Professional Writing Portfolio: Why should I make one and what to add?

Many aspiring rising writers in different fields persevere and go the extra mile to achieve their goals especially when they are still new in the industry. Mostly, they start off with creating a captivating professional writing portfolio. However, there are aspiring writers who put less effort into their writing portfolios. They usually just add the URL links of their articles here and there which lessen the points from the client's or employer’s end.

Whether you’re aiming for the entertainment industry or the marketing industry, it is very important that you carry and update your writing portfolio from time to time. Sure, you might have a well-written article but without a professional writing portfolio, clients or employers will have doubts about you because you put less effort.

Your professional writing portfolio can give a great first impression. Your professional writing portfolio will show your potential clients or target employers that you go the extra mile on your work. You just don’t publish it out there and when you are done, you’re done. If you want to reach your goal, giving a great first impression is a must especially if you’re just starting. There are many experienced writers out there who, despite having lots of experience, still create their professional writing portfolios. Those types of writers are great role models.

What you add to your professional writing portfolio is very important too. In your professional writing portfolio, adding a brief description of your work is a must. This is to show your skills in catching other people’s attention using your writing and your creativity. It is important to showcase your creativity, which is very important when you’re working on or helping out in a business. Clients or your target employers would want to see how you catch other people’s attention through writing. They would want to see how will you sell or market their business or brand.

Here are the things that you’d want to add to your professional writing portfolio:

1. SAMPLE WRITINGS

You have to add links to the articles or a story that you have already published with other businesses in your professional writing portfolio. But if you haven’t got anything yet, then you can at least add the link to the article that you wrote on your website or probably, an article that you wrote for your school when you were still studying. That will help the clients see your writing style. It would be better if you can add a sample of your writings about different industries with photos included to make it more professional.

2. ADD AN IMAGE COVER

To make it look more professional and eye-catching, it is important to add an image cover to your professional writing portfolio. Keep in mind that the photo must not only be captivating but must also match the content of your writing. An image can also help to give readers an idea of the content they are going to read. You can add your own photography and edits or you could also grab a photo from a public photo site like Pixabay.com. When you are grabbing photos from the internet, make sure that you got it from a copyright-free website like Pixabay.

3. ADD YOUR SKILLS AND TALENTS

You can include the skills and talents that you have in your professional writing portfolio. This will help your potential clients or employers see what else you could do and contribute to their business.

4. ADD YOUR LINKEDIN RESUME OR UPWORK ACCOUNT

It is also recommended that you add your online resume to your professional writing portfolio. If you are a freelancer who has an Upwork account, then you could add a link to your Upwork account in your professional writing portfolio too. That way, clients and employers can both see your past experiences in your previous works. Do not forget to add your achievements to your online resume! That would definitely be a plus.

However, if ever you don’t have any corporate working or freelancing experiences yet, then you could just indicate in your professional writing portfolio the clubs that you have joined at your school — the articles that you published on your school website, school clubs that you joined in the past, and other activities related to your goal in the present time.

5. ADD YOUR CONTACT DETAILS

Where do you want the clients to reach out to you? Do you want them to contact you via LinkedIn, Email, or directly to your social media accounts? It is important that you have included in your professional writing portfolio where you can be contacted by your potential clients or employers. If you aren’t comfortable with being contacted directly, then you could just add a contact form to your professional writing portfolio. However, adding a contact form can only be done in Website builders like WordPress or WIX.

Those are the top important things to add to your professional writing portfolio. Creating a professional writing portfolio would take a little bit amount of time to finish especially when you want it to look really great and informative to the client’s end. But if you are really lost or overwhelmed in creating your professional writing portfolio, then you could find a professional writing portfolio creation service — like my service — that can help you out. You can reach out to me if you want help. I’d be happy to discuss the process with you.

Ready to create your portfolio?