How to Use the R.O.P.E. Method For Irresitible Pitch-Crafting

The R.O.P.E. Method is a pitching framework I've honed over many years that has helped thousands of creators cut through the noise and finally get on the radar of their dream brands.

• "R" stands for "Relevant" – to a campaign the brand is either currently running or has run in the past.

• "O" stands for "Organic" – you can tie your pitch back to organic work you've already published that illustrates your audience has an affinity for their brand or product.

• "P" stands for "Proof" – you can show how you've helped other brands achieve results.

• "E" stands for "Easy to Execute" – when the brand says they're interested.

Let's pretend we're pitching StarKist Tuna.

Of course, you can substitute this with any brand or company in any niche or industry.

Let's try out this pitch:

Hi!

I love your brand and am curious if you'd like to collaborate.

-Justin

How do you think the brand will react when you send them that email?

ZZZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZZZ.

That was the brand snoring. It might have even given them night terrors.

Let's check the R.O.P.E. Checklist.

Is this relevant to a campaign they're working on?

Nope.

Does this tie back to organic work you've already posted that illustrates your audience's affinity?

Nope.

Have you shown them any proof that you're credible?

Nope.

Easy to Execute?

If the brand responded and said, "Sounds great, let's do it!"

Well, what are you going to do for them? You didn't pitch them anything.

So, instead, why don't we do a little research?

Was their VP of Marketing recently on a podcast discussing their advertising strategy?

Have they put out any press releases talking about an upcoming product launch?

What about their job boards? Are they recruiting for a Partnerships Manager?

Let's scroll back on their social media posts to see what campaigns they were running last year.

Wow, interesting!

In the past, StarKist made some posts about Mediterranean Diet Month.

Fascinating.

So here's what you're going to do.

You're going to make an organic post about the Mediterranean Diet Month before you pitch them.

Then you send them this:

Time to go through the R.O.P.E. Checklist with our revised pitch!

Is this Relevant to a campaign they're working on?

Probably!

Most creators think brands reinvent the wheel with their marketing strategies every year but that couldn't be further from the truth.

They typically dust off the same playbook from last year and rerun it.

So, by honing in on a campaign you know they love (they ran it, after all), you will instantly stand out and be Relevant to them.

How about Organic?

Notice that underlined section in the pitch?

That's where you linked that post you did strategically. The brand can click through, then learn more about your personality and the composition of your audience.

I repeat: You're not linking them to your main social media page.

They won't read your last ten posts or watch 15 of your videos.

They're going to watch 30 seconds of one of them and think, "This person seems like a good fit for our brand!" Or possibly, "I'm immediately reporting this person to the authorities."

Hopefully, not the second one.

The purpose of your Organic work is to convince them that your audience already has an affinity for their brand.

How about Proof?

You're telling them you just did a deal with another brand in a similar category.

Don't you think they'll want to know how that campaign turned out?

At the very least, to get some non-proprietary, competitive intel?!

Almost without question.

What about Easy to Execute?

Duh!

Your pitch outlined exactly what you'd do for their brand!

You might think, "But what if they don't want to do the exact thing I'm pitching?"

I can almost guarantee you that is what's going to happen.

The brand will say, "Wow, this is a cool idea. We're not doing that type of campaign right now, but how about this other thing instead? That's a priority for us right now."

The point is that you gave them something tangible to react to.

If you're thinking, "Justin, this seems like a ridiculous amount of work. I already feel like I'm on a hamster wheel. I don't have time for this!"

Well, 2009 Justin would've said the same thing!

Because I had to send 100 of those initial crappy pitches to get one or two responses.

Contrast that with Justin of today?

If I spend 15-20 minutes of research max per pitch…

I will receive a response from brands more than 50% of the time.

Remember: Make it about them, not you.