While it can’t be expected that everyone entering the world of freelance work will get high paying opportunities right from the start with no portfolio or experience, the beauty of freelance work is that one doesn’t need any official credentials. Unlike the traditional workforce, where there are strict prerequisites when it comes to education and employment background, with freelance work clients don’t care about the school someone went to or the grades they got. What clients will want to see is a track record of success: what are your experiences providing that service, do you have examples, are they of a high quality, and can you be trusted to deliver what they are asking for? To get started building up a portfolio of work to use as examples and evidence when pitching to clients, here are a few ideas:
To build up this portfolio, offer to provide services to friends and family at no cost. Photographers can do portraits and photoshoots of their friends, writers can make website content for a family member’s business, programmers can offer to develop a website for a friend, or aspiring marketing professionals can run a campaign for a friend’s event on Instagram. Record all the outcomes, keep them presented professionally, and use them as examples of the type of work you will offer. With these samples, freelance workers can get their first clients by showing them the type and quality of work they can expect from buying your services.
For writers, a significant way to build up a portfolio of work, while also having a chance of being featured by a company or on a platform of choice, is to submit spec pieces. Pick a topic, a product, or an idea and write an original article or piece of content, and then submit it to the platform. Although rare, sometimes editors do post these pieces, but either way, the result will be a quality, focused piece of writing to include in the portfolio.
With the opportunity to find a market of thousands of buyers, looking for cheap services, many of them will be willing to take a chance on a new seller if they aren’t charging a huge fee. Find these opportunities on websites like Fiverr or Upwork and complete as many gigs as possible, building up a portfolio of examples for the future, as well as honing your skillset. Completing all this work is practice that will help any freelancer perfect their trade and grow to be prepared for the larger, more challenging projects down the road.
Build up a project that can be worked on daily. Freelancers will see their skillsets benefit from the repeated practice and commitment, all while developing a portfolio of work. Writers can start a blog, photographers or videographers can start a social media account, sharing expertise, skills, and new creations, and personal trainers can start a YouTube channel providing viewers with tips and at home workout ideas. These platforms and social media portfolios can be shared with clients as proof of knowledge, experience, and commitment.
