LESSON 3 OF 5
The pitch that gets replies
BY THE END OF THIS LESSON
Write a pitch that is about them rather than about you.
Nobody reads your background
The standard pitch opens with who you are, how long you have been doing it, and what you offer. The reader has no reason to care yet, so they stop.
Reverse it. Open with something true about their situation that they will recognise.
The four-line pitch
Line 1 — something specific about them. Not flattery; an observation.
Line 2 — the problem that observation implies, stated as a question or a guess so they can correct you.
Line 3 — what you would do, concretely, in one sentence.
Line 4 — a small ask. Not "a 30-minute call to explore synergies" — something that costs them almost nothing.
Under 120 words. If it needs more, you have not decided what you are saying.
Make it easy to say no
Counter-intuitively, adding a genuine exit — "if the timing is wrong, no problem, I will leave it there" — increases replies. It signals you are not going to pursue them, which removes the main reason people avoid answering.
WORKED EXAMPLE
ABOUT YOU
Hi, I hope this email finds you well! My name is Alex and I am a freelance content strategist with over 8 years of experience helping businesses of all sizes grow through compelling storytelling. I would love to hop on a quick 30-minute call to discuss how I might be able to support your marketing goals.
ABOUT THEM
Hi Maria — your blog stopped in October, right around when your marketing lead's LinkedIn changed. Guessing the founder is writing it now, when there is time, which is never. I turn one 30-minute customer call into a case study and a month of posts. Ten days, fixed price. Want the two-line version of how it works? If the timing is wrong, no problem — I will leave it there.
The first is entirely about the sender and asks for 30 minutes from someone with no reason to give it. The second proves it was written for her, makes a correctable guess, and asks for almost nothing.
YOUR TURN
Draft a pitch that could only have been sent to one person.
RUN THIS
I want to pitch a specific prospect. Here is what I know about them: [paste what you found — their site, a post, a job ad, a change you noticed]. Write a four-line pitch: a specific observation about them, the problem it implies stated as a correctable guess, what I would do in one sentence, and a small ask. Under 120 words. Include a genuine exit. Then tell me honestly: could this email have been sent to anyone else? If yes, rewrite it so it could not. My offer: [paste it]
What a good result looks like
The final check is the whole exercise. If the pitch would work for another prospect unchanged, it will be ignored by both.
KNOWLEDGE CHECK
Answer all 3 correctly to complete this lesson.
1. Why is opening with your background a weak move?
2. Why does offering a genuine exit increase replies?
3. What is the test of a good pitch?
REMEMBER THIS
Open with an observation about them, and make saying no easy.