Sounds easy enough, but editors will tell you that very few writers pitch well. As a result, the few who do pitch well receive most of the work. That’s how repeat business is created . . . by following the guidelines, writing well, and treating the editor like gold.

First, I am a firm believer that every writer can freelance. If you can write a book, you can write freelance work. Same goes for medical writers, journalists, mystery authors, poets, scriptwriters, curriculum writers, and more. Writers write, and there are always magazines, blogs, newsletters, newspapers, websites, classes, and publishers needing writers. The freelance writing business is on fire.

But you have to make a good first impression, because like any opportunity in life, you only get one chance to initially look good.

1) Open with what you are pitching.
2) Hook the reader with why this product you are pitching is a perfect fit.
3) Prove who you are and why you are great for the job (here is where you use samples/links).
4) Say what you can do, when you can do it, and how it will be delivered.
5) Provide some sort of call to action (i.e., give me a call).
6) Provide ample contact information.

This matters whether you are pitching to a national glossy or to your dentist to write his monthly newsletter, whether to a attorney firm to write legal briefs or an ad agency to write ad copy. You are a writer selling their wares. Here’s a reference so you can read what real editors prefer to see.: https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/art/how-to-get-published-advice

More general rules:

1) Prove somewhere in the pitch that you understand them and what they need (i.e., did your homework).
2) If you have no samples, then just pitch a great idea and forget the bio. You just add more weight to your wonderful idea in your perfect query letter.
3) Establish a website. These days they WILL Google you. For good ideas of sites other freelancers have designed, go to https://elnacain.com/blog/freelance-writer-websites/ . For a free site that focuses on freelancers, consider Clippings.me.

And finally, OWN BEING A WRITER. With all I’ve done over the years, I’ve recently developed the moniker of “Chapin’s Writer.” (Chapin is the town/community I live in.) Why? Because I wrote a couple of speeches, read my own speeches at county council and school board meetings, oversaw a Facebook group for a community group, and wrote several letters to the editors of several newspapers. It doesn’t take much to make a name for yourself. All it takes is diligence.