As a brand new freelancer, are you questioning create an internet writing portfolio to indicate potential purchasers? Preserve studying; now we have 5 simple methods so that you can create knowledgeable on-line writing portfolio.
One of many largest hurdles I confronted attempting to carve out a full-time freelance writing profession was discovering a solution to show high quality work to potential purchasers. It’s a catch-22: Most purchasers or media firms need to see writing samples that showcase your greatest work, nevertheless it’s exhausting to get these if nobody will rent you till they’ve seen your author’s portfolio.
The excellent news is that robust writing samples result in work that, in flip, results in extra printed writing samples. To kick issues off so you can begin getting paid what you’re value, chances are you’ll simply must get somewhat artistic and create your individual alternatives. To get the ball rolling, I’m sharing 5 on-line platforms my author mates and colleagues have used to construct their author portfolios.
Why You Want an On-line Writing Portfolio
Put merely, an internet writing portfolio is a devoted net web page the place anybody enthusiastic about hiring you possibly can see your experience on full show. Take into consideration your freelance author portfolio as a beefed-up resume designed to land your excellent consumer.
Whereas starting writers typically query why they’ll’t merely submit writing samples by way of Google Docs or Phrase paperwork when making use of for freelance jobs, submitting hyperlinks to printed content material is the business customary.
Most purchasers and media firms need to see a author’s abilities in motion, and people abilities go far past the power to show an excellent phrase. Relying on a author’s area of interest, printed samples can showcase a author’s understanding of business fundamentals like search engine optimisation and function proof that they wrote their very own content material, one thing that’s more and more extra essential in in the present day’s world of content material mills and AI.
Author Web sites for Constructing or Internet hosting On-line Writing Portfolios
For writers who know they’ll do the job however have to create samples, many platforms supply an area to self-publish content material. This may be so simple as selecting a subject that aligns with the kind of jobs you’re in search of after which shopping web sites with comparable content material to study what purchasers are in search of.
Since you possibly can all the time change content material as you develop your abilities, a very powerful factor is selecting a portfolio web site and getting began.
Listed here are just a few of the very best platforms to construct yours:
1. Medium
Medium is among the best locations for brand new freelance writers to share their work or create new content material, to not point out a low-pressure venue to hone your craft and polish your finer freelance author abilities. A self-publishing web site, Medium gives a simple content-uploading interface and a easy template to which writers can add photographs and different media.
It’s free to publish on Medium, and I’ve had just a few author mates use the platform to create writing samples they used to land gigs at fairly massive content material websites. Medium additionally gives a Accomplice Program that offers writers the prospect to learn content material that might in any other case be behind a paywall and probably receives a commission for his or her content material.
2. Substack
Like Medium, Substack is a platform the place writers can self-publish their content material. Nevertheless, whereas Medium capabilities extra like a social media web site with a give attention to writers sharing and exploring different creators’ content material, Substack’s platform focuses extra on constructing an viewers of subscribers and permitting customers to monetize their content material with a e-newsletter membership.
Even if you happen to aren’t notably enthusiastic about making a following, a Substack account is usually a good solution to showcase your writing abilities and show that you just’re in control on the intersection of the content material and tech worlds. It’s extremely simple so as to add content material, and the positioning even permits customers to create podcasts, which may be useful for these of us seeking to break into the scriptwriting world.
3. Wix
In the event you’d want to have your individual portfolio web site however you’re not but tech-savvy sufficient for HTML or constructing content material with WordPress, Wix is a implausible various. Completely different subscription ranges and a excessive diploma of customizability additionally make Wix a wonderful possibility for writers seeking to share several types of content material like weblog posts, essays, or artistic writing.
With a great deal of templates and instance pages, Wix has all the time supplied a fairly simple-to-use web site. However the integration of AI, together with the platform’s step-by-step information, has made making a portfolio web site even simpler. When you’ve designed your homepage, you possibly can simply arrange a weblog to self-publish content material or create pages to hyperlink your different printed work.
4. LinkedIn
When you’re in all probability accustomed to LinkedIn as a solution to share your skilled portfolio or add your resume, not everybody realizes that customers can publish content material on the platform. As soon as logged in, customers can entry the choice from the highest middle of their touchdown web page, the place they’re given the choice to “Begin a put up, attempt writing with AI.” Right here, customers can add media, add an occasion, or write an article.
Like Medium, LinkedIn’s “Write article” characteristic permits customers to add photographs and add H2 subheaders, which provides job-seeking freelancers a solution to present they perceive search engine optimisation greatest practices. When you’ve printed your content material, it’s simple to share together with your skilled community or LinkedIn’s skilled teams.
5. Authory
Authory is much like LinkedIn in that customers can create a profile with a customized header and tagline beneath their title. However as a substitute of making a resume, customers add hyperlinks to their printed content material that show with a preview picture, title, publication date, and writer title. The paid subscription value is cheap, and there’s a free model for writers who aren’t able to put money into paid skilled subscriptions.
Authory customers can create a customized URL that includes their title or enterprise title to share on their resume or social media. The platform will even mechanically add newly printed work to subscribed customers’ portfolios and provide you with analytics on linked content material that inform you, for instance, what number of Fb feedback a weblog put up obtained.
When you can’t publish writing samples immediately on Authory, the platform gives writers an area to tug collectively content material they’ve printed on different websites in a clear, engaging structure. That is particularly useful for writers with content material that doesn’t have a byline (like enterprise blogs) or share weblog content material in a extra professional-looking house.
Making a Killer On-line Writing Portfolio Web page
Even when they’ve racked up just a few writing samples, writers can show their versatility by sharing the several types of writing they’re able to on their portfolio. An internet writing portfolio web site may additionally embrace issues like social media hyperlinks and testimonials from earlier purchasers.
To create the absolute best on-line writing profile and begin filling it with robust writing samples, attempt drawing inspiration from the websites you hope will rent you or different writing portfolio examples. Most significantly, proceed to construct out your writing portfolio each time you add a brand new ability or achieve a brand new publishing credit score. Lastly, don’t neglect to take away older, lower-quality content material as you develop professionally.
Listed here are just a few extra issues to think about:
- Be sure your content material displays business requirements.
- Showcase the kind of work you’re hoping to get employed for.
- Proofread your work, learn it out loud, after which proofread it once more.
Creating an On-line Writing Portfolio Wrapup
Irrespective of what sort of author you’re, a fiction author, an online content material author, or somebody who produces technical writing comparable to case research, having knowledgeable on-line writing portfolio can result in higher (and extra) jobs. In the event you don’t have one, creating one must be on the prime of your to-do record.
When you’ve actually began to construct out your portfolio, a paid subscription for a web site like Authory or Medium is usually a worthwhile funding by way of serving to you land higher alternatives and join with different purchasers and business professionals.
Do you’ve gotten a favourite platform for sharing your on-line writing portfolio, or have you learnt of any good self-publishing websites we’ve ignored? Tell us within the feedback!