Posting from multiple industries dilutes your expertise: We discussed earlier that clients want to see you’re an expert in their field, so only include writing samples for your ideal customer’s industry/niche.Potential clients won’t see your best samples: If there are 20+ writing samples, clients probably won’t see your best 3-4 writing pieces.There are a few reasons why posting a lot of sample writing pieces isn’t a great idea: Key elements that make freelance writing portfolios memorable.Ī mistake that many freelance writers make is publishing too many writing samples from multiple industries.What they look for when reviewing different freelance writers.The outcomes they’re trying to achieve by hiring a freelance writer.We’ll discuss positioning in more detail below, but for now, take note of: These insights helped better position my services to charge more and close more clients. I ended up getting on a call with one of the people, and they showed me the entire pitch deck from the agency they hired and explained why they hired that agency. For example, I asked this group if anyone had hired a content agency for $30,000 plus and what they were looking for in that agency. You can also ask in Slack groups and other private groups for feedback. You can see that these responses are incredibly valuable as they tell me both how I should position myself and specific pain points these hiring managers experience. I did this when I was looking to scale from a freelancer to a marketing agency owner, and you can see that I received some very helpful feedback: The best way to do customer research is talking to your ideal audience and asking them what they’re looking for in writers. Once you’ve defined your ideal customer, do some research to understand their pain points and what they’re hoping to achieve by hiring a writer. The company size you intend to serve (startups, enterprise corporations, etc.).The industry you want to serve (ecommerce, B2B, local businesses, bloggers, etc.).The type of writing you offer (blog writing, sales writing, social media writing, etc.).In addition, your messaging will be very generic and ineffective if you try to target multiple customer personas. Unfortunately, hiring managers are looking for specialists, and you’ll dilute your credibility as an expert if you advertise that you service multiple niches. Identify Your Target Audience and Nicheīefore adding any content to your new website, define your ideal client.Ī common mistake most freelancers make is trying to target too many potential clients. I recommend setting a deadline of three to four days to complete your portfolio website so that you start closing clients quickly. The longer it takes to complete your freelance writer portfolio, the longer it will take to close new clients. The key is to start working on this today. If they can’t immediately find the answers they’re looking for, they’ll likely just eliminate you from the list of candidates.īelow, I’ll show you how to create a freelance writer website that clearly answers these questions and helps you win new clients. In addition, make sure it’s super easy for potential clients to navigate the portfolio site and quickly find the answers to those questions. Bonus: Does this person understand the larger business goal we’re trying to accomplish?.Is this person reliable (e.g., adheres to deadlines, consistently delivers results, etc.).Has this person done similar jobs in the past in similar industries/niches?.Does this person have the writing skills I’m looking for?.Does this person offer the services I’m looking for?.So instead of stressing about details like design colors, optimize your writing portfolio to clearly answer the following questions: They really just want to see if you’re the right fit for their job. They don’t care about portfolio design, your profile image, or other presentation details. Hiring managers are strapped for time and want to hire a writer quickly. What Hiring Managers Want In a Freelance Writing Portfolio I’ll also show some writing portfolio examples to give you further inspiration. While I don’t expect freelance writers to have a fancy website, I thoroughly appreciate a writer who makes it easy to quickly view relevant writing samples and understand the value they offer.Īfter viewing thousands of writer portfolios, I’ll share what I look for in a writing portfolio when I’m hiring freelancers and provide a step-by-step process to help you create a writing portfolio that will win clients. Most freelance job posts receive hundreds of applications.Īs someone who has hired freelance writers and sifted through hundreds of applications, I can tell you that I quickly weed out those who don’t provide a simple method for me to quickly assess their writing abilities.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |