Blow Up Your Income With An Optimized Writing Portfolio!

The quick and easy 3-step strategy to get paid as a freelance writer from day one.

If you’re like many people getting started as a freelance writer, then you know you need to set up a portfolio of samples. However, if you’ve never created one before, then it may seem overwhelming. And if you have tried to put one together only to get zero responses, then you know that it’s not as simple as posting a few good samples.

That’s why I’ve posted this for people who are having trouble getting work. If you know what to do, you can skip the long learning curve, the trial-and-error process, and hopefully all the frustrating mistakes most beginning writers make on their way to getting freelance work.

So let’s get started…

Your writer portfolio showcases the type of work that you do to attract targeted prospects. Many writers make the mistake of believing that every piece they’ve written needs to be included in their portfolio. Let’s not do that.

It’s important to maintain a current and relevant set of writing samples at all times. However, you won’t need to display over eight pieces. You’re showing off specific samples for a sales presentation. Make the material relevant to the type of prospects you wish to court.

Step 1: Know Your Market

As a new writer, you’ll be tempted to have an “everything, including the kitchen sink” portfolio. However, I’ve discovered that the best way to start the process is to find a particular vertical market and build your portfolio around that industry or subject. Let’s say that you love working in the crypto currency field. It’s a hot topic these days.

Here’s what to do…

Conduct research in the areas you wish to pursue as a writer. Are you looking to write articles? Perhaps Facebook ads and email marketing copy are your areas of expertise. Create your portfolio based on your strengths in a particular industry. You’re more likely to get work based on your specialty.

Step 2: Organize Your Work

This second step can be a little tricky, which is why I’ve broken it up into multiple smaller steps.

But before I get into those smaller steps, let me toss a word of warning your way. Take note that just throwing your work up there on a website will not be your best option.

Consider your portfolio site as a presentation. It should have a starting point, a middle and an end. Your portfolio should tell a story. Throwing a bunch of samples on a WordPress site makes you look like an amateur. With that warning out of the way, here’s how to complete this step:

Step 2.1 Look at a few professional writer’s portfolios and the websites of prominent prospects you wish to write for. This will help you get a feel for the style and flavor that’s selling in your market.

Step 2.2: Sketch out a logical flowchart of your portfolio site.

This should include:

• A home page.
• About Me page.
• Work samples organized by niche/subject/asset type.
• Blog.
• Rates.
• Special offer page/sales funnel.
• Contact Me.

Step 2.3: Let’s talk a bit about the Special Offer funnel page.

A sales funnel is a system that takes prospects through a series of steps; from slightly interested in buying to enthusiastically buying over and over. The point of a sales funnel is to capture email addresses and follow up with more attractive material; hoping to gain the trust of your prospects. As a freelance writer, this is a great way to contact and follow up with leads.

I’ll have more to say about lead generation and sales funnels in other posts. Once you’ve established your framework for the portfolio site, then move on to Step 3…

Step 3: Create Your Online Portfolio

This step requires some time and work to get it right, but it’s worthwhile. Here’s how to do it…

You can use a CMS or build an HTML site if you have the skill. There are platforms available that make the process simple and code-free.

Popular platforms for building an online portfolio are:

• Clippings.me.
• Journo Portfolio.
• Muck Rack.
• Squarespace.
• The Freelancer by Contently.
• WordPress.com.
• Writer’s Residence.
• Writerfolio.

Working with these platforms range from super easy to confounding based on your skill level and familiarity with web platforms. Check them out and decide for yourself with is best for your needs.

Keep Your Samples Limited to Your Target Market

Select only eight pieces for your presentation. After viewing eight samples, a prospect should be able to decide whether to contact you for work. You’ll also be including links to your other works. This is where your satellite portfolios come into play. You’ll need to create several other portfolios. You’ll display articles, samples and posts on other platforms to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Set up:

• LinkedIn portfolio.
• Medium blog samples.
• Contently portfolio.
• Guest posts.

Your links will give prospects an opportunity to see more of your work that may not be within the narrow scope of your presentation but still reinforce your experience and professionalism. Now you can craft one of the most important parts of your presentation; your author bio.

You should include the following elements in your biography: what you are offering, what kind of content you provide, how to contact you and some kind of way to convey your personality.

As you can see, it’s easy to establish your freelance writing portfolio — you just need to complete the process step-by-step using my instructions above.

But before you jump in, let me share with you three tips to make it even faster and easier for you to get your professional writing portfolio together in short order:

Keep a tight leash on your portfolio samples. You’ll be focusing on a particular result. Let’s say you’re targeting local pest control companies to help them get more customers. Your portfolio may look something like this.

· About Me.

· Writing Samples.

· Special Offer.

· Rates.

· Contact Me.

There are over 30,800 businesses operating as pest control companies in the US. Revenues are projected to be approximately $17.4 billion (US) by 2023.

I’m sure that there are few key players in that industry would love to have their content marketing needs met at a price that makes sense. Putting together a portfolio for a particular industry can bring in a lot of business with research and some preparation.

Congratulations — you now know how to get your winning portfolio together. So the next thing you need to do is take action. Because the sooner you do, the sooner you can start earning a freelance income as a writer.

About Dennis M. Francis

Dennis Morales Francis is a retired content marketing consultant for small business lead generation. He has bylines on sites like Medium as well as the author of the best seller “Double My Revenues in 12 Months or Less” and other books on lead generation and content marketing. He’s also the founder of DiD Publishing.