How to Build Your Freelance Writing Portfolio

Freelance writers who are seeking work need a portfolio. It can be difficult to build a portfolio as a beginning freelance writer since many clients do not want to hire a freelance writer without seeing several examples of their work.

Freelance writers without a portfolio may think it is necessary to accept jobs that pay very little just to get some experience and build a portfolio. Some writers will write for as little as 50 cents per article. If you have any doubt about this, you can visit one of the many sites where writers bid on freelance jobs such as Get A Freelancer.

The problem with these bid sites for a beginning freelancer is not only that they pay very little, but you will usually lose all rights to your work. Once you lose the rights to your work you will not be able to use it to build your portfolio.

A good way for new freelance writers to build a portfolio and make a little money in the process is to start out writing for revenue sharing sites. These sites allow writers to publish their work and share whatever money is made from ads placed along with your articles. Depending on the site you are writing for, you may have to give up rights to the articles, but you will still be credited in the byline. So, you will still be able to use your efforts to build your portfolio.

Associated Content is a good site for beginning freelancers to start building a portfolio. When you submit articles to Associated Content you can upfront payment. Upfront payment starts around $3 and you will still receive any performance payments that your article earns. While $3 does not sound like a lot, it is a lot more than you would make writing for some other freelance sites. Not to mention the fact that your work will continue to earn money each time someone reads your article.

Time management is the most important thing when building a portfolio. It is easy to get side tracked and lose enthusiasm. When you start writing for Associated Content, keep writing for Associated Content until you have produced several articles.

If you run out of ideas for articles, you can visit the Calls for Content section on Associated Content. The Calls for Content section is offers writing jobs to content producers on Associated Content. Writing from the Calls for Content section will get you accustomed to writing articles by guidelines given by your client.

Once you have written and published many articles on Associated Content, you will have a place for potential clients to view your writing. There are some other sites that share revenues with their freelance writers but I think Associated Content is the best place for beginners to get their feet wet. Once you are comfortable writing for Associated Content you can check out my articles about other revenue sharing sites that are good resources for freelance writers.