Cringe. Sigh. Groan.

I get it. It’s the news nobody wants to hear — especially since so many writers hate pitching. But I mean it when I tell you that learning how to write a pitch and getting over my fear of pitching  was a huge boost for my freelance writing business. 

8 common questions (and answers) about freelance writing pitches

Needless to say, I’m a big believer in the power of the pitch. Such a strong believer, in fact, that I created “Pitch Pack: 8 Pitch Templates for Freelance Writers.” It’s a collection of eight different email scripts to help you send pitches that get responses and results. 

I love templates for giving you a tried-and-true formula to follow, but I also recognize that they can leave some of your questions unanswered. So, I’m rounding up some of the most common questions I get about pitching as a freelance writer — along with some hard-won answers. 

1. What should I use as the subject line for my pitch?

Oh, subject lines. So few words, yet so much stress. Fortunately, writing your pitch subject line doesn’t need to be a nail-biter. I recommend freelance writers use the same subject line for every single pitch they send. It looks like this: 

“Freelance Pitch: [Proposed Article Headline]”

What makes this so effective? For starters, using the term “freelance pitch” at the front shows editors and content managers exactly what you’re getting in touch with them about. Listing “freelance pitch” as opposed to just “pitch” is helpful, as it separates you from any PR pitches that could be landing in their inbox. 

Next up is your proposed article headline. We all know that the most effective headlines should be attention-grabbing, making it a powerful thing to use in your email subject line. And bonus? It shows that you’ve thought carefully about the angle of the story you’re pitching. 

While I use this as my default subject line when sending pitches, I always make sure to check for instructions from the outlet I’m pitching. If they have posted submission guidelines, occasionally they’ll ask that you use a specific subject line so your email gets filtered correctly. It’s crucial that you follow those instructions! 

2. How long should my pitch be? 

Spoiler alert: short. 

I get that there’s a strong temptation to make friendly small talk, explain your background and share a dozen of your favorite writing samples, but an editor isn’t going to spend time scrolling through all of that. 

Instead, the bulk of your focus needs to remain on what really matters: your story idea. That means your pitch email should be no more than a handful of paragraphs and your story pitch itself should take up the most space.

While you’re at it, other email-writing best practices apply here to. Using short sentences and paragraphs and even things like bullet points make your email that much easier for an editor to read — and hopefully respond to. 

3. Are there good and bad days to send a pitch?

This is one of those things that I think freelancers have the tendency to assign a lot of importance to. Yet, I’ve heard from practically every editor I’ve ever worked with that they couldn’t care less about what day you pitch. 

In general, I’d avoid sending in a pitch on a day where something super newsworthy is happening (like an election or a major natural disaster), unless your pitch is related to that specific event. But otherwise, every other day of the week is fair game.

I know plenty of freelancers (myself included) who still have personal superstitions about when to hit “send” on their latest pitch. For example, I avoid Mondays and Fridays because I think editors are either swamped with emails or checking out of their inboxes for the weekend.

But again, all of that is pure conjecture on my part — there really isn’t a proven “best” day to submit your pitch. 

4. How long should I wait to hear back from an editor?

You submitted your pitch, and now you hear nothin’ but inbox crickets. Should you follow up? If so, when?

This will largely depend on your story. If you’re pitching something timely (i.e. something that needs to be written and published in the next couple of days) you might need to follow up within 24 hours. 

If you’re pitching something evergreen without a strict timeline attached to it, then waiting about a week is a reasonable timeline. Once that week has passed, you can check-in with a friendly nudge without seeming pesky or overeager.

Related to timing, there’s one more thing I started doing it after Tim Herrera, editor of The New York Times’ Smarter Living section, recommending it during a panel I participated in: including a deadline with my pitch.

I’ll jot a line that says, “If I don’t hear back from you by [date], I’ll assume you’re not interested and move forward with pitching this story elsewhere,” at the bottom of my pitch emails.

While you might think that seems pushy or demanding, I’ve found that editors actually appreciate it. It takes some pressure off of them, as they don’t have to respond if your pitch isn’t a fit for what they’re looking for.  

