As a copywriter, your portfolio is your calling card. It’s the place where potential clients will evaluate your skills, creativity, and experience.
Whether you’re just starting or have years of experience, a well-crafted portfolio can make or break your chances of landing your dream projects. Here’s a detailed guide on how to build a copywriting portfolio that shines.
Selecting Your Best Examples
When crafting your portfolio, it’s crucial to be selective. You want to present your most vital pieces, not just everything you’ve ever written. Start by asking yourself: what shows off my best work? Look for pieces where the brief was challenging, and you delivered outstanding results. If you’re torn between a few, choose the ones that had the most impact or were well-received by your audience or clients.
Remember, potential clients don’t have hours to spend on your portfolio. Keep it concise, with a maximum of 5-7 examples if it’s part of a job application. For online portfolios, you can expand that to 10-15 pieces but always prioritise quality over quantity.
Selecting and Creating a Diverse Portfolio
A diverse portfolio will show your range as a copywriter. Clients love that you can handle various formats and styles, from blog posts and web copy to emails and product descriptions. If you lack experience in one area, don’t hesitate to create mock projects to fill in the gaps.
Diversifying isn’t just about content types – it’s also about industries. Showcase your writing ability for tech, health, or fashion sectors. This versatility can make you more appealing to a broader range of potential clients. But, when applying for a specific role, ensure you include relevant pieces that directly align with the industry.
Know Your Portfolio Inside Out
A crucial part of presenting your portfolio is discussing it confidently. You need to know every detail about the pieces you’ve included: why you wrote them, the brief, the audience, and how well they performed. Did your blog post lead to a spike in traffic? Did your email campaign boost conversions?
Knowing these details allows you to highlight your work’s tangible value to clients, making you a more attractive candidate.
Presentation is Key
How you present your work is just as important as the content itself. A well-designed portfolio will reflect your professionalism and attention to detail. Avoid cluttered layouts and overwhelming designs – let your words do the talking.
For digital portfolios, make navigation easy. Keep the design sleek and straightforward, with readable fonts and minimal distractions.
For printed portfolios, invest in high-quality materials like a professional binder or presentation folder to keep everything neat and organised.
Showcasing Across Social Media Platforms
Your portfolio shouldn’t be confined to a single page on your website. Use social media platforms to showcase your work as well. LinkedIn is remarkably effective – share articles, create posts, and make sure your profile reflects your latest and most significant projects.
Include links to your portfolio on all your professional profiles to make it easy for clients to find it. This multi-platform approach shows that you’re serious about promoting your work and makes it easy for potential clients to engage with your content.
Personalised Pieces that Reflect You and Your Work
Make sure you don’t lose your voice!
While catering to different industries is essential, include at least one or two pieces that really reflect who you are as a writer. These can be personal projects, passion pieces, or even work you’ve done for causes you care about. Showing that you can write authentically about what matters to you can help clients connect with your personality and style.
Highlight Any Award-Winning or Highly Credited Pieces
If you’ve won awards or received notable recognition for any of your work, make sure to highlight these achievements in your portfolio. Even if it’s a piece that didn’t win but was a finalist, it’s worth showcasing. Awards add an extra layer of credibility and can make you stand out from the competition.
Keep Your Portfolio Descriptions Short and Sweet
Each sample in your portfolio should be accompanied by a brief description. Keep these descriptions short, ideally no more than 100 words. Highlight the type of content, the client, and any measurable success the content achieved (e.g., “This blog post increased the client’s web traffic by 20% in one month.”).
Clients want to see your writing skills in action, not read lengthy descriptions, so let your work speak for itself. A concise, well-written description shows that you can communicate effectively and keep your message focused.
Summary
Your copywriting portfolio is the ultimate proof of your skills and expertise. To create a standout portfolio, carefully select your best and most diverse pieces, present them with care, and ensure they reflect both your versatility and personality. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to impressing potential clients and securing more work in the competitive world of copywriting.
This structure is designed to keep the reader engaged while offering valuable, actionable advice, making it easy to follow and apply.
