Ever wonder why some copywriters, regardless of experience, keep getting client after client and charging whatever they want to–even beginner copywriters with a minimal client list?
Sure, their copy is great. That’s always the number one factor in landing copywriting clients. But what makes one great copywriter stand out over the other?
It’s simple, and there’s actually science behind it:
Presentation.
Humans are visually driven. It’s just how we are as a species, and there are a ton of data to back it up. That’s why there are a ton of case studies on color and mood, purchasing habits and design, and user experience and conversion rates.
When you’re selling your services to someone, perception is key.
Let’s dive a little deeper into why.
People who hire copywriters can’t always picture their copy how it’s supposed to look on the page, and copywriting techniques like repetition might be misunderstood unless they can be seen “in practice.”
By giving a potential client a fully fleshed-out finished product rather than just a simple doc file, they can more easily picture themselves as your client. A visual copywriting portfolio gives your potential clients something shiny, polished, and FINISHED to look at.
While you can easily mock-up a homepage, service page, or sales page in Google docs and include notes in the sidebar of where elements need to be, putting together a visual page give it some clarity and shows your potential clients that you not only write great copy, but that you know where best to place the calls to action.
Once your copy is in your client’s hands, it belongs to them. That means that they can make changes to it, add to it, or take out chunks of it that you know should actually have stayed (it happens to the best of us, and it leaves you gutted, I know).
Instead of simply sending live links to prospects, mocking up your own version of your original, unedited copy keeps all of your work in tact.
But, how do you do that? Let’s move on to HOW to create a visual portfolio.
Here’s how you can create a visual copywriting portfolio, with our without design skills.
If you’ve got an eye for design, mocking up sales pages, landing pages, and even emails using professional design tools allows your the most customization.
If you’re design-savvy, Adobe tools are a great way to go, but if you’re looking for a more beginner-friendly way to create your visual copywriting portfolio, Canva has both free and paid versions and is as easy as drag-and-drop.
You can find sales page templates, website homepage templates, and other content templates that are already pre-made, ready for you to drop in your content. Many templates are built in Canva so that you can customize them easily.
And, some sales page templates, like those in my Ultimate Sales Page Kit, even have prompts that can help you write high-converting copy, and you can re-use the templates to turn in mock-ups for your current clients (giving your clients something visual reduces edit requests by a TON, because they can actually “experience” what the copy is supposed to do).
Here’s a little preview of what’s inside of my Ultimate Sales Page Kit:
If you want to go the super-customized route but you have zero design skills, hiring a graphic designer is the way to go. Your copywriting portfolio should be a collection of your best content; making it even better with a visual mock-up is a solid investment.
And yes, if you’re a brand new copywriter looking to create a copywriting portfolio with no experience, you can create mock-ups of spec work and have the same effect.
Your portfolio puts the spotlight on you, but it’s more important to show how you can put the spotlight on your clients. Give them the whole experience by putting your best copy into visually appealing, attractive mock-ups that show your potential clients how great their copy would look out “in the wild.”
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