Writing a portfolio is a must if you want to WOW your potential client. Every freelancer knows that. But here is a dilemma: to get clients you need a portfolio, to have a portfolio you need clients. That’s confusing and probably that’s why you are here. We got your back!
ItHire has prepared some working tips that will guide you in starting a freelance copywriter’s career.
Firstly, let’s see what a professional freelance writing portfolio contains: it’s a collection of one’s best writing samples to advertise your skills and attract clients for different projects. It can be built from the start, so it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a prof. Besides your work, you should as well include a brief bio, your contacts, some reviews or reference letters if available, and a price list (optional).
Portfolio is a strong tool that’ll also help your potential clients understand whether you are a good fit for their project; how much you’d charge; and what you’d invest into their future project.
Okay, now we know what we need, it’s time to seek some tips.
It’s always important to get some inspiration and move your imagination so the whole process gives you progress. In times when many professionals share their works and content online, you can easily search for freelance writer portfolios and see how others work, i.e. what style they have, the wording game, the topics they choose; and take some tips that catch your eye. You can also read through examples of press releases, a highly requested task for freelance writers
Now you are prepared to invest your creativity into your portfolio. YAY!
After you are inspired we can start with the writing process.
No matter if you have a related background or not, you can always start from 0. Do not get stuck on the fact that you have no prior experience – fake it till you make it. You can go ahead with writing stories from your life, for instance. Take topics that interest you and write an article for an imaginative client. Basically, you become your first client and treat your project as if it’s already for a certain assignee.
It’s a good trick that many publishers use. It’s called “writing on spec (speculation)”. You create a certain project with tasks for an imaginative company/client in your head and write an article with all the needed details. Put your time and effort as if you are already selling it. It should be one of many works that’ll bring you clients.
During the process, you’ll also find your niche and discover which topics you enjoy more, and that will become your arsenal.
As a bonus here are some topics, that may attract you:
While building your content, it’s helpful to contact newbies like you – students or beginner brand owners and suggest to them your writing skills. That will be a great experience for both parties. It may be a blog article, a guest post, small stories, etc. It’s a good way to build a professional relationship with bloggers, editors, and people in the business, generally.
What would we do without socials, right?
Today, online media is quite a weapon if you want to share your work and show your skills.
A platform like LinkedIn is a perfect place to contact professionals to exchange knowledge. By sharing your content you may surely get some negative comments but don’t be scared. When life gives you lemons, take them and write a story about it.
Take useful remarks to understand your mistakes better and edit your portfolio by removing unnecessary parts.
Everybody started from the bottom one day, so don’t be shy. Tell the world about you.
It’s good to have a lot of experience and write as much as possible. However, it’s better to choose several (4-8) quality works of yours, rather than write 10-20 pieces that are not that good. Remember, your portfolio helps you stand out from the competition, so the quality will speak for itself.
Now that you know how to prepare your portfolio you can freely add it to different freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, ItHire, and more.
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