Why and How to Write a Freelance Pitch Letter - Dina's List: Freelance Job Match with Dina

Today let’s talk about why and how to write a freelance pitch letter to help get you some paying clients.

Are you thinking that cold outreach might be the way to find freelance opportunities? It’s possible, and you’ll hear from six-figure freelancers that this is a great way to break in through the side door of a company that you’d love to work for.

Part 1: Why write a freelance pitch letter

You’ve thought about writing a freelance pitch letter. But you’re not convinced anyone will read it or care. Think about this.

An alarming amount of full-time workers in marketing, design, copywriting, tech and creative, were let go from their jobs over the past ten years. Layoffs have increased steadily since 2023.

Have you ever walked through the ghost town of cubicles in a company like this? I have. So guess who’s doing the work? Like four people, if they’re lucky.

layoffs — There’s a good chance this is how your future 1099 employer is feeling right about now.

REPEAT, who’s doing the work for these poor, stressed-out folks? Maybe nobody, right now.

But soon, maybe YOU, if you make your value known.

What projects can you pitch as a freelancer?

Since you’re the one initiating the action here, you can basically pitch any project you:

think you’d be good at
believe makes sense for the niche and products/services they offer
have experience writing or creating
would love to work on
feel would serve value for the company, and help increase their revenue

Specifically, what types of freelance writing or design projects could you pitch to a company?

Blog writing and posting
Sales letter copywriting
Search engine optimization of web pages and posts
Email marketing and newsletters
Digital product creation
Product copywriting and editing
Anything else that makes sense for the niche and area of writing that you specialize in

How will you convince a company to hire you for a specific service?

Introduce the idea of the service
Explain how it could help them achieve their financial goal
Position yourself as a capable person with skills who can deliver the service
State some supporting points
Issue a call to action

Suppose you’d like to send out marketing emails on their behalf every month, for a flat fee of one thousand dollars per month. This will be the purpose of your pitch.

But how to reason this out to yourself, so you can convince them to hire you?

Go back to that picture of how things are going right now at this company. They just axed a bunch of people who worked in marketing, and now they need help.

To you, $1K seems like a lot to pay a freelancer each month. But this company is working with much bigger numbers than you’re probably used to.

How’s their budget? Can we rationalize them paying you $1K per month for this service? Let’s take a look, hypothetically.

Suppose that annually they paid out $60K for all seniors, $40K for mid-level, and $20K for entry level workers. How much were they paying before? How about now?

Annual salaries paid per dept:

2 seniors = 120K
2 mid level = 80K
2 entry level = $40K

I gave these hypothetical folks humble salaries because that’s all we need to make our math work out in favor of the obvious: that freelance is both attractive and affordable. That’s $240,000 per year for a 6-person department. And then multiply that by 3.5 departments, for the hell of it.

Now the company is paying $840,000 for a total of 21 employees.

If the company just cut $240K from the annual budget by letting go of 6 mid-level workers…

Do you think they’re going to sneeze at $12K per year to pay ONE freelancer to send out emails?

Okay, so with that in mind… now let’s talk about sending a freelance pitch letter to these folks for some paid work.

Part 2: How to write a pitch letter

What’s a freelance pitch letter?

There are different kinds of pitch letters. You might pitch an idea for an article that you’d write for a trade publication. Or you might pitch an idea for a book manuscript.

In this case, the goal is to land a new freelance client. So you’re pitching your services, and a type of work that will help the company grow their sales.

How to know what would be a good project to pitch as a freelancer, in your letter?

Research the niche market, the company, their position, values and role. Then check their Careers page if they have one, or hunt for jobs they may have posted online, to see if they’ve expressed a desire for a certain type of freelance to handle a certain type of job.

Let’s create a pretend company to send a freelance pitch letter. Window treatments!

Suppose you’re pitching a company that sells window treatments. You looked them up, and they don’t have lead capture on their website. That means they don’t send out an email newsletter.

But you know that if they did send one, they could potentially get a burst of sales with each change of seasons, which is when people tend to want to freshen up the look of their homes.

An email newsletter would definitely spark interest in their products. They could increase their sales, if they sent one out seasonally, or maybe even came up with a monthly promotion.

Now you have a hook for your pitch letter. Propose the idea in your subject line, and get right to the point in your opening paragraph.

The subject line of your freelance pitch letter should be short and to-the-point. So if you’re a writer, named Carol Angst, you’d simply write:

EMAIL SUBJECTLINE: Freelance Writer | Email Newsletter | Carol Angst

Next, you need a hook for the lead-in paragraph. You want to paint a picture of their issue, and how you can help them solve it thanks to your expertise and skills. It could be something like…

LEAD-IN PARAGRAPH:

Dear NAME, [You stand more of a chance of getting a response if you research the name/title of company hiring managers, and address the letter accordingly.]

Are you tossing potential profits out the window with every passing month? You are if you don’t send an email newsletter. Let’s change that. I’m Carol Angst, and I’ve served freelance writing clients since 2007. I’d love to help you increase profits for your company with an email newsletter.

SUPPORTING PARAGRAPH 1:

In the next paragraph, you’ll want to give them some supporting information. Why an email newsletter? Provide stats.

Wondering how much you can make by sending out a monthly newsletter? Porch Group Media cites $36 profit per dollar invested on the newsletter.

Omnisend explains the profit projection as such: “If your business earned $1,000 from an email marketing campaign after spending $100, then you would have an ROI of $9. This means you earned $9 for every dollar spent on the email marketing campaign.”

SUPPORTING PARAGRAPH 2:

Create an association between your skills and expertise, and the goal which is to increase profits via an email newsletter.

I’ve created email newsletters for clients as well as for my own online businesses, since 2007. I’ll assist you in coming up with seasonal, time-sensitive offers; wrapping your offers around a theme; and writing/setting up/sending out your email newsletter in a timely fashion.

Here’s an example of how we might conceptualize a seasonal theme with associated products:

“Spring is open window season. Freshen up your home’s window treatments. Shop and save on our best spring selections of traditional wood-slat window blinds, sheer curtains in breezy styles, and accordion shades in neutral tones for a beachy feel.”

CALL TO ACTION:

Now that you’ve created a mental picture of you helping them develop an exciting campaign that may result in sales for their company, deliver the call to action in the next paragraph.

I’d love the opportunity to speak with you in detail about your company newsletter, or a similar project I can help with. Reach me via email at carolangst@gmail.com, or call my cell phone at 555-555-5555.

CLOSING:

End your letter with a customary closing line and your sign-off.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Contact Information]

Do your freelance pitch letter homework for every potential client you approach:

Personalize the pitch to the client.
Stay on point, and keep the letter to a single page of copy.
Emphasize your value and purpose in helping the company succeed.
Definitely state the call to action clearly. Give specifics, too. (If you prefer to receive a text before booking the phone call, then state that.)
Edit several times, and proofread the final before printing and mailing or emailing your letter.

You’re ready to write that freelance pitch letter. But now who will you pitch?

Let me help you find a direction. I’ve put together a list of company names and marketing contacts for you to choose to pursue potential freelance work.