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Anastasia Fedoseeva Copywriter and journalist. He maintains a blog where he publishes stories and articles.
Why do I need a portfolio
This is the business card of a copywriter. Only with the help of a portfolio can you show a potential employer what the author is capable of: how he writes, on what topics, whether he can create landing pages, and so on. It is no coincidence that when applying for a vacancy, candidates are often asked to attach links to selected texts or projects.
A good portfolio is an important advantage when looking for a job. Thanks to him, a copywriter doesn’t even always need to explore the market – clients and HRs contact themselves.
How to create a portfolio
Although copywriters are different, most methods are the same for everyone. So, SEO copywriters optimize texts for search engines, and commercial copywriters are engaged in advertising and social networks, however, both the former and the latter write.
UX editors who are responsible for texts for the application interface or sites – this profession requires specific experience with the product.
Let's figure out how to create a portfolio for a copywriter.
Find training with an internship
An excellent option for newcomers to the profession. With the help of a good online course, you can not only improve your skills, but also get the first cases in your portfolio. For example, some schools organize internships for students after graduation, while others hold competitions, for example, for preparing posts on social networks. The texts of the winners are published – here is the work for the collection.
The most difficult thing is to find a suitable online course that involves an internship and will come in handy when looking for a job. To do this, it is worth digging methodically on the Internet.
- Study the curriculum.It really helps to understand what is taught on the course and whether an internship is possible. If in doubt, it makes sense to talk to a tutor.
- Read reviews. They can help you evaluate how good the teachers and the program are, and find out if there is an opportunity for an internship during your studies or after.
- View jobs. Some list educational requirements, including degrees from various online schools. This way you can understand which courses are more valued in the professional community.
- Ask colleagues for advice. Copywriters are likely to have a good understanding of the market and understand which diplomas are valued. If there are no workers from this field among your acquaintances, it makes sense to subscribe to professional communities on social networks and ask around there.
Get an internship
This is a way not only to create a portfolio, but and find your first job. You can search for options on recruiting portals, on company websites, in Telegram channels and groups on social networks.
You can get an internship even without experience and specialized education. The main thing is to show your strengths in the right way.
- Offer unique skills. Your non-core work experience or education can be unexpected advantages. IT companies will be happy to hire a copywriter with developer experience – such a person does not need to be brought up to date. And a UX editor who used to work as a product designer will definitely come in handy when creating interfaces.
- Make a case study from previous duties. You may have written for a company blog or volunteered for a social media account. Publications in the student newspaper are also suitable – they can be the first line in the portfolio.
- Create a catchy cover letter.A newbie resume is likely to look rather modest, so it's important to be specific about why you're interested in the internship and what you can offer the company. Just don't write a biographical report. It is better to focus on the requirements of the vacancy – tell us which of the necessary skills you have and show with examples.
- Attach certificates. These can be diplomas from online courses, knowledge documents foreign language or knowledge of some programs. It is important that the certificates are relevant. So, UX writers usually work in graphic editors – a proven ability to use them will definitely be an advantage.
Enter the contest
They are held by various publications, companies and government agencies. The range of topics, formats and tasks is so wide that it will suit a copywriter of any orientation. If you win or prove yourself, you can get a new line in your portfolio. And if you're lucky, then a cash prize or an invitation to work.
- You can follow the competitions on the websites of companies, government departments and publications.
- It is worth paying attention to the format. Longread is more suitable for an SEO copywriter, a social media post is more suitable for a commercial one, and text for an application is more suitable for a UX editor.
- It is better to look for job opportunities or contests run by well-known companies or media. In the first case, you will solve not only the portfolio problem, but also the job search. In the second case, a victory or a prize in itself will become a weighty argument.
Find the first customers among friends
It is worth looking among former or current colleagues. So, the experience and education of a lawyer will definitely be appreciated in a law office: you can offer to take over the maintenance of social networks or a corporate blog. In the case of UX editing, acquaintances with designers and developers will come in handy: who, if not a copywriter, should write text for a new application?
