Creating a great online writing portfolio can be a challenge for new writers, but there are some great free online tools that can help writers show off their writing and blogging clips to advantage. One way to make a stunning portfolio is to use the presentation tools built into Google Docs.
Create an Online Portfolio With Google Docs
Using Google Docs to make a presentation is very similar to using PowerPoint. Writers can create new presentations with a single click and add titles, subtitles and text without much effort. It helps to think about what to include before starting, as this makes the process of creating an online portfolio much quicker. Google Docs includes a number of templates which writers can use to give their portfolio a professional look without much effort. They can also upload their own photos and use these as a background to slides.
Writing Portfolio Suggestions
It is helpful to include a title slide with the name and tagline of the writing business and a representative image. The next step in creating an online writing portfolio is to divide the work into different areas. For example, writers who write articles, create press releases, proofread and blog could create a separate slide for each area. On each slide, include an elevator pitch – a couple of sentences that say something about that area of work – plus some examples of the work. These could either be screenshots or actual links. One good reason to include links in an online writing portfolio is that potential clients can go directly to the clips included.
Completing the Online Portfolio
Once writers have outlined the different skill areas in their online writing portfolio, the next step is to add contact details, plus links to places where potential clients can find out more, such as business networking profiles, social media profiles, a full resume or a testimonials page. This completes the setup phase for the writing portfolio. The next step is to share it and this is why Google Docs is useful.
Sharing an Online Writing Portfolio
When the presentation is complete, writers can get a link to share it online or to email it or grab the code to embed it on a web page. This is very useful. Potential uses for the code include:
- placing the online writing portfolio on a writer's website on the home page where it can serve as an introduction to the writer's work
- adding a link as part of an email signature, promoting the writer every time an email goes out
- embedding the portfolio on other sites.
Boost the Portfolio With Slideshare
One site that provides a useful add-on to Google Docs is Slideshare. Writers can import their Google Docs presentation into Slideshare to get even more ways to share it (including through social media). One advantage of using Slideshare to embed the presentation is that writers can get statistics on how many people have viewed it. This can be useful, though writers who don't need this functionality can simply stick with the original Google Docs presentation.
And there's one more advantage of using Google Docs presentation tools to create an online writing portfolio - it is easy to update the presentation every time there is a new client or testimonial.
Sharon Hurley Hall - I am an expert web content writer, with more than 20 years' experience writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. I write ebooks, web ...
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