How to Write Case Studies for your Freelance Writing Portfolio
I've said it before, and I'll say it again! If you want your portfolio to attract and convert potential clients – format every piece as a case study. Leverage work you’ve already done to show the outcomes of the work in your portfolio. Here’s how:
What case studies show potential clients
Leverage whatever metrics available to you on work that you’ve already done to show potential clients what you can achieve for them. This can look like screenshots of blog posts you’ve written on the SERP, traffic stats, open rates and click-through rates on emails, testimonials from clients about how you’ve helped them, etc.
Case studies communicate your experience and expertise in a way that just sending a writing sample can’t. It shows:
You've worked with companies like theirs that had similar goals
You KNOW what you're doing
You can get them results
Your clients are looking for outcomes to be assured that you’ve gotten results before, and you can for them, too. You can save them time even before they hire you by curating exactly what they want and need to see when deciding whether to work with you.
How to create a case study for your portfolio
When assembling your portfolio, create a separate case study for each client you’d like to feature. For each one, gather the 5 W’s (and an H). Who, what, where, when, why (and how).
Who
Share more about the company that hired you.
What
What were their goals when you started working with them? What did they hire you to do? This is essentially just the scope of work. If your scope of work changed during the project, detail that too, along with how you adapted to those changes with the client.
When
When did you do the project, and how long did it take you?
How
Detail your process. If possible or necessary, include screenshots of things like SEO plans and email workflows you mapped (redact sensitive information first!). How did you create the deliverables outlined in your scope of work? Is there a part of your methodology that makes you unique?
For example, maybe you…
interviewed subject matter experts (SMEs)
prioritized snippets in your SEO
created a detailed brief before you started
began with a customer journey
audited their previous content, email series, funnel, etc.
used vernacular directly from their target audience by researching on Reddit, TikTok, Facebook Groups, or another social media platform
Why
Why did you approach this project the way that you did? Did you consult social media so that the ads and product copy spoke directly to their target audience? Did you interview SMEs and prioritize snippets to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithm? Did you A/B test subject lines and CTAs to get the most clicks per email? This is where you can show off your expertise.
Where
Where did your work appear? Grab screenshots if you can’t share a link to the work (I use GoFullPage). This works well for emails, web page copy, product descriptions, product packaging, etc. If you revamped/refreshed/audited older content, email series, copy, etc., try to get before and after screenshots!
Results (optional)
If you can, share tangible results you got for your clients. You can share these stats in text or in screenshots (I find screenshots to be more compelling).
A piece’s ranking on Google
Site traffic through a blog
Click-through rates and open rates on emails
Subscriber numbers
Products purchased through your content
To get this information, you can request access to things like the client’s Google Analytics or email marketing platform. If you can’t get access to their internal workings, you can ask the editor for numbers or screenshots. If you let them know that it’s just for your portfolio and so that you can improve your services, they’re usually pretty happy to help!
Examples
Want to see examples of how I’ve used case studies in my portfolio?
Here are a few:
If you decide to implement case studies in your portfolio too, I’d love to see them! Shoot me an email with your case studies! : )
Try This
Ready to update your portfolio with tangible metrics that leads will find compelling? Not sure how to ask your clients for those stats? Here’s at template you can try:
Hey [client],
I’m working on updating my portfolio. I’d like to include a case study of the work I’ve done for you and to make it effective, I’d love to include some stats that show what my work has helped you accomplish.
[Choose only the questions that apply to your work!!]
Can you please share how any of the articles I’ve written are ranking on SERPs and/or the website traffic they’re driving?
Can you please share any of the open rates and/or click-through rates for some of the emails I’ve written for you?
Can you please share how the win-back, abandoned cart, and welcome discount series emails have driven sales for your company?
Thanks for your help!
-[Your Name]