As a writer, you know how important it is to pitch your ideas effectively to editors, clients, and publishers. But how do you know if your pitch is working, or if you need to improve it? In this article, we'll share some tips on how to measure the success of your pitch in a competitive writing market, and how to use feedback to refine your approach.
Before you send out your pitch, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with it. Do you want to land a specific assignment, build a relationship with a new outlet, or showcase your expertise in a niche? Depending on your goals, you can use different metrics to evaluate your pitch, such as the response rate, the acceptance rate, the payment rate, or the repeat rate.
Defining goals are very important and we can say it's first step of this process. We can develop best strategies for pitching based on our goal and it will help us to reach there smoothly.
When you're figuring out what you want with your writing, defining your goals is key. It's like setting your destination on a map. Ask yourself: What do you want to achieve? Whether it's getting published, building a following, or just sharing your stories, be clear about your goals.
Marinating goals with values will bake the best writing in a competitive market. For example my values are Authenticity and Vulnerability alignment with the goal of righteousness which carries the value of truth and authentic. And same needs to be reflected in my article writing, poetry and speaking.
Clearly outlining your objectives helps you tailor your pitch strategy and evaluate its success effectively. Your first goal before pitching is to land an assignment or client, therefore, evaluate how well your pitches align with the niche and are accepted by relevant platforms.
As I am ready to submit my pitch, I ask myself if the work is likewise ready to submit. These are two different things. We both have to agree—me and my work. My readiness does not necessarily validate my work's readiness. How do I know my work is ready for submission? It's pretty simple. I delay the work a bit, say two to three days, to gain a new perspective on it. Most submitters make the mistake of passing their first pitch as readymade work. After the delay, I get friends (beta-readers) to read it and then edit and edit and edit the hell out of it. If it is ready for submission, the work itself gives me a nod. There is a feeling to it, a kind of mutualism between us that greenlights this.
To measure the success of your pitch, you need to keep track of your results. You can use a simple spreadsheet, a CRM tool, or a pitch tracker app to record the details of each pitch you send, such as the date, the recipient, the topic, the status, and the outcome. This way, you can see how many pitches you sent, how many got a response, how many got accepted, how much you earned, and how often you worked with the same client or editor.
Keeping track of your pitch results is essential for evaluating your success and making informed decisions to improve your pitching strategy. You can start by recording the date when you sent out the pitch. Specify the name and contact details of the person or organization to whom you sent the pitch. This information is crucial for follow-ups and relationship-building. Clearly outline the topic or subject of your pitch. This allows you to categorize and analyze pitches based on their themes. Document the outcome of each pitch. Did it result in an assignment, a publication, or a collaboration? Understanding the outcomes helps you identify areas for improvement.
Keep tabs on how things are going by tracking your results. It's like keeping score on how well your writing efforts are doing. Watch how many responses you get from agents or publishers, and pay attention to what they're saying—whether it's a request for more material or some feedback.
I creat a sheet with Microsoft Excel. Each column has a title. For the tracker, I need only about five columns. The first column is about the pitch, say 'Submission.' The second column is about where the pitch is submitted to, say 'Journal/Editor.' The Third column deals with acceptance, say I title it " Acceptance." If the pitch is accepted, I tick ??. And if it's not, it falls into the fourth column ticked ?? with the title 'Rejection.' If this feels a little tedious, you can note where you submitted the pitches, the journals, and feedback (acceptance/rejection) in whatever digital notepad you have them.
Once you have some data on your pitch results, you can analyze it to identify patterns and trends. For example, you can compare your results across different outlets, topics, formats, or time frames. You can also calculate your conversion rates, such as the percentage of pitches that got a response or an acceptance. This can help you see what works well for you, and what needs improvement.
Take a closer look at the information you've gathered—kind of like digging into the details of your writing journey. Whether it's responses from agents, feedback, or social media stats, analyze the data to see patterns and insights.
Analyzing your pitch data is a crucial step in refining your approach and optimizing your pitching strategy. Compare your results across different media outlets or platforms. Identify which outlets yield higher response rates or acceptance rates. This insight helps you prioritize your pitches. Evaluate the performance of pitches based on topics and formats. Determine which topics resonate well with your target outlets and audience. Assess whether certain formats (articles, essays, interviews) have higher success rates. If you receive feedback on rejected pitches, analyze it for common themes or areas for improvement.
I analyze my pitches in rejection counts to motivate myself to do more. If the rejections exceed the acceptances, I consider that a good outing.
Another way to measure the success of your pitch is to seek feedback from the people who receive it. You can ask them politely why they accepted or rejected your pitch, what they liked or disliked about it, and how you can improve it for the future. You can also ask them for referrals, testimonials, or ratings, which can boost your credibility and reputation as a writer.
Feedbacks are necessary for your success of pitch . Feedbacks help you to grow as you may ask why they rejected or accepted your pitch. If they are giving the constructive feedback, accept it and work on it. This helps you to grow. If they are accepting your pitch ask politely what are the qualities they like and what are the things you have to improve. This will lead you to expand in effective manner.
Feedback is an important measure that is often overlooked. Pay attention to the feedback and reviews you receive from clients, readers, or colleagues in the industry. Positive feedback and testimonials can indicate that your pitch resonated well and made a positive impact. Constructive criticism can also provide valuable insights for improvement.
Don't go it alone—ask for feedback on your writing. It's like having a second pair of eyes to give you a fresh perspective. Share your work with trusted friends, writing groups, or mentors, and see what they think.
To optimize your pitch, you can test different variables and see how they affect your results. For example, you can experiment with different subject lines, angles, hooks, formats, lengths, or tones. You can also try pitching at different times of the day, week, or month, or to different types of outlets or editors. By testing different variables, you can find out what works best for your target audience and niche.
Think of your writing journey as a series of experiments—try testing different variables to see what works best. Play around with aspects like your pitch style, tone, or even the platforms you use.
Finally, you can measure the success of your pitch by learning from others who have done it successfully. You can read blogs, books, podcasts, or courses on pitching, and study the examples and tips they provide. You can also join online communities, forums, or groups of writers who share their pitch experiences and feedback. You can learn from their successes and mistakes, and apply their insights to your own pitch.
It is easier than ever to learn from successes and failures of others. With convenience of immediate access to internet and social networks, experience from others can be leveraged easily. This saves time and effort and has a great potential to accelerate learning.
Tap into the wisdom of fellow writers and learn from their experiences—it's like having a writing mentorship. Engage with the writing community, join writing groups, attend workshops, or participate in online forums.
Reach out to successful writers from your industry. Request them to evaluate your pitch and point out the mistakes and how it can be improved. A lot of people who have fair knowledge and success with pitches are always willing to help. You can collect information from various people from your niche and then work again on your pitch. This way your pitch will have an expert insight to it.