The Perfect Portfolio: How To Stand Out & Get Paid (Even With NO Experience)

What I’m about to tell you… no… what I’m about to SHOW you will change everything you think you know about copywriter portfolios.

I’m going to reveal exactly what clients are looking for when they ask for a portfolio…

The 5 things your portfolio MUST HAVE to stand out right now…

PLUS, I’ll let you look over my shoulder as I show you REAL-LIFE portfolios that Posse-trained copywriters have used to land their FIRST clients.

And as an added little bonus…

You’re also getting a behind-the-scenes peek into what my students create during my 8-week copywriting program, The Copy Posse Launch Pad.

Shout out to my students for letting me feature their work in this week’s blog!

Hey, Posse! What’s up? It’s Alex. HAPPY FREAKING NEW YEAR! This one is for all my copywriters or aspiring copywriters out there who are looking to ignite their business or side hustle this year.

So if that’s you and you are NOT already part of the crew, join my newsletter so you’ll be first to know when my next tutorial goes live.

And while you’re at it, drop me a thumbs up if you want more tutorials like this on what it takes to stand out and get hired as a copywriter TODAY. 

Ooooooooooo-eeeee!! I’m excited about this because I am going to actually SHOW you what a professional and impressive copywriter portfolio looks like…

I have helped THOUSANDS of new and aspiring copywriters with these 5 portfolio must-haves!

And they probably aren’t what you’re expecting…

Portfolio Must-Have #1: Funnel Assets

Sure – business owners want to see your writing chops and make sure you know how to write with conversational cadence, personality and proper grammar…

But believe it or not, that is NOT the #1 thing they are looking for when they ask to see your portfolio.

What’s even more important than your writing skills is understanding HOW copywriting assets fit and flow together in a cohesive marketing funnel…

In order words, you want to show them how you are able to see the “big picture” and put together the marketing “scaffolding” of their next campaign, launch or offer,

So when you’re putting together the perfect portfolio, rather than writing a hodge podge of random unrelated things…

You should write an entire sales FUNNEL.

Fill your portfolio with copy assets that demonstrate you understand the buyer journey (from ad to click to signup to buy).

Because THAT is what business owners look for. Take a look at this conversation I had with my friend Mark Ling…

He is an incredible copywriter and entrepreneur – he’s been in the industry for decades, has built multiple businesses. He hires and works with more copywriters than ANYONE ELSE I know.

And because of that, I was really interested in his opinion. So I asked him, I said, “hey, what exactly do you look for when you’re hiring copywriters?”

And here’s what he said:

So what do I mean by an entire sales funnel of assets?

Let me walk you through it…

First, you have a Sales Page – this is the most important and highest-paid copywriting asset you can add to your portfolio. It showcases your ability to write, persuade and sell… 

But a Sales Page alone is not an entire campaign – right?

You also have a Landing Page – which is often the step BEFORE the Sales Page. This usually looks like some sort of free guide, lead magnet, webinar, masterclass, or what have you… 

But it’s not just that either…

When someone signs up on the Landing Page, they need to receive a Day 0 Autoresponder – this is that email that delivers whatever it is they signed up for. 

And what happens after that?

Oh… there is a Welcome Sequence! When someone brand new signs up for a newsletter, they need to be welcomed and warmed up to this new list…

And it’s not just that…

You also have Ads – this is how you bring in traffic and new eyeballs to your Landing or Sales Page..;

But then what?

Well, then you have a Sale Sequence – these are the emails that go out to the email list that promotes an offer. 

And THIS is what a typical Sales Funnel looks like.

When you can show potential clients that you understand how all these pieces fit together AND that you can write and create every asset needed to start and complete their buyer’s journey…

It REALLY highlights that you are a serious copywriter – and you really understand marketing and MESSAGING…

And this is exactly what I teach in the Launch Pad – my 8-week LIVE copywriter coaching program that only opens ONCE A YEAR.

• In weeks 5 & 6, we talk about all how to write a sales page…
• In week 7, we talk about Ads…
• In week 8, it’s all about email – welcome emails, sales sequences, cart abandonment and more…

What makes the Launch Pad so unqiue is, as you can see — You don’t even start WRITING until week 5 and 6 of the program.

The first 4 weeks you just LEARNING foundational marketing and messaging.

Because I mean, if you don’t know how to write a funnel, it all feels a little intense and overwhelming – right?

But I spend 4 weeks TEACHING you all of that…

• Week 1 is about product and positioning.
• Week 2 is about customer profiling and psychological triggers.
• Week 3 is about storytelling and USP creation, being able to position the product you’re writing for in a really powerful way through storytelling.
• Week 4 is about how to grab attention with relatable hooks and headlines.

You learn ALL of that before you get Week 5 – where you learn how to craft an offer and start writing.

So whether or not you learn all of this in MY program – the Copy Posse Launch Pad.

Understanding all of this is what makes you a GREAT copywriter who stands out. 

Enrollment for Season 6 opens SOON!

If you are a new or aspiring copywriter and you want to learn the copywriting + marketing strategies that are working today AND have me help you create and write every single sales funnel asset I just talked about…

So you can build an irresistible portfolio and ignite a successful copywriting business in 2025, then you HAVE to get on the waitlist for the Launch Pad.

