WEBVTT - The case for pitching

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that even if you are very successful, you

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<v Speaker 1>might want to spend a little bit of time pitching

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<v Speaker 1>new work. This increases the chances that you get to

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<v Speaker 1>do the projects that you really want to do. So.

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<v Speaker 1>I was talking with some creative folks recently who were

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<v Speaker 1>all making a good living from their work. They had

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<v Speaker 1>lots of clients coming to them with projects. One person

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned that a new client had asked her to send

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<v Speaker 1>them some ideas. She declined, saying she was happy to

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<v Speaker 1>take assignments, but it wasn't part of her business model

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<v Speaker 1>to send over ideas that she wasn't sure people could use.

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<v Speaker 1>And from a sheer time management perspective, this makes a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of sense. It is so much more efficient to

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<v Speaker 1>have clients come to you with ideas for projects that

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<v Speaker 1>they already know they are willing to pay for. I

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<v Speaker 1>personally love it when editors reach out to me with, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>could you write two thousand words on this topic with

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<v Speaker 1>a deadline of this At this rate, with one note

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<v Speaker 1>or phone call, you might have a project going. Contrast

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<v Speaker 1>this with pitching, which generally involves sending a list of

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<v Speaker 1>ideas that you have dreamed up. First, you have to

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<v Speaker 1>come up with the ideas. Then you have to do

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<v Speaker 1>enough research to make sure the ideas will work. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you have to convince the person with the budget that

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<v Speaker 1>these ideas also match up with what they were looking for.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if the person thinks your ideas are amazing, they

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<v Speaker 1>might have just decided to go in a different direction

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<v Speaker 1>for the next year. So it makes sense to avoid

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<v Speaker 1>pitching as a general business model once you have achieved

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<v Speaker 1>some level of success, If demand is high and you

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<v Speaker 1>decide to take the assignments that come rather than pitching,

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<v Speaker 1>you spend more time working and earning money and less

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<v Speaker 1>time doing sales. Indeed, if you want to make a

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<v Speaker 1>living as a solopreneur in a creative field, it is

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<v Speaker 1>vital to not spend all your time pitching. But and

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<v Speaker 1>you knew the butt was coming here, I still think

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<v Speaker 1>it is worth it to spend some amount of time

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<v Speaker 1>dreaming up new ideas and trying them out on existing

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<v Speaker 1>clients or new ones. Here's why doing the same thing

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<v Speaker 1>over and over again can get boring. People wind up

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<v Speaker 1>burned out doing the exact same graphic design work, or

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<v Speaker 1>writing the same kind of copy, or writing the music

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<v Speaker 1>for the same sorts of commercials over and over again.

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<v Speaker 1>In order to have a successful, long running career, you

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<v Speaker 1>have to stay interested in the work, and the best

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<v Speaker 1>way to do that is to have some projects going

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<v Speaker 1>that you truly want to do. The work fascinates you.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also exciting to find new places to showcase your work,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's practical on some level. Even the best clients

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<v Speaker 1>can disappear or change over time. You always want options,

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<v Speaker 1>so set aside some amount of time for speculative work.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you spend every Thursday afternoon coming up with ideas

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<v Speaker 1>that you would like to work on and figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>who might be interested. You spend some of that time

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<v Speaker 1>marketing yourself and seeing what options are out there. Make

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<v Speaker 1>sure you have a backup slot in case the first

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<v Speaker 1>time gets taken away from you for some reason. Not

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<v Speaker 1>all of what you come up with will land, but

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<v Speaker 1>some of it will, and then you will have projects

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<v Speaker 1>that are reasonably more interesting and new than what you

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<v Speaker 1>would have been doing. And who knows, maybe one of

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<v Speaker 1>those ideas will be a big breakthrough one that means

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<v Speaker 1>you wind up doing even less pitching in the future,

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<v Speaker 1>as clients battle over each other to send you ideas

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<v Speaker 1>that are even more perfectly suited to your interests. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>it could happen, So spend a little time pitching. Not

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<v Speaker 1>all your time by any means you don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>do that, but some small amount of time. You'll likely

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<v Speaker 1>feel more fulfilled in your job as a result. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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