Whether you have just landed your first client as a freelancer or you are an old hat at the game, it makes sense to have a very professional portfolio. You may be able to get clients based on word of mouth, but there is always going to be a need to show what you can do for them.

Some people think that a portfolio only matters if your career is in a creative field or the visual arts. Although those are fields in which a portfolio is vital, they aren’t the only ones. Any freelancer should have a digital portfolio that will show off your talents.

In this article, we will go over several tips on the best ways to build a portfolio that will help you land more clients.

1 – Show what a client can expect

Showing a potential client what you are capable of doing is helpful but not helpful enough. The key is for a client to know how you are going to be able to help them. Your client has a particular problem that needs to be solved. How can they know if you can solve their problem just by looking at your talents?

The answer is that they can’t. Make sure to craft your portfolio in such a way that you are able to tell a story about how you solve problems for clients.

Include something like a case study with examples of the work you’ve done for past clients. Tell a story about how you were able to figure out a strategy based on the pain points the client had. This will illustrate how you work and show that you’ll be able to do the same for them.

You should essentially be telling a story about each project. It can even include some of the obstacles that you faced when trying to complete the project so the client can see that you are able to handle problems.

2 – Give them something

Your portfolio isn’t just about you and your work. It’s also about your clients. Make sure to have things on the website that are useful for them. This will give them trust and have them feel like you are all on the same team.

The giveaways can be a downloadable product that is helpful to them. For instance, it can be a checklist of things that they need to have to complete the job or, even fun like some icons you designed to use themselves.

Don’t offer free work, however. You are a professional and should get paid for what you do. However, small things that don’t take long to do will create some goodwill.

3 – Curate it

If you have been freelancing for a while, then you may have some old projects on your portfolio that are no longer relevant. This is especially true if you were a Jack of all trades in the beginning. Now that you are established and have a more defined niche that you work within you should delete anything that doesn’t fit within that niche.