7 Best Practices to Build a Strong Portfolio on Freelance Sites as a Freelancer
Get your freelance journey off the ground with a portfolio that shows your value and gets you hired.
Popular belief and advice we hear every now and then when starting a freelance journey is to “just start something.” And while there’s some truth to that, momentum matters; what nobody tells you early on is that it’s not just about showing up.
Momentum matters because starting gives you clarity. You begin to see what you’re good at, what kind of clients you enjoy working with, and where your strengths lie as a freelancer. But the problem is, if you start without showing any clear direction or skill, clients won’t stop to look. That’s where a portfolio comes in.
Clients aren’t browsing Upwork or Fiverr, hoping to take a chance on someone figuring things out. They’re looking for clarity, proof, and direction—something that makes them feel confident hiring you.
That’s why you need a portfolio that’s simple, focused, and intentional. One that reflects your actual skills and gives clients a quick sense of how you work and what you can offer.
Here’s how to build that, even if you’re just getting started.
David Adubiina
7 Best Practices to Build a Strong Portfolio
1. Know Your Target Client
Before you even create your first sample, pause and ask: Who do I want to work with?
It’s easy to say “anyone who needs design” or “anyone who needs a blog,” but that kind of general approach waters down your portfolio. You’ll end up creating vague, forgettable samples that don’t speak to anyone directly.
Instead, get specific. Are you trying to help tech startups get more traffic, or want to help online coaches stay organized? Or are you focused on e-commerce businesses that need better product listings?
The clearer you are about who you’re targeting, the easier it becomes to shape your portfolio around that. You’ll know what kind of tone to use, what problems to solve, and what examples to showcase.
This is how you position yourself as valuable—not by being available to everyone, but by being relevant to someone.
2. Pick a Niche or Service and Stick With It
Freelancing platforms can feel overwhelming when you're just starting out. There are thousands of freelancers offering similar services, and the truth is, if you try to offer everything, you are most likely to end up with nothing.
You might be good at a lot of things—maybe writing, design, admin, editing—but if your portfolio doesn’t show a clear direction, clients won’t know where you fit in. Picking one service to lead with helps you stay focused and makes your portfolio easier to build. It also tells clients exactly what they’re hiring you for.
For example, instead of saying “content writer,” position yourself as someone who writes blog posts for health tech startups. Or instead of “virtual assistant,” you could focus on inbox management and calendar scheduling for solo founders.
You don’t have to stick to one niche forever. But at the start, narrowing your service gives you a stronger base to build from.
3. Create Samples, Even If You Don’t Have Client Work Yet
It’s normal to feel stuck if you haven’t worked with any clients yet. But that doesn’t mean you have nothing to show.
The goal isn’t to prove that someone paid you—the goal is to show what you can actually do. That means you can (and should) create mock samples.
Writers can create blog posts for fictional brands. Designers can build landing pages or logos for made-up businesses. VAs can document a sample onboarding process or create a sample inbox workflow.
Doing this shows initiative and gives clients something real to look at. The more specific and relevant your samples are, the easier it becomes for clients to picture you doing the same work for them.
4. Add Short Explanations That Show Your Thinking
Once you have a sample, don’t just upload it without context.
Include a short 2–4 sentence breakdown that explains the point of the project and the approach you took. This helps clients understand how you work, not just what the final result looks like.
Here’s an example:
“This is a blog post I wrote for a fictional time-tracking app. I focused on clarity, keyword placement, and a tone that speaks directly to busy remote teams.”
That tiny bit of context helps your portfolio feel intentional instead of random.
5. Show Range, But Keep It Focused
You don’t need to add ten different samples. Just aim for 2–5 strong ones that reflect the kind of work you want to get hired for.
That said, if your service has different formats or styles, it’s helpful to show a little range. A writer might include a blog post, a landing page, and a case study. A designer might show a mobile UI mockup and a web banner. A VA might include a sample SOP and a time-tracking report.
Keep it within the same service area so your portfolio still feels cohesive.
6. Use Simple Tools to Present Cleanly
There's no need to build a full website or hire a developer just to host your portfolio.
You can use Notion, Canva, Google Drive, Behance, or even directly upload samples to your Upwork or Fiverr profile. What matters most is that everything’s easy to view, well-organized, and accessible.
Make sure your links work, your files are named clearly, and your presentation looks neat. Clients don’t need fancy—they just need to see your work without distractions.
7. Keep Your Portfolio Updated As You Grow
As you work with real clients and start building up experience, make time every month or two to revisit your portfolio.
Swap out older samples with stronger, more recent ones. Add quick wins—client feedback, mini case studies, or improved versions of older work. The cleaner and more current your portfolio is, the easier it becomes to pitch new clients with confidence.
You’ll also start to notice patterns—what kind of work you enjoy most, what gets the best feedback, and where your value shows up.
David Adubiina
Conclusion
Your freelance portfolio doesn’t need to be perfect, and you don’t need years of experience to build one that works. You just need to start with what you have, keep things clear, and show what you can do.
Start small. Build one or two samples. Add context. Organize it. That alone puts you ahead of a huge number of freelancers who are still figuring things out but haven’t taken the time to show it.
That’s how you move from “just starting” to “ready to be hired.”
