What a content writing
portfolio should include.
A content writing portfolio should be a curated set of your best clips, grouped by format and voice, with a line on each explaining the brief and, where you have it, the result: traffic, rankings, or engagement. Editors and content leads read for range and for judgement about what to leave out, so ten sharp pieces beat forty uneven ones. Do not publish ghostwritten work without permission or anything a client NDA covers. Below is the full list of what to put in, the terms a content recruiter actually searches, and which of the Portfolio designs suit a writing sample.
The sections a writing portfolio needs.
A content writer is hired on the work itself and on the taste to curate it, so the portfolio is a tight selection of clips organised for a skimming editor. Work through these, and read the flagged block before you post a ghostwritten piece.
Your strongest clips, curated
Pick the eight to twelve pieces that show you at your best, not everything you have ever published. The act of choosing is itself a signal, so leave out the weak links, the off-brand favours, and the pieces you would not want to be judged on.
Range of format
Group the work by type: long-form guides, SEO articles, email, landing copy, thought leadership, scripts. An editor wants to see you can hit different lengths and jobs, so label each format clearly rather than dumping links in one list.
Voice range
Show that you can move between registers: a technical explainer, a warm brand newsletter, a punchy ad. Voice flexibility is what lets a writer serve more than one client, so include a couple of pieces that sound deliberately different.
A short brief on each piece
One or two lines per clip: who it was for, what it needed to do, and any constraint you worked within. Context turns a link into evidence of judgement, and it shows an editor you understand a piece as a job, not just prose.
Results, where you have them
If a piece ranked, drove traffic, or lifted a conversion, say so with the number or a relative change. Not every piece has a metric, but the ones that do prove your writing performs, not just reads well.
SEO and research signals
If you write for search, note the keyword work, the structure, and the tools you use. Editors hiring for content marketing want a writer who can research a topic and build a piece that ranks, not only one who writes cleanly.
Never include: ghostwritten or NDA-covered work without permission
Ghostwriting and much agency work is published under someone else's name or covered by a confidentiality clause. Posting it, or claiming a byline that was not yours, can breach a contract and damage a client relationship you may still need.
Ask for permission, present it as an unattributed sample if the agreement allows, or describe the work without linking it. "Wrote a series of onboarding emails for a fintech client" can be safe; reposting the client's private drafts is not.
Terms a content recruiter searches.
Content recruiters filter their applicant tracking system for formats, tools, and skills. If these describe your real practice, use the exact words, because the system indexes the string you typed, not the craft behind it.
Paste your resume into the free ATS score checker with a real content posting to see which of these terms the posting uses and your resume is missing.
Which designs suit a writing sample.
A writing portfolio is judged partly on how the words are set, so typography carries real weight here. Of the 60 Portfolio designs and 48 resume layouts, these are the shapes that fit.
Pick a design with excellent reading typography and generous line length, so a clip reads the way it would in a good publication. Your portfolio's own typesetting is part of the sample, so choose one that respects text.
Of the 48 resume layouts, use a single-column one so a list of formats and clients parses cleanly. Keep the resume itself well written, since for a writer it doubles as a sample of your craft.
Organise the work into clear format groups and lead each clip with a one-line brief. An editor skims for the format they need, so make the grouping obvious rather than a single undifferentiated feed.
Use a restrained design that puts the words first. A busy layout competes with the prose it is meant to showcase, so keep the frame quiet and let each clip speak.
Who a content writing portfolio is not for.
A portfolio is close to essential for most writers, but the right form depends on your niche and what you can share. Read this before you build.
Worth building if you
- +Freelance or want to, and need one link that shows range across formats and clients to send with a pitch.
- +Are applying to content roles where a portfolio is expected and your clips do the persuading.
- +Are moving from journalism, academia, or another writing field into content marketing and want to show applied work.
- +Have clips scattered across many sites and want them collected in one owned, durable place.
Skip it, for now, if you
- −Have almost no clip you are allowed to show. Write two or three strong owned pieces first, then build.
- −Would fill it only with ghostwritten work you cannot attribute or link. Get permission or describe it instead.
- −Work through a platform or agency that requires its own profile and never surfaces an external link.
- −Have a pitch due this week. Assemble two clean links first, then build the full site after.
Questions writers ask.
Straight answers on clips, ghostwriting, and what an editor reads for.
How many clips should a writing portfolio have?
Eight to twelve of your best, not everything you have written. Editors judge partly on what you chose to leave out, so a tight, curated set signals better taste than a long, uneven archive. Lead with the pieces you are proudest of and that match the work you want more of.
Can I show ghostwritten work?
Only with permission. Much ghostwriting is published under another name or covered by a confidentiality clause, so ask the client whether you can link it, present it as an unattributed sample, or simply describe it. Never claim a byline that was not yours or repost private drafts, because that can breach a contract and burn a reference.
What if my best work is behind a paywall or has been taken down?
Keep clean copies. Save a PDF or a text version of every piece as you publish it, so a dead link or a paywall does not erase your record. On the portfolio, link the live piece where you can and offer the saved version where the original is gone, noting where it ran.
Do I need results, or are the clips enough?
Clips are the foundation, and for many roles they are enough. Adding a result where you have one, a ranking, a traffic lift, or an engagement number, sharpens the case for content-marketing roles that hire for performance, not just prose. Include metrics where they exist and let the writing carry the rest.
Should I include different voices, or keep it consistent?
Show range. A couple of pieces in deliberately different registers, a technical explainer next to a warm brand newsletter, proves you can adapt to a client's voice rather than imposing your own. Group them so the variety reads as skill, not as an inconsistent identity.
Where to go next.
Build the site, test your resume, or read how the paste-a-resume flow works.
Turn your writing
resume into a site.
Paste your resume and Portfolio drafts a clean, clip-led website in about a minute. Best work up front, no ghostwritten pieces you cannot share, published to your own domain with TLS handled for you.