How to Cold Pitch Freelance Copywriting Clients (⚠️Avoid these mistakes to get responses)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Christine from Paid Copywriter shares her expertise on effective cold pitching for freelancers. With a background in sales and experience building content teams, she emphasizes the importance of personalization, succinctness, and persistence in crafting pitches. She also discusses the significance of having a professional online presence, including a website and optimized social media profiles, to build trust with potential clients. Christine provides insights on choosing the right platforms for outreach and offers practical tips on building a list of ideal clients to pitch to, setting the stage for a follow-up video on identifying and connecting with these clients.
Takeaways
- 😀 Cold pitching is a proactive way to get your foot in the door and is controllable in terms of the number of pitches sent.
- 👀 The speaker has a background in sales and has experience in hiring copywriters, which lends credibility to their advice on cold pitching.
- 📈 Cold pitching allows for measurement of conversion rates, such as how many pitches lead to booked calls or meetings.
- 🚀 It provides access to companies that might not otherwise be accessible, helping freelancers level the playing field.
- 🔧 Personalization and context are crucial for an effective cold pitch; generic pitches are easily ignored.
- 🔎 Mentioning something specific about the client's brand in the pitch shows research and genuine interest.
- 📝 Keep the pitch succinct to respect the client's time and stand out among the many messages they receive.
- 🤔 Avoid being self-centered; focus on what the client is looking for and how you can help them achieve their goals.
- 🔄 Persistence is key; follow-ups are often necessary, and they should be thoughtful and value-adding.
- 📭 Use a message template that can be customized for each client, balancing personalization with efficiency.
- 💼 Having a professional email domain and website enhances credibility and professionalism in cold pitching.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the video?
-The main purpose of the video is to provide advice on how to effectively cold pitch as a freelancer, avoiding common mistakes and increasing the chances of getting a response from potential clients.
Why is the speaker qualified to talk about cold pitching?
-The speaker is qualified to talk about cold pitching because they have experience in sales, have built teams of copywriters, and have been on the hiring side for their own business, giving them a well-rounded perspective on the subject.
What are some benefits of cold pitching mentioned in the video?
-Some benefits of cold pitching include being proactive in getting your foot in the door, having control over the number of pitches sent, and gaining access to companies that might not otherwise notice you.
Why is personalization important in a cold pitch?
-Personalization is important in a cold pitch because it shows that the freelancer has a vested interest in the company, has done research, and is not just sending generic messages to everyone.
How should a cold pitch be structured to be effective?
-An effective cold pitch should be succinct, personalized, and focused on the client's needs rather than the freelancer's. It should also demonstrate an understanding of the client's goals and how the freelancer can help achieve them.
What is the importance of transparency in a cold pitch?
-Transparency in a cold pitch is important because it helps establish trust with the potential client. It involves being clear about why you are reaching out and what you can offer them.
Why is it necessary to be persistent with cold pitching?
-Persistence is necessary with cold pitching because the first attempt may not always get a response. Following up thoughtfully and providing value in each message increases the chances of getting a reply.
What is the role of a personal email domain in cold pitching?
-A personal email domain adds a level of professionalism to a cold pitch, signaling that the freelancer is a serious business entity rather than just a hobbyist or side-project operator.
What should a freelancer's online presence look like to support their cold pitching efforts?
-A freelancer's online presence should include an optimized website and social media profiles that showcase their skills, qualifications, work, and any certifications or awards. This helps build credibility and trust with potential clients.
How should a freelancer choose their main platform for cold pitching?
-A freelancer should choose their main platform for cold pitching based on where their ideal clients are most active and the platform that best suits their niche and communication style.
What is the process of list building for cold pitching?
-List building for cold pitching involves researching and compiling a list of ideal companies and the relevant people within those companies to pitch to, focusing on titles and roles that are likely to hire freelancers.
Outlines
📩 Mastering the Art of Cold Pitching for Freelancers
Christine, a freelance writer and mentor, shares her expertise in cold pitching, a skill she refined through her sales background and further developed as a copywriter and business owner. She emphasizes the importance of cold pitching as a proactive method to control one's client acquisition, highlighting its measurability and effectiveness in reaching big-name clients despite a lack of experience. Christine also introduces her digital course, '30 Days to Paid,' designed to guide freelancers towards a fulfilling career with time and location freedom.
