Ah, the blog post pitch!
The marketing cornerstone for any blogger who wants to have their voice heard in the blogosphere.
You know you’ve got to put yourself out there but just the thought of it makes your palms sweat. You fear creating something that’s junk in the eyes of a popular blogger: what if you’re not good enough?
You’re afraid you’ll be ignored or even laughed at. Controlling your nerves while writing the pitch is killing you, right? Your confidence is crashing even as you press the Send button…
Take a deep breath. Focus.
Being able to put words together in a coherent and catchy way is important. But to become visible and attractive to a large audience, there are so many character traits a blogger must possess to land that coveted gig or guest post.
Much like an actor auditioning for his big breakthrough. Besides talent and charisma to nail it, an actor needs preparation, confidence, resilience and focus.
Preparation is Key
Ideally, an actor will read the script to understand how his character fits into the story rather than figure that out by himself.
Sometimes he won’t have enough time before the audition, and memorizing a dozen pages of lines the night before isn’t uncommon. Some actors, like Lost Girl’s Zoie Palmer, would rather go in with the lines memorized instead of taking the script pages with her in the auditioning room. She’d be tempted to use them and that would make her uncomfortable.
From a blogger’s perspective, the preparation process of pitching is kinda similar.
- Research the blogs in the niche where your audience sits.
- See how your idea could fit in that landscape.
- Follow the contributor guidelines.
- Next, write a concise and clear pitch that has a rock solid headline.
You don’t need to fill it with fluff. Just make sure every word counts and is part of meaningful context. In a nutshell, do your homework.
Confidence is Sexy
Everyone gets nervous in circumstances they’re not familiar with. Actors audition for years and they still deal with nerves and all. But they are taught to handle them and turn them into fuel.
The late Milton Katselas, who coached actors like Barbara Niven, Gene Hackman, Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, used to say: “You need to get yourself to where you can’t wait to say your first word.”
So make that popular blogger you’re pitching sit up and pay attention to your idea. Your pitch should spark emotions, touch a sensitive chord, move to vulnerability. Just like a great actor would bring a casting director to the edge of his chair with his audition performance.
You may feel nervous and exposed when you pitch a popular blog for the first time. But what’s the worst thing that can happen?
Okay, your pitch may get rejected. Your pitch and not you, lovely and smart blogger! Rejection has benefits too. You’ll just work on your idea, refine it and pitch it again. And it will be tenfold awesome! Which leads me to the next point…
Resilience Will Take You Far
Actors deal with rejection all the time. It’s part of their job. It’s a tough business and until they get their big breakthrough it can be hard. Part of the auditioning process is going through many rooms in front of many people who will judge their performance.
Every circumstance will be different. Yes, they are in the auditioning room to get that part, but their ultimate goal is to make a good impression on the casting director. That will help them be considered for other roles, too.
As a blogger, you always have to be ready to adapt to changes in the online world. No need to feel dread while you wait for an answer to your pitch. Make sure you give it your best and just move on to the next one. Don’t lose your energy — keep the momentum.
Even if you didn’t get a positive answer because the idea had already been covered or wasn’t what your target blog needed at the time, make a fan of the blogger you’ve pitched. Read their work, promote it and mingle with their audience. Stay in touch. They may consider you later down the line, and invite you to guest blog some other time.
Focus on the Outcome
Actors can get distracted in the waiting room. Even if they show up on time, they should expect to wait. And wait. And wait.
They use all sorts of tricks to stay in the zone and not get psyched out by the other actors in the room like putting on headphones, with or without music. This keeps them in their quiet zone, even if some other actors are blabbing in the background.
You can get distracted, first and foremost, by the power the world wide web has over you.
Shut down every site that has nothing to do with your pitch. Don’t let the internet suck out all of your energy when you should be paying attention to what you do in the present moment. Turn off your phone, radio, TV. Writing your pitch deserves undivided attention.
Keep in mind that a blog editor is very much like a casting director. To paraphrase famed casting director Marci Liroff, her mission is like hosting a dinner party and wanting to have the right people at the table.
The casting director wants the right people sitting next to each other, while the host blog owner wants pretty much the same thing. A freelance blogger should maintain the publication’s voice and style and make their audience roar.
