For the first part of my punk duck series I decided to address client pitches, because it’s one thing a heck of a lot of people ask me how to do.
Many folks like to cold call. I’m not one of them. Others enjoy sending out hard copy packages. I used to do that, but I’ve resolved to save a few trees. At this stage of my career, I prefer to pitch by email for two reasons: 1) I’m better at it, and 2) My prospective clients are most receptive to email.
Email Pitching 101
If you’re brand spanking new to the concept of pitching a client by email, you might want to read one of my older posts, I Pitch, I Score (And You Can Too). Once you’ve read that, come back to this post. I’ll wait…
Easy Ways to Punk Up Your Pitches
Stalk Thy Potential Client*
A sure-fire way to make your email pitch stands out is to do your research and get to know your potential client up front. Rather than wasting your time sending out several half-assed, boilerplate editions of your email pitch to folks you’ve barely gotten to know, dedicate that time on targeting one potential client and doing it right. How? If they have a website or blog, that’s generally a good place to start. If they’re active on social networking sites, that’s another. If there is a way to make contact before making the pitch, do it. I’ve gotten my best gigs by being an active member of blog comment sections. If someone feels like they know you, they’ll be more apt to want to read your pitch and pay attention to what you’re proposing.
Stalk His Competition
My most effective client pitches are ones where I can convince the prospect that they’re losing out by not doing what their competitors are already doing. In my case, this means they’re not blogging, or they’re blogging in an ineffective way compared to how their competitors are blogging. For you this may mean something else entirely, depending on the services you offer. But if you can learn about a potential client’s competitors and lead into your pitch with how your services can make him money (or save him money) by making him look better than his enemy, your pitch will stand out.
Be an Ally
Anyone you pitch wants to know you’re on their side, that you want them to succeed, that you have original ideas to contribute to their success. Mentioning that you’ve also pitched ten of his competitors will likely be a turn-off. It should go without saying that sending the identical pitch in a single email by cc-ing a large list of folks would be a HUGE no-no, but I’ve seen it done. Don’t do it. You might argue that this will make the prospective client want to act fast before the competition hires you, but really it only makes you look like a lazy moron.
*disclaimer: by ’stalk’ I mean getting google-happy, not showing up his summer home What About Bob style. Just sayin’.
Recommended Reading to Punk Up Your Client Pitches:
- Getting Ready For the Client Pitch: How to Turn Prospects Into Clients at The Copywriter Underground
- 10 Essential Steps to Making the Perfect Pitch at Freelance Switch
- Freelance writing: email pitches and the subject line at Fab Freelance Writing Blog
How do you make your pitches to clients stand out? Have any tips to share? Questions to ask?
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Can I just hire you to make pitches for me?
Karen Putz’s last blog post..In a Funk? Grab Some Friends
It was recommended to me that when I launch EditQuest, I send out a sort of press release to potential clients and places that might give me potential clients. I have to make a list of these and it is something I have been researching. I know I don’t want to cc them, but will the bcc work? Emailing each one would take a considerable amount of time…
steph’s last blog post..Making a List and Checking it Twice
Karen — That’s a career path to think about.
Steph — I honestly don’t recommend doing it that way, but I’m saying this just based on my own experiences and opinions. Here’s the way I look at it: Bulk emails with a bunch of bcc’s usually end up in spam filters, for one, but also it is very obvious when someone has bcc-ed a bunch of folks. I delete those types of emails immediately, and most corporate folks I know do too. (Hell, even if a client bcc’s me on an article he’s sending to the universe, I usually don’t read it.) The few folks I know in publishing detest the mass email practice, and most of them just laugh before they hit the delete button. People want to know that you genuinely care about THEM and WHY. You can try it your way, but you’re taking the risk that many will remember your name and think to themselves “Oh, that’s the idiot who spammed me last month” when you eventually go to pitch them properly.
Steph, I agree with Amy completly. The only time I would even consider any type of mass mailing is after I have built up a considerable relationship and then am sending out an information rich something special article that all my clients would enjoy that they have opted in to recieve.
Amy, these are some really good ideas and I would also add that as you are in the relationship building stage of getting to know them, ask them a lot more questions about them, Be genuinly interested in their business, what excites them, what is working for them, what struggles they have and LISTEN. They don’t need to know anything about you until you are an expert on them. They will TELL you what your pitch should be without you having to work that hard at it.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations’s last blog post..The Power of Your Secret Weapon
Wendi — What if it wasn’t a pitch? What if it was a press release? Would you send THAT out mass to strangers? (I wouldn’t, but I’d like to know I’m not the only one who thinks so.)
I totally agree with everything you said about learning and listening and being genuinely interested. I’ve had more than one client tell me I care an awful lot to be a freelancer, and I like that.
Amy,
)
In response to your question, I run my life and business life by the golden rule principle -Treat others the way you want to be treated.( to the best of my ability- being human is a deterant sometimes
In this case that means: At the end of the day, getting my snail mail, or fishing through my e-mail box, I don’t want to get some piece of mail from someone that I don’t know spouting out how wonderful they are, or telling me that they JUST discovered the ONE or TEN amazing ways that THEY can SAVE my business or life when they don’t know anything about me and I don’t know who they are . I don’t want a press release telling me how wonderful they are either because I am not personally invested in them and a- I am tired and b- I don’t give a Bee’s Behind.
My response is shred and delete.
And GOD FORBID you have the guts to pick up the phone and call me because you are going to see me use my very powerful way with words and it won’t be pleasant.
Now, if I don’t want you to treat me that way, I’m not going to bother you without your permission and before I even ask for it, I’m going to be sure I have listened carefully to your needs and have something to offer that I am pretty darn sure you need.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations’s last blog post..The Power of Your Secret Weapon
Wendi — I love it. I especially love the bee-behind imagery I’m now conjuring up.
