Put yourself in the content manager’s shoes. They often want great content – they really do. Imagine how hard it is to come up with fresh, insightful content day after day…
But here’s the thing, most if the stuff they are sent is unusable. It is too long, too short, to old or not relevant to their target audience. Here are some real life examples of what not to do in a pitch letter.
- Avoid long-winded paragraphs describing your post. The fact that you can’t summarize it in one or two sentences tells the content manager all they need to know already (one word – amateur). Besides, most bloggers or content managers of popular sites are very busy. They just want you to get to the point already.
- Don’t include irreverent information. You be may be tempted to say something like “Hi, I’m Sandra, a stay at home mom with three gorgeous children and dreams of being a writer” but don’t, unless it is directly relevant and adds value to your pitch.
- Don’t look for sympathy. Just because you have worked for three solid weeks on your post does not mean anyone is obliged to read it or publish it. Also best not to mention that you have been rejected “5 times already”, or the fact that you have just been fired and are desperate to pick up any work you can.
- Don’t ask for advice. Perhaps the content manager has time to critique your writing and offer some advice about how to improve for next time? Really, no. It is not their job and they don’t have the time.
If you would like to see an example of the worst blog pitch of all time see:
http://badpitch.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/worst-pitch-in-world-apologies-to-keith.html
- or
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/2006/07/worst-pitch-letter-ever/
What is the worst pitch you have seen?
