“How can I pitch myself to clients if I don’t have any samples?”
Been asking yourself this one? I hear it all the time from aspiring freelance writers and those pivoting into a new niche.
It’s a totally fair question. Who’s hiring someone without knowing if they have the skills to get the job done? (Spoilers: no one.)
Luckily, you probably have more samples than you think.
You don’t need a fancy byline or years of experience to show that you can write. You just need to get a little creative and polish what you already have. Whether you’ve been writing for fun, for school, or just in the margins around your journal, chances are you’ve got some great examples lying around.
Here’s where you find them.
What is a Sample, Really?
A lot of people think a writing sample has to be something they got paid to write. It doesn’t.
In fact, it doesn’t even have to be published (though published generally carries more weight).
The purpose of a sample is simple: to show a potential client what your writing sounds like. Your voice. Your clarity. Your ability to structure ideas, tell stories, and communicate effectively.
If you can do that, you’re got something worth showing.
So, throw the “I don’t have any real experience” excuse out the window.
Paid writing experience is great, but it isn’t a requirement to land real gigs with real clients. Good thing, or no one would ever have a path to becoming a freelance writer.
All you need to do is demonstrate your skills. Happily, such a demonstration can come from all sorts of places.
Where Your Hidden Portfolio Lives
Let’s run through a few places you already have samples hiding… even if you’ve never worked with a single client.
1. Blog Posts
Have a personal blog? Dabbled on Medium during COVID? Tried writing something for LinkedIn but never hit post?
That’s all fair game.
Even if they’re drafts collecting digital dust or got a whopping “0” views, go back and read through them. Clean up anything that feels clunky, and boom, you’ve got a sample ready to share.
Okay, that was too easy.
2. Passion Projects and Personal Essays
Do your Instagram captions resemble a mini memoir? Got a Google Doc where you journal your thoughts on parenting or productivity?
If it’s thoughtful and well-written, it can be shaped into something portfolio-worthy. Remember, clients want to see your thought process and your voice in action. That’s what sets you apart.
They don’t really care where it comes from.
3. Academic Work
Yes, school essays can count. If you’re leaning into a niche like education, research, or non-profit writing, they can even be a preferred type of sample.
Otherwise, you’ll probably need to tweak the tone a bit (less “According to Smith & Johnson…” and more “here’s why this matters to real people”). But the structure and depth are already there.
Don’t let that hard work go to waste!
4. Volunteer Projects or Unpaid Work
Did you help a friend’s business with their website copy? Write a blurb for a local fundraiser? Write a newsletter for a non-profit you care about?
That’s real-world writing. And it shows initiative, too! Don’t downplay it just because there wasn’t a paycheck attached. Hell, clients don’t even know that part 😉.
5. Practice Pieces (AKA Spec Samples)
This is one of my favorite tips. If you don’t have a sample in your niche yet, write one.
Choose a topic you love, or look at a brand you’d love to write for, and create a piece of content in their style. Blog posts, product descriptions, and emails all work great.
Spec work gives you full creative control and lets you showcase your best effort. Better yet, you get to tailor your sample to the exact type of work you hope to do for your potential client.
Showing a sample that speaks directly to your prospect’s needs goes a long way—published or not.
6. Everyday Writing That Shows Off Your Skill
No joke, some of your most engaging writing might be hiding in casual places.
- Thoughtful LinkedIn comments
- Helpful posts on forums or online communities
- Emails you’ve written explaining something to a colleague
If it shows your ability to communicate in a clear, human way, you can polish it into a strong sample. It’s all about framing here.
How to Polish and Present What You’ve Got
Once you’ve gathered a few samples, take the time to:
- Proofread. Read it out loud and tighten anything that rambles. Use tools to check your work.
- Give it context. Add a title and a one-sentence description. “Sample blog post written for a fictional wellness brand.” This lets the client know what they’re looking at and sets expectations.
- Make it easy to access. Save your samples as clean PDFs and add them to a public Google Drive folder or upload them to a simple portfolio site.
Worried these samples won’t “count” because they weren’t paid or published? Truth is, most clients care less about where something was published and more about whether you can write content in their voice that solves the problems of their audience.
If they like your writing, the rest doesn’t matter.
You’re Closer Than You Think
You don’t need permission to call yourself a writer. You don’t need a paid gig in your portfolio either.
You just need to show your work.
Chances are, you already have LOTS of samples… you just haven’t looked at them that way before.
