Just curious guys. Assuming I am a new writer... what is a good way to develop a copywriting portfolio? Like which kinds of customers should I try to look for?
What kind of work do you want to do? To compile your portfolio, I highly recommend starting a blog. It offers a place for you to do some writing practice and allows clients to view your articles. If you don't want to blog, compile some of your written works and ask friends for character testimonials. You can get client testimonials as you expand your base. DO NOT DO WORK FOR FREE. Seriously, it's not worth it.
Hmmm...this I am going to disagree with. For me, if I were a client, this would look desperate. I don't really care what your friends think and reading a testimonial from them is kinda...well...would make me think you didn't know very much about business. I would go the route of old employers, coworkers, or vendors that you were responsible for working with. It may not be a testimonial about your writing, but it is about your work ethic and reliability.
Thanks for your suggestions! I am thinking of starting out by using work that I have done for school and then utilize my credentials in my resume to help guide the way.
Well, believe me... I've learnt this the hard way. No one's going to give you work if you don't have samples that sells. To create a portfolio you must have live examples of what you can do to help people. And to do just that you must be able to find some clients. Now there are two things. If you're a marketing specialist or know PR well enough, probably you'll sink in a paying job or two in not much time. I really don't think you're a PR person as yet. Second, If you're starting out what matters is to prove your worth to people, get testimonials and you can't get testimonials until you prove your worth. I completely disagree with not working for FREE. I think when you start off to get testimonials and prove your worth to clients, you MUST work for anything they pay. Once you prove your self, you can charge anything you desire. It's true that if you charge a low price the client does not value you or your service but the client behavior differs from individual to individual. Look, you've to prove your self. That's more important for a newbie writer. Getting testimonials. That's even more important. Building your reputation. That's the most important part here. If you're going to be hell bent at saying no to work that comes your way irrespective of what it pays, I think you're just going to waste time like me. Where I could build my portfolio, I haven't and even lost the time I'd to build one irrespective of what I'm being paid. I think it works fantastic if you accept gigs that you would like to write irrespective of what they pay - even if its free, just go ahead and build your portfolio. Once you've a solid portfolio and approval of so many other marketers, you're going to have a GREAT time.