Resumes and pitch letters have a lot in common. For freelance writers, a well-written pitch letter with a solid story idea yields a writing assignment. And a tight and terse resume that successfully sells a job candidate results in a job interview. The critical common ingredient in both successful pitch letters and resumes is value – the power-packed word that means importance, usefulness, relevance and significance.
Resumes and pitch letters that fail to communicate value within seconds are trashed.
Successful freelance writers who consistently score writing jobs have learned how to persuasively stress the value of the content they’re trying to sell in their pitch letters. Embellished with carefully chosen sentences, practically every phrase drives home the value of the story the writer proposes.
Here are five tips that can help you focus on and stress value in every pitch letter you write:
1. Understand market. Heading the list is knowledge of the market’s demographics. Before you can think about writing a pitch letter, find the answers to these questions: Who are the readers (age, sex, education), and what kind of information do they want? Rather than skim a couple of articles, read several so that you have a strong feeling for content. Get a sense of the publication’s editorial mission and philosophy. If it’s an online magazine or newsletter, the “About” page ought to explain it. Many mission statements also provide information about the publication’s readers.
2. Topic relevance. Will the subject immediately draw readers? Once the market niche is understood, search for stories that are specific – I stress specific — to this market. If you find yourself justifying a story’s relevance, abort and find another story. There should be no doubt about a topic’s relevance. Check to see if topic was covered before. If it’s a popular topic, there’s a good chance that it was already written about. But that doesn’t mean your story isn’t viable. The topic could have been covered two years ago; or it may be so broad or complex, there are several angles, all of which are important. Along with making a strong case for your story, you’ll also score points with your editor. He or she will appreciate the fact that you did your homework. And if the topic was covered, you’ve positioned the story so that it’s fresh and new.
3. Timeliness. The more timely and relevant the subject matter the better. What with readers’ bombarded with information from countless vehicles, information must be fresh and offer new insights. The timeliness of a story can’t be stressed enough, especially if there are several competing publications in the market. The Internet explosion has created content wars, and virtually every editor is hungry for timely stories. When I edited newspapers and online news sites, my best writers understood the impact of timely stories. My freelancers knew that breaking news stories were the best and fastest ways to win immediate points.
4. Benefit. In some way, readers ought to benefit from the information the writer is imparting. Regardless of the market, story pitches must spotlight the story’s importance for readers. In how-to, DIY, and self-help publications, online or print, the benefit for readers is particularly important.
5. Advice. Great information is valuable by itself. But the topper is leaving readers with a takeaway – helpful, easy-to-implement advice or tips they can use or adapt. The advice section, which usually falls at the end of a story, is vitally important because it not only summarizes and ties the story together, but it also tells readers how to apply the information and where to learn more.
BONUS: A powerful working head
Finally, the selling topper – the icing on the proverbial cake – is a strong, provocative head that immediately piques an editor’s interest. More likely than not, the editor will change it (Most editors, including myself, are obsessive about coming up with power-packed heads that instantly snare readers). Most importantly, the working head must capture the story’s essence. Coming up with great heads isn’t easy. But they’re worth the effort, because it tells editors that you’ve worked hard to deliver a strong, substantial, and well-conceived story pitch.
