Introduction to Building an Online Writing Portfolio
If you are starting out as an online writer, one of the first things you must do is build your writing portfolio. This article will provide valuable tips on how to do this, while increasing your page views, thus increasing the revenue generated on your articles.
For purposes of this article, we will be focusing on building the online version of a writing portfolio.
What is an Online Writing Portfolio?
First of all, let’s define what an online portfolio is. An online writing portfolio is a collect of articles, blog posts, or writings that one author has in one place.
Note that you may have several online writing portfolios on different websites.
An online writing portfolio could be work that you are doing for a well-known publisher – such as online news sources – or it could be an online writing portfolio that you self-publish. The important element here is that you have a collection of your own works, so that you can refer prospective employers to your portfolio via a URL link.
What Gets Read is What You Publish
The first thing you must learn when creating an online writing portfolio is: You must first identify the audience.
Some websites only publish “How to” articles, while others may publish on specific areas of expertise. The important thing here is to identify what gets read, so you can write something that attracts an audience.
Let me give you an example: I wrote a sports article about a famous athlete that was involved in controversial activities. My first article received over 5,000 page views. Since this was the beginning of the football season, I continued to publish articles on this college football player. My second article on this football player received over 2,000 page views; at this point it was mid-way through the college football season. I decided to publish a third article on this football player at the 3/4th point of the football season. It received over 7,000 page views. If you total these three articles up, I received over 14,000 unique page views.
The lesson from this example is that timing is important if you want to generate a lot of page views. If you can predict that a certain player is going to be a hot topic – or buzz worthy – publish an article on the individual at the beginning of the sports season. This type of article is commonly referred to as a timely piece. It is relevant for a particular period in time.
Timely pieces will get a larger amount of page views in a shorter amount of time. Timeless pieces are written so that they will be relevant for long periods of time. If you are patient and a good writer, writing a few timeless pieces is also good for your online writing portfolio.
Keep in mind here that you should find an appropriate publisher for your work. If you are a poetry writer, then you need to find a online publisher specifically for poetry. Make sure that you are submitting your work to the appropriate audience.
However, I always tell people that you should never sacrifice your morals or ethics to be a good writer. If the publication is trashy, then it is probably best that you find a better publisher, rather than write raunchy articles.
Do Some Research
If you find that you have been writing for a few months, and you still are not generating the kind of page views you were hoping for, then it is time to evaluate what is going on.
Make sure that you find out what author is getting a lot of page views, and read a few of his or her pieces. Identify what makes his/her work a success.
It is very possible that you need some improvement to your craft. Consider signing up for a skills development course. The best writers are willing to take constructive criticism, and work to improve their skills. Good writing is a skill that is developed, and is a work in progress.
A good news writer is up-to-date on the news. If you keep current on what is going on, then it will help you to write on trend-worthy topics.
Example: I found out that Justin Bieber was trending in the news, so I wrote an article on him here . I have since received almost 19,000 unique page views on this single article.
Doing research, and staying up-to-date on the news does pay off!
3 Concluding Tips for Online Writers
1. Find authors that are successful, and read their work. Remember that you don’t have to sacrifice your morals or values to be a good writer.
2. Creating an online writing portfolio is only a stepping stone. This process is to show prospective employers that you have an audience of readers, and that you can do a good job as a writer.
3. If writing is your passion, then don’t let the number of page views frustrate you. The best writers were willing to persevere through tough times, and put in the hard work. Never give up!