Sample Content Marketing Writing Letter of Introduction
As I promised the attendees at my session at the Content Connections Conference in Chicago today (which was awesome and I’ll talk about more in the coming days), here is my sample content marketing letter of introduction (LOI). This a version of a letter that I would send to legal firms that could benefit from content marketing. Since an effective LOI is the difference in not having work and being swamped, it is important to take the time to craft a letter that works for you. Next week, we are going to talk about the the 5 Essential Elements of an Effective Content Marketing Letter of Introduction.
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My sample LOI is also included in Kelly James-Enger’s EXCELLENT book Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks. Kelly provides a lot of information about content marketing as well as ghost writing in her book. I highly recommend it!
Dear [Law Firm Contact],
I enjoyed working with you on the article for [insert magazine name here] last year and wanted to touch base to see if you had any content marketing writing needs. I have worked with several law firms and written content both for lawyers and clients. I am confident that I can create content that will help potential clients understand the law/legal system while increasing their trust in your firm’s knowledge and expertise. I spent some time looking at your website and have several ideas for blog topics and case studies that will help your client’s understand the legal system.
I have extensive experience writing content marketing deliverables for a variety of clients, including IBM, American Express, Adecco, Intuit as well as other law firms. I also have a solid understanding of content marketing strategy and blog regularly on the topic. My work has been published in Entreprenuer.com, Huffington Post, FOXBusiness, MSN Money, QSR magazine, Express OPENForum, Intuit Small Business Blog, Dice.com, and over 50 different regional magazines. Additionally, I have a Masters degree in technical writing with a specialization in technology. For the past 4 years, I have been a freelance journalist for the Raleigh News & Observer, a major regional newspaper, and have published over 200 stories – including many front of the section stories.
I am full of story ideas and often give colleagues ideas because I have more topics to write about than hours in the day. And you don’t last three years as a correspondent for a daily newspaper without knowing how to meet a deadline. You can see what my editors have said about me on my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-gregory/1a/551/9b8.
I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working with you in the future.
Jennifer
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This is a great LOI for an experienced writer, but what if you don’t have that much experience? My publication credits are all over the place. I’ve written two articles for Target Marketing on social media marketing, a website for a maritime lawyer, and ghost articles for a CFO. How do I parlay that into something that will interest a specific industry.
James, Thanks so much for posting! You raise a great point about an LOI for newer freelance writers. I will address a whole post to this topic on the coming weeks. But for the meantime, I can help you modify this one to meet your needs.
I think that you can use this model for your LOI, especially the first and third paragraphs, but write them specific to your target brands and your skills. All you really need to do is modify the middle paragraph with your experience.
A couple of questions – What industry and brands are you looking to target? What topics do your write about for the ghost articles for the CFO? What other jobs and volunteer positions have you held that has given you experience in specific industries? Do you have any other specialized knowledge of a specific industry?
If you know the industry you want, but need more clips, you can also work to get the clips to help you have more experience in that field (https://www.jennifergregorywriter.com/2013/11/04/how-to-add-a-new-niche-to-your-content-marketing-writing/). You might be able to do this with your CFO articles if you have some flexibility with what your write.
Another strategy that I have used when I didn’t have appropriate clips was to come up with great ideas. Although often brands already have the topics, pitching great content marketing ideas will illustrate that you understand content marketing, the brand’s mission and the audience. I successfully used this strategy with a major business website who was looking for a writer specializing in shipping. I have a ton of business writing experience, but never wrote about shipping in my life. I spent 45 minutes learning about shipping and coming up with great ideas for shipping stories. I ended up getting the gig and it has turned into long term work, including many non shipping stories.
Let me know the additional information about your experience and I’ll give you more insight on how to spin it.
Thanks, Jennifer! That would be very helpful.
I tried to make a go of freelance copywriting, but could never make it work. Part of it was lack of a niche, which I’m running into now. I’ve done a lot of things for a lot of different people and businesses. Here are the highlights:
-Co-authored a book on business networking
-Wrote three work-for-hire e-books, two on social media marketing for businesses and one on Google Adwords
-Volunteered on a PR committee of a conference and wrote press releases and a PSA. I also write press releases for my own books (I’m a fiction writer)
-I’ve written online sales letters and Website copy for entrepreneurs and small businesses, including Early to Rise and Total Health Breakthroughs
-I ghost wrote a couple of articles for an online newsletter for CFOs called CFO Advocate. One of them was on sale leasebacks. I’ve also written about ETFs for Contrarian Profits. I don’t think financial is my strong suite, and I’ve heard from other writers there are a lot of regulatory things you need to know.
-I’ve been a business journalist, writing for two business publications here in Georgia. I also wrote two articles on social media marketing for Target Marketing, as myself as guest expert (http://www.responsemagazine.com/response-magazine/net-gains-4-steps-true-online-reputation-management-2303) and (http://www.responsemagazine.com/response-magazine/net-gains-the-art-tweet-capturing-leads-and-sales-140-charac-2609
-I have also written and self-published Kindle ebooks on press release writing for authors and copywriting, and I have my own publishing imprint.
As you can see, my experience is all over the place. It has pretty much been wherever I could get a paying gig, and I ended up getting a lot of startups and solo entrepreneurs, so I couldn’t make that much money. Can I or should I target prospects based on the types of content they generate, i.e. Websites, ebooks? Or should I go after industries I have an interest in, like marketing and social media?
Thanks for all your help.
[…] my LOI and noticing the results with each version. After a few months, I eventually landed on my current LOI, which has average response rate of 40 to 60 […]
[…] Create a customized letter of introduction for each brand. For each brand on your list, create a customized LOI that includes any experience relative to the industry, your familiarity with the brand and any […]
[…] friend Jennifer Goforth Gregory offers a great example of a content marketing LOI. Likewise, my friend Linda Formichelli at The Renegade Writer offers her inimitable take on the […]
[…] of winning letters of introduction abound on the web. I like what my friend Jennifer Gregory has to say about constructing them, and my friend Kelly James-Enger also offers some great tips on exactly how […]
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[…] the appropriate contact at one of the markets you investigated. Jennifer Goforth Gregory offers a great LOI example, as does Kelly James Enger. Your LOI doesn’t have to be fancy. Short, sweet and to-the-point […]
[…] friend Jennifer Goforth Gregory offers a great example of a content marketing LOI. Likewise, my friend Linda Formichelli at The Renegade Writer offers her inimitable take on the […]
According to my experience, I don’t think no one gonna read long written content. What do you think?
P.S: Your LinkedIn profile page not exist
Hi Tom,
Thanks for finding the broken link. I will get it fixed.
Are you talking about long form content or a LOI? Yes, shorter is better, I agree.
Yes, When you fix please let me know. Yes, I am talking about long-form content. Like I write 3k words content, what is the keyword ratio I need to focus and interlinking between the article?
[…] about letters of introduction (LOIs) ad nauseam on this blog since I started blogging in 2013: how to write LOIs, who should get them, how many to send. For years, they were the cornerstone of my marketing […]
[…] sample LOI on my website […]