When pitching to consumer publications, you may spend hours drafting the perfect query to sell your idea. Since brands and content marketing agencies typically hire you for your overall writing skills and experience in their industry rather than a specific story idea, content marketing writers typically send letters of introductions to prospective clients instead of queries. While you should most definitely customize your letter of introduction for each brand or agency, it saves considerable time to create an excellent template as a starting point. Experienced journalists are already a step ahead, because you most likely have a letter of introduction that you use when responding to job boards or contacting trade publications. That’s a good place to start.

Follow these five steps to modify your letter of introduction to use for content marketing writing:

1. Find a letter of introduction written for a trade publication that landed you the gig. Trade publication LOIs are a good start because many editors at these pubs also value business experience and are looking for regular writers instead of just story pitches. A LOI that you sent to a trade publication in your niche works best, but any solid LOI will work. If you have not marketed to trade publication, look for an email you sent answering a job ad since you most likely focused on your skills and experience in the email over an idea.
2. Modify the opening and closing paragraphs to focus on your niche. Rewrite the opening and closing paragraph to frame yourself as an experienced finance (or health, technology, science, etc.) writer. I try to use the word “experienced technology writer” in the first line of the LOI and will put my most relevant experience in the first couple sentences. For example, if I am marketing to a tech firm then I will mention that I worked for IBM and have a Master’s in technical writing in the first paragraph.
3. Write a sentence demonstrating your understanding of content marketing and what you will do for their company. I honestly feel that this is one of the most important parts of a content marketing LOI because this sentence demonstrates that you understand content marketing and frames your role as a freelance writer. I noticed such a dramatic difference in my response rate (it went up about 30 percent) that I dedicated an entire post to the importance of that one sentence.
4. Rewrite your list of publications to include magazines and trade publications relevant to your niche. You most likely already have a list of your previous publications in your original LOI. Change the list to include the publications most relevant to your niche. If you have written for lesser known publications that are relevant to the industry, you can put a description of the audience for the magazine in parenthesis, such as QSR Magazine (trade for quick serve and fast casual owners and operators). You want your clips to show you have written for publications that have the same or similar audience that the brand is targeting.
5. Add a sentence about brands that you have worked for. Even if these brands are not in the same niche, the fact that you have experience working with corporate clients shows that you understand the business world and content marketing. I typically include a straight-forward sentence, such as “I have written for many national brands, including…” If you have written for in-flight magazines or custom publications for retails stores, be sure to include the airline or store in this list.
6. Write a sentence demonstrating your experience with specific deliverables. If I am not sure exactly what deliverables a client needs, I will include a sentence such as “I have experience writing blogs, articles, e-books, case studies, and white papers.” If I know that a client produces a large number of case studies or white papers, then I will also include a sentence addressing my expertise, such as “Over the past two years, I have produced over 35 case studies for a variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, retail and hospitality.”

Now read through the rest of your LOI to make sure that it works together to present the image of a writer who already understand their industry, has experience writing for their target audience and knows how to write effective content. Make any modifications and then get busy sending out your letter. And whatever you do, don’t forget to follow up.

What are your tips for customizing your LOI for content marketing writing?