Build a portfolio that wins clients on sight
Your portfolio has ten seconds. Curate it like a greatest hits album, not a discography.
Curate ruthlessly
Show twelve pieces maximum. Your best twelve, not your last twelve. Every piece should make someone want to hire you.
Remove anything you would not want to be hired to do again. Your portfolio is a magnet for similar work.
Context sells
For each piece: the client, the goal, and the result. Work without context is just pretty pictures.
Lead with the piece most like what your ideal client needs. Relevance beats impressiveness.
Keep it current
Update quarterly minimum. Stale portfolios signal stale skills, fairly or not.
Next step: cut your portfolio to twelve pieces this weekend and add result context to each.
Show the process
Add before and after or process shots for key pieces. Process builds trust in your expertise.
Case studies outperform galleries. Stories sell, images support.
Your Monday action plan
Cut your portfolio to twelve pieces maximum. Remove anything you would not want to do again.
Add client, goal, and result context to each remaining piece this week.
Sources and further reading
Sources were checked for this article. Tool features, prices and availability can change. Product claims are attributed to their publishers.