So get fired up and don’t lose your steam. Your collection of experiences makes you unique, so share your perspectives and blow people’s minds.
Be fearless and you’ll see: this will be your best performance yet.
Image: Direitos Urbanos
Hello Anca, : )
Thank you for a very inspiring post. I especially relate to your words, “You can get distracted, first and foremost, by the power the world wide web has over you.”
WOW that is exactly where I stumble. I really have to stay focused when it comes to being online. I’ve found that I constantly ask myself, “Is this productive?” I find myself asking this question over and over throughout the day in an effort to stay focused.
As for rejection, you make a wonderful point…they’re rejecting my query…NOT ME.
Great stuff, inspiring read. : )
Oh, I hear ya, Lynn. My personal experience taught me that willpower alone doesn’t help me go through those days when I am most unproductive “thanks” to wasting my time refreshing my Gmail or checking my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Recently, I stumbled upon a Tim Ferris interview in which he said -I’m paraphrasing – that creating systems that make it impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control. Setting a timer for 50 minutes is one of them. Focus on completing the most important tasks by noon is another one. Also checking email *only* at noon and end of day. So, I seem to function using such systems. Bottom line is, it’s not only about productivity, but about awareness and focus as well. You have to find the way that works best for you so you can get more time to do the things you want to do. Thank you for reading and write on! 🙂
This gives confidence boost to someone like me who’s just starting out, and facing a lot of rejections. 🙂
Confidence is Sexy. I think that’s going to be my mantra.
Yep, it is so damn sexy, Joy. 🙂
Dream big, yet take small steps while you carve your path so that it’s less overwhelming. Best of luck!
Hi Anca,
I love and agree with the acting analogy. One of my articles on dealing with rejection points out that actors have it worse than we do:) But I have a piece on dealing with dating rejection and there I recommend readers to think about how often writers and actors deal with it on a regular basis:D Whether you are an actor or a writer/blogger, resilience is indeed a must have characteristic:)
I’m 100% with you on how worse rejection is for actors, Pinar. I had the chance to talk to a few of them during the past couple of years and get their perspective on how they deal with it. I also had to learn not to take rejection personally, whether it’s about my personal life or the professional arena. It’s a muscle I keep training as we speak, and it’s getting better. Love your entertainment blog. 🙂
Thanks, Anca:)
I think the fear of rejection is the one thing that holds me back most of the time. Rather than hearing “no” I’d rather hear nothing at all so instead of diving into that pitch or preparing for that audition, I’ll procrastinate by watching TV, checking Facebook and saying “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Then tomorrow comes and the cycle repeats itself. I deny that it’s the fear of rejection stopping me but deep down I know that’s it. What else would it be? Confidence is my biggest struggle and yet I’ve found that those few times I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and really gone after something with confidence (even when I’m faking it) I don’t often get rejected. Funny how that works. 🙂 Great analogy. As a music performer and a writer I found it very relevant to my current life situations.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Selwa. Well, you said it yourself. You get the best results when you step out of your comfort zone even if you have to fake confidence. Just do it more often! That “fake it till you make it” saying will take you a long way. And in the process, you’ll build the self-confidence you need to move mountains. Keep rolling!
Hi Anca,
I really enjoyed the comparisons between the two throughout this post, very well written!
The “Resilience will take you far” hit home to me the most. It’s so true and if we could all just learn to embrace fear and failure more and use it to fuel progress rather than slow it down who knows what we could actually accomplish!
After having a slow week and not being as productive as I needed to be it comes at the right time!
Have a great week and thanks for the good post!
Jackson
Thanks, Jackson. I’m happy you find my post helpful. 🙂
I checked out your blog and love your “Gratitude is the Attitude” series. I’m practicing gratitude myself every single day and I strongly believe in how powerful and rewarding this is. Being grateful for the things you have attracts more of those things.
I see you’re working towards a very specific goal – to get yourself out of the rat race. While you’re chasing your dream, keep updating your Gratitude series. You’re doing a great job, and, who knows, you might want to write an ebook about it one day. Hope your girlfriend is feeling better. 🙂
All the best,
Anca
Fantastic article, Anca! I completely agree. Thank you – I am so glad I read it!
Thank you, Nina! Glad you liked it. 🙂