Writing a claim that gets accepted
A business posting a brief is not looking for enthusiasm, they are looking for evidence that you can reach the buyer they cannot. Four short paragraphs are enough to show it.
Open with the market you already own
"I run a 4,000-subscriber newsletter for independent hotel operators in Portugal" tells the business whether their brief fits. Open with the audience, not with your admiration for their product.
If you do not cover their market yet, say which adjacent market you do cover and how you would reach theirs. Adjacency with a plan beats a claim of relevance you cannot prove.
Describe the motion in one paragraph
What will you physically do in the first thirty days? Publish a comparison, run a webinar, introduce three named accounts, or place a sponsored slot. A concrete motion tells the business what budget and support the partnership needs from them.
Bring proof, then a number
One link to something you have done, plus a realistic estimate of what this brief could produce. Businesses would rather read "two to four qualified introductions in the first month" than an unqualified promise of twenty.
Being specific about what you are not promising is what makes the rest of the claim credible.
Close with the ask, not a sales pitch
End with the next step you want: a fifteen-minute call, a test brief, or access to their partner terms. Claims that ask for a small, cheap next step get accepted far more often than claims that end with "let me know".
- Keep it under 200 words; reviewers skim.
- Mirror the brief's own language so it is obvious you read it.
- Never send the same claim to five briefs without editing it.
TAKEAWAYS
- Lead with the audience you own, not your enthusiasm.
- Promise a motion you can execute alone in thirty days.
- End with a small, concrete next step.