How to make a strong portfolio

Profile ratings, feedbacks, reviews are the way to get more work on freelancing sites. But there is something which exceeds them in terms of importance. That is your portfolio. It is the strongest weapon is your freelancing arsenal. Before awarding the project, the first thing your client would check is your past work. A portfolio is a place where you show masterpieces of your past work.

What is a portfolio?

The portfolio is a collection of your work, skills, education and personal progress over the years. It might include different things depending on the industry but the basic purpose of making a portfolio is almost same fo all. We will talk about making a portfolio for freelancing, to know the portfolio in detail check this Wikipedia page.

How to make a portfolio?

All of us know the importance of a good portfolio but most of us struggle to make a good one. Beginners, most of the times, are not sure how to make it impressive. And once you complete your portfolio, the next question is how to represent it?

We will now discuss how to make an impressive portfolio and how to represent it in your profile effectively. It might be tricky in the beginning but do it a couple of times and you will make it great. These things will help you to make a bulletproof portfolio but be advised it is specifically for your freelancing profiles

Show your best work

When bidding for a project, go through the description in details. It is an added advantage if you have worked on a similar project in the past. If you have worked on a related project 'attach in your portfolio'. But the other thing is your client will judge your skills and professionalism with the work you have attached in your portfolio. So be sure to add your best work as well.

A good cover letter

Cover letters used to be an important factor in the hiring process but not anymore. An engaging, customized cover letter shows your seriousness for the project. If you prefer to attach a cover letter, make sure it should not be copy pasted. Means, most of us tend to use the same cover letter for every job we apply and ends up sending the same cover letter for every project. To ensure a maximum impact, write customized cover letter for every job you apply, it will consume some time but worth it totally.

Clients prefer to give more importance to the past projects you have worked on, cover letter has the least importance nowadays. It is just a personal opinion, may vary person to person.

Attach a video

Video presentations are livelier and engaging when compared to same old boring text. Get a video created and attach in your portfolio that will make it much more interesting and hard to ignore.

Attach your website

It is especially for experienced freelancers but advisable to everyone. When you have years of experience it is hard to include everything in small attachments. So it is better to include everything on your website and represent as a portfolio. If you already have a website, just attach the URL in your portfolio.

Include testimonials\ recommendation letters

You might have worked with several clients already. For your exceptional work, your clients must have praised you several times, use it. Though there is already a feedback and review section for all freelancer profiles, including testimonials and recommendations gives you more weightage.

When your portfolio is complete, you are ready to start searching work and making proposals on your favurite projects. These tips will help you get started:


How to search freelancing projects
How to make winning proposals

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Posted at - Feb 19, 2017 & Last Modified at - Feb 19, 2017