Cold Pitching Freelance Writing Clients
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A not-so-scary guide!
As a new writer, it's scary to think about where to find freelance writing gigs - so scary that you may put off getting into freelancing, just as I did… for 3 years.
I used job-bidding sites like Upwork, but the issue there is that you’re bidding against a bunch of other writers, and more than likely, the client opts for the lowest quote.
Relying on Upwork was limiting my opportunities and income. I always knew I needed to start cold pitching freelance writing clients as a standalone professional, but how?
How Do You Find Freelance Writing Clients?
It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Filthy Rich Writer (a site dedicated to educating writers) where I learned how to cold pitch, what to say and how to find clients. Their online copywriting course was a game-changer for me too.
For a more in-depth look at where to find freelance jobs, check out my other post: 11 Steps to Get Freelance Copywriting Jobs.
Yes, it’s catered towards copywriting (that’s what I do), but the principles still apply for other types of writing.
Email Cold Pitching Guide for Freelance Writers
You don’t have to call people or meet for coffee if you don’t want to. Email cold pitching is perfectly acceptable!
At the start of my (cold pitching) career, I swallowed my anxiety and sent 25 email pitches per week to potential clients. I did that for about 3 months straight.
It took a lot of effort, but it paid off exponentially: I hit my first 5-fig month within 6 months of starting cold pitching! There’s no guarantee, but there’s hope.
Here’s the simple cold pitching guide I needed years ago but never found. Let’s look at how and what a writer should write in an email cold pitch.
Quick Tips for Email Cold Pitching to Freelance Writing Clients
Subject line is king.
Personalize your message, with pitch templates!
Keep your email ASAP.
Give them a truly helpful suggestion.
State your benefit.
Ask for a call to talk more.
Always follow up.
Don’t stop, keep pitching.
Let’s break these down a little more. If you need tips on how to find the email address of a client, read here.
#1 Subject Line is King
If a potential client isn’t compelled to open your email from the subject line, it honestly doesn’t matter what you say in your email body.
After tons of rewrites, I’ve found that there are several types of email subject lines that have worked well for me:
Benefit-driven subject lines: “With a few tweaks, I think your newsletter can get lots more subscribers!”
Enthusiastic subject lines: “Starstruck emoji = me with your finance blog!”
Intriguing subject lines: “Yes, hello.”
Open-loop subject lines: “Missing something?”
FOMO subject lines: “How about a free copy audit - this week only.”
Numbered subject lines: “5 quick fixes for your newsletter.”
Question subject lines: “Why don’t more people know about you?”
Short subject lines: “A ‘Q’ for you.”
Eye-catching subject lines: “Knock. Knock... (MD medical writer here!)”
Whichever subject lines you choose, avoid being scammy. They should still relate to the writing services you offer and support the content in the email. Play around, send things you’re comfortable with, see what works!
#2 Personalize Your Message, with Pitch Templates!
Generic cold pitching emails are either hated, deleted or sent to spam. Even though it took extra effort, I opened a regular email, pasted in their email address and wrote “Dear [their name]” every time.
I ended up creating several pitch templates based on different problems I commonly saw from potential clients. As a copywriter, I had pitch email templates for poorly-written “about” pages, underwhelming homepages, underperforming newsletters and more.
These templates made it easier and faster for me to write pitches. However, I always customized them further with a unique detail about what I saw in regards to their company. Maybe it was a recent news article, a high-performing social media post, etc.
#3 Keep Your Email ASAP (as “Short” as Possible)
Nowadays, most people skim through everything. They want to read the shortest number of words possible (and this is especially true for emails).
I know you have a lot you want to say to a potential client: your expertise, how enthusiastic you are about them, previous experience, why you’re the best person…
A word of advice: Once you write your pitch email, cut it down by half. Seriously. Make it 2-3 sentences maximum. People simply will not read a long email.
#4 Give Them a Truly Helpful Suggestion
What do you write in a cold pitch to freelance writing clients?
Start with enthusiasm in a tone that closely relates to your “brand voice.” You can sound fun, warm, professional, witty, quizzical - just be yourself and sprinkle it in your pitch.
After an enthusiastic mini hello, tactfully hit on a pain point, problem or improvement that you noticed. Examples:
If they had a lead magnet, they’d be able to get more email subscribers.
If they added certain key components to their grant proposal, they’d increase their chances of funding.
If they took XYZ blog topic and broke it down into subtopics, they’d rank better for specific SEO keywords.
This problem should be something that you can help them fix, which you’ll mention later!
#5 State Your Benefit
Why should this client work with you? What can you uniquely provide to “fix” their problems or make their situation better?
This was exceptionally hard for me to pinpoint, so I started making a list of my benefits to consumer. I’d spend time thinking about how I help my clients, I’d think of stuff at random or I’d ask other students in the online copywriting course I was taking at the time.
#6 Ask for a Call to Talk More
It’s okay if this makes you nervous! But, it’s the way of the world.
Since your pitch email needs to be short, you can’t possibly explain everything you’ll do for them. A rapport-building conversation is in order!
The good thing is that they’ve already opened the email, read your enthusiastic greeting, recognized that you see their problem (and that you offer solutions to fix it). Getting on a call with this person is no longer a “cold pitch” - they’re a little warmed up!
#7 Always Follow Up
Unless you get a rare angry response back... no response doesn’t mean “no” to your services. I’ve gotten on calls with so many people who said they saw my email 6 months ago, got busy and never responded. Needless to say, I followed up with them at a later date, they remembered me and got on a call.
In the initial stages, I did 5 new pitches per workday for 3 months. Every Tuesday, I’d also tack on follow-up emails to people I pitched 1-2 weeks before. Here was my pitching schedule as a new freelance writer:
Initial cold pitching email
Follow-up email #1 (from the week before)
Follow-up email #2 (from 2 weeks before)
2 long-term follow-up emails (every 3 months)
What to write in cold pitch email follow-ups? I always provided value and more benefits to consumer. I’d sometimes send helpful articles, tips, or tell them about a free copy review.
#8 Don’t Stop, Keep pitching
It’s so hard to tell if a client will respond back right away, later on or never.
To be honest, most pitches won’t get a response. That’s why high-volume cold pitching is a must when you’re first starting out.
Not getting any responses from pitches shouldn’t be your excuse to throw up your hands and quit cold pitching altogether. If you send 50-100 pitches without getting a lead, revise the content and subject lines of your pitches and experiment with new messaging.
Less Scared About Cold Pitching Freelance Writing Clients?
Cold pitching requires effort, courage and a little humility. It can be very scary and uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier with time. Plus, you won’t have to cold pitch to get every client forever.
Now that I’m more established, previous clients come back or new clients find me. However, I see now that all the cold pitching work I did in the beginning made me a better writer, better marketer, and better business woman.
Best of luck to you!
Heads Up, Writers!
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Heads Up, Writers! (Read Below)
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