Developing a Writer’s Portfolio

Many writers on popular content creation websites would love to break into a world of their own, a world that holds no submission, content or length restrictions and that leaves them free to set their own price. A proportionately large number of writers ask, where do I start?

The benefit of content creation websites is their ease of use and bulk submissions; you are judged by each individual piece you submit, and not by an expression of previous works. Many writers submit each idea as it comes to them, writing several hundred words and polishing it a few times to ensure coherency, before letting it get whisked away to the review staff of whichever website it’s intended for. This type of approach, while appealing and definitely gratifying to a writer, will not aid in your search for higher paid creative works.

Start out small, with a section of a website you already have or a new (free) blog from one of the many blogging sites around. Keep the layout clean and high contrast (white on black, or vice-versa), to let your content, rather than design, pop out.

Examine your existing published works. Read each one carefully, looking for grammatical, spelling and stylistic errors. Ask yourself if that work serves as an excellent example of your writing talent. If it does, select a short (100 words or less) section to grab a reader’s attention. Post that, along with a link to the full piece, on your portfolio. Use consistent tags (“financial”, “international news”, “women’s health”) to help your visitors easily browse your content.

After you have combed through your pre-existing works, fill in any gaps that exist. If you have only written articles on a specific subject, consider branching out to related (or unrelated, if you can) topics (“niches”). You should have a piece for each niche you are comfortable writing on.  You can either submit these articles to a content creation site and publish them to your portfolio in the manner above, or you can publish them in full, utilizing the “More” tag available on many website platforms.

Include a short biography, including where you’re from, the education you’ve attained, your areas of interest and/or expertise and a few fun personal facts.

Depending on the quality and extent of your existing works, this process could take anywhere from an afternoon to several weeks. Even if takes you more time rather than less, rest assured that an excellent portfolio will be your best ally in becoming a freelance writer.