Online Portfolios

Online PortfoliosHow to Use Copywriting Skills to Make That Portfolio Stand Out

Online PortfoliosHow to Use Copywriting Skills to Make That Portfolio Stand Out

What Is an Online Portfolio?

What Is an Online Portfolio?• A self-promoting, professional website that contains examples of

and information about your work, skills, goals, etc.

What Is an Online Portfolio?• A self-promoting, professional website that contains examples of

and information about your work, skills, goals, etc.

• A space-saving way to fit another impressive goodie onto your résumé

What Is an Online Portfolio?• A self-promoting, professional website that contains examples of

and information about your work, skills, goals, etc.

• A space-saving way to fit another impressive goodie onto your résumé

Simply add your portfolio’s URL at the top of your résumé.

Why Have One?

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

• Building an online presence is important for any writer. You need to prove that you’re serious about your craft: the written word.

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

• Building an online presence is important for any writer. You need to prove that you’re serious about your craft: the written word.

• A successful business uses a website to promote its products/services.

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

• Building an online presence is important for any writer. You need to prove that you’re serious about your craft: the written word.

• A successful business uses a website to promote its products/services.

Your skill set is your business.

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

• Building an online presence is important for any writer. You need to prove that you’re serious about your craft: the written word.

• A successful business uses a website to promote its products/services.

Your skill set is your business. The portfolio is your promotional website.

Why Have One?• As a writer, you can offer physical examples of your work. Why not

show it off?

• Building an online presence is important for any writer. You need to prove that you’re serious about your craft: the written word.

• A successful business uses a website to promote its products/services.

Your skill set is your business. The portfolio is your promotional website.

What Does a Promotional Website Do?

What Does a Promotional Website Do?• Convinces readers that a product is worth a try

What Does a Promotional Website Do?• Convinces readers that a product is worth a try

• Mixes engaging content with strong advertising copy to keep readers interested in the product

What Does a Promotional Website Do?• Convinces readers that a product is worth a try

• Mixes engaging content with strong advertising copy to keep readers interested in the product

• Shows off the company’s branding—including any logos, taglines, colors, etc. associated with its name

What Does a Promotional Website Do?• Convinces readers that a product is worth a try

• Mixes engaging content with strong advertising copy to keep readers interested in the product

• Shows off the company’s branding—including any logos, taglines, colors, etc. associated with its name

• Follows the basic SEO guidelines to get a good Google ranking

Here’s an example of an online portfolio…

Author

I moved this up so readers can have a visual to guide them through the rest of the presentation. Interspersing visuals throughout the presentation will keep readers' attention and make things clearer.

This portfolio includes three essential things …

1. Content

1. Content• Samples—screenshots or copies of writing, editing, and

design work

1. Content• Samples—screenshots or copies of writing, editing, and

design work

2. Branding

1. Content• Samples—screenshots or copies of writing, editing, and

design work

2. Branding• Logos, colors, a layout, etc. that make the work

recognizable as the author’s

1. Content• Samples—screenshots or copies of writing, editing, and

design work

2. Branding• Logos, colors, a layout, etc. that make the work

recognizable as the author’s

3. Advertising copy

1. Content• Samples—screenshots or copies of writing, editing, and

design work

2. Branding• Logos, colors, a layout, etc. that make the work

recognizable as the author’s

3. Advertising copy• Introductions to samples and background information

about the author and their work

Author

We can make the arrows come up one at a time. I just created this quickly to see how it worked in the presentation.

Content

Branding: color scheme

Branding: Font, layout

Content

Branding: color scheme

Branding: Font, layout

Advertising co

py:

Introducti

on to th

e author

Content

Let’s look at each of these features more

closely…

Content

Content• Shoot for 2–5 samples for each category you include (e.g.,

writing, editing, design)

Content• Shoot for 2–5 samples for each category you include (e.g.,

writing, editing, design)

• Vary your samples

Content• Shoot for 2–5 samples for each category you include (e.g.,

writing, editing, design)

• Vary your samples Choose pieces that showcase different aspects of your ability (e.g.,

technical writing vs. creative writing)

Content• Shoot for 2–5 samples for each category you include (e.g.,

writing, editing, design)

• Vary your samples Choose pieces that showcase different aspects of your ability (e.g.,

technical writing vs. creative writing)

• Tailor your portfolio’s sample selection to the field you want a job in.

Content• Shoot for 2–5 samples for each category you include (e.g.,

writing, editing, design)

• Vary your samples Choose pieces that showcase different aspects of your ability (e.g.,

technical writing vs. creative writing)

• Tailor your portfolio’s sample selection to the field you want a job in. For instance, if you want a job writing copy in the beauty industry,

the majority of your samples should relate to beauty.

• Keep Copyright Laws in Mind

• Keep Copyright Laws in Mind Many employers (including WritersDomain) take full ownership of

your work once you are paid, so you cannot legally use that work in your portfolio.

• Keep Copyright Laws in Mind Many employers (including WritersDomain) take full ownership of

your work once you are paid, so you cannot legally use that work in your portfolio.

See the WritersDomain Terms and Conditions.

• Online Work

• Online Work For online work that you legally own, provide screenshots and

links.

• Online Work For online work that you legally own, provide screenshots and

links.

