5 Steps for Building Your Writing Portfolio

A portfolio is a great tool for freelancers in most industries; for freelance writers, it’s an absolute must-have. A robust portfolio can make or break your appeal to potential clients.

Your writing portfolio is a collection of your work—often your best work, or work that highlights certain skills—that you will use time and again to win more jobs. When hiring writers, potential clients want to be able to see and compare samples of the work of the talent they are considering. Seeing that work in action gives clients an idea of the writers’ skills and abilities, and can also help clients decide who is the right fit for their project.

Creating a portfolio on Upwork is easier than ever with Upwork’s intuitive, upgraded portfolio. You can upload images, videos, and documents; add URLs; and include a brief description that helps to paint a picture of the project to prospective clients.  

Put simply, Upwork’s upgraded portfolio can do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to “selling” your value to clients. This article will help you get started with exactly that.

In this guide we’ll discuss:

1. Decide on a domain name and where you want to host your portfolio
2. Review all prior work for potential writing samples
3. Seek out guest post opportunities
4. Consider writing for nonprofit organizations
5. Revisit and update your portfolio regularly

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Your writing portfolio: what it is and what it should include

Writers should look at an online writing portfolio as a tool to advertise their writing skills to prospective clients. In addition to samples of your work, your portfolio should include a brief, informative (but not overly promotional) biography and any testimonials you may have from former clients regarding your writing skills.

The goal of your writer portfolio is to showcase unique gifts and contributions that only you can bring, so it should harbour only high-quality writing work you feel will advance your writing career.

One frequent mistake that new freelancers make when building their portfolios is believing that every piece they’ve penned needs to be included. Keep your writing samples current, relevant to your writing niche(s), and top-notch at all times.

The following list highlights a few key characteristics that any solid writing portfolio should contain.

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Characteristics of a strong writing portfolio

• Diversity of writing. If you are a seasoned independent writer with multiple writing jobs under your belt, you need to ensure that your portfolio includes your strongest pieces and demonstrates the various genres, styles, and publication types you can tackle. Even if all you’ve done is blogging and served as a copywriter here and there, think about creating pieces for the types of writing that are of interest to you professionally. As you grow your freelance business, you can shuffle pieces in and out as needed to show your best writing work continuously.

• Professional content and tone. You should keep your portfolio professional. Even if you write for a brand that has an off-beat tone, be mindful to present the content in a professional manner. Although one goal of your portfolio might be to showcase your range in writing for different verticals, you want to prioritize presenting this content in a polished manner.

• Clips oriented to your target audience. Freelance writing jobs are not all the same, so wherever you choose to host your portfolio should offer the capability to feature your best work in different segments. For example, if you’re interested in serving as a ghostwriter for a lifestyle blogger, a year’s worth of formal grant applications you wrote for multiple nonprofits doesn’t show your writing skills in their best light to this audience.

• Clips that reflect the way you present your brand and focus. Every professional writer has a distinct style and focus. Ensure your writing samples reflect yours by choosing pieces that offer insights into your writing style, versatility, or other marketable attributes.
  

How to build a writing portfolio in 5 steps

If you’re in the early stages of building your career as a freelance writer in hopes of making it your primary source of income, you need an online portfolio that attracts clients by speaking for itself.

Upwork is a great platform for launching your writing career, as you can pursue opportunities while also seeing how other successful freelance writers structure their portfolios.

The following five steps will help you design your professional writing portfolio in a way that shows your writing services in their best light.

1. Decide on a domain name and where you want to host your portfolio

The first step you should take in building your online writing portfolio is to decide on and purchase a domain name. A good rule of thumb is to use your name and add “.com.” If this isn’t available, though, you can get creative and expand it to “yournamewrites.com” or something similar. You can use sites like GoDaddy.com to see what domain is available. Whatever you choose, the goal should be to have a domain that is concise and makes a direct connection to you.

From there, you’ll want to decide on where you want to host and build your online portfolio. There are many portfolio sites available where you can build your brand as a writer. Sites like Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress offer easy-to-use templates that allow you to build a web presence for your freelance writer’s portfolio without having to start from scratch.

To expand your reach to potential clients, you can also consider building your online freelancer presence through platforms like Upwork. Upwork makes it easy for you to create your portfolio with an intuitive tool designed to empower freelancers to showcase all types of work. We also offer areas to highlight testimonials and reviews from previous clients as well as your rate to make working with a new client that much faster.

2. Review all prior work for potential writing samples

Once you have a space set for your writing portfolio, look for pieces that can serve as your foundation. The challenge might be identifying your best work within existing writing samples.

Look for well-structured pieces that achieve a professional tone and have been particularly successful for past clients.

3. Seek out guest post opportunities

If you don’t have many pieces to add to your portfolio, look for opportunities to increase your visibility as an independent writer.

That could mean reaching out to your LinkedIn network to see about producing content for their company pages or guest posting on a friend’s established blog.

Publishing new content is one of the best ways to enhance the success of your freelance writing portfolio.

4. Consider writing for nonprofit organisations

Nonprofit organisations can be a great place to get your copywriting feet wet if you’re a new writer because these companies often need support.

Consider reaching out to nonprofits you admire and ask if they need a copywriter or other content creator. You may have to work pro bono, but you can gain great experience.  

Being affiliated with a nonprofit also lends your writing work a level of purpose that can help you promote yourself in interviews.

5. Revisit and update your portfolio regularly

Potential clients want to see your previous writing samples and know you’re still actively writing and available. Be sure to revisit your portfolio and update it when appropriate.

For instance, if you’ve recently taken on a client in a new vertical and want to expand your business within that industry, ensure those clips find their way onto your online portfolio.

Check out more tips on creating a robust portfolio in this Building Your Portfolio course from Upwork Academy.

Reach the clients you need to launch your writing career

Building your freelance writer’s portfolio should be an inspiring experience. Making early decisions about what type of writing you’re interested in will help you figure out what to put in your portfolio at various stages of its progression. Upwork is the best place to find and win writing opportunities of all kinds, no matter your area of passion or current level of expertise.

As the world’s work marketplace, Upwork is the best place to find and win writing opportunities of all kinds, no matter your area of passion or current level of expertise. Create your upgraded portfolio on Upwork to attract clients looking for freelance writers. Sign up to Upwork today.