Do you guys do any cold emailing?

[Lysis]

I've been reading around and plan to pitch writing to people in my niche in my local tri-county area. I've read that writers have success and I don't think I have much, if any, competition locally.

I'm going to write a custom email for each after I look at their site and find the owner's contact info (if I can). This part is taking a lot of time, but I'm hoping it pays off. I'm going for my niche and adding that I'm local. I'm big on supporting local businesses, so I'm hoping others are too.

Anyone done this before? I'm a little nervous because I know I will get hate mail back but by customizing my offer I'm hoping people won't feel like I spammed them.

[HiredGun]

I'm going to write a custom email for each after I look at their site and find the owner's contact info (if I can).

Here's a list of tools you can use to make email outreach easier: https://zapier.com/blog/find-email-address

I like taking a multi-pronged approach to cold emailing, as it increases your odds of success. Use one of the tools in the above-noted blog post to find email addresses. Check out LinkedIn Jobs/Glassdoor for companies that have recently advertised for writing staff (linkedin.com/jobs/search?keywords=Writer&distance=25&locationId=PLACES%2Eus%2E7-1-0-38-1&f_TP=1%2C2%2C3%2C4&orig=FCTD&trk=jobs_jserp_posted_one_month) (glassdoor.com/Job/san-francisco-writer-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,13_IC1147401_KO14,20.htm). You can also find companies in your area actively blogging by doing a web search for "new on our blog" + your area.

Cold emailing definitely works!

[Lysis]

Hey Hired, thanks! That email tool is really useful! I planned to send my first batch of emails yesterday but got into a project. I need to write the email and I know the subject is a huge factor in whether or not people open it. I'll write back and let people know if I have any success.

I only need 5 weekly clients and I'm in a good place. Of course, I will try to do more than that but hoping for some local clients.

[HiredGun]

I only need 5 weekly clients and I'm in a good place. Of course, I will try to do more than that but hoping for some local clients.

Have you tried Hire.Bid? You set your own rate and can offer your services locally or remote. (U.S only)

Also: https://online-writing-jobs.com/jobs/qb ... tutorials/

[Lysis]

I need to check here more often. Thanks for that! I still haven't gotten the nerve to send emails and tomorrow is friday so I think it'll be better to wait until next week. I'm gonna check out that site more. I've read ProBlogger is good too but haven't looked yet.

[HiredGun]

I need to check here more often. Thanks for that! I still haven't gotten the nerve to send emails and tomorrow is friday so I think it'll be better to wait until next week. I'm gonna check out that site more. I've read ProBlogger is good too but haven't looked yet.

I wish there was a way for CC writers to DM each other here on the forums.

Plenty of companies looking for programming writers, including Amazon (Alexa + More):
amazon.jobs/en/search?base_query=writer&loc_query=&job_count=10&result_limit=10&sort=recent&cache
rationalagency.com/careers
accusoft.applicantpro.com/jobs/654892.html
kforce.com/find-work/search-jobs/#/?t=programmer%20writer&l=%5B%5D
steyer.net/job-details/?jobID=690

[Lysis]

Damn dude you are the ultimate awesome.

Yeah, I know I got something good. It's just that initial push to get going. I know it's like working out. You dread it until you get going and then you get used to it. lol I've spent this week trying to find a data entry/research person to fill a spreadsheet of leads for me. That sounds easier than it is. Even though data entry is easy and takes no skills, finding someone you can trust to do the work within reasonable quality expectations without them trying to just milk you for a paycheck is not that easy. Then I can go through them and just start emailing. Got busy this week (a good thing!) so still haven't emailed lol.

I've been reading different places on cold emailing and what works and what doesn't. I have a good idea of what I'm going to do. Also plan to pitch some online magazine type sites.

I just wrote for a CDN that handles 30% of the web's transactions. I have the portfolio, but I'm not a salesy person so that will be the hard part.

[HiredGun]

Damn dude you are the ultimate awesome.

Yeah, I know I got something good. It's just that initial push to get going. I know it's like working out. You dread it until you get going and then you get used to it. lol I've spent this week trying to find a data entry/research person to fill a spreadsheet of leads for me. That sounds easier than it is. Even though data entry is easy and takes no skills, finding someone you can trust to do the work within reasonable quality expectations without them trying to just milk you for a paycheck is not that easy. Then I can go through them and just start emailing. Got busy this week (a good thing!) so still haven't emailed lol.

I've been reading different places on cold emailing and what works and what doesn't. I have a good idea of what I'm going to do. Also plan to pitch some online magazine type sites.

I just wrote for a CDN that handles 30% of the web's transactions. I have the portfolio, but I'm not a salesy person so that will be the hard part.

Is there an IFTTT or Zapier recipe that will pull emails from EmailHunter and automatically pull them into a Google spreadsheet? Might be faster/easier than trying to do it manually.

[Lysis]

I'm pulling from a type of white pages list. I need a human to go through and filter out the people who aren't in my line of work and those who don't have a website. I read around that there are scrapers and such but I think this will need a human. I figure with a human, it might cost me a few hundred dollars, but the time it saves is worth it. I can just go through the list, write a personalized email, and go to the next one. I have 1 client that's my "model" that I want to copy. What I do for him is what I want my main service to be. It seems to work well and he has said that he appreciates that he doesn't have to do anything but pay my invoices.

I'll keep everyone updated because who knows it might help others branch out. Part of my procrastination is I want to get everything in order before I go for it, so I'm ready should it be successful.