This doesn’t have to be professional-looking. We will use this template for basic information.
But you can make it more sophisticated by adding logos and other design features. You can also choose a better domain name and hosting plan.
Next, start blogging. Not only does it allow you to share your ideas more easily, but it also helps develop your author profile.
You can write blogs even if you don’t know how to code. There are many free web editors that anyone can use.
They’re easy to use and helped thousands of people find success as online writers. More importantly, writing good content is one of the most important things about being a successful writer.
A lot of work goes into creating quality content and establishing yourself as an authority, so invest in training others to help spread the word about your content.
As mentioned earlier, content is what makes up your portfolio. Even if you’ve got lots of great ideas, without good content, they aren’t very useful.
Although it can be difficult to find people willing to work with you, there are many ways to do this. One option is to start small and build your network over time.
You can then use these connections to get more work. It helps to know other writers in your community; talk to them and see whether they would like to work with you.
Many businesses and organizations offer opportunities to contribute articles. You should give yourself a chance to match or beat out the best candidates before you apply.
That way you will earn either credit for writing contributions or make sure you get hired. Both winnings have an effect on your career development.
Even if you don’t have experience creating websites, there are ways to get your content online. You can start by writing small blogs or fact sheets for smaller sites, then work up to bigger projects.
Many people make their portfolio pieces online, but you should want to keep it in the hands of other parties. If you need help with getting your content online, you can find freelance web developers that will do it for you at a low cost.
Or, you can use one of these free file sharing platforms to host all of your content.
Even if you’re not an experienced writer, there are ways to promote your work that don’t involve paying people money.
The first way is by networking. There are many social groups for any kind of creative industry.
Join organizations on Facebook or other platforms to meet others with similar interests and try to share information about your work.
That way when someone asks about how to best market their stuff, you can refer them to yourself or something you have written before.
There are also several free resources that you can use to get some traffic to your articles and posts. You could put up a unique article on your website or group page and add trademarking, claim a logo you like or provide contact details so people can reach you.
These little steps will gradually increase the attention you receive from customers or followers. After all, nobody likes being told they look fat and that their phone number looks fancy. Not anyone.
You can further enhance your portfolio by having samples of your work available online. If you do this regularly, then it is a good indication of your ability to write quality material.
Even if you’re not looking for work, people will still want to talk with you. Most likely it’s because they have questions or concerns, but also because they are interested in what you’ve been doing.
People love talking about themselves, their problems, and how something affects them. Put others at ease by letting them tell their story through you.
You can even encourage clients to reach out to you outside of office hours when you’re more available. By sharing your knowledge and experience, you can start new relationships and get back into the game.
It all starts with sending emails asking questions and making conversations easy for everyone in your email inbox. That way, people feel like they had a clear conversation and request from you.
Even if you’re an expert in another field, it will be difficult to get traction with any lead unless you can demonstrate that you know how to sell well.
That’s why it makes sense to add a case study to your portfolio. A case study is a real example of how you solved a particular problem.
You may not have created the solution, but you should mention all the elements of the recipe for success (and maybe even one or two recipes you didn’t use). Then we can see that there are several ingredients that helped make this project successful.
An effective case study would explain what happened before you made any changes, and why those changes resulted in improved sales or profits. You could also include data from past projects that show how they changed (or were changed by) other clients.
To help us understand the story behind the numbers, here are some common statistics that case study authors use to support their claims:
Even if you’re not an experienced writer, there are ways to make yourself more marketable. One way to do this is by writing guest blogs for other websites.
If you can connect with other businesses through social media or community groups, even better. Guest blogging allows you to showcase your expertise and gain visibility in others’ networks.
In addition to building traffic on their website, hosting a guest blog may also boost your own followers and subscribers. Why? Because people who read content you write will likely trust and like you enough to follow and subscribe to your work, thus growing your audience.
And that means more opportunities to pitch products and services and to promote yourself. Find bloggers who have similar audiences and experience suggests they might be willing partners too.
Even if you don’t have any sales skills, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make connections. People are much more likely to trust someone they know rather than some faceless business model.
Connect with other businesses and people in your field of work by joining relevant social networks and forums.
These will help you build relationships and enable you to interact with others. You also need to be willing to put in the time and effort required to develop and maintain these relations.
It is far easier to connect with others when they know who you are and trust what you have to say. If you do not disclose your identity, then people may not want to give you access to their network or resources.
In order to secure yourself and your brand, always promote things that relate to your own content, products and services. Confirm that all rights are reserved where necessary.
Even if you’re not experienced, there are ways to be more effective at selling yourself than trying to force people to buy from you. One of them is being more consistent in your marketing.
If you sell products, keep doing so over and over again until people get used to your brand. If you just have blogs, but they're really good, people will start buying from you.
I still recommend setting up an online shop, even if you are only providing content for others. That way, people can choose to follow you longer if they want to.
This also helps improve your reputation so people feel confident that ordering from you results in a quality product.