Hey there, Solopreneurs~

How’s it going, everyone? Welcome back to K.I.S.S., the newsletter built by business owners for business owners.

(And, of course - Aspiring business owners are especially welcome!)

The purpose of this newsletter is to break down high-level business concepts into easily understandable chunks of knowledge. No need to dive into Reddit or YouTube holes anymore!

Before we get started, I just wanted to say thank you so much for getting this newsletter to 50 subscribers! I’m so glad that you’ve found use out of this community and, hopefully, out of this information!

Today’s Concept: Pitching to Clients

Now, today’s topic is definitely centered on people in the content space. But, there are practicalities here: Everyone needs to sell something in some fashion. You can use these pitching techniques no matter what you’re peddling.

But, if you are in the content space, you know exactly how simultaneously essential and annoying pitching can be. Today, we’ll touch on everything you need to know for sending out that next shot in the dark.

Here’s a quick peek at today’s docket:

• Weekly Resource Recommendation

• Cold Pitching Vs. Warm Pitching (What’s The Difference?)

• The Most Common Pitch Problems

• Pitches I’ve Actually Sent (For Better or Worse)

Weekly Resource Recommendation

This week’s recommendation is “The Six-Figure Freelancer: Your Roadmap to Success in the Gig Economy,” a novel that I’ve been listening to for free on Spotify!

This is a great read (or listen) for anyone who has an established freelance business but wants to kick things up to the next level. Some great things about the book:

• It’s written by a freelance writer, but she pulls nearly thirty other freelance experts to add commentary and insight to the chapters.

• It’s not designed for beginners but for those who want to scale (no boring, basic tips.)

• There are specific chapters dedicated to certain topics, so you can skip around as you please without missing out on much.

Cold Pitching Vs. Warm Pitching (What’s The Difference?)

Now, I’m sure you’ve heard the terms “warm” and “cold” pitching before. But, if you’re anything like me, it took you a while to understand what they actually mean. Let’s break down the differences and how you should customize your approach to suit them both.

Cold Pitching

Cold pitching is like the internet version of door-to-door sales. These people have nothing to do with you or your business, and you’re just waltzing in to introduce yourself.

Believe it or not, you can get some awesome opportunities from cold pitching when done correctly. Here are some tips for getting it right:

• Reach out to the right people. Don’t message a random employee in a company; find the most relevant person and contact them.

• If you’re pitching an article, make sure you look through the website first to understand its SOP.

• Remember that they don’t know you and have no reason to trust you. Give the softest sell possible to avoid scaring anyone off, but show enough personality to make an impression.

Warm Pitching

I’m sure you can assume, based on the previous description, what warm pitching is. This is reaching out to an already-interested party and going in for the metaphorical kill.

Maybe they've interacted with your content online, subscribed to your newsletter, or been referred by a mutual connection. Because there’s already a relationship or awareness in place, the barrier to entry is lower. Here are some tips for sealing that deal:

• Before trying to sell anything, ask them some genuine questions. Strike up banter with them, and bonus points if the questions relate to the service you want to pitch.

• If relevant, bring up connections you have with the person. A mutual in your network, a prior client, or a real-life friend.

• Remember that there should already be a slight foundation of trust between you, which means that you don’t need to go overboard in showing your skills.

The Most Common Pitch Problems

There are a lot of reasons why someone’s pitch might get rejected, never get seen, or even feel offensive to the reader. Below, let’s highlight some of the worst pitfalls.

You Sound Like An Asshole

This is a big one! While it’s important to seem authoritative when pitching a service, you do not want to spend your pitch picking apart someone’s already existing brand elements, website, profile, etc.

Don’t do this: “It seems like you’re missing out on tons of traffic to your website. Did you know that you’re potentially losing hundreds of dollars by neglecting your SEO? Luckily, I’m here to help rescue your failing site.”

Do this: “Hey! I loved looking through your website, especially the [thing you liked]. I did notice that you might have some space to improve SEO, though, which could be helpful in getting this site out to the right people! Let me know if you want to chat more about it!”

You’re Way Too Wordy

A MASSIVE way to get someone to ignore your pitch is by making it a mile long. You need to emphasize conciseness above all else. Honestly, the shorter the better. It’s annoying when someone is beating around the bush, but it’s even worse if they’re going to ask you for a favor at the end. (Keep it simple, stupid!)

You’re Totally Unpersonable

Newsflash: People are selfish. They like compliments (sincere compliments) and will be far more interested in giving you the time of day if you put some damn effort into the process.

Generally, I’d advise to steer clear of templates. They’re great to reference and can help you find a repeatable structure, but they’ll never be able to replace the personability of a custom message.

Pitches I’ve Actually Sent (For Better or Worse)

Now, I’ll actually walk the walk. Below, I have two cold email pitches that I sent to editors of online publications. One led to almost $2,500 worth of work; the other resulted in nothing but a general feeling of stupidity. Let’s get into them:

A Good Example (I Got The Job)

Not only did this pitch land me the article, but it eventually led to recurring contributions to the website. To put things into perspective, this one pitch landed me around $2,500 worth of work so far.

Here’s what was so good about it:

• Short and sweet

• Title, three-sentence description, and short example list for the article idea

• Link to my portfolio

• General kind attitude (it doesn’t hurt to wish an editor a good week!)

A Bad Example (I Didn’t Get The Job)

At first glance, there’s nothing wrong with this pitch, right? I kept it short, I was polite, and I gave context to my idea.

Here’s the problem: I was totally wrong about the criteria for the piece.

The editor was super cool about it, though:

She then proceeded to list everything my pitch should have been about. Whoops.

What are you gonna do, you know? LMAO!

That’s All, Folks 👋

That’s all for this week’s edition - I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Even if you won’t need to pitch anytime soon, it’s still worth it to understand the practice since the main principles apply to general sales and networking!

If you have any further questions about today’s topic, or any general insights/inquiries, don’t be afraid to shoot me a message on LinkedIn or simply reply to this email!

Until next time - Remember to keep things simple!