How To Create A Professional Copywriting Portfolio From Scratch

In this article, I will show you how. I’ll walk through creating a list of all the articles and blog posts you’ve written, then break down what goes into building your portfolio page and much more.

Copywriting is one of the many parts of a company that makes a large sale. The copies should be convincing, innovative, and concise. Make sure you have these qualities while writing compelling copy. And that should be enough for clients to accept your services.

As a beginner, we have trouble creating a portfolio without prior knowledge. Don’t worry about it. I’m here to assist you in creating an impressive and memorable portfolio. Well, as I previously stated, the impression you make is dependent on your copywriting skills. It’s not about what you’ve done before.

I have constantly heard this monologue. “I can’t employ you if you don’t have any experience.”

“But I’m looking for experience, which is why I’m here.”

Well, I always thought, how am I going to deal with this as a newbie.

Fortunately, in the freelance sector, things are considerably different. Although they may seek your testimonials in some circumstances to assess your credibility. Most companies welcome new freelancers these days. They are currently seeking new content ideas and young and innovative works. And how they could convert a novice into a member of the company’s style and tone.

Let’s get started!

How to Create a Copywriting Portfolio

To start, create a list of all the copy you’ve written. If you don’t have any copy published yet, use blog posts you’ve written or anything noteworthy that you’ve written in the past. Any writing samples will do — as long as they’re copywriting related.

Paste each copywriting piece into its own row in a spreadsheet (I use Google Sheets for this).

Make sure you’re tracking:

The date of publication or last update.

The copy’s title and brief description, as written on the page it was published to.

What site it was published to.

Whether the copy is available for use by other people (use this box if your copy was published on a blog)

Any notes are specific to that copy, like the feedback you received from an editor or changes you made after publishing (like an update).

Create your editorial calendar

Create your editorial calendar

Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

An editorial calendar is essential for staying consistent with your content because it helps you track when pieces are coming out, what the subject matter will be, and who the author is. This gives your audience a reason to stay in touch with you by counting on regularly published new, relevant content.

It’s important to consider what niche you’ll be writing in. You can’t just write anything. Your quality is jeopardised when you’re juggled. So you need to choose a niche, then become an expert.

So, with the information you have added to your Google Sheets, you can then go to a tool such as alsoasked or just use the People also ask section in Google to help generate new ideas, add these to a new tab, so you constantly have a flow of new topics to write about. Suppose you write about different sectors such as myself. In that case, you can then break them down into new tabs for Writing, Self-improvement, Marketing etc.

Now, let’s break it down into what goes into each portfolio page.

What to Include in Your Copywriting Portfolio Page

At the top of your copywriting portfolio page, including an excerpt and link to your about page. This will help people get to know you and understand what you do better.

Include a list of copywriting services at the top. Check out Kristen Hicks navigation bar as an excellent example of this.

At the top of each page, include a list of all the pieces on that page, plus a short description of how that copy was used.

If you can, copy and paste sample tweets of people sharing your copy on Twitter or Facebook, especially if it was a successful campaign that got a lot of shares.

Include testimonials or from people who’ve worked with you.

At the bottom of each copywriting portfolio page, including a list of related skills and credentials — like copywriting, copyediting, and content marketing — that you’ve mastered.

Look at her copywriting portfolio page for an example.

How to Create a Copywriting Portfolio Page

When creating your copywriting portfolio page, experiment and take ideas from other copywriters’ portfolio layouts and copy (and try to emulate the best you’ve seen).

Put the copywriting pieces you’ve written in chronological order, starting with your most recent copy.

Remember that copyeditors will look at your copy for mistakes, so check all copy thoroughly before including them on your portfolio page.

A copywriter’s copywriting portfolio should always include highlighted samples that copyeditors can refer back to if they have questions about your copy (which is why it’s essential to list all of your copywriting services near the top of each copywriting portfolio page).

Your audience will be quickly able to tell whether your website is legitimate or not because you’ve spent the time to design it professionally. Ensure that your homepage gives the reader a clear understanding of what you do. Include any experiments you’ve done in the past to see which messages resonate best with your audience and your contact information. A good blog page should include links to all of your social media accounts, giving your audience easy access to find out more about you there, in addition to providing links to your articles or any images you’ve created.

What Not To Include in Your Copywriting Portfolio Page

Don’t create a copywriting resume, ever. It will hurt your chances of getting hired by a copywriter because you’ll come across as stuck-in-the-past. Plus, they will want to see your work — as they say, actions speak louder than words. (you can always then present your CV when asked).

Don’t copy entire copywriting articles into your copywriting portfolio page, even if that copy is yours. Include it for reference so copyeditors can see the final copy. Still, copyeditors will want to check out the writing process you went through to get there — which includes how much time you spent editing copy — so copywriters will wish to see copyediting samples.

Don’t copy the same copywriting portfolio page multiple times to attract more work. Copywriters will see right through this, so simply use your copywriting portfolio page in rotation with several other copywriting pages if you want to attract more work — and be honest with copywriters about what you’re doing.

Final tips

Write Articles for Publication in Expert Blogs

You can enhance your image by finding other bloggers or authors in your niche and writing a guest post for them. This gives you exposure since there could be a large number of their followers who visit your blog when the post gets shared to learn more about what you have to say.

Attend webinars and podcasts

Attending webinars and podcasts in your niche is a great way to boost your knowledge. Many of these are recorded for later viewing, which means you can always go back and find applicable later on when you’re looking for topics to write about.

Update copywriting portfolio website regularly.

Build copywriting expertise, and then add it to your copywriting portfolio. Add any copywriting activities you do for clients or yourself (like writing copy for blog posts, seminars, speaking engagements, etc.) to demonstrate your copywriting skills throughout the year.

Be honest

Don’t copy someone else’s work on your page. Also, don’t just copy another copywriter’s portfolio page. Copied work turns off many copyeditors, so don’t risk turning them off unnecessarily.