Do you dread writing pitch emails? If so, I understand completely! It’s a process!
But it doesn’t have to feel dreadful if you create a process that serves as a checkpoint. For me, email pitches are all about doing multiple drafts. I am never emailing ready after only scripting it one time. That may fly for a regular email, but a pitch email needs to entice to win over your buyer.
To be clear, when I say “email pitch” I do not mean sending your entire pitch by email. DON’T EVER DO THAT! Here’s why. But, to make sure you’ve gotten the most out of the short email blurb that will land you the pitch, you really have to allow yourself time and a few drafts to get it right.
Here is my email drafting process:
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The first draft is simply to get out what I want to pitch to the buyer. This is really like a quick mind dump.
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The 2nd is about making sure to include the important stuff. This is a trick within itself, especially if it is a cold email because you have to say enough to entice without really saying anything at all so that you don’t break any of the “laws” that are in place for the buyer’s protection. I usually just ask myself, “Squeaky, have you included the most important stuff in this email?” Usually, the most important stuff for the first email is usually no more than a few select choice words. My choice words are usually something like, “amazing celebrity talent” or “So and so referred me” or “A really great show idea for your 24-35 demographic” or “A (insert celebrity talent) project”. READ: Why Attaching Celebrities to Your Film & TV Projects Will Make Them More Viable.
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The 3rd draft is for adding in the perfect descriptors about your project/product.
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The 4th draft is to move sentences around so that the email flows better. One sentence should naturally flow into the other.
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The 5th draft is because my creative juices are starting to flow and I am now ready to change-up a few choice words. My wheels are only now starting to spin. This draft is closer to the email you will send.
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The 6th draft is to make it more enticing by adding the click bait-able stuff. Being true to the project, I add in what I think will make them want to read further. Is it a celebrity attachment? Is it an award-winning director attached? A known producer? The click bait stuff comes first and not at the bottom of the email. The enticing narrative should build sentence by sentence.
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The 7th draft is to add the words that make me sound less needy and more confident. Ughh! I hate sounding needy, like my life depends on their “yes”, even though I do feel that way sometimes. This is why I always step back and read the email to see where I can sound more confident. For some reason, adding the phrase, “offer this opportunity to you,” makes me feel confident. I’m not begging, I’m offering an amazing opportunity. It’s not cockiness, its confidence. We all need a bit of confidence in this pitching game.
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The 8th draft is to spell check. I misspell everything it seems. I’ve lately added an extra layer to my emails and now I do a Grammarly check. It’s free, why not add it to your process.
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After all of this, maybe it’s ready to send. But read it once more and maybe even ask a friend how it sounds. READ: 4 Steps to Getting Through the Doors to Pitch
This is my process. What’s your process?