As a brand new freelancer, are you questioning find out how to create a web based writing portfolio to point out potential purchasers? Preserve studying; we’ve got 5 simple methods so that you can create knowledgeable on-line writing portfolio.
One of many greatest hurdles I confronted making an attempt to carve out a full-time freelance writing profession was discovering a technique to exhibit high quality work to potential purchasers. It’s a catch-22: Most purchasers or media corporations wish to see writing samples that showcase your greatest work, but it surely’s laborious 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 revealed writing samples. To kick issues off so you can begin getting paid what you’re price, it’s possible you’ll simply should get a bit inventive and create your individual alternatives. To get the ball rolling, I’m sharing 5 on-line platforms my author associates and colleagues have used to construct their author portfolios.
Why You Want an On-line Writing Portfolio
Put merely, a web based writing portfolio is a devoted internet web page the place anybody concerned with 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 superb consumer.
Whereas starting writers usually 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 revealed content material is the business customary.
Most purchasers and media corporations wish to see a author’s abilities in motion, and people abilities go far past the power to show a great phrase. Relying on a author’s area of interest, revealed samples can showcase a author’s understanding of business fundamentals like search engine marketing 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 must 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 searching for after which searching web sites with related content material to be taught what purchasers are searching for.
Since you possibly can at all times change content material as you develop your abilities, an important factor is selecting a portfolio web site and getting began.
Listed below are a couple of of the perfect 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 presents a simple content-uploading interface and a easy template to which writers can add photos and different media.
It’s free to publish on Medium, and I’ve had a couple of author associates use the platform to create writing samples they used to land gigs at fairly large content material websites. Medium additionally presents a Companion Program that provides writers the prospect to learn content material that may 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. Nonetheless, 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 when you aren’t notably concerned with making a following, a Substack account generally is a good technique to showcase your writing abilities and exhibit 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 might be useful for these of us trying to break into the scriptwriting world.
3. Wix
If you happen to’d favor 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 improbable different. Totally different subscription ranges and a excessive diploma of customizability additionally make Wix a wonderful possibility for writers trying to share several types of content material like weblog posts, essays, or inventive writing.
With a great deal of templates and instance pages, Wix has at all times supplied a reasonably 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 revealed work.
4. LinkedIn
Whilst you’re most likely accustomed to LinkedIn as a technique 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 heart of their touchdown web page, the place they’re given the choice to “Begin a publish, attempt writing with AI.” Right here, customers can add media, add an occasion, or write an article.
Like Medium, LinkedIn’s “Write article” function permits customers to add photos and add H2 subheaders, which provides job-seeking freelancers a technique to present they perceive search engine marketing greatest practices. When you’ve revealed 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 identify. However as a substitute of making a resume, customers add hyperlinks to their revealed content material that show with a preview picture, title, publication date, and writer identify. The paid subscription value is affordable, 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 identify or enterprise identify to share on their resume or social media. The platform will even robotically add newly revealed work to subscribed customers’ portfolios and offer you analytics on linked content material that let you know, for instance, what number of Fb feedback a weblog publish obtained.
Whilst you can’t publish writing samples instantly on Authory, the platform presents writers an area to tug collectively content material they’ve revealed on different websites in a clear, engaging format. 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 area.
Making a Killer On-line Writing Portfolio Web page
Even when they’ve racked up a couple of writing samples, writers can exhibit their versatility by sharing the several types of writing they’re able to on their portfolio. An internet writing portfolio web site can also 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 talent or acquire a brand new publishing credit score. Lastly, don’t neglect to take away older, lower-quality content material as you develop professionally.
Listed below are a couple of extra issues to think about:
- Ensure 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
It doesn’t matter what sort of author you might be, a fiction author, an online content material author, or somebody who produces technical writing corresponding to case research, having knowledgeable on-line writing portfolio can result in higher (and extra) jobs. If you happen to don’t have one, creating one must be on the prime of your to-do listing.
When you’ve actually began to construct out your portfolio, a paid subscription for a web site like Authory or Medium generally is a beneficial funding when it comes to serving to you land higher alternatives and join with different purchasers and business professionals.
Do you’ve a favourite platform for sharing your on-line writing portfolio, or are you aware of any good self-publishing websites we’ve neglected? Tell us within the feedback!
