Joe Pulizzi launched an in-person conference in 2022. For the first time in more than a decade, Joe found himself in sales—selling sponsorships for the brand-new Creator Economy Expo.

Joe is the founder of Content Marketing World, which he sold in 2016, within five years of its founding. So he knows about marketing and selling.

“I've got this,” he thought. Easy? Peasy!

He wrote this cold-outreach email to select companies:

Hi FNAME,

Wanted to make sure you were aware of our event, CEX - Creator Economy Expo. This is an exclusive event for 500+ content creators at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix (May 2–4, 2022).

I founded this event because I believe there is a real gap in the event space for true content entrepreneurs … those full-time creators trying to build a substantial business.

Our attendees are experienced entrepreneurs and content creators who spend, on average, $10k per year on technology solutions to run their content businesses.

Companies already sponsoring CEX include HubSpot, Rally.io and MarketMuse. We are limiting sponsors to just a few dozen this year (for obvious reasons).

We just announced our first round of amazing speakers, including Roberto Blake, Ann Handley, Jeremiah Owyang, Jordan Harbinger, Kaleigh Moore, Wally Koval (Accidentally Wes Anderson) … all some of the most amazing content entrepreneurs in the world.

I'd love to get you involved in some way. Here is our prospectus just to see what we are offering, but I'd love to create something that helps you grow your business and help our attendees at the same time.

Five minutes to chat about it?

Best, Joe

So what happened?

Did Joe's phone ring off the hook? Did his inbox explode? Did the companies on Joe's contact list throw all their budget dollars at him?

Not exactly.

Let's be honest. You probably stopped reading Joe's letter after a paragraph or two. At best, you skimmed. From Joe: “That's okay. I wouldn't either.”

Joe's outreach got … crickets. NO response.

Zero calls. Zero emails. Zero budget dollars came Joe's way.

“I should have known better,” Joe told me. “It's too long. And they really don't care about why I founded the event.”

Like your customers, Joe's recipients care about themselves. They care about their own needs. They don't care about you. Devastating. But true.

“How quickly I forget,” Joe said.

Take Two

Joe rewrote, with an eye toward brevity, utility, and empathy for the people and companies on his list. He reworded. He cut most of the words. He made it feel more like a personal request—just a quick note—than a formal ask.

Here's the second version of Joe's sales letter:

Hi FNAME…

We have a new IRL creator economy event, called CEX: Creator Economy Expo. 500+ creators that could use your services. I believe there is a fit here. Would love to chat with you for less than 10 minutes about it if possible.

Or if interested … I can email you a few ideas.

Check it out here ---> https://cex.events/ - May 2–4, 2022 (Arizona Grand Resort)

That was it.

Before we talk results, let's break it down:

• Brevity: 65 words versus the original 195 words. And he gets right to it. He says what he wants in the first line.
• Useful: Joe writes that the creators attending at his event need the services of the companies he's reaching out to.

  Also I like how he says “I believe” in a way that incites curiosity. You can't help but wonder as the recipient: I wonder how Joe sees a fit here? I'd love to hear more.

  “Every person I'm reaching out to has a sales goal,” Joe says.

• Empathy: It's about the customer, not Joe.

  What's more: Joe will not waste your precious time. All he asks for is 10 minutes.

  “Everyone has 10 minutes, especially if it will help with their jobs and lives in some way,” Joe said.

So what happened? Roughly 25% of the people he reached out to responded—some wanted a call, some emailed for ideas.

Twenty ultimately opted to sponsor Joe's new CEX event.

* * *

What I love about Joe's revised approach is its simplicity. The lessons are powerful, spare, and apply to any kind of sales opportunity.

You don't need to sell to people; you need to instead consider how you can help them. THAT'S your message.

You might not be in Sales. But think of Joe's letter anytime you have an ask: whether you're looking for money or a promotion, or you just want the shelter to consider your family for that cute Shih Tzu mix you saw on their feed.