Plus, an example of a winning freelance writing pitch

One of two scenarios is happening with your freelance story pitches:

1. You have a killer idea, and you’re taking it to the right editors at the right publications.

2. You have no idea, but read a Twitter callout for pitches about XYZ and throw your hat in the ring.

Well, what could be the problem, you ask? Those sound like great scenarios!

They are! You’re on the right track, but when it comes to the story pitch email, what you say could be the start of a beautiful collaboration or a fast track to the trash bin.

What I’ve learned over years of pitching stories and receiving pitches for freelance blog posts for this site is that there’s a formula to a winning writing pitch.

Get your freelance writing pitches noticed

Freelance writing story pitch template

Hi [Person’s name],

I read on Twitter that you’re looking for stories about [topic] and wanted to see if you’d be interested in my take.

[Suggested story headline]

[Brief overview of the reader’s takeaway]

• Point 1

• Point 2

• Point 3

As a freelance writer, I have [X] years of experience writing about [topic A, topic B, topic C] for [publications/companies] like [examples]. Related work includes:

• [Publication/company name]: [Story headline + link]

• [Publication/company name]: [Story headline + link]

• [Publication/company name]: [Story headline + link]

If this sounds like a good fit for you, let me know, and I can turn it around for you two weeks after hire.

Thanks so much for your time, [Person’s name!]

Warmly,

[Your name]

There are two reasons why this is a powerful story pitch, no matter if it’s a cold email or a warm email:

It is detailed, yet succinct.

I recently put out a call on Twitter to fill two guest blog posts.

Scores of emails poured in, the majority of which didn’t include any useful information. We’re talking about emails like this:

Hi Katie! I want to write this. I have written before. I’m a freelance writer. Let me know.

So … huh? What do you want to write? What’s the context within my inbox — Why are you emailing me, and what’s this about?

Listen, I tweet a lot of tweets and email a lot of emails. I honestly couldn’t recall why strangers were emailing out of the blue with vague talk about writing for me.

So here’s the story pitch that sold me:

Holly’s email is just chef’s kiss. And here’s why I bought it:

Details cover everything

Just like in a query letter for a literary agent, you want to explain why you’re the right person to write this story.

A good email story pitch includes:

• How you learned about the opportunity: Like, do I know you? How did you find my email address? Do we have a mutual acquaintance? Solidify what the connection is.

• A suggestion for the writing piece’s headline: Show that you know how to package a story for online reading — headline, sub-head, text arrangement, graphics, etc. Take time to craft an SEO-forward headline that can’t help but be clickable.

• Noted highlights: What are the major points you’ll hit? How is your take on this topic different from other articles already written? You need a hook.

• Related work samples: I can’t stress this one enough. It’s really, really hard to be hired if you can’t show that you can do the work. A lot of people say they’re writers when it turns out they need loads of editing. And that’s fine! I expect revisions when I work with freelance writers. But I don’t want it to be more trouble than it’s worth, so I need to see your freelance writing samples. Three is typically enough.

• A projected turnaround: The person you’re pitching to has no idea if you’re slammed for the next three months or your calendar is crickets.

… But be succinct.

I’m sure you’re great. Really. But no one wants to read your life story and how you’ve always wanted to be a writer and that you’re writing to support your family, etc. It’s noble, I’m proud of you, but exposition has no place in a story pitch.

When sharing writing samples, for example, there’s no need to detail why you’ve chosen the samples you’ve chosen. The reader can deduce that you picked a B2B blog post, SaaS content deck, and a gated ebook to show that you’re the right fit for their B2B SaaS product’s upmarket content goals.

Remember that depending on the publication or company, this person could be reading 30 pitches today alone. Make it easy on them by getting to your point and not using any unnecessary words.

You might also be interested in:

• The simplest way to keep track of writing submissions

• Anatomy of a manuscript submission

• Is your work ready to be submitted?