Pitch Clinic - Make a Living Writing

Follow This Editor’s Winning Advice to Punch Up Your Pitch Letter

You take the time to write a solid pitch letter, send it off, and then you wait…and wait some more.

It kind of feels like you’re in the boxing ring, circling, waiting for some action, or a reply.

Sound familiar?

Maybe nothing happens. What’s your next move? Was there something wrong with your pitch? Should you pitch again? What can you do to engage an editor or marketing director to land an assignment or get a new client?

Long before you step into the ring and hit send, you’ve got to get your pitch letter right.

And that doesn’t happen overnight. You’ve got to learn how to dodge and weave, jab and move, and deliver the kind of punch in your pitch letter that rings a bell for your editor.

If you’re new to freelancing, or you keep getting knocked around when you send a pitch letter, it’s time for a little help.

Want to know how to punch up your pitch letter? Go to your corner and check out this advice from a pro editor ready to show you the ropes.

Blog for Money: The Genius Pitch That Got One Writer $500 Per Post

Wondering how to blog for money and make a living writing?

Maybe you’re pitching businesses and magazines to blog for money, but you never hear back.

Or maybe your pitch to blog for money is good enough to get a response, but you keep getting rejected.

Been there, done that? It’s happened to me a lot.

The catastrophic-thinking part of your brain tries to tell you: “There’s no way in a million years they’re going to hire you. Don’t even bother trying.”

But the truth is, if you do your part to craft a well-written pitch to a prospect, that’s almost never the case.

Don’t give up that easy. You’re smarter than that. That prospect could be your next freelance writing client worth thousands of dollars.

Before you totally write off a prospect that rejected your pitch to blog for money, or gave you the “not-now-maybe-later” answer, take a minute to try and understand why. Follow up. Ask a few more questions.

Here’s how I turned a not-so-sure-prospect into a gig that pays $500 per blog post.

How One Query Letter Got $6,000 in Assignments

It’s been nearly 6 years since this post was originally published — and it’s been one of my most popular ever. The need to write strong query letters has only grown in the years since, so I thought it would be a good time to put it out there again. Enjoy!–Carol

I often have freelance writers tell me they don’t think writing a query letter is worth the effort. They get a lot of rejections, and feel it’s basically a crapshoot…and so much easier to sign on to a content-mill dashboard for a guaranteed few bucks’ worth of work.

It’s true that querying isn’t a sure thing. But if you take the time to learn this skill, it can really help you move up and earn big.

I regularly get lucrative assignments off of query letters and guest post pitches, and I continue to believe querying is a vital skill for successful freelancers.

With so many writers turned off of queries, taking the time to learn how to write a compelling query letter is well worth the effort, as it makes you stand out in today’s marketplace. Querying can open doors when you don’t know anyone at a publication or company, and make a connection that could turn into an ongoing relationship.

For instance: I recently sent one query letter that got me $6,000 of assignments. And I’m reproducing it in full below.

3 Free Ways to Find Out What Editors Really Think

It’s one of the biggest problems in freelance writing.

You send out a query to an editor, or a letter of introduction to a business.

And then…nothing.

You never hear back. You’re left to wonder what you’re doing wrong.

Or you submit an article, and it gets killed. They give you some vague reason, such as, “Just not a fit for us at this time.”

How can you ever improve?

You’re stuck. But you need to break through and get answers, or you’re not going to get the kind of great-paying gigs you want.

Fortunately, there are several paths out of this dilemma. One is to hire an expensive writing coach and pay thousands for their input.

But there are free ways, too. Here are three:

7 Reasons You Have More Writing Clips Than You Think

Here’s a common lament I hear from freelance writers:

“I don’t have any writing samples! What should I do to get clips for my portfolio?”

Well, wait just a minute there. Because often, when I ask more questions, I find out you’ve got clips.

You just don’t think you have any.

Do You Have Story Idea Constipation? How to Break the Logjam

Ever had a great idea for an article?

The moment you think of it, everything comes to a halt. You are entranced. You love this idea!

You’re sure you know the ideal publication for it, too. A big, important, great-paying magazine.

This is the idea that’s going to transform your portfolio and make your career take off. You can hardly sleep at night, thinking about how great this is going to be.

And there, your troubles begin.

Category: Pitch Clinic

Follow This Editor’s Winning Advice to Punch Up Your Pitch Letter

Blog for Money: The Genius Pitch That Got One Writer $500 Per Post

How One Query Letter Got $6,000 in Assignments

3 Free Ways to Find Out What Editors Really Think

7 Reasons You Have More Writing Clips Than You Think

Do You Have Story Idea Constipation? How to Break the Logjam

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