I completely agree. I think I’ve found your place in this series: Punk Up Your Manners 
Hey Amy and Wendi: Okay, thanks! I mean, I don’t know, I’ve never bulk emailed anyone, except my family!
I didn’t know people could tell if you used bcc. What’s the point of it, then? (You don’t have to answer that, it’s just wondering aloud…)
All right, then, individual emails it is. I want to do things right.
Thanks again!
steph’s last blog post..Making a List and Checking it Twice
Hey Steph. I used to use bcc to blind-copy my boss on emails sent to clients, etc. You can tell it’s a bcc because it will say “undisclosed recipient” or something other than the person’s email address in the to field. Now that so many spammer bcc, unfortunately a lot of my clients’ bcc’s end up in my spam filter. :-\ Are you getting pretty close to launching the editing EditQuest? Sounds exciting.
This came at a great time for me because I’m putting together and sending out my first official query letters. Could you give an example of how you might professionally state how your work can make/save your client money? I’m having a hard time thinking of that one but know it would be a great addition….I think part of my problem is it’s tough for me to blatantly promote myself-but I’m willing to get better at that to reap the rewards:-)
Kara’s last blog post..Bailey Blogs
Hey Kara! When you say query letter, do you mean pitches to magazine articles? If so, I don’t think you would need the money angle. That goes more for corporate clients, I would say.
I think stalking is most important. In a good way of course! Yes, find out everything you can about the potential client. Something unique, that they haven’t seen before.
All this takes a lot of time but is well worth. Better than slinging out a bunch of pitches that totally miss the plate. The bat. The everything.
And that takes a lot of time, too. So your advice to Steph makes a lot of sense.
It makes sense in mailed queries also. And I’ve done the mass mail query. It doesn’t work.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..My Social Experiment: RSS Numbers
Amy — re: bcc’ing … Does that mean you don’t have my new phone number?
Mer — The last emails I received from you were the Gen pictures, and I can’t remember what I received before that… too long back. But if you bcc-ed it to a big group, chances are I didn’t get it.
Ellen — I’m into stalking.
I’m can’t imagine too many editors are very receptive to mass mailings of query letters. Just a big waste of everyone’s time the way I see it. Taking the time to really target the letter makes all the difference, I think, whether querying an editor or pitching a prospect.
I don’t do pitches, but I am venturing into guest-post territory and I think your suggestions work well for that as well. Thanks, Amy!
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome’s last blog post..Discovering a Passion for Blogging: Urban Panther Interview Part 2
A pro-stalker article. That’s just awesome. I think you hit the nail on the head when you talked about pointing out what the competition is doing that your target isn’t.
John Hewitt’s last blog post..PD30 Day 10: The Mighty Mighty Pantoum
Amy, from a dyed in the wool sales and marketing professional, I tip my hat to you for right on target advice! The same principles that we apply offline (knowing your market & their competition, pitching to their individual needs, tapping into their buying motivators, etc) also work online.
Alex — That’s a really good point! I have yet to pitch a blogger about a guest post, so I will have to remember to take my own advice when I do.
John — I do try to be pro-stalker as much as possible. Hehe. Thanks for including my post in your daily round-up.
Karen — Never reveal yourself to be a marketing guru, or I will stalk you into guest posting. Bwah ha ha!
Ami,
Great to see you are a successful stalker. LOL. Personally I haven’t had to do many pitches at all and those I did were done on inspiration. Lucky though they were successful. I suppose i might have been lucky.
However, I always try to stand out in my emails if I do pitch a client. It is essential to research their business upfront and analyze their style of writing to hit the right tone “of voice”, don’t you think?
Monika Mundell’s last blog post..Workshops, Zombies And Large Noses
Monika — I totally agree about getting the tone/voice right. How do you get your work then? Do clients find you through your website or blog? Or do you apply for your work on job boards? Just curious.
Hi Amy,
When I started out, it was mainly through job boards. But this year I think I did two pitches all up and the rest is all from my blog or through referrals. I even got my first offline gig from a referral which is so awesome.
I suppose I worked really hard to brand my name and my business for the last year. People start to take notice and one thing leads to the next. I guess I have also been very fortunate in that regard. I also know it won’t last forever. But that is ok, I take things as they come.
Monika Mundell’s last blog post..Workshops, Zombies And Large Noses
Monika, I take things as they come too. Some of my best business has come from word of mouth recommendations/client referrals too. But those first clients I got from pitching them. I have found very few of my clients through job boards. Not to say job boards aren’t worthy of visiting and that folks don’t get great gigs from them, but in my case many of my potential clients don’t know they need a blogger. I always find it interesting to hear how other writers go about building up their client bases, so thanks for sharing.
Great article, Amy! I have been putting off my marketing efforts for a while now. I’ve been really busy, so it’s fine for now, but if the work dries up, I will be SOL! One thing I have been doing is finding Web sites of clients in my target market and then reading them to see where there could be more content. One example is a personal injury lawyer who started an online newsletter, only to post 3 or 4 issues. I’d love to write articles on those topics, so in my head, I think I should e-mail the person, compliment them on the existing issues, and offer my help with creating new issues. But marketing makes me nervous!
Hi Leigh. I write for a few personal injury lawyers, so small world.
I do exactly what you’re talking about, except mostly I focus on blogs. So I would go to the website and see that maybe they have a neglected blog, or one where they’re just scraping news feeds, etc. Some don’t have a blog at all, and those I pitch the idea too. What we do is a perfect “niche” really, because often times lawyers have great ideas for things like newsletters and then don’t have the time to carry those ideas out. Also, some small firms are so understaffed that hiring a freelancer is a perfect solution. 
Thanks for reading and commenting. It’s nice to have someone reading here who does what I do. 
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