🔍 Crafting Personalized and Succinct Cold Pitches
The second paragraph delves into what makes a cold pitch effective, starting with personalization and contextualization. Generic pitches are easy to ignore, whereas personalized ones demonstrate a vested interest in the company, increasing the likelihood of a response. Christine advises against self-centered pitches, urging writers to focus on the client's needs and goals. She also stresses the importance of brevity and transparency, respecting the client's time and making a clear value proposition. Persistence in follow-up is also highlighted as a key component of successful cold pitching.
📝 Developing a Pitch Strategy and Leveraging LinkedIn
Christine discusses the importance of preparing a message template for efficiency while allowing for customization for each client. She shares her preference for LinkedIn as her primary platform for cold pitching due to its higher quality clients and the ability to message prospects directly. She also touches on the necessity of having an optimized social media presence and a professional website to bolster credibility and attract the right clients. The paragraph concludes with advice on choosing the right platform for outreach, tailoring the approach to the target audience.
🎯 Targeting the Right Clients with a Focused Approach
In the final paragraph, Christine outlines the steps for targeting ideal clients, starting with building a list of companies and individuals to pitch. She explains the process of identifying the right people within those companies, such as marketing directors or editorial managers, and the importance of creating an optimized online presence to make a strong first impression. Christine also hints at the next steps in her course, which will cover finding ideal clients, understanding their needs, and tailoring pitches to resonate with them effectively.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cold Pitching
💡Freelance Writing
💡Sales
💡Personalization
💡Conversion Rate
💡Content Marketing Strategy
💡Niche
💡Follow-up
💡Optimized Profile
💡Email Domain
💡List Building
Highlights
The video aims to improve freelance cold pitching skills and avoid common mistakes.
The speaker has a sales background and has successfully used cold pitching to break into freelance writing.
Cold pitching is a proactive method to control the number of outreach attempts and measure conversion rates.
Cold pitching provides access to companies that may not otherwise be accessible.
Personalization and context are key to an effective cold pitch, avoiding generic messages.
Mentioning something specific about the client's brand can help a pitch stand out.
A cold pitch should be succinct and to the point, respecting the client's time.
Transparency in pitches can be beneficial, such as stating the reason for reaching out.
Avoid self-centered pitches; focus on what the client is looking for and how you can help.
Persistence is necessary as the first cold pitch may not always get a response.
Follow-up messages should be thoughtful and provide additional value.
Prepare a message template for efficiency but customize for each client.
Having a professional email domain and website enhances credibility.
Optimize social media profiles to make a strong first impression when clients look you up.
Choose one to two main platforms for outreach to avoid spreading efforts too thin.
LinkedIn is highlighted as an effective platform for finding and pitching to higher-quality clients.
Building a list of ideal companies and people to pitch is a crucial step in the process.
Understanding who hires freelance writers and targeting those titles is important for successful pitching.
The next video will cover finding ideal clients, their titles, and what they care about.
Transcripts
there is a lot of bad freelance cold
pitching advice out there this video is
going to help you not be one of those
people who's sending those bad pitches
So I myself used cold pitching to break
into freelance writing without any
experience but there's a few reasons why
I feel especially qualified to be
talking about this subject number one I
used to be in sales before I became a
copywriter so my job really involved
sending out hundreds of cold pitches to
set up meetings whether those meetings
were for me or for my boss or the CEO of
the company so cold Outreach is
something I became super proficient in
during those years of being a B2B
technology sales rep once I became a
copywriter I was also hired on to build
teams of copywriters to source
copywriters for my clients so that we
could build out a Content team and
that's why I got experience and spent a
ton of time sorting through so many
pitches portfolios and websites to the
point where I now know what the client
is looking for and then in my online
digital course business 30 days to paid
where I Mentor Freelancers I have used
Freelancers to build that business to
write blog posts to write email
campaigns so I've also been on the
hiring side for my own business which
gives me another vantage point so if you
came here for my last video you know why
I recommend cold pitching versus other
methods but let's just recap that again
so cold pitching is your proactive way
of getting your foot in the door you can
control how many cold pitches you send
you can't necessarily control who
stumbles on your website or if people
refer you so in sales and in any type of
business we want to make sure that we're
focusing on on the activities that we
actually have control over and cold
pitching is one of those activities you
can actually measure how many cold
pitches it takes to get you to a booked
call how many booked calls it takes to
get to a meeting it's called a
conversion rate but cold pitching is a
proactive way of getting clients versus
