Thinking about sending cold DM's... Here's what you need to know before you start.

Earlier this week, I had a young man send me a message via direct message. It said...

Hi Diana,

How about we turn this connection into an unforgettable story?😉

87 rejections this week, but here’s the twist—I’m still here.

After 300+ applications (well targeted) since April, I’ve learnt one thing: the perfect candidate doesn’t exist.
But what if you’ve missed someone who will work harder, learn faster, and grow with your team?

I may not check all the boxes, but I will deliver, oh and I quit my 9-5 manager position to be the most creative copywriter.

How about a trial task to see if I’m right?

PS: read the review I´ve got after a 4-month copywriting project: (upwork link here)

Here is my website (made by me): (website link here)
Talk soon,
(Insert Name Here)

My response to messages like this are always the same, "Does this ever work for you?"

And of course the answer I always get is either "No." or "I just started." So I just want to take a few minutes and talk about how to write a good cold message. The problems with the message above, and what kind of response rate you should expect from a good cold message.

First - Don't talk about your problems.

The guy that wrote me this message talks a lot about his problems. 87 rejections this week. 300+ applications since April. He knows that he doesn't check all the boxes.

None of these things make me want to use his services. I mean... if 87 people turned him down this week, what would make me think that I couldn't do better?

So instead of talking about your problems, talk about their problems. What are they struggling with? And how can you help them?

Second - You need to create a great offer.

This guy's offer is a trial task, and that's a common offer for freelancers just starting out. But there are several problems with this kind of offer.

1. You don't need to work for free. There are people out there that will take advantage of you. Plus, it can come across as desperate.
2. It's too open ended. You have no idea what people are going to ask you to do when you offer a free trial, or if you can even deliver. You need to choose something that you know you can do well, and offer to do that.
3. You didn't position your offer. Who is it for? Why are you good at it? Why should this random person trust you to do this project for them?

You need to have a great offer before you DM your first prospective customer. I would even say that the offer is better than the copy when you're sending these out.

Third - Keep it short.

Whenever you send someone a cold DM, you're creating a tiny funnel. Don't try to sell, or create a sales page in the DM. Your goal is to get them to take the next step.

What's the next step?

Get them to visit your website, view a project you've done before, or just engage in a conversation with you. In the pitch above, this guy did a really good job of this. He included his website URL, and a good review that he had previously gotten on Upwork.

But he didn't include it until the bottom. Unfortunately, most people won't even read to the end of the message. You've got to put the important stuff up top.

What kind of a response rate should you expect to get from a good cold message?

You should expect about 1 out of 10 people to reply back to your message. And you should probably expect 1 out of 100 people to give you some work, if you have done a good job with the message and with choosing the right people to send it to.

Sending cold DMs are hard. But they can also be highly effective ways to bring in new business. I wrote this post for freelancers, but it also works if you own a regular small business too. It doesn't matter if you're a business coach or a local real estate agent, the best way to get people to start talking to you is by sending them a message.

Need help writing your message?

I can help you write your messages if your struggling with how to connect with people you've never talked to before.

Just send me a message at diana@rainmakersunited.com.

I offer 30-minute strategy sessions where we can write your cold DMs together.