5. Can I pitch an editor who previously rejected me?

Absolutely! Rejection always feels personal, but it’s important to remember that your story idea was turned down — not you as an entire person.

If you come up with another idea you think could be a good match for that outlet or publication, you’re more than free to pitch again. I know from experience that sometimes it takes a few pitches before something sticks. 

When you do decide to pitch an editor who previously turned you down, resist the urge to explain or, even worse, apologize for the fact that you were rejected before. This might be the story idea that lands, and there’s no need to justify why you’re reaching out again. 

6. How do I know what writing samples to send with my pitch? 

When I submit a pitch, I also include links to a few writing samples in case that editor wants to get a better sense of my default style and what I’m capable of as a writer. I’ll also send a link to my full portfolio, but I prefer to hand-select some more targeted pieces for them too. 

How do I decide which ones to send? The most important thing I look for is relevance. If I have a sample that’s somewhat related to the article I’m pitching — whether in format, style or topic — I’ll include it (provided I feel it’s a solid piece). 

If I don’t have anything that’s relevant, then I’ll pull a few of my pieces that I think are the strongest. Take note that those aren’t necessarily the ones that are published by the biggest-name publications. Rather, I want the ones that showcase my abilities best. That should be your golden rule when selecting samples to send: You want samples you feel confident in. 

7. Can I pitch if I don’t have any writing samples?

Here’s the first question I’d ask you: Why don’t you have any writing samples? 

Sure, maybe you haven’t written any paid articles for clients or publications. I get it — everybody starts somewhere. But, there’s no reason why you can’t write something for your own website. Or publish a piece on LinkedIn. Or on Medium.

While it’s more than possible to pitch without including samples in your email (hey, a good story idea is a good story idea!),  it’s helpful to include a few links that show the editor that you’re capable of stringing some sentences together. If you don’t, it’s entirely possible that they could ask you for some samples. Then you’ll be stuck explaining that you don’t have any to share. 

Keep in mind that the editor will care way more about the quality of your samples than they will about where they’re published. So, ultimately, there’s no reason why you can’t send some clips (even ones you wrote and published for yourself!) along with your pitch. 

8. Should I pitch the same story to several outlets at once? 

In general, I’d refrain from doing this. What if more than one publication wants to run your story? How will you explain that? And more importantly, how will you decide who gets to run it? 

That’s why it’s better to pitch the story to one outlet at a time and include the deadline for a response that we talked about earlier. If you don’t hear anything by the date you listed, then you can move forward with pitching your idea to other outlets.

There’s one important exception here: If your story is urgent or timely. In those cases, you might want to pitch to several places at once so that you can run it in that tight timeframe. But, when you do so, consider including a note that you’ve pitched the story elsewhere. 

Ready to become pitch perfect? 

I get that pitching as a freelance writer is enough to inspire nail-biting and sweaty palms, but it doesn’t need to be nearly as intimidating as you’re making it out to be.

Need more help? My eight different pitch templates for freelance writers will get you on the right track. There are copy-and-paste templates for a variety of situations — from pitching an editor who previously rejected you to pitching when you don’t have many published clips. Plus, each template includes a completed sample, so you can see what that email looks like when it’s all filled in.  

You’ll be well on your way to sending pitches that get results. I’m rooting for you! 

Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

I pictured myself in the corner table of my favorite coffee shop, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I cranked out stories I was passionate about. I assumed I’d land glossy magazines, big-name publications and regular columns. Very Carrie Bradshaw-esque, right? 

But after a few months of fruitless pitching, I was frustrated. I had received rejection after rejection—or even worse, radio silence. I was at a standstill and royally confused about how anybody managed to hack a career as a writer.

Just as I was about to wave my white flag from the fetal position under my desk, I stumbled upon a job posting looking for a freelance writer to produce weekly blog posts about storage unit insurance. Yes, you read that correctly: storage unit insurance.

I was desperate, so I tossed my hat into the ring. And you know what? I landed that gig. 

It was then I had an important realization: Maybe all of these writers I was shamelessly envying on social media weren’t actually making their living with tried and true journalism. Perhaps a good chunk of their income was coming from content marketing. 

Let’s back up…what is content marketing?

