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.
Show prospects your value to blog for money
Are you running into objection after objection when you pitch companies on freelance services? Changing their minds might be easier than you think.
Freelancers are great assets to businesses, but sometimes, they don’t see that right away. Especially if they haven’t worked with someone remotely or on a freelance basis.
The good news?
If you know how to approach these clients, the results can pay off, big time. Here’s how:
Identify a potential client
When you’re first starting out as a freelance writer, expect to spend most of your time identifying potential clients in your niche.
You’ll study their site, business, and content marketing materials, and then write a pitch to blog for money or other writing services.
- Get a client on your radar. When I first came across the company that pays me $500 per post, I didn’t think it was a match. The company was local, and I figured they’d try and rope me into a work in-house arrangement. But months later, a connection I had who worked with this company told me the employee who wrote blog content was leaving.
Write a pitch, see what happens
Once I found out about this gap in the company, I knew it was the perfect time to pitch. So I asked my connection who I should reach out to. Then, I sent a super-simple email (or letter of introduction) to the director of human resources:
Hi (name),
I hope you’re having a great week! Briefly, I’m reaching out because (my contact’s name) mentioned that (company name) is looking for help with blog posts. I’m a freelance technology copywriter with experience creating content for companies like (company name).
You can find me on Linkedin: (link)
And check out my portfolio here: (link)
I’d love to discuss what your current needs are and how I can help. Would you like to book a quick call to chat about this?
Best,
Alyssa
Beat rejection with a phone call
From there, the director of human resources and I got on a quick call. This part was a little bit tricky to navigate. Understandably, I could already hear some “employee” language coming from this potential client.
Wait for it…catastrophic thinking and a big rejection. But that didn’t happen.
However, they were straightforward with me. They said that they understood my work style, but they hadn’t worked with freelancers before. Then came the question that I was dreading:
- Would you be willing to come in for an in-person meeting with our CEO?
I was hesitant, but I agreed to attend an in-person meeting as a courtesy, as long as everyone was aware that I was a freelancer and I work remotely.
Be prepared to close the deal
Now, it was time to prepare for the most important part of this process, the in-person meeting. I did in-depth research on the company’s blog strategy before this meeting. To do this, I took several factors into consideration including things like:
- Blog post schedule
- Post quality
- Length of blog posts
- SEO optimization
The in-person meeting: Less than a week after the initial pitch, I was in their office for an in-person meeting. Honestly, I was nervous. But quickly found that the meeting was very similar to the discovery calls I typically have with clients. The company just wanted to share what they were looking for and hear how I could help, which included:
- Speak content marketing. Fortunately, I was prepared. I walked them through what was good and bad about their current strategy, and how I could improve it.
- Demonstrate value. Before the meeting even came to a close, they were writing down their own notes on my recommendations. On the way out, we agreed that I would send them a proposal.
- Send a proposal. Later that day, that’s exactly what I did, even though rejection was still on my mind.
The results: Get paid to blog for money
Once I sent the proposal with all the details, the company signed a contract the same day. They mailed a check to get started. And all those worries about getting rejected kind of floated away. The whole process was not as daunting as it once seemed.
4 smart steps to land great clients
If you want to land great freelance clients, expect rejection to be a regular part of the gig. It happens. But it doesn’t have to prevent you from being able to make a living writing. Here are four smart ways to turn prospects into clients:
- Keep track of leads. Sometimes, a company or publication will pop up on your radar that you’d love to work with, but the timing isn’t right. Keep track of those leads! I got this gig because I was able to “strike when the iron was hot.” I popped into their inbox immediately, once I knew they had a need for my services.
- Do your research. This is key for any pitch you send. That said, it’s even more critical when you know that your potential client has objections about working with freelancers or why they reject some pitches but accept others. You have to show these potential clients that you understand their business as much, if not more, than anyone they could hire to work in-house.
- Stick to your policies. One of the biggest perks of being a freelance writer is that you get to complete work on your terms. However, you have to be confident in your terms and policies to make that a reality. If you waver on this, you’re going to lose credibility with potential clients, and enter working agreements you don’t like. Be the confident, awesome, business owner you are, and stand your ground when clients try to negotiate on terms where you’re not willing to budge.
- Know the value of what you do. If you want a client on your roster who hasn’t worked with freelancers or has a reputation for rejections, be prepared to explain why you operate the way you do and how it’s beneficial to everyone. I was asked about working in-house and about how I price my services several times. To get this blogging gig, I did have to do a little bit of educating on why freelancers are great assets.
Bottom line: Keep pitching until you’re fully booked
Sometimes you’ll pitch a prospect that never responds. Some of your pitches will get rejected. And sometimes a prospect you’d like to blog for seems like an impossible dream. But it’s not. If you can present yourself as the freelance writer in your niche and navigate their questions, you can blog for money and make a living writing.
Need help with your pitch writing skills? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
Alyssa Goulet is a full-time freelance technology copywriter. You can connect with her on Twitter @alyssagwrites.
