Master The Cold Pitch: How to Tackle Freelancing in 2023

Freelancing or freelance writing is what I love and I’ve improved over time as you will. The one thing that always makes me nervous even today, is sending a cold pitch. As you know there are warm pitches and cold pitches. Warm pitching takes more time to see a result, but you get the added benefit of having a relationship or a connection with your client other than the work you do for them. It also builds trust and the chance of future assignments! Cold pitching is sending out a proposal to a company with whom you don’t share any connection. I avoided cold pitches because of nerves and because I felt intrusive.

But that’s not how it is! Cold pitching is an amazing technique when done properly. I’m not nervous about it anymore and I promise once we’re done here, you won’t be either.

When should you send a cold pitch?

Freelancers rely on marketing themselves, word of mouth, and testimonials to land clients. While these tactics are great once you’ve established yourself a bit, you need to take action and put yourself out there.

Pitching your ideas to companies in your niche is a great way to get clients as a freelance writer. The worst that can happen is that you’re rejected, but once you get the hang of writing the proper pitch, you’re just that much closer to a “yes!”

Finding companies or other bloggers in your niche is the first step to take while looking for a freelancing gig. Once you have your list, go through it and look for where you can help with your services as a freelancer. For example, if you’re a freelance blogger and the company has a blog, bingo! Pitch a few ideas of how they can improve their blog.

Again, find companies in your niche, see how you can help them with your skillset, and then send the pitch.

The Cold Pitch Basics: Find the Right Email

Once you know what companies you want to pitch to and you have an idea of how to help them, you’ve completed the first step in cold pitching.

But wait. There’s more!

Part of the first step is also to look up the person you want to send your pitch. You don’t just want to email a generic “support” or “help” email that’s listed on the company site. You will almost never (read never) get a response!

Pitching to the correct person in the company will get you one step closer to getting the gig. Look up someone that works in marketing, or someone responsible for content for the company. Finding those emails isn’t always easy. Use LinkedIn and try to find a contact there. You can also use tools like Hunter or Crunchbase to find almost anyone’s direct email address.

Let’s Master It!

So now that you have the email address of the person you want to send your pitch to, it’s time to write the pitch.

The Greeting

The first thing you want to do is greet the person directly. You don’t want to start off with a generic, “Dear Sir/Madam” but something more personal. You want to be professional but also show the company that you’re a genuine human being. You’re not just there for yourself but you’re genuinely looking to help the company.

It’s not all about you!

Next, don’t make it all about yourself. It’s not just about you! Why should the company hire you? What can you bring to the table? That’s where you come in. But keep in mind you don’t want to be pushy. Writing something like, “I’d be a great fit for your company because I’m an amazing writer.” Isn’t going to look great. Instead, you want to write, “I have great experience in freelance blogging which I would use to help your blog and website________,” — makes sense?

Connect!

Once you establish how you want to present your help, connect to them. If you can find the specific person from the company you’re pitching to on social media, or a link to something they wrote or did, find something you have in common or something that caught your attention. If you talk about something personal, they will see the amount of effort you took to get to know them. You’re not just emailing them, begging for work, but you’re coming from a place of respect and hard work.

Grab a free digital download of The Invoice Tracker, The Blogging Sheet, and The Cold Pitch Sheet to use to keep yourself on track for 2023!

Make it Easy to Say “No”

Finally, give them “an out.” What do I mean?

Many times I feel we get carried away with pitching our services not realizing how demanding or rude it might come off. By saying, “it’s absolutely ok,” or “I understand if,” while telling them that you understand if they reject you, you’re letting them know you’re being sincere. You didn’t email them selfishly, but because you want to help them.

The minute they see that line, chances are they’ll remember you for your sincerity.

This will land you a future gig for sure!

Imagine yourself as a company, you’re stressed, and you’re tracking all the digital content for the site and making sure that it’s productive. Seeing an email that technically is just demanding work (albeit politely) is not going to make you feel generous. But if you come across a pitch where a person has taken time out to connect with you, even though it’s the one email, you’ll remember that one for a long time.

When Do I Send a Follow-Up Pitch Email?

If that last line, “It’s absolutely ok if________” doesn’t get you a response (but I know it definitely will) for any reason, I would say wait for a little over a week and send another email. Don’t re-pitch everything or copy and paste the older email.

Instead, tell them that you noticed they haven’t replied, which is ok but you were wondering if everything was ok and that they read your email. Tell them again, that if they decide not to go through with hiring you, that it’s ok, and you wish them the best. Maybe in the future, you might cross paths again.

If you do, they will definitely remember you.

I personally, would take that chance (if there was no response) to follow the company and interact with its social media postings. Maybe even connect with the person on LinkedIn. Who knows, maybe the email went to spam or got deleted by mistake. You’re covering your bases and not being pushy. You never want to sound like a used car salesman.

Respect the person you email, be sincere and be understanding. This is now you develop a connection for the future. Ironic how even cold pitching leads to building a connection with a potential client, doesn’t it? this is what freelance writing or freelancing is all about! As a freelance writer, you need to learn to put yourself out there and build a network. It’s vital to your success and to move your freelance career ahead!

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