other long-term passive methods such as
building a personal brand and attracting
inbound interest to your freelance
business cold pitching also gives you
access to companies that you wouldn't
normally get access to like I know as I
know when I first started as a copy
writer the big names and the logos that
I'm proud of on my website right now
there definitely weren't knocking down
my door as a new writer I had to
introduce myself and get my foot in the
door and it leveled the playing field
and allowed me to get access to those
big clients even though I had no
experience that was how I got my foot in
the door was through cold pitching them
and that's what I'm going to teach you
in this video now we have to cover what
makes a cold pitch effective that's
really important but before I get into
that my name is Christine from Paid
copywriter tocom I'm a full-time
freelance writer who mentors other
freance writers via my digital course 30
days to paid in my community the # paid
writers Community the purpose of this
channel is to help anyone who's not
happy in their current career transition
to a full-time freelance career that is
fulfilling that allows you to work on
your own schedule that gives you time
and location Freedom so the first thing
that makes a cold pitch effective is
whether it is personalized and
contextual generic one- siiz fits-all
pitches are really easy for clients to
just skip over and delete but when we
see that stuff is personalized and
tailored toward us were just more likely
to pay attention to it so in your pitch
if you can prove that you have a vested
interest in their company they're more
likely to respond it's kind of like how
when you're in a job interview and
they're like so why do you want to come
work for us and that's the job
interviewer's way of saying hey are you
just like scouring the streets trying to
get anybody to employ you or do you
actually want to work here do you care
about my brand and if so why that's why
they ask that question and you also need
to prove that in your pitch as well also
mentioning something personal about
their brand will really help you stand
out because it will show that you did
some research on them and that you care
about them and don't stress out over
this cuz I think a lot of people get
confused a lot of writers will write me
and say like I thought I had to open my
pitch this way and I felt sleazy because
I felt like I was lying it's not
necessarily that you have to create
something like so authentic and unique
in that pitch but it has to prove that
you know who they are you've
familiarized yourself with them and the
industry and that you're not just
sending blanketed messages you don't
need to do in-depth research but even
just mentioning a podcast episode that
you listen to that they're in or you
notice that they posted a blog post or a
reel or something impressive that shows
hey I'm reaching out to you for a reason
the other thing you need to do is make
sure your pitch is succinct so you want
to stay away from really long rambling
detailed pitches because most likely
client it's just how we are today
they're not going to have time to do
like an in-depth Deep dive into
paragraphs and paragraphs of writing so
you want to just make sure that your
message includes enough but also cuts to
the chase you have to remember that your
client is receiving this onslaught of
emails spam pitches they're getting so
much we're all being bombarded with a
lot of messages these days so you need
to really cut through the Noise by being
succinct and respecting their time now I
love to be 100% transparent in my
pitches so I'll always have an opener
that tells them why I'm reaching out to
them so something that I typically say
was like I'm reaching out to you to see
if you need help with your content
marketing strategy because I'm a
copywriter and I specialize in in your
Niche one of the things I notic is that
being self-centered is one of the
biggest issues a lot of writers will say
like I'm looking for work I'm a
copywriter and I do this so I want you
to scan all of your pitches and just see
how many times you include the word I
and I want you to flip it around and
make it about your client and what you
can do for them because everyone really
wants to know what's in it for me so if
you can make your messages really appeal
to what the client is looking for and
understanding their goals that will make
your pitch really enticing and that just
comes down to understanding content
marketing or a business owner standpoint
of what their content or their copy is
trying to achieve which is always sales
and then you really just tailor your
pitch to those goals the other thing you
have to do is be persistent your first
cold pitch won't always get a response
even if you have a really good chance of
working for the client or if they're
interested in you a lot of follow-up is
needed believe it or not more followup
than you're probably comfortable with so
make sure that whatever your pitch
strategy is which you'll walk away from
this video with a pitch strategy and a
template and what to say make sure that
having follow-up messages also written
out are part of that strategy because
you're going to need to send multiple
messages over time your follow-up should
be thoughtful it shouldn't just be hey
I'm just following up hey just following
up hey just bumping this back up to the
top of your inbox I have an entire
module within 30 days to paid that
covers follow-up follow-up strategy what
to say how to come up with ideas for
what to say but just for the sake of
this video know that the goal is to
provide value in your followup instead
of just pestering them and saying hey
just following up just following up just
following up you want to continue to add
value in your followup by bringing new