You do not want to miss enrollment because it won’t open again for A WHOLE YEAR. 

Alright, before I show you what a portfolio LOOKS LIKE, let’s talk about…

Portfolio Must-Have #2: Formatting

It may sound simple, but knowing how to properly format your copy assets is MASSIVE. And here’s why…

Your dream clients are busy. 

They do not want to open up a document to see overwhelming walls of unformatted text.

Do you ever get emails like that? It’s like ‘ugh, no thanks’ and you probably just don’t read it – right?

Well potential clients are the same way. They are NOT going to read your portfolio if it feels overwhelming.

But when you DO properly format your documents, it makes you look professional and shows your clients this isn’t your first rodeo.

That you understand HOW copy should look on documents. And I can’t tell you how much of a GIVEAWAY this is that you either do or do not know what you’re doing. 

Clients can tell without reading a single word whether you’ve done this before on the formatting ALONE. That is why it is so important. 

Using linebreaks, tables, headings and bolding makes your copy more readable – and you’ll see examples of this in the Portfolios I’m going to show you in a minute. 

And I talk more about that in this free guide here that you can read! Check out the Copy Posse Gloss Guide after this.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about #3… 

Portfolio Must-Have #3: Simplicity

I say this a lot… confusion is the biggest conversion killer (it applies here too!) 

I just said this, but your clients are busy. They DO NOT have a bunch of time to spend going through your portfolio. 

When it comes to portfolios, less is more.

Your dream clients will not spend more than 10 minutes reviewing your portfolio before making a decision on whether they want to move forward to the next step, like hiring you for a project or hopping on a call with you.

Don’t cram a bunch of stuff in your portfolio. I know it is SO HARD to fight the urge to put as much stuff as possible in there so that you can “prove” you have experience…

But what is probably going to happen is they are only going to open the first copy of documents in your portfolio before moving on… 

Which is why you want to be selective with what you include. 

Showcase 5 of your strongest assets — and customize your selection to the client you’re applying to if you can.

So for example, if you’re applying for an email marketing role, you want to showcase email marketing assets. 

And let me just say it, because I know you’re thinking it…

Having assets of the particular NICHE you’re applying for is a lot less important than you think. 

Again, businesses want to see that you’re a strong writer and know how to craft a seamless buying and brand experience. And none of that is niche-specific. 

In fact, ALL of the portfolios I’m going to show you today were written in a different niche than what that student went on to build their business around. 

And many Launch Pad Grads STILL JUST use their Launch Pad portfolios to get clients, despite having gained more experience and assets since then.

Now let’s talk about…

Portfolio Must-Have #4: Context

Context helps your client better understand what you wrote and WHY. The more information you give them to help them understand the context of what they’re looking at is really powerful. 

AND it shows them that you actually understand how everything is used – and again, how it all works together. 

For example, if you’re including a sales page for a Pet Subscription Box then tell them, “Hey, I wrote this sales page for a Pet Subscription Box. We ran this promotion during Black Friday.”

It may seem obvious to you, but make sure you give them all that left brain info like:

• What was the asset written for?
• How was the asset used?
• Any other relevant information (metrics, feedback, key insights, strategies).
• This is also where you mention it was written as part of a copywriting program (aka that you weren’t paid for it – be honest!!!)

It doesn’t have to be long. But this really helps the client understand what they’re reading before they sit down and try to figure it out themselves. 

It is incredibly helpful. Anything that makes the client’s life easier is going to make you really stand out. 

This can happen in a cover letter, or it can be included in your portfolio – like the examples I’m about to show you. Or it can be included in the email or application itself!

And the last thing I’ll share before I show you what a portfolio looks like is…

Portfolio Must-Have #5: Personality

Yes, you’re applying for a professional role – but personality matters!

People hire people. People hire people they LIKE. Personality is EVERYTHING.

Even if you’re applying for a super formal and professional role, that doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself and showcase your personality. 

Share WHY you care. Why you want to write for that brand. What EXCITES you about the opportunity?

And major bonus points if you can match the brand voice!!! I can’t tell you HOW FAR this goes… especially right now when the Internet is filled with so much boring generic AI-generated content.

Alright…

Now are you ready to check out what REAL Copy Posse created portfolios look like?

What A Copywriter Portfolio Looks Like

These portfolios landed ALL of these students amazing jobs right after completing the Launch Pad program – and helped them ignite successful freelance copywriting businesses that they still run to this day. 

First up… Britt: 

Here every asset of a full funnel is present but it’s not overcrowded or packed with tons of stuff.

See how everything is organized and clearly numbered in the order the client should go through them which is Must-Have #3: Simplicity. The executive summary gives the client Must-Have #4: Context.

And when you open Sales Page you’ll see Must-Have #2: Formatting.

See? That’s not so scary – right?

And if you want to see the other two portfolios, you can check out the YouTube video where I dive into each of them below!

Building a professional portfolio that makes you STAND OUT and GET HIRED is actually pretty SIMPLE… if you know how to do it RIGHT.

I’ll how you how to craft powerful, compelling and persuasive copy for every single asset we covered today inside my 8-week copywriter coaching program – The Copy Posse Launch Pad. 

Enrollment to Season 6 opens SOON. 

Maybe sure you hit that link above to join the waitlist so you don’t miss out. 

Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

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