How to pitch as a copywriter

My cold emailing process

Hey 👋 I’m Caleb — a financial copywriter from London.

In this publication, you’ll find everything you need to know about copywriting and how to make money writing online.

I also write about SEO, AI and other relevant writing topics.

If you’re new here, check out this post below 👇👇

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Finding clients — the number one problem most new copywriters get stuck on.

A lot of people find that they can write well, but struggle to then find people to write for.

But the strange thing is, there are so many companies out there looking for good writers.

The demand is huge, but so many good writers struggle to bridge the gap.

I was stuck for ages.

I was always told cold email was the way to do it, but I found it so hard. I couldn’t land any clients, and was wasting hours.

To add insult to injury, all the fake gurus of YouTube and LinkedIn were telling me all they had copywriting ‘techniques’ and ‘hacks’ to land crazy-high-paying clients, but wouldn’t tell me what they were, or they were in their £997 course.

They would also reveal nothing about what they actually sent.

In this guide, I will show you exactly what I do and the exact emails I send to land clients.

1. Get an email list

I used to scrape the internet for my own leads.

This would just be me going onto various websites or LinkedIn profiles, finding an email of some random person and then emailing them.

I had almost no responses, and it takes hours and hours.

However, I then discovered you can automatically scrape leads using tools. It looked a bit advanced for me, so I went on over to Fiverr, and saw that people are offering this service to

There are many options available, and you can go cheaper or more expensive.

I paid £30 for a list of around 100 leads which comes as an excel sheet, with their LinkedIn profiles alongside it.

This was the exact gig 👇

https://www.fiverr.com/hrapp98/provide-a-custom-list-of-names-numbers-addresses-and-emails-of-any-business?source=order_page_summary_gig_link_title&funnel=aa725721d34641bf8ebf93cdfa00eb58

2. Make a mini sales funnel

A sales funnel is a path that you follow, generally online, that leads you into making a purchase, and then several other purchases after that.

Often people abandon making a purchase because of a poor sales funnel.

Basically, they don’t know where to go.

This is why shops put effort into a nice shop window. It makes them look inviting but most importantly trustworthy.

The way I do it is making a nice email handle, a good LinkedIn page and a website. These things on their own might not have much use, but they demonstrate that I’m serious about what I’m doing, and that I’m legit.

My website has previous work I’ve done, and my LinkedIn carries my credentials, i.e. where I’ve worked.

My signature 👇

3. Cut the fat

Don’t tell them your life story.

The shorter the better. If they’re interested, they’ll click on the links in the signature, or reply back straight away.

At the end of the day, they’re either looking for a copywriter or they’re not, so don’t waste your time or their time.

Keep it short and sweet. Open the conversation.

I get emails like the one below pitching me SEO services for my website that are absolute shockers.

This is the crucial point: at first glance, how do I reply to this? What is going on?

If you read it, it asks me to “write back”.

So I now have to chase them, which implies that I have to ask for their services — but I never wanted their services.

If they just simply asked if I needed help, I may have considered it more, as I would feel like it would be my decision.

It’s so dense and odd. I don’t really trust it.

Check out this one:

I had an aneurysm trying to understand this.

I literally have no idea what he’s going on about.

“You read it right”. Read what?

“But after using this service i am totally Freaked Out”. What service?

That’s another thing. Make sure it’s all neat and grammatically correct, especially if you’re offering content services.

4. Be there at the right time

Your email is not there to change their mind.

Simply show that you’re available, so that if they need a copywriter, you’re the first choice.

This is the exact message I send:

Subject line is always:

Need any help with your content [NAME]?

Notice there is no selling here, it’s just opening the conversation, seeing if they need help.

I address them by name, and refer to their company.

It shows I’ve actually done the research, and I’m not a bot.

If you email someone at the right time, you’ll get a response:

5. Volume negates luck

Send as many as you can. You literally cannot outreach enough.

If you get no leads, send more. Keep going until you get some interest.

I do it in batches of 100, and try and get through that list in a few days.

Once you’re done, wait a week or so and then follow up.

Here is my follow up email:

I go with “still interested?” so it’s just a gentle check in.

Many times people miss an email because they’re busy, or got distracted with something else. Often a follow up will get a response.

6. Get them on a call

As a copywriter, it’s your job to serve the client.

Reply to their response promptly and set up a call with them to discuss what you need.

If you’re late emailing back and you expect them to sort everything, they’re going to think you’re more trouble than you’re worth.

Make agreeing to work with you a fantastic decision to make. A call makes sure you’re both aligned, and they can properly meet you.

7. Stick around

Adding them on LinkedIn is a great way for the clients to keep you in the loop.

You never know — one day they might need you, and then they know where to find you.

I had one client reply seven months later, as an opportunity came up and I was already top of mind.

Email as much as possible, and grow your network.

Opportunities crop up in all sorts of ways.

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