Nikki Lorenzo, an Ogilvy creative director, says a portfolio is non-negotiable for copywriters. A random collection of samples can hurt your prospects. High-paying clients want to see you understand the entire marketing process: strategy, ideation, and sales funnels that capture, nurture, and convert leads.
In the words of Nikki Lorenzo, creative director and copywriter at Ogilvy, one of the biggest advertising agencies in the world. When asked if having a portfolio is important for copywriters, she said, you have to have one. It's not important. It's like you have to have one. It's not even a question. If you don't have a portfolio, what are you even doing? Unless you have a friend who works at the agency and recommends you, you need a portfolio to get in, to even get looked at. But I'll take that one step forward farther and say you don't just want any portfolio. If your portfolio is a hodgepodge of random stuff you've written, I hate to say it, but it's probably doing more harm than good. But in order to stand out to the highest paying clients, you need to demonstrate that you do more than just write copy. You want to show them that you actually know and understand the entire marketing process. That you can write, strategize, and ideate an entire sales funnel that you can capture new leads, nurture those leads, convert those leads into paying customers, and then retain those customers and increase customer lifetime value.
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