The Importance of Following Up: How I Got 2 $1/Word Content Marketing Jobs
I recently sent out a batch of letters of introduction to content marketing agencies and editors at custom publications. While I heard back from some brands and editors, I only heard crickets from others. I started to tell myself that they must not be interested in me or they would have responded, but instead I forced myself to take a few minutes to follow up with each editor a few weeks later.
And I am so glad I did. By the end of the day, I had received a $1/word assignment from one custom publication. A few days and several emails later, I was also hired by one of the content marketing companies for ongoing work, also at $1/word. If I had not taken the time to follow up, I would not have gotten either opportunity. Both editors thanked me for following up and told me that my email had gotten lost in their overflowing inbox. While I am thrilled at the success, this experience also made me kick myself for all of the many times that I never followed up. I am positive that I have not gotten work in the past because I didn’t take the time to send a short follow-up email.
Here three tips for following up:
1. Put a reminder on your calendar. When you send out LOIs, put a note on your electronic calendar in two to three weeks to remind yourself to send follow-up emails. Most all writers know that following up is important, but it’s so easy to forget to actually do it.
2. Forward your original email. Instead of crafting a brand new email, forward your original email and keep the same subject line. This saves you from having to craft another LOI and also reminds the editor that they didn’t respond to you the first time, which increases your chances of a reply.
3. Keep your email short and sweet. Write a short note in the follow-up email to your letter, but let your original email do most of the talking. Here is a sample of a follow-up email that I used to score my recent gigs:
Hi X,
I hope you are having a good week. I wanted to follow up on the email I sent a few weeks ago to see if you have any freelance content marketing writing needs. I currently have availability and am very interested in writing for [insert brand here]
I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully working with you in the near future.
Jennifer
It literally took me two minutes to send and will put at least several thousand dollars in my bank account.
What is your strategy on following up? Any success stories you want to share?
After I read your post, I sent out several follow-up emails.
Thank you!
Hi Heather, Keeping my fingers crossed! Let us know if you hear anything back. I would love to add other success stories to this post!
I did hear back from an editor and was assigned a story.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes!
WHOO HOOO! Thank you so much for posting this followup! I am so happy you got the assignment. It absolutely made my day know that one of my blog posts helped you get a gig. Congratulations!!
Thanks, again, Jennifer for your help!
Following up is something I’m personally very passionate about. I enjoyed your article and would add that sometimes when I am sending multiple follow ups to the same person it helps to state ‘(2nd Attempt) / (3rd Attempt)’ in the subject line before the Re: subject content.
I also would substitute #1 “Put a reminder on your calendar” for an automated follow up service. We actually are launching an automated follow up service in January called “PolitePersistence”.
Anyone can learn more by checking out bit.ly/GetPolitePersistence
Keep up the great work!
Hi John, Great tip about adding (2nd Attempt) in the subject line. I think that reminds the person that they haven’t responded. I appreciate you stopping by and sharing your expertise on following up.
Jennifer
[…] say that she had sent an LOI to a brand in that industry, but never heard back. She told me that she knew that she needed to follow up, but rarely actually followed through. I encouraged her to put a reminder on her calendar for 2-3 […]
[…] After you have perfected your LOI, find companies and agencies to target for your content marketing services. Be sure to find a contact person for each LOI because I have never gotten a response from an LOI that I have sent to a generic email address. The member list on the Custom Content Council (www.customcontentcouncil.com) website is also a good place to start as is local marketing and web design firms. If you don’t’ hear back, don’t despair. I recently got two $1 per word assignments by simply following up. […]
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