For a freelance blogger, especially when you’re just starting out, creating a winning pitch or application may seem like nothing short of a shot in the dark.

What if nobody replies? What if you don’t know what you’re doing wrong?

At this point far too many would-be-freelancers give up, frustrated by rejections and lack of response to what they thought were winning pitches.

Thankfully, developing the pitching skills to achieve a high rate of acceptance doesn’t have to be difficult. By following a few simple tips, you can easily boost your chances of winning in the freelance blogging pitch game.

Here are 5 easy ways to increase your freelance pitch acceptance rate.

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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.

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The rise of blogs that accept freelance posts has led to the creation of a particular type of creature: the blog editor.

Much like a magazine or newspaper editor, a blog editor is responsible for choosing the content of the publication she manages, maintaining a style and generally ensuring that what gets published is worth reading. Blog editors are the gatekeepers you need to work with to get your posts published.

Blog editors are the people we freelance bloggers have to impress and win over. They’re the ones who decide what posts should be published and which bloggers get staff positions. That means you need to know what blog editors are looking for in each pitch they open, as well as how to impress them.

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When you’re sending pitches to blogs big and small every day, it can feel like screaming into the wind. Most editors won’t even grace you with a response, and many of the ones who do offer little more than a form rejection.

Freelancing is a tough game to play.

Maybe you’re a great writer, and your pitch just needs sprucing up to catch an editor’s eye and garner that response you’re looking for: a big, fat, enthusiastic Yes!

Would-be bloggers and content creators send me emails all the time with generic guest post pitches for the DIY Writing community blog I manage, seeking links back to their website (or, more likely, to their client’s site). But every once in a while, I get a pitch that is so irresistible, that shows so much respect for the work I do, that is such a perfect fit for my community, that I can’t wait to get it on the site.

I received one of these perfect pitch emails from a WritersBucketList reader. With her permission, I’m including a copy of her message in this post to show you exactly why I loved this pitch so much.

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It’s a lot easier to get a potential client to ignore you than it is to get a response.

Frustrating, isn’t it? You send query after query, and half the time you don’t even get a reply.

If I had a nickel for every time one of my query letters was ignored, I’d have almost $7.50 by now.

It’s practically impossible to get a response out of every query you send. There are a few simple mistakes you might be making, though, that make it even more likely you’ll get ignored. Things like: 

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