Even if you do most of your work for content mills, there may come a time when you wish to branch out. Having a solid website with your experience, writing samples and an explanation of your services can give prospective clients a very positive and professional impression.Having your writing samples available online makes it much easier to respond to job postings. What prompted me to finally get my portfolio done was finding several jobs I wanted to apply to but I didn't have samples organized to send. I built a professional portfolio in about three hours, and now I've been able to send it to prospective clients and link to it in Craigslist ads.
You can start a portfolio for free on a blogging platform like Blogger or Wordpress, or for a really professional edge, create your own domain to send clients to. Whichever method you choose, the important thing is to get started now.
Include your work history, if relevant, examples of several styles of writing, and a description of services you offer. Use samples that portray your writing skills, but don't include samples of the type of work you do not wish to perform. If you hate writing SEO content, for example, don't highlight that on your portfolio.
Tune in next week for a discussion on how to choose your writer portfolio domain name.