Finding new outlets through which to get published can be a stressful process. Similarly, making a pitch to a potential customer or client can often fall short for reasons unbeknownst to us. There is a certain art to outreach that isn’t easily mastered by those who are new to the game, but that doesn’t mean that the overall process need to be forever difficult. Whether you’re wanting to make a sale or make a pitch for guest blogging, you’ll need to avoid some common mistakes to ensure the best chances of success. We’ll discuss what you’ll want to avoid below so that you can further improve your outreach efforts.

Cookie-Cutter Pitches

Above all else, a standardized pitch to a potential client, partner or customer will ensure that your efforts fall short. It is one thing to have a base from which to develop your pitch, but it is quite another to use carbon-copy commentary when you are trying to make an impression. Before reaching out to anyone individually, be sure to research their background, interests, reputation and anything else you may find in order to ensure that you’re not pinging URLs to products and services in vain. People don’t necessarily expect a completely customized response from you, but they do expect that some thought has went into what you’re saying before you reach out to them.

Repetitive Pestering

So, you’ve done your outreach, but you haven’t yet heard back from the person. In many cases, these things take time. In other cases, people simply aren’t interested. While perseverance is sometimes respected and rewarded, following up too soon or too often can leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths. If you haven’t received a response in 24 hours, then the worst thing you can do is try to follow-up again. This usually results in an irritated recipient and significantly decreases the likelihood that you’ll ever get a response.

Ignorance of Their Situations

While a cookie-cutter pitch can often seem like an uniformed, unwanted and undesirable form of outreach, you can also mess up by reaching out to somebody with little to no understanding of how their business or line of work operates. All too many times, individuals and brands focus on customized pitches, only to fall short because they did not do enough research on the target or have no understanding of how their processes work. Before you solicit, be sure that you a) understand the mindset and methods of the target and b) that you actually have something to offer them in terms of expertise.

Ridiculous Terminology

It’s common for brands to reach out to potential clients and partners despite not understanding their lines of work and situations. Unfortunately, many try to make up for this by using a variety of buzzwords and silly terminology that doesn’t mean anything. If you find yourself pinging URLs in your outreach alongside words such as “synergy”, “viral”, “value” and so forth, then stop. People expect any pitch they receive to actually articulate something, so ditch the buzzwords.

Any form of content outreach can succeed or fail based on a variety of arbitrary and uncontrollable factors. However, there are many instances in which we bring this pain on ourselves. Avoid buzzwords, do your homework, ditch the cookie-cutter form letters and don’t pester people when making your pitch. Your chances of success in outreach will increase and your sanity will thank you.