How To Land Assignments Without Writing Queries

Wish you could score some assignments and gigs without having to spend all that time writing, researching, and tailoring queries?

Well, sometimes you can do just that with an LOI, or letter of introduction.

So what exactly is an LOI? It’s basically the written version of a cold call. It’s an unsolicited letter or e-mail that tells a potential client or editor how your background and work experience make you a top-notch candidate for future projects and writing assignments.

Of course, sending LOIs won’t magically land you assignments. But sometimes sending an LOI to an editor or client is all it takes for work to come your way.

Now, having said all that, you should never ever ever send an LOI to a publication or client without first doing your research. You can’t fool editors and clients. They can usually tell if you’ve done your homework or not and whether you have taken the time to research their company.

And I want to emphasize this: Nothing will kill your chances with a client or editor more quickly than an LOI or query that broadcasts your lack of knowledge about their operation, product, or publication.

On the other hand, if editors like what they see in your LOI, sometimes they’ll invite you to send some story ideas their way. Or you might send an LOI, forget about it, and then suddenly get a phone call or an e-mail weeks or months later asking about your availability for an assignment.

I will say this about LOIs: they’ve landed me more assignments than queries or any other method. In fact, all of my work right now is a direct result of LOIs that I sent to clients, media outlets, magazines, and online publications.

In one case, I sent an LOI to an editor earlier this year, followed up a couple times, and didn’t hear anything for months. And then one day this fall, I got a phone call. Now, I have a regular online editing gig.

In another case, I sent an LOI to an ad agency two years ago. But due to deadlines and a schedule that always seemed to be full whenever they called, I’ve yet to do any work for the agency. But because I have continued to stay in touch and have followed up every few months, the owner of that agency recently referred me to another client. So later this afternoon—as a result of all those LOIs and follow-ups over the past two years—I have an interview with a new client.

Sending an LOI to an editor before you pitch a story idea also is a good idea. I always send an LOI to a new-to-me publication before sending any queries. That way, the editor knows who I am and what my credentials are before my story pitch lands in their inbox.

As you might suspect, LOIs are most effective when you have five-star credentials. That said, sometimes even if you don’t have a lot of writing samples, you can still land assignments based on your area of expertise. For example, if you have a law degree but only a handful of clips, sometimes an editor will send work your way based on your legal expertise alone. In fact, many publications prefer working with subject matter experts these days.

And if you’re hoping to get a writing assignment or gig, be sure to include links to any writing or work samples you have available online. Based on my experience, few publications are asking for hard-copy writing samples anymore. So if you haven’t converted these to a format that you can display online, you will want to consider doing that. If you’re wondering how to do this, places like Kinko’s can convert hard-copy writing samples into PDF files.

Along the same lines, it’s also a good idea to have your own online profile or Web site that you can refer to in your LOI. The goal is to get the editor or client interested enough to read more about your background, look at your writing samples, view recommendations, and review your résumé on your Web site or online profile. And of course, send work your way!

So do you want to know how to write a successful LOI that editors and clients can’t refuse? Come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you how!

-Jenny

Photo credit: Irargerich (Flickr)