Want to gain a flood of new copywriting clients?
If so, you’re in the right place.
Cold email outreach is one of the best ways to grow your freelance copywriting business in 2024.
It’s one of the main methods I used to scale VERY FAST.
In this post…
I’m going to reveal what cold email copywriting is, how you can use it to explode your freelance business and a simple 4-step blueprint for winning new clients.
WARNING:
I would NOT recommend this for beginners. It does not work well if you do not already have a copywriting niche or specialize in a specific copywriting service (I.E. social media copywriter.)
If you haven’t gotten clients yet see this blog post.
Alrighty, let’s get to it…
What is Cold Email Copywriting?
It’s simple…
Cold email copywriting is sending emails to companies you want to write for.
“Cold” = people you have no relationship with.
Meaning:
You reach out to complete strangers.
However, sending cold emails is one of the best ways to get new freelance clients.
BUTTT…
Cold email copywriting is much different from writing “sales copy.”
If you treat it like a copywriting assignment, you’ll fail miserably.
It’s a completely different skill.
Pay very close attention to the following steps…
Your 4-Step Blueprint for Winning New Clients through Cold Email Copywriting (With Tips & Templates)
This is the exact blueprint I used to gain dozens of new clients using cold email outreach.
Follow this crash course to a crispy white Tee and you will greatly increase your chances of getting new clients FAST.
Ready?
Let’s goooo.
Step one
The first step to cold email copywriting is to make a humongous list of companies you want to write for.
Here are 3 ways to find companies in minutes:
My favorite way to create this list is using an Excel spreadsheet.
Why?
It’s easy to organize. It takes some time to set up, but once you do, you’ll save a lot of time and energy because everything you need is gathered together in one convenient location.
Step Two
After you have a big list of companies (at least 100), it’s time to snag some contact info.
This is VERY important.
You don’t want to waste time reaching out to the wrong people.
You want to contact decision-makers within the company you’d like to write for.
Including:
CEO’s, COO’s, Marketing directors and content managers.
How the heck do you find these decision-makers?
It’s actually very quick and painless.
Go to LinkedIn.com.
Then, search the company’s name.
Once you’re on their profile, click the “people” tab.
You’ll usually be able to find one or more of the decision-makers.
Now it’s time to get their contact info.
There are tons of tools made specifically for this.
Here are 5 of my favorites (these are Chrome extensions):
- Apollo.io
- Snov.io
- GetProspect
- Skrapp
- AreoLeads
Tip:
Use as many as possible. Most of them offer a limited number of free email addresses, before you have to pay. Plus, some work better than others.
Okay, on to step 3…
Step three
Once you have these email addresses…
It’s time to write some cold emails!
However:
Don’t be fooled by the word “cold.”
The last thing you want is for your emails to sound like they’re coming from a complete stranger (even if you are).
The solution?
Send each prospect a PERSONALIZED email.
The key is finding personal information about your prospect (life events, recent promotions, new projects, awards) and adding this personalized info to your messages.
Here’s where to find this personal info…
Click on their LinkedIn profile and look for:
- Awards they’ve won
- Certifications they have
- Where they graduated college
- Where they’ve volunteered.
- Recent projects they’ve worked on.
- Recent life changes
- Hobbies they enjoy
Take notes on any work or personal-related things you can find.
Then, bring this up in your message to make it more personal and sincere.
The general “structure” is…
- Introduce yourself and what you do as a copywriter
- Show off any portfolio pieces as social proof
- Give them a custom compliment.
- End with a call to action
7 quick tips on what to say to clients when reaching out:
- Keep your messages very short & straight to the point – 2-3 sentences MAX.
- Make your messages personal & sincere – do not copy and paste messages and blast them out to hundreds of business owners. Take 5-10 minutes to research their LinkedIn profile, social media accounts, etc. and make them PERSONAL.
- Compliment them right away (within the first 1-2 sentences).
- Do NOT hard sell. Just quickly introduce yourself and get a conversation going.
- Respect their time – entrepreneurs are very busy. They don’t have time to read a lot of text, especially from a stranger. A concise and straightforward message respects their time and allows you to sum up your message quickly.
- The goal of your first message is to introduce yourself and give context about what you offer. It should be quick, straight to the point and personal.
- The #1 goal of cold outreach is to get them on a sales call to discuss specifics. Do NOT talk about this over email or outreach messages.
Here’s an example of a cold email I’ve sent out:
----
My name is {Your name}, and I’ve worked with {Brand names - within same niche if possible}.
I help [niche] companies turn leads into happy customers through copywriting… [Add the service you provide/ultimate benefit of what your copy will do for them].
{Custom compliment} and I was curious if you needed any help writing copy at the moment.
Best,
{Your name}
Step Four
The real results come from multiple follow-up attempts.
The odds of landing a new client from the first cold email you send are EXTREMELY RARE.
I usually send 5 messages before I even get a reply.
You should send a follow-up email every other day for the next week.
Then 1-2 emails per week, over the next month.
Your goal with cold email copywriting is to get them on a call with you.
As soon as they respond, ask them which day/time works best for them (or send them your calendar link)
Follow-up email example:
----
Hey [name], I’m following up with you on the below email.
Do you have some time next week for a quick 15 min chat on how my [ADD YOUR SERVICE] can quickly convert more customers and grow your business?
----
This is a rough plan, but these are the essential 4 steps to creating a successful cold email campaign that scores a bundle of new copywriting clients.
Conclusion
You now have everything you need to gain new clients using cold email outreach.
The key is to send personalized emails to the right people. And to be VERY consistent with following up.
If you do, I can almost guarantee you’ll be writing for new clients very quickly.
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