From Blogger to Freelance Writer How to Win Over Clients From Blogger to Freelance Writer

The Art of Pitching Clients Pitching clients is going to be the meat of your freelance writing business. Other than asking for money, pitching is one of the scariest things you can do but it is so essential to master. Pitching is just another word freelance writers use for the word apply. When you see a job you would like to apply to, you send the person an email much like a cover letter to a job.

The Perfect Pitch The perfect pitch is one that is: Concise and straight to the point Clearly explains how qualified you are for the job Clearly explains how you will benefit them Follows instructions Basically your pitch needs to be short and powerful. People are extremely busy and they have to look at a million other pitches every day so yours needs to be able to capture their attention in like 5 seconds. Here’s a sample job posting that I’m really interested in and will probably apply to:

Sample Freelance Writing Gig Copywriter/Content Writer Creative Circle, Atlanta, GA $35 per hour Corporate client located in Kennesaw has a need for a Copywriter to help the various brand teams with digital copy for websites, intranet sites, e-mails, marketing collateral and more! Must have 3+ years experience, tons of samples and posses the ability to write in multiple voices to speak on behalf of the different brands. Heavy content writing. This is a freelance, onsite, 40 hour a week opportunity that could go full-time for the right fit. Background check and drug screen required to start. Submit resume (and samples if applicable) to: ATL25@jobalert.creativecircle.com

How to Construct a Pitch So the first thing you need to do is read the posting and make a note of everything they’re asking for. Are they asking for any type of special instructions (some might tell you to name your email with a certain title or list your price requirements). The number one way to get immediately kicked out of the race for a writing gig is not following instructions. Like I said previously, these people are busy and they don’t have time to hire someone who’s not going to follow instructions.

How to Construct a Pitch 2. Next, you need to look for keywords. A big agency like Creative Circle probably uses some type of resume software which means if you don’t have certain keywords in your resume or email, it’ll get filtered out (this is also good to know when you’re applying for any job). Keywords that pop out to me in this posting: copywriter digital copy websites email marketing intranet sites tons of samples ability to write in multiple voices heavy content writing

How to Construct a Pitch 3. Now I’m going to craft my email in a way that includes all of these keywords, is concise, and shows how I can bring value to their company. Hello! My name is Amanda Northern, and I’m a freelance writer located in the Perimeter area. I’ve been a blogger and freelance writer for the past three years providing businesses with effective digital copy and copywriting services for their websites, email marketing campaigns, and blogs. I’m also a social media specialist that has the ability to write in multiple voices at the request of my clients. I’m also used to heavy content writing and a daily turnaround time as evidenced with my previous client Only In Georgia. I have tons of samples for you to review and on top of that I’m super reliable, professional, and enjoy working in teams. I know that I would be able to provide amazing branding strategy and content to your company as well! I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you more about your specific needs. Please feel free to email or call me. I promise to return any correspondence within 24 hours. Best Regards, Amanda Northern bloggingfreedom.org 404-615-5413

How to Construct a Pitch This email was short and simple, showed how I can bring my skills to their company, offered samples, included their own keywords, and offered a call to action at the bottom. I would be very surprised if the hiring manager read this and didn’t reply (you have to have confidence right?). Another really common tactic in pitches is for you to give 3 titles that you would write about. If this gig was from a blog--let’s say from my blog, Blogging Freedom, I would visit the website, get a feel for their content and then pitch 3 blog titles that would fall in line with their content. So that pitch might look like this… Here are three blog titles that I feel would be perfect for your website! 5 Amazing Facebook Groups That’ll Skyrocket Your Blog’s Visibility 3 Simple Steps to Making Money Online My Top 10 Fav Email Marketing Strategies

How to Construct a Pitch I would love to elaborate with you on how I would flesh these blog posts out to cater to your community of readers! Another huge key to pitches is to get them to respond! It doesn’t matter if they don’t hire you, if you can get them to respond, you can build a relationship that may turn into a client later on down the road. And of course...please show your personality! Don’t sound like a robot. You are a writer and they are judging your email as an extension of your writing skills so make it good guys. Check out my swipe file of actual emails that I used to land myself thousands of dollars worth of freelance writing gigs.

The Final Tip on Pitching...10 Before 10 When you first start off as a freelance writer, you have to hustle to get clients. I believe it was Gina Horkey from The Horkey Handbook who said to pitch 10 people before 10. Now that is a very ambitious goal but if you actually accomplish this, after about a week you will have a few clients! Just like applying to traditional jobs, pitching freelance writing clients is a numbers game. The more you pitch the more your chances of landing a client.

The Final Tip on Pitching...10 Before 10 Make sure to be one of the first people to apply for a job so that the chances of your email being seen is high. I usually won’t apply to anything that is more than 1-2 days old because it probably won’t be seen anyway! Also, make sure to apply to gigs that are a good fit for you. Notice how I didn’t say perfect. If you see a gig on fashion blogging and that’s something that really interests you despite you not having experience in it, go for it! If you can showcase your enthusiasm for a topic usually that will come through in your pitch.

The Final Tip on Pitching...10 Before 10 Some days you’ll only find 2-3 gigs that fit you and that’s okay. Some days you’ll find 15 gigs that you would love to have! For this next week I’m challenging you to pitch 15 people! Use the pitching planner to keep track of the date and website of each gig you apply to.