Hey #flashers,
If you’ve been sending out cold pitches to freelance prospects like crazy and getting crickets…
Today, I’m going to share the three things I’ve noticed help massively convert pitches I send out to clients.
You have two choices when you send out freelance writing pitches:
- Send them out, cross your fingers, and wait for people to get back to you.
- Be proactive about making your freelance pitches convert for you.
You’re going with Door #2, right?
Good, let’s see what’s behind that door than, shall we?
By the way, if you don’t want to read all of this, you can skip to the bottom and watch the video version;)
3 Ways to Skyrocket Your Freelance Pitch Conversion Rate
#1: The Follow-Up
So, I always write down the date I contact prospects on my pitch tracker (get it free here). Then, sometime between two weeks and a month later, I make sure I follow up with each and every one of them. I just send them a quick “Hey, I was wondering if you had a chance to consider my offer” email with the original email below it to jog their memory.
If I don’t hear from them on the second try, I follow up again. I follow up at least three times before moving on. And even then, I still leave the client “open” on my pitch tracker. Unless I hear a firm “no,” which never happens, I leave them open. You just never know.
You never know when a prospect might need you down the line, and they’re going to think “Hey, I remember a freelance writer approaching me awhile ago. Let me see if I can track them down.”
Remember, no reply doesn’t mean no. It could mean the prospect is busy, they’re considering your offer, your offer went to their spam box, or a million other scenarios. Following up doesn’t mean you’re bugging them either.
Following up increases the chances of hearing back.
It puts you back on your prospects’ radars.
It shows prospects you’re not a spammer. Spammers don’t follow up.
Following up is one of the ways I get major traction from my freelance pitches. If you want to learn from a successful freelance writer, it would serve you well to follow up;)
#2: Be Quicker
What the heck do I mean by being quicker? You already try to whip words together at the speed of light.
What I mean by being quicker is to respond to people’s requests or inquiries immediately.
If people inquire about your freelance services, make sure you get back to them within 24 hours. They have likely reached out to multiple people and will show favoritism toward those who get back to them first.
Now, I’ve had some major learning experiences with this. Learn from my mistakes!
One lady was referred to me through a big-name freelance writer. I got back to her right away and she said “let me know a good time to chat.” Well, I let it go for a few days and by the time I got back to her, she had already found someone else. I could kick myself!
Whenever you apply for a project on sites like Problogger [LINK] or Freelance Writing Gigs [LINK], you need to send your pitch immediately. These hunters get hundreds of replies. One of the ways to stand out is to be one of the first. After a day or two, you might as well not even apply.
Be responsive to your prospects and your pitches. This strategy should be a personal rule of yours.
#3: Add Personality to Your Pitches
People are so sick of salesy, boring, unpersonalized, or templated pitches.
They make your prospects’ eyes glaze over. They make your prospects wonder if you’re really even a good writer if you can’t even make your pitches a little bit interesting.
You’re a writer. Your pitches are one of the best places to showcase that writing talent, for crying out loud!
Give your pitches some personality!
What I mean by that is, put some energy and passion into your pitches. One recent example I can use is a pitch in which I admitted the “fire in my belly” for the clients’ subject matter and spoke to him like a human. He was impressed with the pitch and chose me over myriads of others because of the personality I allowed to shine through.
People can hear excitement in your pitches. Let them know you resonate with their subject matter. You don’t need to be unprofessional to exude that energy either.
Well, that’s it for today’s post on getting your freelance pitches to convert!
Let me tell you, if you use even ONE of these tactics for your next batch of freelance pitches, you’re going to notice way more replies. Use all three, and you’ll notice major changes in the way your pitches convert.
At least, that’s been my experience…
I just posted a video about this subject on my Youtube Channel. Make sure you subscribe to my channel to make sure you catch all my videos when they go live.
Want to learn more about pitching clients and building your freelance portfolio? Check out my free 7-day series, Freelance Freedom From Corporate.
How about you?
Are you going to give these strategies a shot? If you do, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
If you already use these strategies, what are some other ways you use to land more freelance writing clients? I’ll meet you in the comments!