A few years ago, the head of a content agency told me that he thought an LOI (Letter of Introduction) should be five sentences. I immediately thought, “No way, I can’t convince someone to hire me in five sentences. I need at least double that, maybe even 15 sentences.” I spent about a year thinking he was wrong. But I talked to other potential clients and kept hearing the same thing – keep it short, very short. And I decided he was right.

Yes, this is an older post. But it’s my most viewed page on my blog. And I thought that this week was a great time to update the post with new things that I’ve learned about the LOI since I wrote the original post years ago.

LOIs are a Pickup Line Not the Entire First Date

I realized that I was writing paragraphs in my LOI because I was trying to have the entire first date at one time. Instead, an LOI should be more like the pickup line that gets the conversation started so you can then have the actual date through additional emails or a Zoom meeting. When you write a long LOI, many editors simply don’t read it.

Your LOI should give them the information that they need to decide at the highest level whether your skills and expertise are likely a fit for their needs. While your goal might be to sell a specific idea to a publication, LOIs are about trying to sell yourself to an agency or business. Because you do not know their plans or needs for content ahead of time, I do not recommend including specific topic ideas unless you are pitching a specific corporate blog that you know uses freelancers.

Yes, five sentences is a very short LOI. But I’ve found that this LOI really works. And many writers in different niches and a wide range of experience levels have shared that my 5 (ish) sentence LOI improved their conversation rate (meaning more LOIs turned into work). The secret to it is that it gives them the information that they need without extra fluff that doesn’t really matter. By knowing your niche and who you’ve worked for in the past, the client knows your experience level and at a high level if you are likely to be a good fit for their company.

Yes, the LOI is dry and a bit boring. But I prefer to think of it as short and to the point. However, I’ve seen some fantastic LOIs that have more personality and are more fun. I do think that one that is jazzier can definitely be effective if it matches your industry and your personality. But that is very individual, and I hesitate to give a sample of that because what would work in one situation would turn off a client in another. A creative LOI is most likely more effective than this one, but it really has to feel authentic to your personality so that it appeals to the type of clients that are likely to enjoy working with you.

The Customizable 5(ish) Sentence LOI

Here is my LOI template:

Hi X,

Does your agency [or brand or association or nonprofit or university] use freelance writers?

I am a freelance technology content marketing writer specializing in data analytics, cloud computing, IoT, and cybersecurity. My clients include IBM, Adobe, Samsung, Verizon, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft.

You can see what my editors have said about me on my LinkedIn profile (include link) as well as samples of my work on my website (include link). I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working with you in the near future.

Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Tips for Using the 5 (ish) Sentence LOI

In the past few years, I’ve heard from many writers who have gotten work from this LOI. And I’ve learned a few things myself by seeing it put into action by so many different people.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when using the LOI:

• Create an LOI for each of your niches. While you can definitely earn a high income as a generalist, your LOI should target a specific niche, especially when marketing to agencies. Use this post to customize your LOI for each of your niches and then send out the appropriate LOI depending on the client.
• Don’t personalize the LOIs at this stage. LOIs are a numbers game, and your goal is to get as many out into the world to people who are likely to hire you as possible in the shortest amount of time. Note that I am not talking about sending mass amounts to anyone you can find – that doesn’t work. But finding the balance between great LOIs to the right people and sending out only a few because you spend too much time on them. I think every minute spent targeting your emails to the right company likely to hire you is worth it.

Many writers spend up to 30 minutes per 30 to find out information about the company and then customize the LOI. I personally think extensively personalizing LOIs is a waste of time at this point. It’s possible that the company doesn’t use freelancers. Or doesn’t do much content marketing. By using the template and adding in the potential client’s name, you can send out a much higher volume of LOIs in the same time. However, if you hear back from a company, then that is the time that it makes sense to invest time into learning about the company and writing a very personalized email.

• Create a subject line that tells the editor you are not a PR person or marketing rep. Many editors mistake LOIs for PR pitches in their inbox and delete them without reading them. By using a subject line that includes Freelance Writer and your niches, the potential client knows that you are reaching out to help them do their job not sell them something.
• Rewrite the intro and closing sentence of the template. One of the questions that I often get is “Won’t clients realize that so many writers are using this template?” I don’t think that it really matters that the emails are somewhat similar because my LOI has different niches and clients. However, I do think it benefits everyone to rewrite the opening and closing of the email instead of using mine word for word. Also, unlike publications where there are a finite number of editors to reach out to in the world, there are a gazillion companies and agencies needing content marketing so your odds of sending an email to the same person as another blog reader is low, especially if you are targeting direct businesses.
• Sending LOIs over LinkedIn often gets great results. This is also more time efficient than hunting down emails. That said not everyone regularly checks LinkedIn or responds that way. But I think it’s a solid way to reach out. I recommend sending the LOI via a connection request to save your InMails and make sure that they get the message.
• If you send via email, find the best contact for your LOI. Whatever you do, don’t send the LOI to a generic company email or through a Contact Form. If you do then you are wasting your time. Of course, finding the right contact is the best answer. But sending it to the wrong person in the company is much better than an email box because there is a high chance they will send it to the right person. This is especially true if you get the LOI to the right department. Check out this post for ideas on how to figure out who to send the LOI to.
• Create a plan to follow up. If you are going to go to the effort of sending LOIs, then you must follow up. If you do not then you are wasting your time. Check out this post to find out why and how to follow up.

Have you had success with my 5 (ish) sentence LOI? What are your thoughts about the role of the LOI? Have you revised your LOI over the years to make it shorter?