Build Your Portfolio

Ok, you have set your office up and now you want to start writing. Great! You have the right idea...sort of.
Most people who start freelancing have no idea where to start. Before you can land yourself ANY job at all, you need to start building your portfolio. How do you do that when you have no clients?

Simple, start with what you know first. What are you naturally good at? Are you a good cook? Do you have extensive experience in a particular area that you could easily write about? What about hobbies? Identify the areas you are most comfortable writing in and start from there.

I recommend all serious writers do the following:

• start writing for www.suite101.com - it's easy to register and requires a minimum of 10 articles of around 500-600 words each within 3 months. You earn money on a commission basis, and while the pay isn't that great, the idea is to build your portfolio so you have working samples to show clients
• create a hubpage and start posting content on things you like. Be professional in your written approach at all times, because this is essentially what your writing skills are all about
• you can also create a squidoo lens to post content to and earn money
• create your own blog like the one I am writing. Choose a theme and build upon that.

There are of course many other places where you can build your portfolio, and these are just a sample of what's available on the web. But what if you don't want web samples? What if you want traditional media? I would encourage anyone serious about writing to do the following:

• contact your local free paper and ask to volunteer as a writer
• ask friends and family if they would allow you to write some promo stuff for any of their businesses
• find an advert that you think you can improve and re-write it - you can use this as a 'before and after' demo of what you are able to do
• enter writing competitions where you are able to see your name in print
• ask your workplace if they have any brochures or adverts that need re-writing and have a go

Of course, you are only limited by your imagination. Your aim is to have several samples that showcase your ability to diversify in writing tone and style. For example, you may wish to write a serious health article, a light-hearted  advert, an amusing piece, poetry, a short story etc etc.

All these show potential clients that you are easily able to adapt your writing to various styles. A word of caution though - don't EVER throw away work you don't like. Believe you me, you may find it inspires you to write other stuff and give you more ideas for other projects.
Now go get scribbling!