Imagine you need to purchase something—for simplicity’s sake, let’s say you’re starting your search for a new pair of running shoes. 

You want to make a smart decision, so you start with some research. You type “how to find the best-fitting running shoes” into Google, and you find an article that provides all sorts of helpful sizing tips. 

When you get to the bottom, you notice that the post you’re reading was actually published by a shoe company. You click through their inventory and end up purchasing a new pair from them.

That’s a very simple example, but it’s content marketing in action. Content marketing involves creating informative and valuable online materials (think things like blog posts, podcasts, infographics, videos and more) to get new customers engaged with a business or brand (or into the “funnel,” as we say in the biz).

When done well, content marketing: 

• Starts relationships with new customers 
• Increases brand awareness and loyalty 
• Establishes and solidifies trust 

Like I mentioned above, there’s a ton of resources and assets that can fall under the “content” umbrella. But, in this post, we’re going to focus specifically on written content—like blog posts, ebooks, case studies, whitepapers and more. 

How does content marketing differ from journalism? 

I have good news for you: If you consider yourself a tried and true reporter or journalist, you’re absolutely capable of moving over into content marketing. 

Good writing is good writing, and a lot of the fundamentals you’ve picked up in your journalism career will still apply to content marketing. You need to be able to string sentences together in a coherent and engaging way.

However, content marketing does have some notable differences you should be aware of—which I’ve lovingly coined “the three p’s”:

• Purpose: Journalism aims to educate people about a certain topic, and that’s generally true for content marketing as well. However, since the content you’re creating is tied to marketing goals (and ultimately, sales), there will be a more specific purpose you’re aiming for—such as getting newsletter signups, boosting free trials, increasing sales and more. 
• People: In most cases, your journalism audience is pretty broad. When you’re covering a topic, your audience could be anyone who’s interested in that subject. In contrast, content marketing usually involves writing with a very specific audience in mind. For my writing assignments, the target audience has been as narrow as, “A team manager at a mid-sized marketing agency who’s actively seeking a new project management tool.” 
• Process: The process of writing a piece varies from publication to publication. Some outlets allow journalists to run with a story with little supervision, while others take a more collaborative approach where editors work closely with journalists to shape the piece. But it’s not often that journalists are given a true creative brief to complete the assignment. That’s much more the norm in content marketing, where the client will share things like keyword research, linking requirements, word count expectations and more details with the writer upfront.  

Is there money to be made in content marketing?

Absolutely. That’s my short answer, but let’s expand on it a little bit.

All of the horror stories of publications slashing budgets, laying off staff or even shutting their doors completely are enough to have you shaking in your boots. 

It’s true that journalism has struggled in recent years. Pew Research Center found that U.S. newspapers have eliminated half of their newsroom employees since 2008. Statista states that the estimated aggregate revenue of U.S. periodical publishers was $46 billion in 2007. By 2017, it had shrunk dramatically to $28 billion.

While it seems like things are heading in the wrong direction for journalists, there are still numerous writers who manage to build thriving careers in journalism. I promise they’re out there. However, I’d venture to guess that many others have started to move over to content marketing—or at the very least, they’ve dipped a toe in.

It’s a rapidly growing career field, and research from HubSpot found that the companies they surveyed spent 46% of their budget on content creation. As journalism gigs continue to be harder and harder to come by (especially for newbies), content marketing is ripe with opportunity. 

But what about the money? Much like any other career, how much you can expect to earn will depend on your experience, niche and a dozen other factors. 

PayScale claims that the median salary of a content writer (one working in-house for a single employer) is around $49,000. 

I think most freelance content writers earn significantly more than that. Personally, I’ve cracked the six-figure-milestone twice as a freelance writer who’s focused primarily on content marketing—and I’m on track to do so again this year. 

4 tips to transition to a content marketing career

If you’ve been banging your head against your keyboard and growing increasingly frustrated with the seeming lack of journalism opportunities, content marketing might be the open door you’ve been wishing for.

Like I mentioned before, good writing is good writing and making the transition to focus more on content marketing isn’t as drastic of a leap as your inner critic would have you believe.

With that said, there are a few nuances you’ll need to be aware of. Here are four tips to keep in mind as you change gears. 

