Most of the work I have produced has been for private services that hired me to write articles for their clients so I have very little that can be shown to prospective clients. Should I be writing articles just for this purpose? If so, how do I go about showing my skills at their best? Is a website just for this the recommended route or just have samples at the ready to email when requested? Thank you for any advice you can give me. I've been reading some of the posts in this section and can see that there are several professional writers here. I am also busy reading backwards to learn as much as I can about writing for a living.
It depends on the type of writing you do. If you write content for the Web, you should probably have some samples on the Web that you can either publish to a portfolio, or at least link to from one. Clients looking for that type of work are often looking for convenience, so give it to them. Some clients will specifically request emailed samples. Some things (like scans of print published work) might have to be sent via email, because you won't be allowed to post them publicly. Another option is to start a niche blog related to your specialty. It not only showcases your writing, but your personality and your knowledge with the subject matter.
My focus has been website content so far. If I created a website and posted some articles specifically for samples of web content, would that be suitable? I only have two websites that I could point to. One would be Associated Content and the other is a gambling website where I write monthly news articles for a newsletter. I do get a byline at that site so that it could be included but I'm not sure news articles are going to be relevant to my typical clientele. Most of the articles I have done now have someone else as the author since I sold them with full rights.
It would work just to show your writing style. Ideally, by-lined work on a reputable client's site makes for the best portfolio pieces for content. When I say reputable, I don't mean it has to be a huge site or something, but one where prospective clients know if you're by-lined, you really wrote it yourself. That's because a lot of "content writers" will try to pass off the work of others as their own writing these days (which is just sad). Some people call their content producer page as AC their "portfolio." I personally think that's pretty unprofessional. Just remember that AC is nothing more than a single client. You would be better off setting up a portfolio page on your own professional site, and link to both types of content you've mentioned - in other words, cite them both as clients with links to the material you've written, but don't simply send a link to a content producer page alone.
I definitely wasn't planning on using AC as my "portfolio". I have actually had that recommended to me in the past but I can't see that as a deciding factor for rating quality as I've seen some very poor work be published there. I was considering writing pieces specifically for the purpose of building a portfolio to at least have something to show prospective clients. I would also have links to any websites where I am able to show a by-line but at this point it is just the one. The next thing is to decide on rates but I can tell by some of the threads in this forum that everyone has differing opinions on this. Have you found it necessary to publish specific rates or is it appropriate to negotiate?
I actually have an article on setting rates, covering some of the things new writers commonly forget or don't think about: Setting Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way That should give you some basic idea of what you'll need to charge if you want to succeed as a freelancer. I've found that posting rates on my sites helps a lot (people who can't afford me don't take my time with queries, and those who can have something to work with). Personally I have set rates for certain projects (like press release writing) and then I post rate ranges for other types of projects (like copywriting - where one page can mean a lot of different things depending on the client and project). Once you have your base rates, knowing what you need to earn each week, month, etc., you can certainly always negotiate a bit (like offering discounts for new clients, regulars, bulk orders, etc.).
Thank you for the link - your method makes a lot of sense. I've also bookmarked the blog for future reading as several of the article titles look very interesting. I was hoping that you would say it is okay to post a price range rather than a set price. That's what I was thinking of doing but I wasn't sure if that would turn off prospective clients.
Nah. For something like articles or Web copy I've found it can help. My ranges for articles depend on length, number of articles ordered, and whether they're by-lined or not for example - having any kind of range tells the client they have options to try to work you into their budgets.