You’re going to feel like a million freaking bucks signing clients that started with a great cold pitch.
First things first:
Cold pitching is not a gross way to sell your services.
When you know what you’re doing and how you help, you just have to tactfully present your skills to people who need them.
You will have to do some research, put in the reps, and get clear on your business and their businesses.
But what’s better than getting directly in front of your soulmate clients and offering to help them?
Psst – more of a podcast babe? You’re welcome ⬇️😘
I’m talking about the clients of your dreams who:
- Never ask for a meeting
- Pay in full without any questions
- Leave room for you to flourish with the skills that you excel in
In your cold pitch, you will tell them:
- How they benefit from working with you
- Specifically how you help them
- How you take things off their plate
- How you make their lives easier
So if you struggle to work with clients, brands, or businesses that make freelancing actually worth freelancing for you…
But you aren’t cold pitching…
You’re missing out on a significantly large pool of your soulmate unicorn clients.
In this article, you will learn when cold pitching is frowned upon, how to create the perfect cold pitch, and who to send your cold pitches to so you can land more clients.
Why Freelancers Aren’t Cold Pitching
Cold pitching is intimidating as heckkkkk.
And that’s a good reason a lot of people are pretty hesitant to start.
II want to help you make cold pitching simple so you can:
- Find your soulmate clients easily, quickly
- Talk about your services and skills in a fun and playful way
- Relieve yourself of the pressure to get responses to immediately
And when you do all of ^this^, you make it just a part of your client journey rather than a has-to-happen overnight process.
Oh, and just because Sally Sue on Instagram went on a whole rant about how you shouldn’t cold pitch?
First of all, if they’re not paying you their opinion is irrelevant.
This goes with online coaches, creators, and other people in your industry.
A lot of people bash cold pitching.
That’s totally okay, because the people bashing how someone else builds their business…
You probably don’t want to work with anyway.
Because the people bashing it are very, “I’m right, you’re wrong,” attitude, and that is not energy you want.
For as many people I have seen absolute bash cold pitching, I have heard as many millionaires, say they love being pitched!
You’re telling them you can offer them something where they get to do less work?
And you can help them make more money?
You can get more eyes on their offers?
You can get them more clients, more money into their bank account?
They’re interested, they’re absolutely interested!
Why You Should Cold Pitch
Cold pitching gets to be playful.
It gets to be fun.
And once you finish this article, you will be fully prepared to pitch your services to your soulmate clients with clarity, brevity, and a little de-lulu.
See, cold pitching puts you in front of your soulmate clients today, tomorrow, and months to come.
Because once you cold pitch, you’re in their brain.
And the cool thing about cold pitching is that just because you are think you’re getting ghosted, it doesn’t mean that your pitch is not working.
It doesn’t mean that there aren’t still people getting your emails, opening them up, not responding…
But still making a mental note that when they get ready for this service, they know who to hire because you’ve already reached out to them.
Another cold pitch reframe:
Cold pitch not because you need more clients…
But because you want God, the Universe, and the world to know that you are open to receiving more clients, money, and growth.
Use cold pitching as a way to open yourself up to more, rather than just sitting around rolling your fingers and waiting for somebody to DM you on Instagram or email you saying they want to hire you.
Now, if you’re reading this like, “Oh my gosh, I hate cold pitching. I hate being cold pitch, it’s just so wrong…”
Maybe ask yourself why it’s that deep for you?
Why do you care that much that somebody took time out of their day to research your business and tell you how you could be making more money?
If your argument is that it’s unsolicited advice or an unsolicited offer…
Okay, um, what are ads? What are emails? What is content, even?
If I’ve opted in to see it, it doesn’t mean that I want to be offered something.
If I follow somebody on Instagram, it doesn’t mean I want to see what they’re selling, but we do it anyway.
Cold pitching is just one of MANY outreach strategies – and it is no more salesy than any other way you sell.
How to Write The Perfect Cold Pitch
If you want to create an effective cold pitch that doesn’t give gross, icky vibes the second it gets delivered…
First, you need understand who you’re pitching to (soulmate client research) and what you offer (offer evaluation).
You need to write a clear cold pitch that oozes with confidence.
(Like BFFR – you are the best at what you do for you clients, yeah?)
The cold pitch template below is not for you just to fill in the blanks and send to everyone and their cousin.