It is important to understand that at the beginning of the journey, entries in a portfolio and resume are much more valuable than small amounts. With the first clients come experience and fame. If you do well on projects, there is a chance to start word of mouth: acquaintances will contact you again and recommend you to colleagues and friends. And with a portfolio filled with good work, you can already decide on great achievements.
Offer services to a business
If a company is close to you and you really want to work with it, you can always try to write specifically for this company. Usually the contacts of the HR department are publicly available.
It is quite possible to reach a business if:
- Propose a solution to a specific problem.It is unlikely that an outsider will be able to identify the difficulties of the company, so it is better to come up with a business problem yourself and show that you are able to solve it. For example, tell how you would improve company texts on social networks, and then write 3-4 posts and explain why such content will work.
- Come up with an innovative idea. Of course, why the more non-standard, the easier it is to attract attention to your letter, but it is not necessary to be very creative. Sometimes it is enough to offer to create a social network account if the company does not have one.
Start a professional blog
A popular social network account is a huge plus for a portfolio and free advertising.
For an SEO copywriter, it is more profitable to start a personal blog where you can publish full-fledged articles. Yandex.Zen, Spark and Habr are suitable for this. These sites have a large number of users, and in Spark, some texts are marked with the “editor's choice” icon, which can advantageously distinguish an article from others. Keeping such a blog will become a training ground for an SEO copywriter.
For a commercial copywriter, it is more useful to create an Instagram account. So you can show your ability to write small captivating texts, find a new audience and promote your blog. All of these skills are highly valued by companies looking for the right person for a similar job.
Analyze an existing product
To write good texts for interfaces, you need to be able to look at applications and sites from the user's point of view. You can demonstrate this skill by evaluating a product and suggesting ideas for improvement.
A good option is to analyze an application that you use frequently. In this case, you will most likely immediately know its main problems. Write out specific text options for each button and explain how each solution improves the user experience.
How to design a portfolio
It is important not only to get successful cases, but also to package them beautifully.
File in cloud storage
Project data can be uploaded to a separate document, opened for viewing via a link, or a collection of files to a cloud drive. For example, a separate report on each project.
Google Drive and Yandex.Disk are suitable for this.
Presentation
Beautifully designed slides look more presentable than dry text. They can give links to the best works, describe your contribution to collective projects, explain the decisions made. And spice it all up with pretty infographics: view statistics, reach, user behavior, and so on.
You can prepare a presentation in PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides or Canva. To create interface prototypes, a UX editor will need Figma.
Site
The most interesting, but also the most difficult option to implement. On the one hand, a separate site is simply beautiful. It will look advantageous against the background of the same type of text documents and cloud storage. On the other hand, this is a way to once again show your skills. For example, the ability to typeset text and improve user experience, knowledge of the basics of design.
To create a website or page, Tilda and Readymag designers are well suited. The first one is a little more difficult to work with, but offers more tools. The second one has many convenient templates, and even a beginner can create a basic portfolio.
What should a portfolio look like
When designing, do not forget about a few important rules.
Competent
A portfolio with errors can only attract attention in the worst possible way. Even a random error can ruin a great presentation. Therefore, the texts should be subtracted several times. And if you don’t feel confident, you can turn to a professional proofreader for help.
Comfortable
You can have good work, but if it’s hard to find, most HRs or clients won’t spend time. Even worse, if the site is down or access to cloud storage is closed.
Therefore, do not forget to check the following:
- whether navigation is convenient (for example, links can be iterated over);
- screenshots and text are distinguishable;
- whether the portfolio is displayed correctly on mobile devices;
- Does everything function as it should.
Relevant
An SEO copywriter's portfolio will be very different from a UX editor's portfolio. If for the first it is important to show the best texts adapted to search queries and their positions in the search results, then for the second, convenient interfaces that create a cool user experience are much more valuable. And if a person wants to write on legal topics, a large number of texts about medicine will not interest a potential customer or employer.
It is important to update the portfolio and, if necessary, adjust it to individual companies. For example, to be the first to post texts about development in case of a response to an IT company.
But if you want to change the direction of your activity, it is better to remove old cases. The latter, one way or another, will attract customers from the annoying sphere.
