Why Your Freelance Writing Pitches Fail

The 5 Ws and 1 H of Writing Pitches that Work

query-letter-pitch

In journalism, writers learn that all news stories should answer the 5 Ws and 1 H: who, when, where, what, why, and how.  Did you know you can apply the same questions to your freelance writing pitches to identify the primary reasons why those pitches fail? It’s true!  By simply asking yourself the six primary questions every first year journalism student learns, you can fix fundamental problems in your query style and pitch success rate. Why do your query letters fail to generate interest in your pitches?  Check out the six basic reasons based on the 5 Ws and 1 [Read more…]

Pitch to the “Hidden” Places that Hire Freelance Writers

pitch

Have you ever done a search for “freelance writer” only to land on a gig that isn’t for a freelance writer at all? For example you may land on a job for an editor who has to “supervise freelance writers” or a managing editor who has to “hire freelance writers”.  Don’t click away from these gigs yet. They’re actually offering valuable information — they’re telling you these businesses hire freelance writers. Even though they don’t have  job ad requesting freelance writers, it doesn’t mean they’re not open to the idea of reading your pitch and, at the very least, keeping [Read more…]

Freelance Writing and the Big Screen TV Factor

TV

Credit where it’s due: Yesterday I was making my blog rounds when I stopped at a post by James Chartrand entitled “Want More Clients? Explain Yourself.” James explained how some potential clients will choose the lowest bid, but might be inclined to change their minds if you convince why you’re worth the extra pay. As I commented, it reminded me of what I call “the big screen TV factor.” Thus, a blog post is born. When my husband and I were shopping around for a new television, we spent a lot of time researching. Instead of rushing out to WalMart [Read more…]

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