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Getting Your First Projects When presenting most of your work as samples or links you may like to choose 2-3 key projects and expand them into case studies. This can be beneficial for clients who have no previous experience in your industry. In describing the project and outcomes you have a chance to impress them with your skills and your ability to explain your service in a way they understand. •
Samples Showing samples could mean extracts of written work, illustrations, designs, photographs or code snippets. This is the most common form of portfolio. A series of visual samples can be shown as a slideshow presentation. If you choose a slideshow format ensure you show your best work first – a client in a hurry may judge you on your first one or two samples.
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Links For web designers and developers a series of links can suffice as a portfolio. Generally speaking this should be a supplement to samples or case studies.
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Client Lists On occasion you may simply provide a list of clients for whom you have worked. For example, if you had written for The Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine, a reference to articles and issues could convince a client that you have more than enough expertise for their job.
Try to choose the format that you think your target market will respond well to, and which shows your work in its most favourable light.