You hear it all the time:
“Freelancing is a numbers game. You have to send out a ton of queries to get a few people to say yes.”
Ouch! Stop it. Don’t you know that every time you buy into this numbers crapshoot, a freelance fairy dies?
If you send out a ton of GOOD queries, you’ll boost your chances of getting hired.
No matter how many terrible queries you send, all you’re likely to get is an empty inbox. Or maybe you’ll get lucky and find one or two leads willing to give you a shot at $5 per post.
Dashing off sloppy pitches to every blog in the universe is not the most profitable use of your time.
So, where do your pitches or queries stand on the spectrum from good to terrible? And how can you spend your time the best way to get the biggest rewards?
Instead of writing a long blog post about this, I snagged Gary Korisko — a copywriter, blogger at Reboot Authentic, and expert in monetizing blogs without sacrificing authenticity — to join me for a live discussion on the topic. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed it; I recorded the whole thing.
I planned to add this to the ever-growing library of bonus videos and other resources in The Freelance Blogger’s Client Hunting Masterclass. But it’s so damn useful I’ve decided to make this mini-class available to everyone for free. 🙂
Watch this video to find out exactly why freelance blogging is NOT a numbers game, and what to do about it.
Highlights
- 00:53 — the concept of the Numbers Game
- 07:00 — how to get noticed in an inbox full of competing offers
- 11:35 — why you DON’T want your marketing to be too easy
- 13:20 — why people are “too smart” to hire you at first glance
- 20:25 — how to show potential clients you understand what they need
- 27:00 — Gary Korisko’s top 3 elements of a winning query email
If you liked this video
Want to learn how to find, approach and win the big-budget clients who’ll pay for you to live in freelance freedom?
The Freelance Blogger’s Client Hunting Masterclass is designed to get you better gigs and more cash with less effort. If that sounds like what you need, check it out here.
Links to stuff we mentioned
- Gary Korisko’s blog, Reboot Authentic
- His epic post The Law of Large Numbers — And Why You May Not Hear From Me Again
- Helpful posts on Be a Freelance Blogger about how to contact potential clients:
- Freelance Proposals: How One Newbie Won 5 Gigs in 3 Days
- How to Sell Your Blog Posts Without Selling Your Soul
- Why Publicly Available Gigs Suck for Freelance Blogging… And an Alternative That Doesn’t
- 5 Easy Ways to Get More Blogging Pitches Accepted
- Here’s What Real Blog Editors Look for in Your Pitches
- Freelance Writers, Beware: The 4 Query Mistakes That Kill Your Client’s Interest
- 7 Winning Ways to End Your Pitch, Query or LOI
Great interview! Learned a ton, as usual. 🙂 I love the fact that you have awesome guest experts for the Client Hunting Masterclass.
Thanks, Joy! I know, I love our guest experts too. 😀
Thanks a ton, Sophie!
I liked Gary’s advice about the value of empathy. So true.
If you help others up the mountain, you get closer to the top yourself.
Exactly, Rohi – and you barely even notice you’re climbing!
I rarely watch video/listen to podcasts, but this topic interests me greatly. Will comment again with feedback because…well, you know, I do that. 🙂
Cool – thanks, Willi. 🙂
Just wanted to comment on this, because even though I watched it the day you published it, I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d always heard you just had to keep sending out your pitches, get your name out there, and eventually someone would hire you. But I really think this approach makes more sense.
I think inherently, I knew that, which is why I kept bugging a local brewing company about writing for their blog. I love their beer and my husband and I eat at their restaurant all the time, so I mentioned this in all my contact with them. And guess what? I finally got a response and the marketing manager wants me to call him tomorrow.
Whether or not I get the job, it still proves you need to have a very good connection with a business for them to even express interest in you, which DOESN’T come from hundreds of random pitches.
