Writing Samples – Bio’s and Pitch Letters
I’d say that one of the hardest things anyone can do is write his or her own bio. I love writing bios for others, but like everyone I know, I’m terrible at writing my own bio.
The purpose of a bio is the same as what’s called a “Pitch Letter” by publicists and PR professionals. The idea is to “Pitch” the benefits of hiring the person or company to provide certain services. That is, you want a bio or pitch letter to sell the company through the individual.
A good bio or pitch letter is both entertaining and informative. It says to the reader, “This is how YOU will benefit by hiring us/me.” The bio is as much about the reader as it is about the person being promoted. As with anything we do online, we need to make it about the reader because, as we all know, everyone wants to know what’s in it for him or her.
Below you’ll see four bio’s and four Pitch Letters. You’ll see both the similarities and differences in how they’re written. Enjoy.
