How to Cold Pitch and Get More Paid Work

Cold pitching can feel a lot like being a door-to-door salesman.

You’re knocking on these strangers’ doors, hoping that they will become a customer.

But, in the back of your mind, you know that a lot of people hate unexpected visitors and avoid door-to-door salesmen like the plague.

So, as you knock, you anticipate all kinds of rejection, ranging from their hushed whispers of “Just be quiet and they’ll go away” to yells of “GO AWAY! WE DON”T WANT TO BUY ANYTHING!”

But you’re NOT a door-to-door salesman.

You’re not selling some product or service you had no hand in creating. You’re not selling something you’re not passionate about just to pay the bills either.

You’re offering something you created specifically to help a very targeted audience solve a problem or pain they have. You’re selling results.

If you find someone who you think would greatly benefit from what you have to offer, unless you’re well known or have great connections, sometimes cold pitching is the best option.

Even though cold pitching can be scary, there is a way to do it effectively.

What you should NOT do is send out mass emails to any and every person who could even remotely be interested in what you have to offer.

That, my eager friend, is a good way to get reported, blocked, and marked as spam.

Instead, follow these 6 simple cold-pitching tips to improve the number of people who actually read to the end and say yes.

TIP 1: BE SELECTIVE

Remember that not everyone is your ideal client. In fact, most people are NOT. Rather than throwing your pitch into a huge crowd of people and hoping it hits the right one, focus on the people you can truly help. Sending great pitches to the wrong people is only going to waste your time and theirs. (Ain’t nobody got time fa dat.) So only send them to people who fit your ideal target audience. If you don’t who that is, you need to take some time to figure out as that is a KEY piece to all marketing and copywriting for your business.

TIP 2: BE DILIGENT

Cold pitching is defined as contacting strangers with the intent of them becoming a client, customer, or partner. But, just because they don’t know you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get to know them. Take some time to gather info about them. Read their blogs. Watch a few of their videos. Check out what they share on social media. Really do your research on the person so you can find out whether they are someone who needs what you have to offer (unlike the situation going on in this comic, lol).

TIP 3: BE SPECIFIC

Like I said in a recent post, specificity resonates. Get specific on who you are, what you do, and how you can help this specific person. And be sure to let them know you are speaking specifically to them by using their name and referencing the things about them that stood out for you. Show them that you’re not just mass emailing people — you want to work with them specifically.

TIP 4: BE PERSONABLE

In addition to personalizing your pitch, you want to be personable. You’re a human being — not a robot. So act like one! Don’t be afraid to let your personality come through and speak to the person the same way you would if you were to meet them in an elevator. Of course, you should still be professional, but don’t mistake being stiff with being professional.

TIP 5: BE CONCISE

People are busy and you can almost guarantee that your message or email won’t be the only one that person has to read. That means you need to get to the point — quick, fast, and in a hurry. Otherwise, they’ll likely ignore or delete your pitch. Make your headline short and compelling to get them to open it. Then, quickly explain why you’re in their inbox before simply stating the specifics of how you can help them and why you’re qualified to do so.

TIP 6: BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT

Once you’ve outlined what you want to do for someone, tell them how to get started. Is the next step for you to send them an invoice and then get to work? Or is it to hop on a call with you to discuss things in more detail? Or perhaps you have a sales page they can visit to learn more and buy. Whatever your call-to-action is, state it and state it clearly.

Bonus Tip: AVOID COLD PITCHING

Before cold pitching, take a few minutes to see if there is already a system in place for you to submit your pitch. This is more common in some niches than others, but always worth checking into. For example, as a content writer, many of the publications I have written for already have guidelines on their website for people interested in contributing content. Simply by looking for that, I can be sure that I’m following the right guidelines and will be more likely to get paid work.

Ok, so that’s all I have for you guys right now. I hope it helps! And remember to not take anything personally! Not every pitch (no matter how well-written or thoughtful) will get a yes. But, the more you reach out to people you can really help, the more people have the opportunity to say yes.