It probably isn’t for everyone, but I found Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking incredibly enlightening. She has spent time in so many roles that require her to ask people to help her – she was a living statue in Harvard Square, for instance, but also a world-famous musician – that she’s developed a bit of a philosophy around how asking for things creates meaning in our lives.
I know there are other ways to create meaning, but this philosophy makes it a little easier to ask for work. After all, when you apply for jobs, you do a lot of asking at once, but once you have a full-time or part-time gig, you mostly do the work assigned to you. When freelancing or working on smaller contracts, you end up sending out asks (pitches! applications! other forms of vetting!) nearly every day.
I’ve developed a formula that allows me to reach out to people with whom I believe I can form a productive partnership. What has helped me is to realize that, if the fit is right, it’s not me asking them for a favor; it’s me proposing a mutually-beneficial solution. If the fit is wrong, well… I wasted very little of their time with a quick, concise ask.
Here’s how I structure a request for work (I typically end up using email, to avoid putting people on the spot; I don’t mind if their “response” is to ignore me, unless we had some pre-arranged discussion of the interaction; I want to waste as little of their time as possible).
- I introduce who I am
rapidly : name, profession, and verification. The verification, in my case, is usually three links to clips that are recent and relevant to whatever writing work I want to do for them. I don’t explain them; if they are interested in them, we can always discuss my clips later. - I tell them what I want: the faster you can do this, the better! If they requested pitches or applications, I give a quick summary of why I am a good fit (1 sentence, tops), then launch into the details of what I’d like to do. This is usually an arrangement (3 blog posts per month on sustainable farming) or a particular story (interviewing and profiling a local non-profit leader and why he/she is so influential).
- If they have any requirements for the pitch (length, including certain outlined steps, talking about my access to sources), I make sure to incorporate those
in organically . - I write, “let me know if you would be interested; I appreciate your time and consideration” or some variant of this same sentiment.
- I sign my name.
It’s really that simple. Things I don’t include:
- Apologies of any kind for wasting their time, submitting something incorrectly, etc.
- Unless I’m really uncertain that the email is going to the right person, I don’t mention that they can forward it on; if there’s a better person, they’ll usually forward it on without me asking.
- Overly explaining myself; figure out what the best quick proof in your industry is of your competence, and use only that (could be a resume, could be clips/work examples). They can always ask for a portfolio or some other longer document if they are intrigued.
- Extensive summary of the piece. If the instructions say to do so, obviously, I will do this, but most of the time, the strength of a piece can come across in 2-3 sentences if the person already knows and works with you, and 4-5 sentences if you are breaking into a new topic. If your work is getting into the 6+ sentence range, write as much as you want but then edit it back to 5 sentences. You get the best stuff that way.
It doesn’t always work; I find that my best pitch acceptances come with some kind of “this was something we were just talking about” or “you have perfect timing,” which helps me realize that a really great pitch may simply not find its audience if the timing is off. But that doesn’t make the ask a bad ask; if you respect people’s time and ask for work honestly and straightforwardly, it will eventually come to you.