Fully Booked VA Blog

The Ultimate Cold Pitching Template (Including Examples)

In another post I shared with you four reasons why we should all start cold pitching. In this post, I want to show you how!

As I mentioned, I get more and more cold pitches all of the time. And they’re terrible!

I don’t want you to make the same mistakes they are, so I’m going to show you a real one I received and how I tweaked it (I actually sent her it as a reply).

Lastly, one of my coaching clients, Abby and I came up with a great pitching template I’ll also share with you (and you have our permission to use). Ready?

A Bad Example (I Actually Got Emailed This)

“Hi
 
I’m Jane Doe , content writer for a website link. This email is to let you know that your site was referenced by some authoritative sites.
 
I noticed that you’re accepting guest authors on https://fullybookedva.com/tag/guest-posting/, I would like to contribute and share my expertise and insights about SEO articles to your readers.
 
Here are the topics I would like to write:
 
Topic One Title about SEO
Topic Two Title about SEO
Topic Three Title about SEO
Company website url again.
 
All contents will be originally written by me. Please let me know if this works for you or if you have any suggested topics you want me to cover?
 
Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
 
Kind regards, (no signature)”
 

How I Improved It

“Hey Gina,
 
My name is Jane Doe and I just wanted to reach out to say what a cool website/blog you have. It’s evident that you’ve been doing a lot of work to add actionable/valuable content for freelancers. This article on how you struggle too really resonated with me! I tend to get overwhelmed a lot too!
 
I noticed that you’ve accepted guest posts in the past. I’d love the opportunity to contribute if you are and it makes sense.
 
I’m a content writer for Company Website and think your readers could benefit from some of my expertise and insights. Here are 3 article ideas that came to mind:
 
  1. Topic One Title. Then give a 2-3 sentence description of what the proposed article would be about/teach the reader.
  2. Topic Two Title? Then give a 2-3 sentence description of what the proposed article would be about/teach the reader.
  3. Topic Three Title. Then give a 2-3 sentence description of what the proposed article would be about/teach the reader.
Of course, all content will be originally written by me. Will one of the above fit Horkey HandBook? Or do you have any other suggested topics you’d want me to cover?
 
Hit reply if you want to continue the conversation, 
 
Jane”
 

Notice the Difference?

The first one wasn’t personalized. It didn’t indicate that she’d been to my website before. It also seemed that she was just looking for an opportunity to post for her company’s benefit, not her own. None of those jive well.

Instead, she should have looked at my site. She should have poked around enough to see something that she could compliment me on (compliments go a LONG WAY). This wouldn’t have taken more than five minutes either!

Again, I sent this to the gal that cold pitched me. I just felt prompted to help. Luckily for me, my good deed turned into blog fodder (I’ve taken out her personal details and blog post ideas).

A Real Life Example

As I mentioned, I love pitching. It’s weird, but since I like writing, it’s not that weird. I offer pitch reviews as part of The #FullyBookedVA System because I think it’s such an important part of succeeding and/or getting noticed by clients.

It’s also something I used to work on with my coaching clients. Here’s one Abby and I recently worked up that she’s sending out to prospects.

“Hi $Name,

I came across your website today and noticed you don’t have a blog. Did you know that blogging can introduce you to new prospects and increase the loyalty of your current clients?

Why should you care?

  1. Blogging can help grow your business exponentially
  2. Small businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads than those that don’t have a blog
  3. Companies that blog have 55% more website visitors

Who am I?

I’m Abby, a dental hygienist in the Minneapolis area – located not far from your office. I’m also a professional blogger and would love to help you get started blogging for your business. 

I have two great ideas that we could started with ASAP. Hit reply if you want to continue the conversation,

~Abby Ambrose

P.S. Want a sample of my writing style and skills? Click Here!

A Few Takeaways

  • We niched in on people without blogs (but you could also focus on those that have inactive blogs).
  • We provided data to backup our claim.
  • It’s formatted well and is as short as can be, while also hopefully peaking interest.
  • Abby introduces herself and adds that she’s local to make an immediate connection and humanize herself.
  • She states that she has some ideas, but doesn’t give them away. This way they can’t steal them and write the posts themselves. You can also pitch multiple people this same way and not worry about two people choosing the same topics to get started with.
  • She ends with a soft call-to-action (“hit reply to continue the conversation”).
  • She adds a link to her samples via a PS.

In Conclusion

Cold pitching is a great way to connect with prospects. It’s as easy as locating companies in your niche and sending them a personalized, yet templated email.

If doing a Google search seems overwhelming, just start local. Plug in “[Niche] Companies in [Your City]” and see what pops up.

Make sure to do a little research on each prospect first. Open your exchange with a compliment or two, that indicates you’ve taken the time to learn about them. Explain why you’re a fit and what you can do for them. Then end was a soft CTA to “continue to conversation.”

No hard sell. No picking apart what they’re not doing right. Instead, just offering to help. Who doesn’t want more business? That’s what blogging can create (if done right).

What do you think? What are your takeaways?

Want to learn how to get paid to write for the web? Learn how to get started as a freelance writer with The #FullyBookedVA System! 

Photo Credit: nelly volkovich via Unsplash

Gina Horkey

Gina Horkey

FOUNDER & CO-OWNER

Gina Horkey is a married, millennial mama from Minnesota. Additionally, she’s the founder of Horkey HandBook and loves helping others find or become a kickass virtual assistant. Gina’s background includes making a living as a professional writer, an online business marketing consultant and a decade of experience in the financial services industry.

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