The Off-Channel Pitch
Escape the applicant pile by pitching through a channel nobody else is using
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 70%
The mechanism swaps the invited channel for one that is scarce. When a public figure says to email a link, every applicant emails a link and the comparison is instant and unflattering. Instead you build a physical artefact loaded with details only a genuine follower would know, send it with almost no explanation, and print a single URL on it. The artefact buys the moment of attention; the missing explanation converts that attention into curiosity; the URL routes that curiosity to a page you control, where the full letter, the work and the actual ask live. Because the page is yours, you set the framing and sequence rather than competing inside an inbox. Finally, the artefact appears inside the work itself, so the object in their hands and the video on the page reinforce each other.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show, where Jasmine plans how to reach the hosts of My First Million after they invited applicants to email a link to a correspondent audition video.
Core principles
- 01Using the channel everyone was told to use puts you in the pile
- 02Good marketing is capturing attention
- 03A physical object earns a moment that an email link cannot
- 04Curiosity should lead somewhere you control
- 05Detail proves you actually pay attention
How to run it
- 1
Name the default channel and reject it
Work out exactly what every other applicant will do. If the invitation was to email a link, an emailed link is the crowded route.
Watch out Some processes genuinely require the stated channel; check before deviating.
- 2
Build an artefact only a real follower could make
Design a physical object whose wording, references and in-jokes prove you consume their work closely.
Pro tip Nuance beats production value; the detail is the proof of attention.
Watch out A generic gift signals effort without signalling attention.
- 3
Send it almost bare
Package it well and include nothing but a short note carrying a single URL. Withholding the explanation is what creates the pull.
Watch out Adding a full cover letter collapses the curiosity you just manufactured.
- 4
Build the landing page you control
Create a dedicated page addressed to them by name that explains who you are, shows the work and states the ask in order.
Pro tip Use a memorable vanity path so it's easy to type from a printed note.
- 5
Connect the object to the work
Make the artefact visible inside the video or asset itself so the thing in their hands and the thing on screen are obviously the same story.
Pro tip Treat that shot as the single most important one on the shot list.
Watch out If the object never appears in the work, the two halves feel unrelated.
In the wild
Invited to email a link to a correspondent audition video, Jasmine judged that an email would put her in direct competition with every other applicant. She planned instead to have a sweater printed at the business she was filming, carrying phrasing drawn from the hosts' own podcast, package it attractively, and include nothing but a note with a single URL on her own domain. That page would carry the letter, the video and the correspondent pitch, and the sweater itself would appear in the video.
→ The pitch arrives as a physical object with a curiosity gap rather than as one more link in an inbox.
Common mistakes
Sending the artefact with no destination
A memorable object with no URL earns a moment of attention and then wastes it, because there's nowhere for the recipient to go.
Explaining everything on the note
The whole mechanism runs on curiosity; a full explanation on the packaging removes the reason to visit the page where your real pitch lives.
Making it purely self-serving
If the piece only benefits you, it falls flat; the recipient needs an obvious reason of their own to care.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators or operators pitching a specific, reachable person for an opportunity that will attract many applicants.
Not ideal for
Formal application processes where deviating from the stated channel disqualifies you.
From the transcript
“And so he wants me to send a link, but I don't want to send the link because sending a link puts me in competition…”
“I think good marketing is just capturing somebody's attention.”
“But if you make a piece of content that's just only ever self-serving to you, it actually falls flat.”
From the episode
Behind the Scenes of Building a Bold Pitch