ideas to them or proving why you're
worthy of working for them you want to
give them more ideas and provide value
now every cold pitch should be
personalized but this is also a numbers
game so you really can't do an in-depth
personalized pitch for every single
client so you want to prepare your
message template in advance and then
customize certain parts of the message
for each client sometimes I see people
people that I reach out to and I will
write them 100% original message because
it's something relevant or something
that was on my mind that I could connect
with them about but mostly you want to
stick with a messaging framework that
will allow you to swap out certain parts
and personalize it to that perspective
client that you're pitching so if you
participated in one of my last live
events which is the freelance FastTrack
challenge I hold that probably twice a
year I give you guys a template and we
share how we're pitching and how we're
customizing those pitches so I'm going
to share that on the screen right right
here for you it's from the workbook from
the freelance FastTrack challenge by the
way uh definitely look out if you're on
my email list I give updates on when the
next challenge will be a lot of people
will find clients just from taking that
challenge so look out for that but while
there's a ton of free templates online
and people give templates to freelance
writers the key to not spamming the
internet with the same pitch you know to
everybody and having these clients get
really jaded because they keep seeing
the same pitch the key is to understand
what makes a cold pitch effective what
are the effective components of what
makes a pitch you know stop the scroll
what makes people open a pitch what
makes a pitch catch somebody's eye when
you know those components you don't need
to go so by the templates you can
actually customize it make it more sound
make it sound more natural to you
whenever you're using templates I really
recommend that you infuse your own
personality into that template so that
it sounds more like you how you speak
and it's also appropriate to the end
client so number one is to get your own
email domain you definitely want to come
across as professional having a you know
writer Rael atgmailcom is not going to
be the same as having your own end
domain name that you purchase and paid
for because it just signals that you are
a professional business versus someone
who's maybe just doing this on the side
again not a total deal breaker for
pitching but something that will add to
your credibility for sure you also want
to make sure that your website is in
order and if you've never built a
website before don't worry worry it's
really easy nowadays there's a lot of
drag and drop Solutions I know that um
people were recommending when I first
started out to go on WordPress and build
a website and I actually couldn't figure
that out as someone who had never built
a website so getting like a Weebly drag
and drop Builder was my first provider I
now use show it because um it is more
expensive but I needed that little
upgrade and a fancier template for where
I am in my business right now but I
learned the fundamentals on Weebly I
used blue host as my hosting so keep in
mind that you can have like a lowcost
easy to use website and that a website
is actually important to presenting
yourself professionally again is it an
absolute deal breaker no but if you're
not getting responses to your pitches
and you're feeling like you're having a
hard time presenting yourself online
professionally and getting responses you
need to look at how you're showing up
online and a big part of that and
building credibility and establishing
yourself is having your own website so
don't be afraid to invest in something
like that now here's where we get into
the nitty-gritty of actually pitching
you're going to want to choose your Prim
AR platform your main method of
communication now can you use multiple
platforms absolutely but you have to
understand that spreading your energy
and spreading your efforts thin on so
many different platforms really dilutes
your results what I personally did what
I advise the students in my course do is
choose one platform double down on it
and then mix in methods as we go for
example my main platform and really
where I've built my entire business has
been LinkedIn so LinkedIn is is really
good because I find there's higher
quality clients on there it's easier for
me to find people to pitch um it's
definitely different from upwork where
you're competing against so many
Freelancers and it's a bit saturated on
there it's a bit crowded on there and
it's a freelance specific platform so
you're going to be clearly competing
with a bunch of Freelancers now a lot of
Freelancers don't use LinkedIn
necessarily it's not the go-to just by
way of it being for every profession
it's not a freelance specific platform
but it is where businesses are it's
where professionals are they for you're
able to pitch someone without getting
their email address which is timec
consuming when I first started as a
freelancer I definitely went the email
route because like I said earlier I was
in sales so we cold emailed we cold
called we cold emailed and we did drop
Buys in person but email was the primary
way of me booking meetings so when I
became a freelancer I heard that other
Freelancers were getting business
through cold emailing I tried it I
didn't find much success with it maybe I
sent about 200 emails and it was very
timeconsuming I didn't get great results
and then I realized I could utilize
LinkedIn and just message people
directly on there instead of trying to
track down and guess their email address
which half the time wasn't even correct
now you want to have your social media
profiles optimized that's another huge
