When you're offering writing services, one of the most important sales tools you can use is samples of your work. Potential customers will want to see what type of writing you've done, the topics you've written about and just how good your writing really is. The best way to offer these samples is through a portfolio website.
While photography and web design are probably the two most common types of portfolio websites, they work equally well for writing. Your portfolio site should have different examples of your writing. Ultimately you should include several different styles of content:
1. Articles 2. Blog posts 3. Short reports 4. eBooks 5. Longer training courses
In other words, offer examples of all the types of writing that you do.
There are a couple of strategies for creating this sample content. The most obvious is to simply create some fresh content specifically for your portfolio site.
You can get double-duty from this content by writing about topics that would be of interest to the people who would visit your portfolio site. That content would not only work as a sample, it would also help your website get ranked in the search engines and generate more traffic to your site.
Another way you can generate sample content for your portfolio is to pull examples out of work you've done for past clients. This can be an excellent source of examples since it's actual client work, but you need to be absolutely sure to get the client's permission before you do this. If they turn you down to use their content as a sample, don't do it.
Web content like articles and blog posts can simply be posted directly to your portfolio site, giving clients the chance to read it there. But if you're working with longer content like reports or ebooks, it's usually best to offer a PDF download to make it easier for your potential clients to review it.
You can show off your content a little better by creating a nice-looking layout and design. Even if people are mainly interested in your writing, presentation is still part of the deal.
If a potential client is comparing your work to another writer's, and yours looks a lot nicer, which do you think they'll choose? If your competitor's writing is roughly equivalent to yours, the nicer design is probably going to win the project.
While photography and web design are probably the two most common types of portfolio websites, they work equally well for writing. Your portfolio site should have different examples of your writing. Ultimately you should include several different styles of content:
1. Articles 2. Blog posts 3. Short reports 4. eBooks 5. Longer training courses
In other words, offer examples of all the types of writing that you do.
There are a couple of strategies for creating this sample content. The most obvious is to simply create some fresh content specifically for your portfolio site.
You can get double-duty from this content by writing about topics that would be of interest to the people who would visit your portfolio site. That content would not only work as a sample, it would also help your website get ranked in the search engines and generate more traffic to your site.
Another way you can generate sample content for your portfolio is to pull examples out of work you've done for past clients. This can be an excellent source of examples since it's actual client work, but you need to be absolutely sure to get the client's permission before you do this. If they turn you down to use their content as a sample, don't do it.
Web content like articles and blog posts can simply be posted directly to your portfolio site, giving clients the chance to read it there. But if you're working with longer content like reports or ebooks, it's usually best to offer a PDF download to make it easier for your potential clients to review it.
You can show off your content a little better by creating a nice-looking layout and design. Even if people are mainly interested in your writing, presentation is still part of the deal.
If a potential client is comparing your work to another writer's, and yours looks a lot nicer, which do you think they'll choose? If your competitor's writing is roughly equivalent to yours, the nicer design is probably going to win the project.
About the Author:
Discover more marketing secrets from the Online Marketing Maven Marenda Taylor and It Works Distributor.
