When I think of pitching, I think of presentations (unless we\u2019re talking about baseball, of course).<\/p>\n
But,\u00a0pitching<\/a> can come in different forms, and one of the most common ways to pitch your business<\/a>\u2014even in our technologically advanced age\u2014is the \u201cpitch email.<\/p>\n Email is everywhere. It\u2019s used by nearly everyone, it\u2019s more personal than social media, and it\u2019s less obtrusive than a phone call. When you need to introduce yourself and your company to someone, email often just makes the most sense.<\/p>\n So what\u2019s the best way to go about pitching your business by email? After all, you want to be sure you aren\u2019t just sending emails into a black hole where they\u2019ll be deleted without a second thought. Even worse, you want to make sure you\u2019re writing in such a way, or pitching in a way that won\u2019t end up annoying the very recipient you\u2019re trying to entice. A bad email can actually \u201cburn bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019ve already formed a personal relationship with the person you\u2019re contacting (though that\u2019s the ideal scenario), but it does mean that you know who they are, and that there\u2019s a reasonable chance they\u2019ll be interested in you.<\/p>\n Anything that you can do to get an introduction or connection to a person at the company first will be best, as you\u2019ll then have smoothed the way for an email follow up. Impersonal emails that you spam out to hundreds of people will be nothing but a waste of your time and a bad blip on your reputation, so don\u2019t even go there.<\/p>\n There are several red flag tactics you\u2019ll definitely want to avoid: anything written in all caps; poor spelling; grammar errors, and a generic or template-based format are immediate tip-offs to the person reading that this is a \u201csalesy\u201d pitch or a sloppy email. Don\u2019t let stupid mistakes land your email in the trash.<\/p>\n Bonus \u201cred flag points\u201d for starting an email with \u201cDear Sir\u201d if there is even a tiny fraction of a possibility the recipient is a woman.<\/p>\n Think about an email you\u2019d be likely to respond to yourself. You\u2019d probably only respond to one that was personalized, relevant, error-free, and to the point. Ecquire offers a good example,<\/a>\u00a0of such an email. If you want to see an example of a horrible pitch email on the other hand -so you can visualize what not<\/em> to do, check out this one on Hubspot.<\/a><\/p>\n A combination of knowing exactly who you are emailing, and careful composition will apply to any email pitch, regardless of the goal of the email.<\/p>\n Trying to sell a product or service? Introducing yourself and your company to a potential investor? Contacting a writer because you\u2019d like to be featured in their publication? All of these scenarios require that you both research your email recipient and don\u2019t contact them cold, and that you compose a personalized, grammatically correct email.<\/p>\n Email can sometimes be the best route to introduce yourself to an investor if you haven\u2019t met them, or tell them more about yourself and your opportunity if you\u2019ve engaged with them briefly.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll want the subject line to be something that will jog their memory if you\u2019ve met, or something that will make you stand out from spam if you haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n The same goes for the beginning of your email:<\/p>\n \u201cHello John, Great to meet you on Saturday. I wanted to drop you a line and tell you more about [yourself, your company, and investment opportunity].\u201d<\/p>\n Ideally, what you\u2019re going for with an email pitch to an investor is setting up a real-time conversation with them, whether it\u2019s a call or a meeting. So think about what you\u2019d say in your elevator pitch, face to face.<\/p>\n Imagine you have just a few moments of time with an investor to pique their interest, and then translate what you would say into writing. Keep it concise and impactful. A great way to think about it is to state the problem your business solves, and how you solve it.<\/p>\n Close with some brief, concrete details to inspire confidence, such as how much money you\u2019ve already raised or if you\u2019ve hit a target number of customers, and then make the ask for a meeting to discuss the funds you\u2019re currently trying to raise.<\/p>\n More resources on approaching investors:<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a lot of entrepreneurs selling products or services that pitch potential partners or buyers via email. The same rules as ever apply; do your research, make it personal.<\/p>\n Then the focus shifts to the value you have to offer.\u00a0Describe what you do and why it\u2019s of interest to the recipient. Entrepreneur and blogger.\u00a0Jason Zook<\/a>, recommends keeping it short: three to four sentences should cover it. Longer, and most people probably won\u2019t read it, as illustrated by this list of pitching pet peeves<\/a> from the folks over at Buzzsumo.<\/p>\n There are some key things to avoid, especially since this is a sales pitch and most people are wary of them even when they actually want your product or service.<\/p>\n One is exaggeration, meaning essentially: Make sure to tell the truth. Don\u2019t embellish the facts. You have a valuable product or service to offer and you believe this person or company would be happy with their purchase, so don\u2019t oversell it. Be genuine.<\/p>\n Another is not flooding people with follow ups. One follow-up email is fine, and might even be effective: we\u2019re all busy, and your first email could have simply gotten lost in the mix. However, bombarding people with multiple emails when you\u2019re not getting a response is nothing but a waste of your time, and could get you flagged as spam. You can\u2019t win them all.<\/p>\n Let me get this out of the way first thing: Read the author submission guidelines or \u201cwrite for us\u201d page of any site where you are trying to pitch content. Read<\/i> it. You didn\u2019t read it? Then don\u2019t send an email, go find the site\u2019s guidelines and read them first.<\/p>\n The most obvious reason for this is because it will tell you the appropriate address to send that email to. The most well-crafted email in the world can still end up in the trash if it\u2019s sent to the wrong recipient. Don\u2019t guess which one it is, or send it to the first email address you find on the site. Why waste your time?<\/p>\n Other key reasons to read the \u201cwrite for us\u201d page on any given site you\u2019re pitching include: knowing what kind of content they are looking for and knowing their specifications for submission. Putting your best foot forward by actually following writing and submission guidelines is a sign of thoroughness and will immediately give you more respect in the eyes of the editorial team members. As a member of the editorial team at Palo Alto Software I can tell you this much: it really does make a difference.\u00a0This one is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n From there, the same standards mentioned above apply. Know the site you\u2019re pitching, have relevant and useful pitches to share, and ensure your final draft is free of silly spelling and grammar errors.<\/p>\n What it really comes down to with an email pitch is authenticity. There\u2019s a lot of fake in the email world\u2014from spam to outright scams\u2014and most of us see it every day in our lives.<\/p>\n But, since you want your email to be effective, you\u2019ve researched your recipient, crafted a thoughtful message, and you mean what you say. That will allow you to stand out from within a crowded inbox, and give your pitch a fighting chance.<\/p>\n Like this post? Share with a friend!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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