How to Write Winning Freelance Pitches
It’s one thing to have what it takes to freelance full-time.
It’s quite another to actually succeed in self-employment.
In the increasingly competitive gig economy, you can’t expect it will be easy to land clients. You might be the most talented person in the world, but there will almost always be at least several other talented folks competing for the same positions as you.
Getting gigs starts with writing winning pitches. Here’s how to do that.
1. Apply to gigs that make sense for you
If you’re a freelance graphic designer that works with B2B companies, think twice about applying to the design gig that opened up at Urban Outfitters.
Sure, chances are you could do the job — and do it well.
But put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. Why roll the dice on someone who doesn’t have comparable experience when you’re getting flooded with applications from skilled designers who’ve been in the B2C space for 10 years? It’s likely a few applicants will have experience in the clothing space, too.
Do your best to narrow your focus to companies that need your exact skills. The closer your experience aligns with the client’s needs, the better your chances are of getting the gig.
2. Customize your pitches to each client
No two companies are the same. A pitch that works perfectly for one client might not work at all for another.
While you may be tempted to create a boilerplate pitch email and send that out to every would-be client, you’ll get better results when you customize your pitches to each gig you apply for.
This is not to say you can’t reuse some content. Just don’t cut and paste messages and expect to get amazing results.
To save some time while shooting out unique pitches, use a platform built specifically to streamline the freelance proposal process.
3. Write an introduction that makes you stand out
In the world of journalism, the lede is “the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story.”
Winning freelance pitches are written the same way.
You need to hook the hiring manager with your opening lines. Otherwise, chances are your application will go straight to the virtual trashcan.
Imagine a cryptocurrency exchange startup needs a freelance writer to create blogs that cover industry trends and initial coin offerings (ICOs). You haven’t really written much, if anything, about crypto before. But you have kept tabs on the industry and made some small-scale investments in Ethereum. You know you’d knock it out of the park if you got the opportunity.
Here are examples of how a losing and winning pitch might start.
Wrong: I don’t have any experience writing about crypto but I’d love to learn!
Right: I’ve been on the crypto train for a few months now — what a wild ride it’s been!
4. Be a human and showcase your personality
You are not a robot. So make sure that the person who reads your pitch doesn’t suspect there’s a chance you might be.
It can be tricky to inject your humanity into an email. But try to showcase your personality in each pitch, however you can.
Remember, if your efforts are successful, you’ll likely be working with the hiring manager for the foreseeable future. Whether that’s a few weeks, a few months or even longer depends on the nature of the client’s needs.
We all like to work with people we like. The more of your personality you can convey in your pitches, the higher your chances are of landing the gig.
5. Describe your relevant experience
Let’s say you’re a front-end developer who’s looking to work with B2B clients. Don’t include your GPA and the fact that you worked as a bartender during college in your pitches.
You can increase your chances of landing gigs by relaying your compatible experience to the hiring manager — as briefly as possible.
Everyone is busy. So try not to include things that are irrelevant to the position you’re applying for.
6. Link to pertinent samples of your work
Winning freelance pitches will almost always include three to five pertinent examples of your best work.
If you send over examples as attachments, there’s a chance that the decision-maker will think twice about downloading them for whatever reason.
So make sure to send the examples as links. If your work doesn’t live anywhere on the internet, create a portfolio to host the content yourself. Sites like Weebly and Wix are free to use (premium features are available for small monthly fees).
7. Keep your pitches short
Nobody is going to read your 10,000-word tome on why you should be hired to create content for a data center optimization company.
While you can’t expect to convert clients with one-line pitches, you shouldn’t inundate them with 30 paragraphs, either.
Err on the side of brevity. But make sure you leave enough meat on the bones to pique the decision-maker’s interest.
8. Proofread your pitch — and proofread it again
Woohoo! You’ve written an awesome pitch.
But you’re work isn’t done just yet.
Before you send it on over to the client, you need to make sure it’s flawless. A typo or unfinished sentence may not make the best impression.
Spend a few minutes proofreading your pitches to make sure they’re up to your standards. When you’re satisfied with what you’ve created, submit the application and cross your fingers.
9. Repeat the process
It’s probably safe to say you won’t land a majority of the clients you pitch to.
Get used to it.
Include regular prospecting in your freelance system and repeat the above process as you apply to more and more gigs.
Here’s to writing pitches that land you gigs! Good luck.
If you’re struggling to write and design freelance pitches that actually land you gigs, Lancelot can help. Sign up here to learn how you can use the modern freelancing platform to create proposals that convert.
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