They are your 24-hour business card, they showcase your best work, and they are a lead generation machine…
Web professionals, consultants, graphic designs, musicians, and freelancers all need portfolios. I’m gonna give you a few tips to get YOUR portfolio up and running, and working for YOU….
Tip #1
Just put something up!
Freelancers put off creating a portfolio because they want it to be perfect. But it’s never going to be perfect. And you will never find the time to make it perfect. So, it will never launch. The solution? JUST PUT SOMETHING UP for goodness sake…
A quick & dirty landing page with some text, and a contact link. A video of yourself on the landing page. You can even buy a landing page HTML template on ThemeForest, throw it up on your domain, and call it a day! It’s better than nothing.
Tip #2
Ask yourself these 3 questions when building a portfolio
- Who are your serving? Think about your expertise and customer niche. Decide your Primary Focus and Make a Client Avatar.
- What is your GOAL for your portfolio? Think about the PURPOSE of your portfolio. What are you hoping to get out of having a portfolio? What steps are you going to take to achieve those goals. Think of your END GOAL, and work backward to create a step by step plan for building it the right way.
- How are you adding VALUE? Think about your PRIMARY call to action. Have you designed a conversion funnel? How is your sales copy on your website? Do you have a list-building (or lead generation) strategy in place?
Notice how none of these things are about how PRETTY your portfolio is? Approach your portfolio from the angle of getting clients, NOT making them think “ooh pretty things”…
Tip #3
What should you include in your portfolio? 6 THINGS…
- A logo & unique value proposition. Your logo and branding is the first thing your visitor will see. Your unique value proposition conveys how you solve your client’s problem. “We help [achieve X] for [audience] by [doing Y]”.
- A showcase of your work. You should highlight the most valuable and impactful work first. Remember, paid client work with testimonials are BEST. If you don’t have that yet… Pro-bono projects with Testimonials will suffice. The Testimonial is KEY.
- An ABOUT page. You’re a person. People like people. Write up a short, and relevant bio about yourself. Don’t just talk about how you like to ride horses and play guitar in your spare time — personality is great, but you’re trying to get a client, not a pen pal. Include a photo of your face. People like faces. A video is even better (if you’re comfortable with it).
- A services/products page. Highlight how you serve your clients. How do you achieve results? Focus on benefits (not features)!
- A lead magnet. Offer something of value in exchange for an email. A free worksheet, checklist, video tutorial series, etc.) Once you get the email, send a weekly automated follow-up series that focuses on helping them and adding more value. After a few emails, ask to schedule a free 10-minute consultation to talk about their project. You can do all of this automagically with ConvertKit.
- A contact page. Of course… you need to give potential clients an easy way to get in touch with you. Make your contact form easy and fun to fill out. Ask a few simple questions about their project.
Tip #4
Use professional examples and inspiration.
If you’re having a hard time thinking about how to design your portfolio, what style you should go for, unique ways to display projects, and so on… Just look at world-class examples of portfolios, and use them as inspiration for your portfolio. There’s no need to try to drum up the perfect portfolio from thin air!
For web design inspiration, check out…
http://www.awwwards.com
http://www.siteinspire.com
http://www.cssnectar.com
For logo inspiration, check out…
http://www.logospire.com
http://www.designspiration.com
http://www.logopond.com
You can always just buy portfolio themes at…
http://www.themeforest.com
https://www.bradhussey.ca/creativemarket
For awesome free stock imagery, check out…
http://unsplash.com
http://thestocks.im
—
If you’d like to know more about crafting the perfect portfolio, check out my Portfolio Workshop at:
https://bradhussey.ca/portfolios
And if you’d like to learn more about getting your freelance business up and running, download my free 7-Step Freelancing Roadmap…
