Selling yourself as a beginner and building a portfolio
Posted: November 14th, 2020, 7:48 pm
Hello,
I'm interested in becoming a freelance copywriter - mainly in sales/advertising, but I don't mind branching out into other areas (websites, blogs, etc.). But my problem lies in where to begin. It's the old adage "can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job".
I want to make a post on a few freelancing websites like Fiverr, but it's how to get the ball rolling without that crucial experience, is the main sticking point. Selling yourself without much there to sell is the question! It feels like putting up a big sign in a shop window without any of the goods to display.
I have the bare bones of a portfolio: since 2016 I have attended a convention in Sweden and worked for the convention as a crew member on their newsletter, writing articles on the events that were held for the whole of this period.
This year, I have also written a page of copy on the convention website, advertising to recruit volunteers for the paper.
Over the years I have additionally written adverts for various events in the convention book ('conbook'), altering or entirely re-writing the ads as the theme for each year changed (Atlantis, Japan, South America etc.) But as the conbooks aren't publicly available I'm not sure how much value their copy would be to the average client.
But it doesn't feel like I could launch a career on this basis.
In a broadly technical sense, I suppose I could claim "four years' copywriting experience" (using Robert W. Bly's 'false logic' technique, if I understand it correctly) but as it was only a few weeks' experience each per year, that feels like a glaring omission - and I want to be honest, as a copywriter. I don't want to be a snake-oil salesman.
I'm aiming to build on this small portfolio, but I'm wondering what the best approach is? The Udemy course I took suggested looking at websites, re-writing a page and sending it in spec to the company, offering more for free in exchange for a testimonial. Is such an option viable?
I'm rambling somewhat.
My main issues are this:
1) When first setting up, what techniques can a novice use to sell their talents whilst being honest (or at least, not dishonestly secretive) about their level of experience?
2)What are the best techniques to build up a portfolio in the meantime, to gain experience?
Thank you very much for your time
I'm interested in becoming a freelance copywriter - mainly in sales/advertising, but I don't mind branching out into other areas (websites, blogs, etc.). But my problem lies in where to begin. It's the old adage "can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job".
I want to make a post on a few freelancing websites like Fiverr, but it's how to get the ball rolling without that crucial experience, is the main sticking point. Selling yourself without much there to sell is the question! It feels like putting up a big sign in a shop window without any of the goods to display.
I have the bare bones of a portfolio: since 2016 I have attended a convention in Sweden and worked for the convention as a crew member on their newsletter, writing articles on the events that were held for the whole of this period.
This year, I have also written a page of copy on the convention website, advertising to recruit volunteers for the paper.
Over the years I have additionally written adverts for various events in the convention book ('conbook'), altering or entirely re-writing the ads as the theme for each year changed (Atlantis, Japan, South America etc.) But as the conbooks aren't publicly available I'm not sure how much value their copy would be to the average client.
But it doesn't feel like I could launch a career on this basis.
In a broadly technical sense, I suppose I could claim "four years' copywriting experience" (using Robert W. Bly's 'false logic' technique, if I understand it correctly) but as it was only a few weeks' experience each per year, that feels like a glaring omission - and I want to be honest, as a copywriter. I don't want to be a snake-oil salesman.
I'm aiming to build on this small portfolio, but I'm wondering what the best approach is? The Udemy course I took suggested looking at websites, re-writing a page and sending it in spec to the company, offering more for free in exchange for a testimonial. Is such an option viable?
I'm rambling somewhat.
My main issues are this:
1) When first setting up, what techniques can a novice use to sell their talents whilst being honest (or at least, not dishonestly secretive) about their level of experience?
2)What are the best techniques to build up a portfolio in the meantime, to gain experience?
Thank you very much for your time