The freelance market has been thriving ever since the 2020 pandemic changed our lives. In the past few years, more people have been looking for and doing freelance writing jobs online, and, according to specialists, the biggest part of the workforce in the USA, in a couple of years, will be composed mostly of freelancers.
We discussed in previous articles what it takes to become a successful freelance writer, why it’s worth following this career path, as well as some lucrative niches.
Besides freelance writing in general, you can find many freelance writing jobs online as a copywriter. To find out what a copywriter does and if it’s for you, we suggest reading some of our articles on the topic
However, before you take the step of finding your first freelance writing client, you must understand the value and importance of a pitch.
In your freelancing journey, you will discover that rejection is part of the game. Most times, your proposals for articles and copy online will be rejected. Many times, you simply aren’t a match. Other times, they simply aren’t interested. However, more often, a bad pitch will stand in your way of finding more freelance writing jobs online.
Why Your Pitch Matters More Than You Think
Unfortunately, you will also see that most of these emails will be rejected. In fact, most pitches get ignored and refused by prospects. Why?
While sometimes the freelance writer simply isn’t a match, many times, poor communication stands in the way of the freelance writer landing the job. If you don’t want to be that freelancer who often gets rejected, you will need to understand the value of a well-crafted pitch. In other words, you need to understand how to write one well.
In this regard, you need to understand that a pitch is more than an introduction to who you are and what you can do. It’s a marketing tool to make you appear more desirable and relevant in the eyes of your potential clients.
Your pitch is the first tool that you will use to sell your writing. And it’s the tool that will most likely help you get more freelance writing jobs online in the first months of your journey.
Leave a first impression.
It must leave, of course, a positive first impression. After reading the subject line of your email and the first sentences, the prospect already gains an impression of who you are. Here, the prospect may close your email or take interest further. That’s why we recommend you write clearly and concisely in the first paragraph what you can do for the client. Remember that your email must be client-focused. It needs to have this person’s interest at heart first. That’s how you always leave a first good impression.
Show your value.
Here, your pitch needs to show your ability both as a writer and as a business partner. Let’s clarify what we mean. Of course, as a writer, you need to show the prospect that you master the language and have the ability to write well. If you want to read more on how to write well, we suggest looking at this article on how to improve your writing.
Don’t commit grammatical or punctuation errors. Show good use of punctuation and spelling. And have a coherent text for your prospect.
As a business partner, you need to let the prospect understand what your value is. Ask yourself the following question: What can I do for this particular client? How can I help this person in his or her business endeavor?
In this regard, you can make it clear how your writing will increase conversion for the website, enhance online presence on the website, improve SEO, or anything that your writing is meant to do.
What the Client Actually Buys
What does this mean? The potential client isn’t purchasing writing, but a solution to a problem. This can be made clear with copywriting. Many small online businesses always strive to improve sales. This is the reason why they seek copywriters.
They don’t want you to craft pieces of text that sound good and that look pretty on their website. No, they have a problem—low monthly sales, for example—and are looking for a solution—in this case, copywriting services to increase those sales.
The same can be said for blog posts. Maybe they want to educate the public about a certain issue. That’s why they are looking not for a writer, but for an educator. Or maybe they have an issue with online exposure, so they are looking for someone who can improve their website’s SEO through content.
No matter what the goal is, remember that the client isn’t actually buying a piece of writing. They may be buying
- solutions,
- reliability,
- expertise,
- peace of mind,
- results.
Whatever they are buying, it isn’t your ability to write well. Knowing this will help you write better pitches and increase your chances of landing more freelance writing jobs online.
In this case, how do we craft a winning freelancing pitch?
The Essential Elements of a Winning Freelance Pitch
To land more freelance writing jobs online, your pitch must be well-crafted. For this, you need to do some research on who your target client is and what he wants. Why? Because the first essential element of a winning freelance pitch is
> personalization
Most pitches get rejected because they sound generic. They don’t address an issue that the entrepreneur is facing, nor offer specific solutions to specific problems. That’s why the subject line and the first sentences of the email must show that you have some knowledge about the company, organization, or individual to whom you are writing.
This leads us to the second element of a winning freelance pitch, which is
> understanding of the client’s needs.
We all have desires and fears, and small business owners are not different. They have desires that they want to fulfill and fears that they want to avoid. Are you the one who can help?
The answer to this question depends on how much you understand what the client needs and wants. The best way to do this, with the pitch, is to summarize their goal in two or three sentences. Once they read that and see that you understand what they need, they will be more interested in working with you.
The third element of a winning pitch, which will land you more freelance writing jobs online, is
> explaining how you can help.
Now that the prospect knows that you have an understanding of what they want or what they are going through, you need to explain how you are going to help them. Be clear and concise in your explanation. Here, you must focus on the outcomes of your work, not on your qualifications.
