Web and printed publications.- Managed and updated Web content daily to accommodate new material and departmental requests.- Coordinated signage, companywide communications and local media outreach for all company news and events.

Conducting research to create write-ups for DSM Daily deal page and e-mails sent to more than 27,000 subscribers daily; Writing creative descriptions of local businesses’ goods and services to prompt readers to impulse-purchase the deals; Setting up DSM Daily e-mail with written content and formatting the html for the graphics and text; Consulting with WebSpec corporate clients to create copy for their new Web sites; Creating Web copy and providing photographic services to WebSpec clients.

- Piloted/Managed new communication interface, delivering integrated new and resources.- Boosted company e-news readership by 30%, and click-throughs by 52.9% compared to prior company efforts.- Designed/Composed copy for newsletters, direct mail and promo pieces in-house for all departments and sales representatives.- Consistently updated company Website and intranet, tracking media impressions and impact.

- Independently boosted sales training participating by 500% through creating more effective calls to action.- Managed publication of quarterly bill inserts, including design, copy and print proofing.- Wrote daily content for Website updates and composed articles for senior risk managers and agents.

- Conducted annual planned giving survey of 50 local organizations- Was in charge of gathering data and mapping process for the first-ever Community Vitality Snapshot.- Wrote donor profiles for the Web site. - Acted as part of the Grants Committee. - Planned Grand Opening of new office. - Regularly volunteered at local YMCA.- Wrote press releases and letters.

- Designing and writing copy for collateral materials.- Creating reference sheet of local venues for out-of-town patients.- Assisting with activities.- Planning and holding the annual Run 4 the Kids and Festival of Fun.