part of this because while you're
putting in the effort while you're
pitching while you're putting your
feelers out and expanding your network
people are also going to be finding you
and what they find is really important
just like your website when they get
that pitch and they want to learn more
about you and see your portfolio they're
going to go to your website site same
with your social profiles you want when
somebody gets your pitch to go to an
optimized profile that says all the
right things and is tailored to that
person it's really important for that
initial gut instinct that initial first
impression to be something that hooks
the prospect the perspective client that
you're pitching if they see something
that appeals to them they're more likely
to respond to you that's why I mentioned
in in Prior videos how important
choosing a niche is because you can just
Target that c copy that website that
social profile whatever it is you can
Target it to the client so you're going
to want to create a Professional Profile
that's tailored to the client and you're
going to want to create an optimized
profile that showcases your skills your
qualifications your work any
certifications or Awards you might have
anything that's going to bolster your
presence you're also going to want to
include keywords so every social
platform has their own way to have
keywords whether it's the Bio Section of
your Twitter account and you know the
post that you're making with the
hashtags I know LinkedIn has specific
skills that you can rank for something I
specialize in is helping you create a
search optimized LinkedIn profile with
strategically placed keywords in the
places and the areas where the algorithm
measures it most so just make sure that
you understand best practices for
whatever platform you're on and you're
inserting those keywords so you're
discoverable on whatever the platform is
now once you have your one to two
platforms that you're going to use I
know for me like LinkedIn and email are
key and a lot of people will ask me like
well do you do cold emailing and how do
you use cold emailing if so my strategy
with emailing is that once I make
contact with somebody on LinkedIn I'll
typically try to continue the
conversation in email especially if they
fall off like a lot of the time I get
someone's initial interest in a cold
pitch and they go ghost and you know I
guess my messages get lost in the
shuffle so once I track down their email
it's just like now I'm showing up in two
different inboxes now you have to move
on to making a list of your ideal
companies and people you're going to
pitch this is probably the most
confusing part for so many Freelancers
it's where I spend a lot of time in my
course cuz students will say to me I
know what I want to do I kind of
understand the companies I want to reach
out to and write for but like who do I
reach out to how do I find them I have a
whole video on like specific titles and
people to Target but list building is
something again that I learned in sales
it's basically creating a list of
companies that are in your ideal
wheelhouse these are the companies that
you would like to write for and it's
basically going online going on Google
and saying like what are the top health
and wellness companies I want to be a
health and wellness writer who can I
write for in this space and it's making
a list of those companies and then
finding the people in those companies to
reach out to so examples of those titles
are going to be marketing director
corporate Communications manager CMO
editorial so in that video you'll see I
have all the the titles listed so you
can kind of understand who hires
freelance writers and who to pitch so
let's regroup so far I've covered why
you should be cold pitching and what
makes a cold pitch effective what makes
it stand out to the ideal client I've
stressed the importance of creating your
online presence so when they get your
pitch you have a optimized social media
profile and a website and stuff for them
to actually see so that they're going to
want to continue the conversation I also
talked about why you should have an
email domain just so you look more
professional in that sense it's all
about gaining trust with cold pitching
because we are reaching out cold and
starting conversations from scratch the
importance of choosing one to two major
platforms that you're going to use and
hint hint choosing that platform is
really going to come down to who you're
trying to Target let's say you're trying
to Target Fitness professionals and you
want to write for them they're going to
be really active on Instagram and you
might want to use Instagram Outreach or
maybe you know that in your industry
cold emailing is really the way to go
you might want to double down on cold
emailing I know for me LinkedIn is the
best platform and I'm going to create
more videos about why LinkedIn has been
such a gold mind for me and for so many
writers even if you think your ideal
client isn't on that platform I actually
recommend that you start to Target
clients who are on that platform within
your Niche but that's a whole other
story I talked about the next big step
which is building that list right
because once you have your cold pitch
written out and you understand how to
create a good cold pitch you have to
combine it with okay here is a list of
people I'm going to pitch so that's how
you cold pitch in a way that actually
gets responses and I know you're
probably wondering like okay great who
are my ideal clients how do I find these
people where do I find these people what
are their titles what do they care about
and that's what I'm going to cover in
the next video so click here to watch
that video and I'll see you over there
bye
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