It’s for you to get a rough outline of what your cold pitch could look like, and then figuring out how you want to work it yourself.
Maybe that means today, you just fill in the blanks with customized info for you, your services, and your soulmate clients.
Then, the next time you use it, you pivot how your framework looks based on the responses you received and how you want your brand voice to sound.
Before we go any further:
If you are brand new to freelancing and want to make your first $1,000 as a freelance writer by cold pitching, click here to join Freelancing for Freedom: A Kickstart To Your Freelancing Career (The investment: $111 – $333).
If you are a freelance writer trying to build your online brand so you can push past those $3,000 – $5,000 months you feel stuck at, click here to join Funnel Cake Freelancing: How to Build Your Brand As A Freelance Writer (The investment: $111 – $333).
The Perfect Clear & Confident Cold Pitching Template
I have received so many messages from freelancing students who use this pitch framework to get more clients. ⬇️
🍒
Hey, ____(find the most specific person you can who would be in charge of hiring your service)____,
My name is ___(name)____ and I’m a ____(ex: writer)___, specializing in ______(specificities of service/skills)_______.
I’m just going to cut right to the chase–I’m reaching out because I’m interested in ____(exact ONE service you provide)______ for ____(business, website, or social name)_____. I work with ____(ideal clientele)_____, just like you, to ____(what makes you unique)_____.
It looks like you have ___(what they’re doing right)___, so I don’t want to change a single thing. I just want to help you ___(unique service you provide)___, while ___(benefit of your service)____.
Do you have time this ___(specific day)____ between ____(specific time frame) for a 10-minute call? I promise it’s free! We’ll just look at how your ____(service you provide)____ can be ___(ex: enhanced, integrated, repurposed, etc)_____.
I look forward to hearing from you or your ___(service-related)___ team,
-___(your name)____
🍒
You can copy and paste it to your notes app so that you can just grab it whenever you need.
Be sure to change it up, add your tone, adjectives, and lingo at any given time, and keep it handy.
This cold pitch template works because you’re:
- Not trying to hide anything
- Telling them specifically what you do for their business
- Showing them how you help make their life/business easier
- Offering a specific and limited timeframe to book a call
Cold Pitching Template Example
Let’s say that I’m reaching out to a woman named Tiffany.
She is a course creator for holistic healing through her program Holistic Sobriety.
I am reaching out to work on her sales funnel for her course.
Here is my cold pitch example as a freelance copywriter:
🍒
Hey, Tiffany, my name is Jess, and I’m a copywriter specializing in writing copy for sales page funnels.
I’m just going to cut right to the chase.
I’m reaching out because I’m interested in helping enhance your copy for your sales funnel for Holistic Sobriety.
I work with holistic course creators, just like you, to create a sales funnel that prompts your audience to invest in your course because they see the magic it provides and the transformation it can bring them.
It looks like you already have content being put out every single day, so I don’t want to change a single thing that you’re doing.
I just want to help you create solid funnel copy so that you can create passive income and help more people with your course while spending less time responding to DMs or emails or creating content that feels like you’re just putting it out to put it out.
Do you have time this Thursday between 10am and 2pm Eastern for a 10 minute call?
I promise it’s free.
We’ll just look at how your sales funnel could greatly be enhanced with something and copy.
I look forward to hearing from you or your marketing team,
Jess
🍒
Cold Pitch Audit
First, we introduce who we are and what we’re doing.
Some teachers say not to do that, because it just sounds like a pitch…
But if I’m going to pitch, I’m going to make it a pitch.
Cold pitching feels scammy when you’re trying to ‘pull one over’ on somebody.
So I like making it very clear that like, “Hey, here’s what I do, here’s who I am, and this is what this message is going to be about.”
This is so clear, that they can automatically opt out if they choose.
After introducing yourself, go straight into, “Here’s what I can do for you…Here’s why I am reaching out.”
Pro Cold Pitch Tip 1:
Add some credibility to your line of work by referencing what you specialize in, based on what you are offering.
Pro Cold Pitch Tip 2:
Always compliment.
Maybe they’re already putting out weekly emails, creating content every single day, talking and selling on their stores all the time, already have a blog…
We don’t want to change what they’re doing – we just want to help them do it better, quicker, or simpler.
