How to Pitch Your Writing: A Real Example that Worked

We recently issued a call for pitches here at Writer’s Residence and received a lot of submissions! I wanted to share one that worked, and why some others didn’t. I’m also sharing a few great tips from another hiring professional about what they look for in a pitch. Hopefully, this will help you refine your own pitches.

How Writing Pitches Can Fail

My recent call for pitches was for SEO-driven content for our blog, aimed at our target audience (professional writers looking to grow their careers). We are a SaaS that helps writers create a writing portfolio, so the topics should be relevant to this and offer opportunities to use our service.

I gave very clear submission guidelines, asking for:

• The title of your blog post and a short paragraph describing your idea
• Your rate
• Keyword targeting
• A few samples of your work

Where most submissions fell short was in the topic and keyword targeting. Many submissions were on very general subjects (e.g., “freelance writing”), with keywords that we were already targeting and were so broad that they’d be difficult to rank for. I also received submissions on topics irrelevant to my business (e.g., “how to overcome writer’s block,” which probably won’t attract people wanting to use my SaaS).

The lesson here is: do your research. If someone is looking for copy to support their business, learn about the business and see what they’ve already done.

Another issue I found with most submissions was that they were very dull and lacked personality. If you read any of our blog posts, you’d see they’re written in the first person in a casual and friendly tone. Yes, we want to write for search engines, but we also write for our readers. And given our readers are writers, we like to think they appreciate compelling prose, not just keyword-driven drivel!

By the way, even though I asked for writing samples, I didn’t require the writer to have been formally published. In fact, I would have loved to receive submissions from new writers so I could give them the opportunity to get published (and also get fairly paid!). So if you’re a new writer reading this, make sure to check out my post on how to create a writing portfolio with no experience or prior publications.

Other Reasons That Writing Pitches Can Fail, According to Steven Macdonald:

- Templated pitches
- No samples (create a writing portfolio, folks!)
- Lack of relevant samples (send links to the most relevant writing samples in your pitches!)

Steven adds what works for him:

The next time you pitch content to new clients:
- Read the ad. Follow instructions.
- Keep your emails short and concise.
- Include relevant experience and writing samples.

Do this, and you’re 95% more likely to get the gig.

Example of a Writing Pitch That Worked

Here’s the winning pitch from copywriter Jacquelyn Van Sant. Why did it work for me?

• It followed my pitch guidelines to the letter.
• The topic was relevant, and she explained how it would tie into my SaaS.
• The keywords were relevant and well-targeted, focusing on a niche and a topic we’d never covered before.
• She included relevant writing samples and, as a bonus, I liked that she included their style and tone, which also fit well with the style and tone of this blog.
• She included a link to her writing samples

And here’s Jacqueline’s final piece!

Client Testimonials: The Power of Social Proof In Your Writing Portfolio

For more tips on writing successful pitches, see also: 

• How to pitch for work successfully as a freelance writer
• Word of mouth: what hiring people want from writers who pitch for jobs
• My first successful pitch letter

Just getting started? Check out how to create a writing portfolio with no experience or prior publications.