Amen, Bree. I often suggest people try both approaches at the same time — sending 5 highly personalised pitches and 20 quickly tweaked template emails per week, for example — and find out which brings them more interest and more money. It’s usually a pretty clear win for the tailored approach. 🙂
This is just the wake up call I needed as I have tried the scatter approach to no effect. The use of social is a great tip – to get to know the person to address and in what tone. Thank you
“Don’t be spammy.”
Yes. All day, yes. I hate getting spam so I don’t ever want to be accused of sending it! I love that Gary drives the point home to just be yourself and not some canned version of who you think they want to hire.
This inspired me to update my LOI, it was reading too stiff and not me enough. I’ll be referring back to this often, so much great advice here thanks!
You’re welcome, Jenn!
This is something I’ve been struggling with for a while, so thanks so much for sharing it with us all Sophie!
I’m taking Gary’s ideas and running with them right now!
I’m quickly seeing why I signed up to your newsletter – the value on this blog is already evident, I can’t wait to get started on really connecting with those businesses I believe I can help.
Thanks
Lise
We aim to please, Lise. 😉 If you have any questions, get in touch with either of us any time.
Crazy! I just posted a blog about being real, and I catch this vid. It’s so true. The way to get top clients is to do research and make it personal. I think I’ve made a few successful, but many unsuccessful attempts at this, but this gives me the encouragement to keep using that method of quality over quantity.
I’ve read this same advice about normal job searching as well.
Glad you liked it, Willi! 🙂
Oh, and feel free to share the link to your “being real” post!
Great video. When first breaking into freelancing I made the mistake of sending hundreds of duplicate introductory emails. They got me a couple of clients.
However, it wasn’t until I put effort and empathy into researching and crafting unique emails that I really started to find some great writing jobs.
What Gary says is spot on, based on my own experience.
Glad you enjoyed it, Edward! Personalized LOIs and pitches are definitely the best! 🙂
Great stuff, Sophie!
Thanks for this – even though you mentioned my country as the perfect example for badly-written, misspelt spam emails. No offense taken – because it’s absolutely true 😀
The more reason I should take to this and distinguish myself from the stereotype 😉
Thanks again – to you and Gary 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it, Oludami! And you’re already taking steps to distinguish yourself — your pitch during last month’s Pitchfest was great! 😀
Thanks Lauren 😀
Sophie,
As you know I am just starting out in the free lance blogging field, so this was a little advanced for me as I havr not yet gotten website ready. But, having started my own granting proposal firm so years back, I found out the hard way that everything your guest said is true, the shotgun approach simply did not work. It was only a lot of blood sweat and tears that I discovered that a little on who ever I was approaching and a little about the non profit they headed pay off 10 fold. I am glad you made video so that I am reminded what works and what does not work. This vidro probably just saved me hours of work with little to show for my time. A big thank you.
So “Hiring me will increase your penis size by five inches” would be a bad hook fora query, then?
Back to the drawing board.
I am SO GLAD that Commenting Folk are not afraid of cracking a JOKE — we all need to LIGHTEN UP and bring SMILES, and Actual LAUGHTER warming the entire “room”. ERIC, I believe I need to tell you the Joke about “SWAN”.
Hi Sophie & Gary ?
Many thanks for this video! I feel there is so much unhelpful “useful advice” regarding freelance writing and blogging, that I feel I am drowning in it! This then leads to demoralisation and procrastination and also a little bit of depression. I’ve wasted countless hours on videos that tell you nothing new and then try and hit you up to buy something!! Spam videos in fact.
So THANK YOU for a truly useful, short and sweet, genuinely helpful and inspiring video: real information for real writers!
What if we’re looking through freelance job listings? Does the same information apply, or do I need a new approach when sending my application?
What if we’re looking through freelance job listings? Does the same information apply, or do I need a new approach when sending my application?
What if we’re looking through freelance job listings? Does the same information apply, or do I need a new approach when sending my application?
Pleas see this – Nikolateslatesla9611.blogspot.com