After Hours© 013: Building a portfolio that converts

So when you first start freelancing or begin a creative career, the first thing you think to do is your portfolio.

And it's a pretty smart place to start because you will need one in this industry.

A portfolio is used to build trust with potential clients by showcasing your best past work.

But how do you build a portfolio without any client work?

Today's topic: Building a portfolio that converts
Estimated read time: ~4 minutes (Skim time: 90 seconds)

What kind of problem is this?

Building your portfolio is a confidence and clarity problem. You need to have the confidence to believe your worth as a creative and you need to understand the best way to showcase that work.

If you don't think your work is good, how do you expect clients to?

Penelope's First Portfolio

When I was building my first portfolio, I was looking for graphic design, marketing, technical writing, copywriting and content creation work and my folio truly reflected that.

I had pages of long blogs, marketing posters and screenshots of social media posts… it was a mess.

So that was my first mistake. I had too much going on; it was hard to follow and not tailored to the client or job I was applying for.

My portfolio also had only published or past client work which really limited me to what I could offer. Another mistake.

I also put in absolutely everything I had ever done. My portfolio was like 100 pages long.

And finally… to Eden and any other graphic designer's absolute disgust, it was made in word.

Well… I think we can all agree that my first portfolio was an absolute disaster and I'm sure you already guessed it but... I was landing absolutely no clients or jobs.

Solution

Keep your portfolio simple for your own sake and for the sake of the clients. Clients aren't going to go through pages and pages of your work to find what they want. They will look at one or two of the first pages and decide if you're a good fit within seconds.

Your portfolio should include:

• A brief introduction of who you are and your style
• 3-5 x pieces of work with;
  • Images
  • Overview of project
  • What was the brief/theme/problem
  • Solution to the problem or how you tackled the brief
• If you're a photographer, product designer or a creative that can explain materials or mediums, put that in too.
• Add a page of external links if you have videography or something that needs third party hosting.
• Add links to your social media or website
• Contact information page

That's it.

This week you will

Step one: Collate your work.
Choose your best pieces of work. The ones that you feel best represent you and the kind of work you like to create. If you have no client work or published work, make personal projects for the kind of work you like to do. Make a few different styles and put 110% effort into these, just as much as you would if you were getting paid because these will help you get paid.

Step two: Build your portfolio.
Use the above steps in solution to build your own portfolio in Adobe, Figma or another usable design software. I would avoid Canva if you can, just because it will end up looking quite generic. We do have a new portfolio framework coming with CBOS (more info below) if you want a ready-made portfolio framework and external portfolio landing page to use.

Step three: Tailor.
Add or remove projects depending on the client and make sure they are applicable to what that potential client is looking for. If you offer a few different things, break them into multiple portfolios.

Step four: Use it.
A portfolio is usually used when you've got a warm lead. A warm lead is someone who is already in your funnel or knows a bit about you. A potential client may ask you for a portfolio of work after they have seen your social media or your Services Guide.

If you're applying for jobs on Fiverr or similar, you will need to upload your portfolio, usually with a resume or accompanying letter.

I wouldn't send out cold portfolio's. I doubt many potential clients would respond well to this. Use a Services Guide, Rate Card or Pitch Deck for cold emails or messages.

You can also add your portfolio to your bio or chop it up and use pieces of it for content.

Well that's all for this After Hours. Don't be like little P and make a mess of your portfolio. Portfolios are important but they are just one piece of this business puzzle. But they are a good place to start so make yours memorable.

Chat soon,
Penelope
Co-Founder of Boring Studios, Writer, Portfolio-expert