Freelance portfolio – why it makes a difference
At the beginning, we want to give you a friendly pat on the back and remind you that your case isn’t rare. Many other freelancers build their customer base with nothing to show off in their early days. However success in freelancing is definitely achievable, but you need to work a bit on your beginner’s portfolio. Here’s why it’s worth it:
- If you already have a portfolio on the very first steps of your career, you communicate that you’re proactive, hard-working, invested in self-growth, and knowledgeable. Potential clients will appreciate that and be more eager to commit their project to a newbie. A portfolio illustrates your ambition and willingness to work even before someone starts paying you for that.
- Your portfolio is already your project! Depending on your craft, you can use the portfolio form to work on your success. For example, a graphic designer will master images and color palettes; a freelance writer will craft compelling project descriptions; a web developer will build a portfolio website, and so on.
- Your résumé and cover letter describe who you are. Your portfolio proves who you are. It’s a powerful tool for displaying your skills, experience, way of thinking, and types of projects you find attractive. All this contributes to your value in your client’s eyes and your personal brand. You’ll likely be shortlisted for the job if your portfolio highlights your talents.
- If you wish people could see the extraordinary effort you put into something, a freelance portfolio is the best space to show it. The final effect, such as your graphic, translation, copy, or website, can be accompanied by a description of the process that led to them. Make your portfolio reflect your thinking, approach to hiccups, research skills, methodology, and many more soft and hard skills essential to beating your competitors.
- By working on your portfolio you can increase your confidence and self-fulfillment. You’re assuming control over your professional life, nurturing self-growth, and being productive! Let this fruitful energy help you get through the tougher parts of portfolio creation and keep motivated to seek future clients.
Having a portfolio isn’t limited to advanced stages of solopreneurship. We’ll guide you through this project even without any “real” paid work to present. Read our tips on how to create a freelance portfolio with no experience, where to share it, and how to dazzle clients with your offer.
Pinpoint your potential clients’ needs
Imagine that you run a private detective agency and someone hires you to spy on… your client. You have to dig up what values they believe in, what problems they face, what needs they want to fulfill, what service they use to boost their business, or what skills they look for in their subcontractors.
It’s essential to build an image of your ideal client and consider it when creating a portfolio. Thanks to that, you’ll know what skills and experience are in demand. The next step is to hone the abilities desired by your potential clients and become more and more competitive.
Don’t create a freelance portfolio as if it existed in a vacuum. Align its content with the expectations of your future clients and trends you observe in your niche. Look at it from two perspectives – do honest research on your potential clients and ask yourself who you want to work with. It’s not only about meeting others’ expectations but also about targeting job opportunities you find attractive.
Emphasize your area of expertise
Remember that you won’t satisfy everyone. Being very generic with your offer will let you apply for more jobs but the competition will be crushing. Your chances of winning the project are bigger when your portfolio aligns with its theme.
It’s directly connected to the previous tip about defining your ideal client. When you know whose needs you want to accommodate, it’ll be easier to highlight specific abilities instead of generalities. Clients will feel you speak to them and put effort into learning more about them.
Of course you can be proficient in more than one niche. Show your versatility in your portfolio and split your work into categories for clarity.
Moreover, if you stick to a chosen market sector, engaging in education and expanding your skill set and knowledge will be easier. Specialized freelancers often have a broad understanding of their “mother” discipline, e.g., digital marketing or web development, and detailed, practice-based knowledge of their pet project, e.g., medical copywriting or React.
Make it beautiful
You won’t taste the amazing raspberry jam filling if the donut looks off-putting because you won’t eat it. The same goes for a cover letter, CV, or portfolio – their real value is conveyed by its content but it’s their form that makes the first impression. If you don’t pay extra attention to the aesthetics of your portfolio, you miss out on a chance to strike your client’s fancy from the start.
Since “aesthetic” might seem a bit cloudy, here are more practical tips on how to create an eye-pleasing freelance portfolio:
- transparency – provide enough white space and distinguish the key elements, make it easy to follow;
- consistency – choose one style for colors, fonts, icons, headlines, frames, etc., and apply it throughout the portfolio;
- moderation – don’t let your freelance portfolio “scream” at the reader, choose a soft, but not bland, design.
Freelance portfolio – examples of unpaid projects for beginners
Don’t feel discouraged if you have no paid work to boast in your portfolio. Every prolific freelancer was once in a similar situation. Moreover, many experienced specialists can’t fill their portfolios with commercial projects because of the commonly signed non-disclosure agreements. It’s completely normal.
Luckily, we know how to build a freelance portfolio without experience in the market or previous projects. Here’s what you can include in yours:
Education-based projects of your choice
If you don’t have any past work you can support your offer with… start working on it! Treat the portfolio creation process as a chance to grow professionally – do your projects just for the sake of it. Plan three pieces of work that will reflect what’s best in you.
Substantial content for your portfolio is only the tip of the iceberg. What also counts is the working process itself. Creating projects for your freelance portfolio allows you to test your current abilities and learn new ones. Use this time to cross the boundaries of your skill set and get familiar with recent market trends and technologies.