“I want to help you in this other aspect of your business and this other area so you can (xyz)”.
Once you’ve shown them how you help and complimented what they’re doing, it’s time to pitch a reply, meeting, or application!
If you are pushing to a discovery call, get really specific with a timeframe because you want them to have to think less.
You don’t want to ping pong meeting times back and forth for days.
And there you have it:
Your clear and confident cold pitch, ready to send!
What NOT to Include In Your Cold Pitch
❌ Do not give them a way to see your sales page
❌ A link to book their own call on your calendar (this isn’t personal)
❌ Investment pricing (because you don’t know what they truly want/need right now)
What Happens If Your Cold Pitch Gets Ghosted
Let’s say you send this message, two weeks go by, and you haven’t heard from them.
You can send a follow-up pitch with a short video, maybe 1-5 minutes, that shows them more depth about what you were thinking for their brand and business.
One thing I’ve done recently is send this cold pitch framework to an absolute freaking dream client of mine, who I would love to work with!
I was offering to write SEO articles for her to help her help her website rank higher so that she can bring more organic traffic to her email list and courses.
After I sent my pitch, I didn’t hear from her for about a week.
So I followed back up with a short video that previewed what I intended on helping her with!
This video was very specific to my services and her business.
I showed what her website is currently ranking for, in comparison to what she offers right now.
Then, I showed her how we could create articles that would rank for what she wants to be ranking for, and why that benefits her, her business, and her income.
Plus, I gave her some ideas that she could take from this short little 15-minute video and get her team to already start writing articles without having to hire me! (Cherries On Top for her! 🍒)
Always, always, always err on the side of overgiving, rather than just trying to get somebody to pay you.
Not only did she reply back, she complimented my pitch on a live call to her entire class!
She has also talked about the fact that she loves to get pitched.
All of these things are ways my cold pitch is working, even though it took a follow-up call AND discovery call.
The Clear and Confident Cold Pitch Course For Freelance Writers
If you want to take your cold pitching to the next level so you can stop sending hundreds of messages each day while still signing more and more soulmate clients, click here to join my Cold & Confident Pitch Course (The investment: $77).
This cold pitch course walks you through the nuance of finding your soulmate clients, creating a personalized pitch that sounds like you, and navigating your follow-up messages when you hear crickets!
(Because sometimes, you will hear crickets, and that’s okay.)
This course is a two-hour masterclass broken down into short modules.
First, we talk about creating a cold pitch.
Then, you do soulmate client research.
Then, you do an offer evaluation to make sure you are offering exactly what they need!
Then, you use the framework in this article to write your cold pitch.
Then, we go through frameworks for sending a follow-up pitch and what that can look like.
(^ this is a pitch I have signed many clients with!)
Cold Pitching (with Template) In Conclusion
If you are struggling to get clients and don’t know what to do…
And what you’re doing right now doesn’t feel like is working as much as you wish it could be…
All I want to ask you is:
Why are you so against trying out cold pitching if it can bring you more clients and more money?
Why are you so against something that could get you paid by doing what you love?
These are people that you are reaching out to because you have already decided that you want to work with them.
Why are you limiting yourself just because it’s intimidating?
Remember that every time you send a pitch, you are closer to somebody who’s going to eat that pitch the heck up and be dying to work with you!
Every time you put in the work, you add a repetition to your goal!
The more reps you put in, the closer you are to working with somebody who is aching to pay you!
And If somebody is making you feel bad about something that you’re doing, just stop paying attention to them.
If someone doesn’t like your pitch, they can merely just not respond.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cold Pitching with Templates
Q: Is cold pitching scammy?
A: No, cold pitching is not scammy if you study your soulmate client, find the best contact to reach out to, and use the cold pitch template in this article.
Q: How do I know if I should cold pitch?
A: Do you want more clients? Great, start cold pitching.
Q: How do I write a good cold pitch that gets opened?
A: Use the cold pitch template in this article to write a good cold pitch that gets opens AND responses!
Q: What if my cold pitch gets ghosted?
A: If your cold pitch gets ghosted, send a follow-up pitch! Many emails go unread or get forgotten. That’s normal! Humans need reminders.
Q: Where can I learn more about cold pitching so I can sign more dream clients?
A: Click here to join my Clear and Confident Cold Pitch Course for $77!