This keeps your portfolio looking professional and prevents your content from being flagged for plagiarism.

• Online Work For online work that you legally own, provide screenshots and

links.

This keeps your portfolio looking professional and prevents your portfolio from being cited as plagiarism.

See the following example . . .

Author

Since the purpose of this slide is to show an example of a screenshot, it might be better to show something that's less text-heavy. This will allow the reader to glance at it and not feel like he has to read it. Do you have something from your design or editing section? It's also good to vary the examples, and this screen shot is used later.

Portfolio Content—this is a screen shot of your

work

Branding

Branding• Good branding ensures that your personality and work

philosophies shine through.

Branding• Good branding ensures that your personality and work

philosophies shine through.

• It grabs readers’ attention and sets you apart.

Branding• Good branding ensures that your personality and work

philosophies shine through.

• It grabs readers’ attention and sets you apart.

• Your personal branding includes any logos, taglines, color schemes, etc. that you want to be associated with your name.

Branding• Good branding ensures that your personality and work

philosophies shine through.

• It grabs readers’ attention and sets you apart.

• Your personal branding includes any logos, taglines, color schemes, etc. that you want to be associated with your name.

• It can be as simple as a distinct color/font scheme.

Here are some good branding features in

our example portfolio…

Lots of white space

Lots of white space

Clean

text

,

easy

-to-

read

font

Simple

color

scheme

Lots of white space

Clean

text

,

easy

-to-

read

font

Here are a couple of websites that show

some branding strengths and weaknesses…

Author

I changed the sticky notes to match the color scheme, but I was just experimenting. We can totally change them back if you prefer. I'm still not sure which one I like best.

Simple,

recogniza

bl

e logo

Simple,

recogniza

bl

e logo

Catchy

phrase

Simple,

recogniza

bl

e logo

Bold

color

scheme

Catchy

phrase

Simple,

recogniza

bl

e logo

Bold

color

scheme

Varied

version

s of t

he

logo

Catchy

phrase

Large, bold

business name

Visible contact information

Large, bold

business name

Lots of white space

Visible contact information

Large, bold

business name

Lots of white space

Visible contact information

Competing headlines

Large, bold

business name

Large, bold business

name

Large, bold business

name

Branding: a catchy jingle

Visible contact information

Large, bold business

name

Branding: a catchy jingle

Visible contact information

Large, bold business

name

Crowded text & images feel

busy

Branding: a catchy jingle

Strong Advertising Copy

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

• The most important information comes first.

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

• The most important information comes first.

• Keep paragraphs short—white space is key.

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

• The most important information comes first.

• Keep paragraphs short—white space is key.

• Use a distinct and appropriate tone.

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

• The most important information comes first.

• Keep paragraphs short—white space is key.

• Use a distinct and appropriate tone.

• Include clear and useful subheadings.

Strong Advertising Copy• Create actionable titles (e.g., “Take a Look at My Designs” vs.

“My Designs”)

• The most important information comes first.

• Keep paragraphs short—white space is key.

• Use a distinct and appropriate tone.

• Include clear and useful subheadings.

• Incorporate a call to action into the text.

Let’s look at how this is done in our

example portfolio…

Actionable title

Actionable title Short paragraph

Actionable title

Conversation

al &

professional

tone

Short paragraph

Call to action

Actionable title

Conversation

al &

professional

tone

Short paragraph

Here’s some advertising copy that

appears before an example article…

Advertising copy: basically a sales pitch for your work

Link

Advertising copy: basically a sales pitch for your work

Building the Portfolio

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

2. Start the site and choose a URL.

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

2. Start the site and choose a URL.

3. Decide what types of content you want to showcase: writing samples, editing samples, design samples, etc.

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

2. Start the site and choose a URL.

3. Decide what types of content you want to showcase: writing samples, editing samples, design samples, etc.

4. Choose your branding: color scheme, font scheme, logo, etc.

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

2. Start the site and choose a URL.

3. Decide what types of content you want to showcase: writing samples, editing samples, design samples, etc.

4. Choose your branding: color scheme, font scheme, logo, etc.

5. Start designing & create different tabs: About Me, Résumé, Writing, Editing, Contact Me, etc.

Building the Portfolio 1. Choose a publishing platform: WordPress, Weebly, Blogger, etc.

2. Start the site and choose a URL.

3. Decide what types of content you want to showcase: writing samples, editing samples, design samples, etc.

4. Choose your branding: color scheme, font scheme, logo, etc.

5. Start designing & create different tabs: About Me, Résumé, Writing, Editing, Contact Me, etc.

6. Write your copy & attach your content.

Helpful Links

Helpful Links• Using Weebly to create a portfolio—http://

slcceportfolio.weebly.com/beginning-tutorials.html

Helpful Links• Using Weebly to create a portfolio—http://

slcceportfolio.weebly.com/beginning-tutorials.html

• Using Wordpress to create a portfolio—http://en.support.wordpress.com/portfolios/

Helpful Links• Using Weebly to create a portfolio—http://

slcceportfolio.weebly.com/beginning-tutorials.html

• Using Wordpress to create a portfolio—http://en.support.wordpress.com/portfolios/

• 7 Important Copywriting skills—http://jasondelodovici.com/7-most-important-copywriting-skills-you-need-to-know/