Creating, maintaining, and updating a professional writing portfolio doesn’t have to be stressful.  But it does have to be intentional.  If you are looking for a way to make the best out of a writing portfolio, here are the best tips and tricks to help.  Over the years, these are the same tips that I’ve used to create and maintain my portfolio regularly!

Tricks for creating, maintaining, and updating a writing portfolio

If you’re anything like me, you’re looking for the easiest way to get your writing portfolio going.  After all, it’s essential for your business, but you’re also kinda busy running the business.  These portfolio tips will help you keep things going and keep your portfolio fresh.

• Ask for permission from every customer/project: After finishing a successful project, please ask permission to use the deliverable as part of your writing portfolio.  You can have public and private portfolios, and can easily anonymize any client details for every piece, so privacy can be protected without you losing out on portfolio opportunities.  The most important part about this tip is this: ask for permission (in writing) for each successful project, even if you don’t think you’ll use it in your portfolio.  It’s always good to have a plethora of options!
• Update regularly with new, high-quality projects: Since you’ll have quite a few options to choose from, you’ll have no problem at all switching out portfolio projects and adding in new ones.  Do this as regularly as you can.  If you need to literally schedule it into your work calendar, do it!  I aim to refresh it every 4-6 months.  If there is a large or particularly successful portfolio piece that you want to keep in your portfolio as an evergreen sample, that’s fine!  Just make sure that you change up the rest of it regularly so that your portfolio doesn’t get stale!
• Does your portfolio reflect your breadth?: Lastly, always remember to keep your actual service options in mind when planning out your recent changes and updates.  Have you recently taken off a service?  Added one?  If so, those changes should be reflected in your portfolio.  If you offer 3 services and 90% of your work is in section #1, you can have several samples that showcase that.  However, still have samples for sections #2 and #3, since you want your entire freelance scope to be demonstrated in your portfolio.

Every portfolio is different

One tip that I want to double down on is that your portfolio should reflect you as a person and you as a professional writer.  While it should tick a few boxes as far as overall content and scope, your portfolio would look different from my portfolio, and that’s a good thing.

This is simply the technique that I rely on when addressing my writing portfolio.  Are you curious about how it actually works?  I’ve written before about how to create a strong portfolio!

Fellow writers and freelancers, what do you think?  Do you have your own tips you’d like to share?