Having a portfolio is an important part of a professional writer’s kit. It’s a way of showcasing your work to potential employers, and it serves as a reference point for potential readers who might be interested in your writing. You can also use it to store digital copies of your work, which you can then to refer back to when needed. It’s basically a collection of writing samples that you can use to show off your skills and establish yourself as a skilled wordsmith.
The way we interact with digital media is changing the way we approach traditional methods of written work. There’s been a rise in the number of digitally native writers, and those who have developed the skill via online courses and writing platforms. Some of the most popular platforms are WordPress, Trello, and GitBook.
These online writing tools make it easy for anyone to publish content and engage with readers, but they also make it easy for anyone to copy and paste chunks of text and claim them as their own. This can lead to plagiarism and content abuse, and it makes it harder for writers to establish themselves as an experienced wordsmith and expert in their field. Plagiarism is already a concern in the world of academia, and it’s now starting to crop up in the business world as well.
This is why a writer’s portfolio is growing in importance. It can help to establish an author’s credibility, separate them from plagiarists, and give the reader a good idea of what to expect from their writing. The way a writer builds and displays their portfolio is also important. There are certain ‘rules’ or best practices for digital writers when it comes to building a strong portfolio. We’ll discuss some of these below.
Use Digital Publishing Tools That Aren’t Free
The first and most obvious step to take if you’re serious about creating a portfolio is to make sure that whatever tool you use is not free. There are plenty of low-cost options out there for those who want to build a blog or a website, but you really should consider investing in a WordPress premium plan if you want to use that platform to establish yourself as a serious writer. That’s because WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems around, and it’s also incredibly flexible and powerful. Most importantly, it’s free. Even if you’re a professional web designer who is very experienced with CMSes and the like, it’s still best to go the extra mile and pay for premium support to get the best experience out of WordPress – even for something as simple as a portfolio site.
The same goes for other content management systems as well. If you’re looking to build a business website that you’ll use to attract clients, establish credibility, and grow your practice, consider paying for a dedicated SEO professional to get you ranked on the first page of Google for your chosen key phrases. That’s because it takes a lot of effort to ensure that your content is of the highest quality, and the first step to taking control of your SEO is to hire a professional to get the job done for you.
It’s important to note that SEO isn’t just about getting your content ranked on the first page of Google. It’s about making sure that your content ranks high on the first page of Google for relevant key phrases. For example, if you’re a freelance writer who wants to establish themselves as an expert in dog walking, one of your key phrases might be ‘dog walking services’ or ‘best dog walkers’. Your content will need to include a lot of relevant and high-quality content on the topic to attract, engage, and convert your readers to turn a profit.
If you’re using an unlicensed tool to build your portfolio, you open yourself up to all sorts of content abuse. If someone decides that they don’t like your work and decides to use your tool to attack or discredit you. Don’t expect that your tool provider is going to protect you from this kind of thing. The last thing they want is a backlash from content creators who discover that their tool was misused against them.
Use Portfolio Structures That Work For You
If you want to create a professional looking portfolio, you need to follow certain design principles that will make your work look more polished and organized – regardless of whether you’re using a free or paid tool to host your site. There are a couple of different ways that you can approach building a portfolio, and they all involve following certain design principles that make for a more professional-looking site.
The first and perhaps most obvious step is to pick a template that you like the look of. If you’ve decided that you want to use WordPress to establish yourself as a writer, you might want to consider investing in a premium theme for that platform. That’s because choosing a free theme for WordPress can lead to all sorts of issues with theme instability and compatibility problems. If you’re using a free theme, make sure that you’re always checking for updates and compatibility issues as you use the platform.
The second step is to pick a font that you think will look good together with your chosen template. If you like the the looks of Arial, but it doesn’t work well with your chosen template, consider choosing a different font that’s more compatible with your chosen template. If you’re using Google fonts, make sure that none of them are on the restricted list. Otherwise, you’ll just end up with a bland, unprofessional looking site.
Third, make sure that the copy on your site is easy to read. Long words should be broken down into shorter units to improve the overall flow of text on your site. If you’re using a tool to build your site, most of the options will have a setting where you can change the amount of line spacing, and this should be maintained consistently across your site. The last thing you want is to have different amounts of spacing between paragraphs, and this can make for a very unappealing and difficult to read website.
Use One Webpage To Summarize Your Work
A portfolio should be a collection of work – ideally including examples of everything from published articles to screenplays to short films – that provides the reader with some indication of what they’re getting into. If you’re just starting out as a writer, it’s a good idea to include samples of your work in different genres and for different purposes. This will help to establish your versatility and make the reader feel like they’re getting into something that’s going to be new and exciting.
If you’ve decided that you’d like to use WordPress to establish yourself as a writer, putting together a solid sample blog post is a great place to start. You can include examples of your narrative and engaging writing, along with a list of your published works. You can also include samples of your screenplays, short films, and other creative content that you’ve produced.
Once you’ve got a decent amount of content on your blog, it’s a good idea to look into creating a portfolio out of it. Building a blog isn’t easy, and it can be a full time job. Instead of trying to fit all of your work into a single blog post, consider creating a separate webpage where you can upload all of your work in one place. Ideally, you want the portfolio piece to be an overview of everything that you’ve produced, and for it to serve as a showcase of your talents – both as a writer and as a filmmaker.
As a writer, you might want to include your sample articles here, and you can also include links to online courses that you’ve taken or platforms that you’ve used to build your writing skills – like WordPress or Google Docs.
As a filmmaker, you might want to include your short films here, along with links to other work that you’ve produced (budgets permitting). Including a section for your short films is important for creating a coherent and comprehensive portfolio, and they’re also a great way to get your work out there to potential audiences.
When it comes to digital writers and content creators, established practices are changing as new ways of working emerge. While some prefer to keep their work within blogs and small chunks of content that can be easily updated, established practices like SEO, content licensing, and plagiarism are existing outside of these platforms and are having a growing impact on what content looks like online. Even within these platforms, certain design principles and copywriting best practices can be used to create better-looking and more trustworthy content.