Note from Jennifer: I will be speaking at the live B2B Marketing Chat on Thursday, Nov 21 at 1 pm EST on content marketing strategy and writing. The chat will be on Google+ Hangouts. I would love to have some of my readers join the free chat. To participate, RSVP here. You can also follow online on Twitter at #b2btechmktg.

I used to send out letters of introduction and would only hear crickets in return. I rarely got an assignment and only a handful of “Thanks, but No Thanks” responses. So, I began tweaking my LOI and noticing the results with each version. After a few months, I eventually landed on my current LOI, which has an average response rate of 40 to 60 percent.

Here are five elements that I have found to increase my response rate for content marketing LOIs:

1. A subject line that emphasizes your industry experience

Since most brands are always on the lookout for writers with experience in your industry, you want your email to stand out right from the start and not get deleted before it is read. At the recent Content Connections Conference in Chicago, Dan Davenport of Meredith Xcelerated Marketing recommended including your experience in the subject line of your letter of introduction. For example, I customize my subject line based on the company I am writing to, such “Experienced Finance Writer Available.”

2.  Information about your experience in the industry

In the body of the email, write a sentence or two that emphasizes your experience and understanding of the brand’s industry. In addition to relevant content marketing experience in the field, be sure to include trade publications, consumer publications along with volunteer work or jobs you have held in the industry. My experience is that brands aren’t picky where you got the experience, they just want you have a background and knowledge of their topic and audience. I worked as a Technical Writer at IBM and always include this information when I am writing to technology brands.

3.  A sentence explaining how your services can help the brand

Once I added in a sentence demonstrating my understanding of the brand’s mission to my LOI, my response rate increased exponentially. Take the time to work on a great sentence like that for every LOI and I bet you will see the same results. However, it is essential to customize this sentence, and not cut and paste a generic one.

4. Description of your content marketing writing experience

If you have previously written content marketing materials, be sure to highlight this near the top of the letter. For example, “I have over two years content marketing experience and have worked with a variety of brands, including IBM, Adecco, LinkedIn, American Express, and Intuit. I also blog regularly on content marketing writing and have written several trade publication articles educating brands on effective content marketing strategy.”

5. Links to relevant writing samples in the industry

At the end of your email, include links to writing samples that are relevant to the brand or agency that you are contacting. Since selecting the right clips is often the difference between getting the gig and not getting the gig, I am going to dedicate a whole post this topic in the near future as well.

What secrets have you found to writing an effective LOI? What aspects do you struggle with when writing an LOI?