You must not talk about what a great writer you are, but rather explain the results they will get. Remember, to small online businesses, you don’t offer writing services, but business solutions. Of course, you need to do something more here; you need to
> support your claims with evidence.
Anyone can make claims about how they will increase online traffic or conversion rates, but how many can back such claims with evidence? If you already have working experience as a freelance writer or as a copywriter, you can use previous projects as proof of your expertise. Evidence of past success increases your chances of landing freelance writing jobs online because small business owners are pragmatic people who constantly seek results.
What should you do if you don’t have previous experience? You can use more general examples to show how doing certain work for the company can help achieve the desired results. It’s better than nothing because everyone needs to start somewhere, even the beginner freelance writer.
Finally, a winning pitch needs to have a
> CTA (call-to-action).
If you are not familiar with the concept, a CTA is that part of a text that tells the reader what to do next. In copywriting, the CTA is one of the foundational elements of any piece of writing. Often, readers are confused; they need to be told what to do next after reading your text. Maybe, in your case, the pitch isn’t clear enough about what you want. Here, in the last sentence or two, you can clarify to the prospect what you want. Most of the time, you want to discuss further a possible collaboration. In this case, you can end your pitch with a question, having the goal to start a lucrative conversation.
The Don’ts of a Pitch in the Freelance Writing World
After discussing the elements of a winning pitch, you should consider some of the sins that many freelance writers commit before pressing the send button. By becoming aware of the don’ts, you will craft better pitches and land more freelance writing jobs online.
Here are some of the errors many freelance writers commit when sending pitches to small online businesses.
> They send generic, copy-and-paste proposals.
As mentioned previously, a pitch that lacks personality and specificity has almost 100% chance of getting ignored. If you want your email pitch not to be opened, use a text found on the internet or generated with AI that tells the prospect nothing about his or her hopes and fears. Such pitches don’t offer solutions to real problems that entrepreneurs face.
> They talk about themselves.
Again, this is one grave sin that many freelance writers commit while pitching for freelance writing jobs online. A potential prospect is interested only in solving issues related to his or her company. The prospect is not interested in you as a person.
That’s why it is an awful idea to start your pitch by telling them “what a great and talented freelance writer I am.” The prospect has probably received similar emails and LinkedIn messages in the previous days. Nothing of value is present here for the entrepreneur.
Instead, you need to talk about their company, desires, and fears, tailoring the pitch so that it grabs their attention and opens them to communication.
> Making unrealistic promises.
A pitch will sell only if it makes claims that the prospect can accept. This is a fundamental sales principle and since you are selling writing services and business solutions to a person, you need to keep your promises as realistic as you can possibly be.
For example, do not promise them that their profits will double in one month thanks to your writing. By any standard, that is an unrealistic goal. The small business owner, knowing the world of business, will automatically label you a liar and ignore your email. So, in a pitch, always make sure that the promises are realistic.
> Ignoring the project brief
Clear and concise communication is vital for a winning pitch. If you don’t want to land more and better freelance writing jobs online, be sure to ignore the essentials of a project and ramble about various unnecessary details. This way, you will quickly lose the prospect’s attention and patience, thus losing the opportunity to land a new freelance writing job online.
> Including unnecessary personal history
If you want your pitches to be ignored, don’t start with the prospect’s issue and don’t show that you understand the business. Instead, talk about yourself and what a talented and passionate writer you are. In fact, add as much unnecessary personal history and details about yourself in the pitch as possible. The error is called digression, and it will surely make the future prospect ignore your pitches in the future.
> Ending without a clear next step.
In the previous subchapter, we mentioned the need for a CTA. Often, people don’t know what to do next. They don’t know what next step they should take. That’s why you need to add a CTA (call-to-action) in the pitch.
Do you want your pitch not to convert? Then make sure not to add a CTA. Don’t tell the prospect what you want. Do you want to open a discussion with the prospect? Do you want to sell your writing services directly? Don’t mention it. Let the prospect guess.
What You Should Understand about the Perfect Pitch
Freelancers often spend countless hours searching for freelance writing jobs online, yet devote only a few minutes to writing the proposal. By treating your pitch as a sales tool instead of a formality, you position yourself as a professional who understands both writing and business. Over time, this mindset can become one of your greatest competitive advantages.
For now, remember that a pitch needs to focus on the client’s needs, not on your persona. It also needs to be clear and concise, so avoid unnecessary details. Last but not least, don’t forget to add a clear CTA, so that the client knows what he or she should do next.
The pitch is a cold outreach method for landing freelance writing jobs online. If you want to learn more about the advantages of pitching clients online, we recommend you read our article on cold outreach vs. job boards.