Hone your talent, and don’t compromise on the quality – strive to excel. Pay attention to what passionates you the most and when your productivity is on the highest level.
Practice projects for your friends and family
If you don’t want to work on something that won’t be used “in real life”, ask the people you know if you can do it for them (you can offer no charge). Initially they might be unsure how to utilize your work, but that gives you a ground for experimenting and training. You might come up with a new use case for your offer. If you struggle with finding new “clients” amongst your relatives, ask them to spread your proposal around and help you find some guinea pigs.
Projects for nonprofits
Reach out to foundations, nonprofits or other entities that promote values you support. Research their services, pinpoint their needs and solutions they’ll find helpful, and offer them an unpaid project. This way, you’ll have a real collaboration with a “flesh-and-blood” company to show off on your freelance portfolio!
Include related certificates, courses, and schooling
For many gifted freelancers, paid jobs are only a part of their source of experience and knowledge. If your competence derives from school, university, course, workshop, or other source of valuable insights, show it in your portfolio! Include a relevant course certificate or a degree that shaped your approach to work, skill set, and interests.
Don’t hesitate to fill your portfolio with projects conducted during your education. If you’re a copywriter, maybe it’s worth sharing a distinguishable part of your dissertation in your freelance writing portfolio. If you’re a UX designer, perhaps you already designed something during your Figma course. Browse your files and seek hidden gems for your portfolio. If possible, upgrade them to make them truly illuminate your talent.
Describe the process behind the results
Your portfolio should display your work samples, but also highlight the intellectual effort you put into it. These written parts are vital if you have few things to present. Describing the process behind the results means including case studies of:
- the client – what business they’re in, what problem your project solves, what future benefits they’ll derive from your work;
- work process – how you conducted the research and what conclusions you reached, what tools you used for the project;
- your profile – what soft and hard skills you proved in a given work, what personal and professional qualities the project reflects.
When you enrich your portfolio with such insight, potential clients will perceive your offer as complex, exhaustive, and supported by innovative thinking and honest work. That makes it more competitive! Keep the “side” text in your portfolio concise to balance between the project and its description correctly.
Best freelance portfolio websites
When browsing articles on how to create a freelance portfolio, you may read that buying your domain and having a portfolio website. In fact, it’s not necessary, especially if you’ve just taken off from a starting line. We’ll show you two absolutely entry-level platforms where you can showcase your freelance projects and convert potential clients into paying clients.
How to build a freelance portfolio in Canva?
The question – how to build a freelance portfolio in Canva – has several answers. You can edit and share for free:
- portfolio presentation,
- a PDF file designed on a whiteboard, worksheet, document, etc.,
- one-page website (read a post on how to design a digital portfolio in Canva).
This handy tool even provides you with a free domain so you can have an actual website with your online portfolio!
Useme
The benefits of a Useme account for freelancers are twofold.
First, you can settle deals with clients from all around the world without setting up your company. When you do it through Useme, the platform handles your payment and sends invoices (transaction documents) to your clients.
Second, you can use it as a portfolio website. Upload and describe your projects to create a freelance portfolio online. See how your fellow freelancers present their work on Useme here. You can impress potential clients not only with samples of your own work but also with testimonials. There’s a separate section to collect reviews on Useme and build credibility based on social proof.
Testimonials are your top priority, because clients want to hire freelancers with a record of satisfying collaborations. Never say goodbye without asking for a positive review.
Check how to create your first freelance portfolio. Building it on Useme takes only 3 steps:
- Create a free account as a freelancer. Click Join Useme as a freelancer and fill in your details.
- Go to your Freelancer profile → Edit profile → Portfolio.
- Go to Add a new position and start uploading files, pasting links, and writing engaging descriptions of your portfolio items!
How to build a freelance portfolio – final touch
Even remarkable projects won’t make an irresistible offer if your portfolio is poorly done. Here are some practicalities that you need to take care of before showing your projects to the world:
- If you paste links, make sure they all work and send the recipient to the correct address.
- Don’t show your works on websites that require a potential client to set up an account only to see them.
- Use representative snippets of your work if your projects are very elaborate.
- If you place screenshots or other types of excerpts from your work, make sure the images are of high quality.
- Keep all written descriptions concise but informative. Consider using diagrams to visualize the conceptual part of the work.
- If you have diverse portfolio items to show, split them into categories to highlight your versatility.
- Include contact details and links to your social media if they’re part of your professional activity online.
Freelance portfolio – a few tips for the future
If you put our portfolio guide into practice, you’re bound to succeed! Compiling a portfolio will give you a fresh and promising start. It’ll be a solid foundation for your freelancing career.
Once you get rolling with new assignments, remember to review your portfolio regularly. Although you may feel sentimental about your old projects, they may become obsolete. The more you work in your field, the more critical you become of your previous work. Some past projects may be worth replacing with new pieces or upgrading them to your new standards. Refine your skills, widen your experience, and update your portfolio regularly. We’re crossing our fingers for your freelance business!
