How to Create an Outstanding Pitch Email as a Freelancer

Maybe you are thinking of becoming a freelancer and you believe you have the valuable skills to offer to your potential clients, but you don't know how to present yourself in the best light when writing your pitch email.

Or you have been in freelance business for quite some time now, but you don't get as many positive responses as you would like from your pitch emails.

Either way, we are here to help you as we shed some light on how to write an outstanding pitch email and increase your chances of landing your dream clients.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Differentiate between cold- and warm- pitches

2. Research your potential clients

3. Pitch to a specific person

4. Keep it short and clean

Differentiate between "cold" and "warm" pitches

A "cold" pitch refers to pitching to a client with whom you don't have a pre-existing relationship.

Cold pitching is primarily a numbers game, you can use cold emailing tools involving the sending of hundreds of emails from your email list, where many may go unanswered, in the hope of acquiring as many clients as possible.

One way to find clients to pitch to is by simply looking up the desired type of business you think your skills can add value to.

For example, if you offer freelance content creation or link building services, search for a reputable digital creative OR SEO agency, and you will find your potential clients on the result pages.

"Warm" pitch refers to pitching to previously "warmed up" clients. Introducing yourself before pitching to potential clients creates more positive responses than "cold" pitches.

Here are two tips on how to get the attention of your potential clients before pitching:

1. Get involved in social media

Social media is the perfect place for connecting to your potential clients. By doing a TikTok live or interactive Q&A sessions on other platforms, you can leverage the power of video content to capture your audience's attention, share valuable insights, and build meaningful relationships that can lead to increased brand awareness and potential client conversions. You can easily get on their radar by doing the following:

Follow the businesses of your interest
Share their posts
Respond to any questions that they might have
Comment on their posts
Find hashtags relevant to your specialty

2. Create an online presence

Make it easy for your potential clients to find you on social media. Create an online personality so that your potential clients get the feeling like they already know you before you engage with them.

Research your potential clients

This phase is crucial for creating the perfect pitch. The more you know about your potential clients, the more valuable your pitch is going to be. This is what you can do:

Go to your potential client's website
Investigate their social media accounts
Search for press releases
Find online reviews
Get familiar with the company's leadership

When you research your potential clients, look for the following:

Information about what your potential clients look for in job candidates
Recent news and events related to your potential clients
Your potential clients' values, mission, culture, clients, product, and services
Details about the hiring process

You can also utilize websites such as Glassdoor – a place where current and former employees share information about their experience in various companies. Such information includes salary figures, employee duties, reviews, interview questions, etc.

Pitch to a specific person

Addressing a specific person when submitting your pitch shows that you've done your research and gives your email a more personal touch.

To find out who that person is, start by visiting the company's website and opening the "about us" section. Target the people relevant to the department of your interest.

If you can't find the contact information you need on the website, go for apps such as Email Hunter or Voila Norbert. Simply enter the name of the desired contact person and the company's domain name, and you will get the list of people who are using this domain and their emails.

Now we will deal with what your actual pitch should look like.

Keep it short and clean

Writing a well-organized and clean email will increase your chances of getting a positive response.

The first thing you need to do is write a subject line that shows exactly what the email is about, with features that can add some value. Here are some examples:

"New York-based freelance graphic designer"
"Do you need experienced freelance writers?"
"Freelance Social Media manager available"

The subject line is important, but how you put together your pitch email is crucial.

Here are three examples of what your pitch email should look like:

If you are a web designer

Hi [ previously researched recipient name ],

My name is [ your name ] and I am a freelance web designer.

I stumbled upon your opened job position on [ name of the website ] for hiring a web designer to help you rebuild your business's website.

I have [ years of experience ] working with both large and small businesses, some of which include [ names of your previous clients ]. They were very pleased with my work as it resulted in greater conversion rates.

While browsing through your website, I saw the opportunities for improvement and I already have a few ideas on how to help with your website reconstruction.

You are welcome to check out my portfolio [ portfolio link ].

If you find my offer appealing, don't hesitate to contact me for more details.

Kind or best regards,

[ your email signature ]

If you are a copywriter

Hi [ recipient name ],

My name is [ your name ] and I am a freelance copywriter.

I have [ number of years ] of experience in working as an online freelance writer. Over the years, I helped many clients with their business blogs providing them with valuable and quality articles.

I've read some of your blog posts [ include details – headlines, topics… ] and I feel like my work would fit perfectly into your desired writing style.

I am proud to say that many of my articles got published on authoritative websites, some of which include [ websites names and links to your articles ]. I invite you to check them out and decide if my writing style matches your blog vision.

I am familiar with using various tools to make sure my articles get shared on social media and that they are optimized for search engines.

If you are interested, I can provide you with some ideas and topics for articles that you can use on your blog.

Best or kind regards,

[ your email signature ]

If you are a graphic designer

Hi [ recipient name ]

My name is [ your name ] and I am a freelance graphic designer.

I saw on [ name of the website ] that you are looking for a graphic designer to create your company logo.

I have [ number of years ] of experience in graphic design. Over the years, I worked with [ your clients' names ] and my last job included designing a new logo for [ name of the company ]. You can check it out at [ link to the website ].

You can also take a look at some of my designs on my portfolio [ link to your portfolio ].

I have some ideas for your logo design that I think will fit your requirements. If you think I am the graphic designer for you, you can send me more detailed specifications about your logo requirements and I will gladly send you over some design sketches.

Best or kind regards,

[ your email signature ]

Use these examples as a general guide for tone-setting, length, and what valuable information your pitch email should have.

Conclusion

The freelance market is on the rise and if you want to get your share of work, you must learn how to create an outstanding pitch email.

If you research your potential customers and write short and clean pitch emails, you will ultimately increase your customer base with valuable clients.

We hope our article will help you get faster to where you want to be with your freelance career.