4 Best Ways to Build Your Freelance Writing Portfolio

Last Updated on July 13, 2019

You want to be a freelance writer but have zero experience. Due to no experience, you have nothing to show in your portfolio. And, because of no portfolio, you are having a hard time to find a freelance writing job.

Are you in this never-ending loop for quite a while now? Don’t worry. We’ll put an end to this loop today.

In this article, we will discuss some best ways to build a client-winning portfolio as a writer. Have a look:

4 Methods to Create a Freelance Writing Portfolio

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1. Starting Your Own Blog

In my opinion, building your own blog is the best way to create an impressive freelance writing portfolio.

Start your own blog about a particular niche and publish relevant articles on it from time to time. Even if you do not want to be a professional blogger, this platform can create several opportunities for you.

You can write articles on your blog and use them as your sample work. Whenever a client asks you to show your previous work samples, you may show them your blog.

With the passage of time, your blog itself can get popular and can create handsome business opportunities for you. Basically, the process of starting a blog and running it teaches you a lot. You get to know about so many useful options for making money online.

The major benefit of running your own blog is that you can create your own portfolio the way you want without depending on other companies or people. You can freely write on your blog about the topics you like and can experiment stuff without having to follow the instructions of anyone else.

2. Working with Clients on Freelance Sites

Working on different freelance sites is another method of building a freelance writer portfolio. Many new content writers avoid working on freelancing sites because these sites demand determination and consistency. But, for winning long-term rewards, you have to do a bit extra.

Sign up on freelancing sites like Fiverr and Upwork. Add all the required information. Build an attractive profile and gigs. Respond to different job offers. Complete all the orders in time. Work honestly to earn good ratings on your profile. After a few months, you will have a successful profile that will serve as your portfolio. The good reviews and ratings on your account will depict your level of professionalism as well as your experience as a writer.

Presently, I am providing my freelance content writing services mainly on Fiverr. I have many dedicated clients on this platform who truly appreciate my work and buy my gigs again and again. This success never came easy. I have earned it through hard work and consistency.

3. Working with Content Producing Agencies

This is a great method of gaining exposure in the freelance content writing field as well as building a diverse portfolio.

I started my content writing career by working with different online content producing agencies. Well, they don’t pay you much for the content you write for them but you learn a lot through these agencies. I only have the experience of working with Pakistani content producing agencies. Soon after that, I started working on Fiverr and never looked back.

You may join the content producing agencies like Freelance Writing, ProBlogger, and Verblio and create a portfolio for yourself. You can become a member of these agencies and write content for clients.

Different agencies have different requirements for hiring a writer.  If you have no prior experience, they will ask you to write a test article for them. Most of the time, you are not paid for this test article. So, if you don’t have any portfolio to show, writing an unpaid test article for proving yourself is not a bad deal. You may use this test article as your sample work later.

Once your test article is approved, they discuss the payment method with you and start assigning the projects depending on your performance.

While working with these agencies, I’d suggest you try different types of writing (copywriting, business writing, article writing, storytelling, and facts listing, etc.). It provides you a lot of exposure and helps you in developing a writing style.

Save the content that you have written and use it as your work sample later. Before using any piece as your sample work, make sure you are not violating the terms and conditions of the companies. Use their content as your portfolio only after taking proper permission from them.

4. Writing Articles for Publications

To be honest, I’ve never tried this method myself but you can build a strong portfolio by submitting articles to different publications.

These publications pay you well for the articles you submit to them only after they are accepted. The only thing is they have a lot of “rules” to follow and a lot of “gatekeepers” which make the whole process unenjoyable. They tell you in advance that you will have to revise the content until they get satisfied with it.

My writing style is a bit informal and casual. I don’t enjoy when someone else tries to control what I should say and how I should say it. That’s why I have never contacted publications for submitting content.

But, if you think you can write high-quality editorial content, go for it. Once they accept your article, they add your name and a little bio at the end. This provides you exposure as a writer and helps you in building a great portfolio for yourself.

The process is:

Search for the publications that are in accordance with your expertise. Read all of their rules and guidelines. Inform them that you want to write an article and submit your pitch. If the pitch is accepted, submit your article.

So, these were some useful methods to create a portfolio as a freelance writer. If you have any query or want to know more about this topic, do let me know in comments. I’ll wait for your feedback!  🙂

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