As a freelancer, it’s in your best interest to build a great freelance portfolio.
This will help you to get better projects, better clients, and better returns for your hard work and effort.
But here’s the thing.
A lot of freelancers struggle with this.
They don’t keep their portfolios updated, and they don’t do enough to make sure that they’re bringing their A-game to the marketplace.
So in this post, you’re going to learn five tips for how to build a freelance portfolio that will actually help you to win more work and secure better outcomes for your freelancing business.
Let’s jump into it.
1. Update Your Portfolio Often
A lot of freelancers neglect this.
And as a result, they don’t end up getting the types of projects they should be getting—and they don’t end up making the kind of money they’re capable of earning.
You should be making sure that your portfolio stays updated, and that it displays your current level of skill and expertise in your field.
This is crucial.
You’ll also want to be removing older pieces from your portfolio and making sure to update those pieces with the best and brightest new projects you’ve been working on.
You always want to bring your A-game to the marketplace every single time.
Note: Learn how to register a gig business to help your business grow correctly.
2. Spend Time Working On It Every Month
A lot of freelancers struggle with updating their portfolios.
But even the freelancers who do update their portfolios struggle with not doing it enough.
Here’s the thing.
As a general rule, you want to make sure to be updating your portfolio at least once a month.
There’s a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln that really sums this up.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”
See, every time you apply for a job and ask for the amount of money that you know you’re worth—you’re taking a swing with your axe to attack the tree of opportunity.
And guess what?
If you spend time sharpening that axe (i.e. updating your portfolio), you might knock some very profitable fruit out of it.
It really does matter.
3. Look At Other Portfolios For Inspiration
As a freelancer, it’s always in your best interest to look at what your competition is doing.
Pick out five freelancers in your industry who are making twice as much money as you are, and try to take a look at their portfolios to see what they have going on.
You may learn some tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you to really increase the value of your own portfolio—to help you crush it in all the ways that matter most.
A lot of freelancers are daunted by this, but don’t be. Learning how you can improve is part of the process of succeeding.
4. Use Different Types Of Media
A lot of freelancers fall into the trap of only using one type of media in their portfolio.
For example, photographers will only include pictures, writers will only include written content, etc.
But here is a dynamic tip that will really help you to increase the quality of your portfolio.
Make sure to blend many different types of media together.
For best results, you’ll want to use a combination of pictures, video, and written word to make your portfolio stand out as amazing.
This might take some time and effort, but it’s absolutely worth it.
5. Don’t Be Afraid To Be Bold
Some freelancers struggle with which pieces to put into their portfolio.
They may feel really good about a particular piece they created, but then fear that it could alienate potential clients from doing work with them because it deviates with what is considered ‘mainstream.’
There’s always a struggle to balance ‘industry political correctness’ with ‘honest creative expression.’
But here’s the thing to remember.
As a creator, it’s always in your best interest to put your best and most honest foot forward.
As a general rule, sharing your bolder projects, the ones you really like and feel good about, are going to net you much better results than sharing your safer projects.
They’re going to generate more interest, and they’re going to really engage the emotions of potential clients more.
And at the end of the day, generating emotions will help you to sell a lot more.
Conclusion
There you have it.
Five tips for building a freelance portfolio that will win you more work and help you to crush it on the freelance marketplace.
All that’s left now is to get out there, put together an amazing portfolio of your work, and start charging what you’re worth.
It’s time to upgrade your business and change your life for the better.
