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Subject:Re: what's in a portfolio? From:George Beinhorn <trail -at- BEST -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 5 Mar 1999 16:56:05 -0800
Coupla points:
1. Robert Bly, the author of <wonderful> marcom and tech-writing tutorials,
de-emphasizes the portfolio; instead, he recommends taking a "consultant"
approach. When you show a portfolio, you bore the client to tears--what he/she
really wants to know is how you can help. Samples give you credibility, but they
don't get you jobs. Read Bly's book, "Secrets of a Freelance Writer". Terrific
guide for making a living in any contract writing field.
2. Howzabout online portfolios? I'm re-thinking mine. I've got terrific samples,
but I need to do two sites, actually, one for marcom and another for tech. Point
is: don't split the client's attention. I've been very unsuccessful selling my
services online, so far, and this may be part of the reason. Word-of-mouth works
a lot better.
