If you’re a freelance composer (or a freelance anything, for that matter), you’ve probably found yourself writing an e-mail “pitching,” your services to a potential client. In this post, I use my past experience as a marketing and sales expert to give actionable feedback to one VGM Academy subscriber who asked for help with their e-mail pitch.

This feedback applies universally, regardless of your industry, your position, or your experience. I’ve seen first-time freelancers and international corporations share the same mistakes and successes because, despite their differences, the core concepts of e-mail best practices remain the same across the board.

Note: I asked for and received permission to share this conversation and feedback with the VGM Academy community from the composer, who chose to remain anonymous.

The Original E-mail Pitch

Here is the original e-mail that the composer sent me when asking for my feedback, with all identifying information removed:

“Dan,

If you get a moment please have a look at this email I plan on sending game companies to solicit contract work. Any feedback/help would be appreciated greatly.

Cheers,

[Composer]

(Example starts here)

Hello,

My name is [Composer] and if you are requiring an exclusive soundtrack or audio design I am available for freelance/contract. I have a great deal of experience creating audio assets, full musical scores, interactive audio and a vast knowledge of some of the top game engines. I was runner up for best audio in a game at [Event Name] 20xx and have worked with some of the top mobile gaming companies including [Company A] and [Company B].

Please have a listen to my portfolio at:
http://soundcloud.com/[composer]
http://www.[composer].com/audio-design

If you are running on a budget please try some of my royalty free music packs on the Unity Asset Store and Audio Jungle:

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/[therestoftheURL]
http://audiojungle.net/user/[composer]

Thank you,
[Composer]”

That’s where we’re starting from, and here are my 5 recommendations that I made to improve this e-mail.

#1: ALWAYS (always) Personalize Your E-mail Greeting

Using someone’s first name in the e-mail greeting is an absolute necessity. It increases open-rate and click-through rate (CTR) of any sales/marketing e-mail. Remember: you’re e-mailing another human, and humans love personal attention.

The first few words of your message often appear as a preview in popular mail clients like G-mail and iOS Mail. See image:

If someone sees that the message is addressed to them personally before they’ve opened it, they are much more likely to open your message.

#2: Avoid “Cold E-mailing” as Much as Possible

If you don’t have a first name (because you’re e-mailing someone you don’t have a relationship with already – a ‘cold’ e-mail), you’re probably wasting your time sending them an e-mail in the first place. Researching your prospects helps if you don’t already know them, so if you are cold-emailing, make sure to do your research. Could you get lucky? Sure, but don’t rely solely on this method unless you want to constantly fight feelings of discouragement.

I was being a bit presumptuous with this recommendation, but the e-mail that this person drafted looks like a template and would feel that way to the recipient. From a statistical standpoint, cold-emails have a very poor return-on-investment (translation: you can invest a lot of time and energy and send lots of e-mails, but get little to nothing in return for your effort). It doesn’t take a lot to warm up a prospective customer before you e-mail them, so take some time getting to know them on social media so they know who you are when they see your name pop up in their inbox.

#3: Position Yourself as the Best Solution

If you have any semblance of a relationship with a game developer or have done a bit of research, you probably have an idea of the project they’re working on. Position yourself and your services as the perfect solution to their specific needs for their game. Are they working on a retro platform? Are you a chip tune artist? Can you say “match made in heaven”?! Make sure they understand that quickly and clearly.

Think of your “value proposition,” as a perfect pairing of your skills and services with the needs of your prospect. You want to be specific about what you can do and why you’re the best fit for the job. If you can’t explain it in 1 sentence, you’re over-thinking it. This is not an elevator pitch – it’s a statement about what you can do for your client.

#4: Be SUPER Specific with Your Call-to-Action

Every e-mail should have 1 (ideal) or 2 (max) goals. The original e-mail is trying to be a catch-all, presenting me with 4 options. Do you want me to LISTEN to your demo at your Soundcloud page or your personal website? Do you want me to BUY something from your Unity Asset store, or your AudioJungle page? Do you want me to REPLY to your email? SCHEDULE a Skype call? Be specific, and don’t give me the chance to be distracted.

The reality is that I will probably only click 1 if I click any of them, and you want each prospect to land at the right place for their needs.

Here are some examples:

If… they’re a first-time developer creating a space platformer game on a bootstrap budget…

then… send them directly to your budget-friendly Electronica Game Pack on your AudioJungle page, explaining the utility of a low-cost soundtrack pack.

If… they’re an Art Director working on a fantasy game that is preparing to unveil their first gameplay trailer at an upcoming event…

then… send them directly to your Epic Fantasy Trailer track on your AudioJungle page, mentioning that it takes 1 thing off of an already-stressful workload and a pressing deadline without committing them to a composer right away. If they need a composer for the full score afterwards, you now have a relationship with the developer and their fans, who have already heard your music in their game.

#5: Talk about THEM, not about YOU

The first paragraph of the original e-mail is all about the composer. Flip the narrative and make it all about the prospect and their needs. I understand the temptation to cram in what I call “credibility indicators” right away (awards, honors, etc), but that can easily be accomplished in a more appropriate space later on after you’ve done your best to deliver value to the prospect.

Your e-mail signature is a great place for a line or two about how great you are or what you can do, as is your personal website or artist description on any of the pages you’ve linked to. The e-mail should remain focused on the prospect and their unique needs.

The Re-written E-mail:

I took the liberty of rewriting this composer’s original message, using some of my feedback and a little imagination. In this example, I’m assuming that I do not have a previous relationship with this company or their team. Here is what something I might write in this situation:

“Hi [Prospect’s Name]:

I noticed on Twitter that your team is scrambling to prepare for the upcoming release of [Game Title]’s gameplay trailer at [Event Name] – exciting!

I know your team is probably up to their eyeballs in work right now; If you haven’t had the time to work with a composer yet, it may be easier to purchase a finished track outright for your gameplay trailer. You can always hire a composer later for the full soundtrack, but this will take 1 important item off your to-do list.

Based on what I’ve seen so far from [Game Title], I thought my Epic Space Trailer track might be a good fit. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

Let me know what you think!

-Dan Hulsman

Composer & Sound Designer,
Runner Up: Best Game Audio, [Event Name] 20xx
www.[mypersonalwebsite].com”

Final Thoughts

I’m not going to lie to you. Pitching your services via e-mail is a tough game to play, but any freelancer can increase their chances with some basic sales skills. Remember that SELLING is exactly what you’re trying to do with this type of e-mail. Any e-mail, whether you’re soliciting for work or not, should have a clear purpose and you shouldn’t be afraid to get to the point.

I’ll reiterate my #2 recommendation and urge you to only pitch services to folks whom you already know and have some sort of relationship with to increase your chances. If you’re not at that point yet with prospects, you can still apply these recommendations to your e-mails while you build relationships with them. Just change your Call-to-Actions and value proposition to relationship-building-type things like grabbing a beer at the next conference you’re both attending, clicking on an article you thought would be really interesting/useful to them, etc.