One Email Pitch Made Me $10,000 — You Need To Learn This Skill

It’s amazing what a 1,300 word email can do..

I pinched myself.

I was about to send off an online course pitch I worked on for 8 hours.

I was practically bathing in sweat as my finger hovered over the send button.

‘No worries, Tom, it’s not like you spent your whole day working on this or anything.’

In a moment of courage, I blasted off the long email, and an hour later I received a response.

“Thanks for sending this over, Tom. I’ll take a look at this over the weekend.”

That’s it. That’s all I got. If I won this contract, it would be a five figure payday. Doubt crept in. ‘They must’ve taken a look at it, right?’

‘Maybe they’re just stalling. Maybe it wasn’t a good pitch. I suck,’ I thought.

Well, after the long weekend, I received an email that made me beam with happiness. “Hey Tom! We love the idea! Let’s hop on a call to discuss next steps.”

5-figure contract won. This is the power of a simple pitch. When done right, it can change everything for you.

What’s A Pitch?

For me, a pitch is presenting an idea with style and confidence.

The word count of my online course email pitch was 1300 words. That’s about a 6-minute read. Most people would be ecstatic to write a blog post that long, much less one single email!

That’s how much work you need to put into this.

A pitch is you explaining what you can bring to the table and why your idea can have a massive impact.

And then you wait.

Why You Should Use The Power Of The Pitch

Pitching can work for entrepreneurs, freelancers, bloggers, video creators — really anybody with an in-demand skill or side hustle.

Pitching somebody something requires two things: creativity and initiative.

A lot of people go through life and hardly ever create opportunities for themselves. They see the rules, the walls, and they gladly stay within these confinements.

When you make a pitch you’re creating an alternate world.

If you get good enough at both pitching and your skill, you can pretty much chart your own path in life.

When Should You Pitch Somebody?

Yesterday I had a conversation with a few Filipinos who were starting their own blog. I wanted to possibly partner with them, and I asked if they were capturing email addresses yet.

They told me no. They felt like it was cheap and wouldn’t work.

Trust me, I spend $170+ on ConvertKit every month because I have 10,000 email subscribers. It works.

Sometimes you have these moments in life — moments where you know someone is making a mistake and that you can help.

This is the perfect time to make a pitch. I’ll list that along with a few other situations down below.

1. When they’re making a mistake and you really know better.
2. When your skill set can add something new to somebody’s business that they never thought of before.
3. At work when you see an opportunity internally.

My friend Todd Brison created his own position at the company he was working for. He pitched them a new position that he convinced them was essential for better business. They obliged!

Don’t doubt yourself. What’s the worst that could happen? One good pitch could possibly change your life.

The Outline Of A Good Pitch

• Typically the first few sentences are about you establishing skin in the game. Talk about your skills and experiences.
• After that, it’s time to talk about what they need. Talk about the pain points of the folks you’re pitching. Make sure the overlap between your skills and their pain points are obvious.
• Then you get into your idea. Don’t bar any holds here. Get into it in excruciating detail. Show the people you’re pitching that you care and have put a LOT of thought into this.
• Then you wrap it up. Simple.

How To Make A Good Pitch

Here’s a few things to keep in mind before making one.

1. Make sure you know the person. Cold pitches don’t always work so well. They can work, but it’s better if you have a few emails sent back and forth first. This isn’t just because you’ll get more familiar with the person, it’s also because you’ll get more familiar with their business, what their needs are, and how you can help them.
2. Interview them. “But how, Tom?” I’m hearing you say. How do you get to know someone? Well, maybe interview them for a podcast or blog post of yours. If you don’t have a podcast or blog, start one! It’s a perfect excuse to get to know someone and talk to them for a while — not to mention it’s mutually beneficial.
3. If you’re not excited writing it, there’s a problem. You must be excited writing your pitch down. If you’re not excited, chances are your recipient won’t be excited either.
4. Spend at least 2 hours ideating. Think about your idea for a while. Before you write it out in an email, write your ideas down on a sheet of paper.
5. Use bullet points. You can certainly go overboard in a pitch. Use bullet points to break up your big points.
6. Have a friend take a look. The best writers I know constantly get feedback on their articles. It’s a good idea to get feedback on your pitch, too, from a friend.

I have one last point to make..

Just.. Spend A Lot Of Time On It

The quality of your pitch increases in direct proportion to how much time you spend on it.

Honestly, if you spent the next thirty working days developing one pitch per day, you’d likely have a handful of YES’s by the end of the month.

The key is to make everything personalized, to do a lot of research, and to go DEEP with each person you’re pitching. Get to know their business inside and out.

Just give a damn, basically. If you do, then one pitch could change your life.

Get my free 5-day writing course right here. It’ll teach you how to write five posts per week, among other things.