1. Understand the difference between a strategist and a writer

Before you start relentlessly pursuing new freelance gigs, it’s important to make the distinction between a content strategist and a content writer. 

A content strategist is going to do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. They’ll develop audience personas, dig into keyword research, hash out a content strategy and calendar, and then assign pieces out to writers. They might do some writing work too, but the bulk of their time and energy is dedicated to, well, strategizing.

The writer is focused on—you guessed it—writing. This is the capacity I typically work in. By the time a project gets to me, the client (whether it’s their managing editor, marketing department or a freelance strategist they’re working with) has already laid that groundwork. I use that information to craft my piece, but I’m not the one actually finding it. Make sense? 

2. Find your niche

So many freelancers bristle up at the idea of zoning in on a niche. I get it—they’re concerned that they’re going to rule out prospective clients and projects. Shouldn’t they be open to all opportunities?

Not necessarily. In fact, I credit defining my niche with skyrocketing my career as a freelance writer. When I refined my focus, my client base and income actually increased. It’s counterintuitive, but true. That’s because finding a niche offers the following advantages:

• It focuses your efforts: Rather than chasing down any opportunity under the sun, you can spend your time finding gigs and projects that are a good fit for you and your expertise.
• It establishes credibility: You’re one person, and you can’t know something about everything. By choosing a niche, you can build your knowledge about the specific topics you want to write about. Plus, the more you write about a certain industry or subject, the more you’ll establish yourself as an expert in your field.
• It builds name recognition: A good chunk of my existing clients have come organically. They see something I published for another client and want to work with me in a similar capacity. Things wouldn’t work that way if I was writing about everything from healthcare to ecommerce, as my reputation would be too broad. 

If you’re struggling to identify your own niche, I recommend following this thought process:

• What topics or industries are you interested in writing about?

• What topics do you have unique expertise in?
• What overlap exists between your answers to the above two questions?

Wherever there’s overlap, that’s a potential niche for you. See? It’s not so tough after all. 

3. Ask the right questions

To do content marketing well, you’ll need to get your hands on some important information. Clients who have refined content marketing processes up and running will likely provide this for you in a creative brief.

But, if not, take the initiative to ask for the details you need to write an effective piece. Here are some nuts and bolts questions to ask:

• What audience are we speaking to?
• Are we targeting a keyword for this piece? Which one?
• What’s the goal for this piece? How are we measuring success?
• Are we aiming for a specific word count?
• Is there a specific call to action (CTA) you’d like me to include?
• Are there any internal resources you’d like me to link to?

Depending on the complexity of their content strategy, there’s far more you could dig into. However, those are enough to get you started on the right track. 

4. Refine your style

There’s a wide assortment of journalistic styles, but most are primarily focused on compelling storytelling. 

The best content marketing weaves that in too (it’s not as easy as it sounds), but online marketing content has the added challenge of appealing to search engines and holding the attention of unfocused internet surfers.

That means it has some notable features in terms of format and style, including:

• Short sentences and paragraphs
• Headers and subheads to break up text
• Bullet points to present concepts in a digestible way

Basically, the more skimmable your content is, the more suitable it is for online consumption. That can be a challenging switch to make, depending on the writing style you used for previous journalism assignments. 

I know it’s heart-wrenching to think that people won’t read every single one of your carefully-crafted words. But, it’s the reality of today’s rapid-scrolling world. A whopping 81% of people skim online content, rather than read it in its entirety. 

Want to expand your writing career? Say ‘hello’ to content marketing

Today, I’d say about 95% of my freelance writing work is related to content marketing. I still do the occasional reported piece for a print or online publication, but the bulk of my recurring work (and as a result, my income) comes from content marketing.

In all honesty, the lines between journalism and content marketing are already a little blurry—and they’re only going to become blurrier. 

But, that’s a good thing. It means making the switch to content marketing from other forms of writing isn’t that big of a leap. 

So, if you’re tired of dealing with inbox crickets and wondering whether all of the writing gigs have dried up and disappeared, try your hand at content marketing. You might be surprised by the way it elevates your writing career. 

Photo via Dean Drobot / Shutterstock