For those of us entering highly visual and technical creative fields, such as video editing and animation standing out to initial clients can be a challenge. Based on your research and the framework of this platform, what is the most effective way for a beginner to showcase their value and secure their first few clients when their portfolio is still growing?
One of the easiest niches to showcase your skills to clients, even with no prior real work, is video editing and animation. You can create countless sample projects to showcase your work.
If what you meant by a challenge is that clients might request your work experience with big brands, nope. That's not the case for most clients - especially if you want to freelance with your skill.
See, clients - especially clients on freelancing platforms - mostly really care about one thing! That is: Can this guy/lady do this job perfectly? All you need to be worried about is how to prove that you can do the job.
And once you make that your worry, the answer is quite simple: create plenty of various kinds of sample projects.
The most effective approach is to create 5 or more strong sample projects that look like real client work. Also, create sample projects for the kinds of clients that you want to attract. This is because there are many sub-niches under video editing and animation. These could include:
- A short promotional video for a fictional business
- A YouTube intro and outro package
- A whiteboard animation
- A sample VSL video
- A social media ad
- An edited video, like the Alex Hormozi style or other popular editing styles. Upwork clients sometimes mention a particular video editing style of a popular person or YouTuber.
- A simple motion graphics animation
- A before-and-after editing example
In fact, your options are limitless. Create relevant and high-quality sample projects, sell yourself properly, and you shouldn't have problems getting clients.
Also, apart from these sample projects, what about getting small jobs here and there from friends and families who need help with either video creation or video editing? What happened to volunteering strategically for friends, families, religious organizations, school clubs, community organizations, and more? What about pitching to local businesses around you at a reduced cost?
There are so many ways to build a portfolio, so don't worry too much about that. Master the skill, build proof gradually using some examples I mentioned here, learn how to sell yourself properly to potential clients, and you should be fine.
Also, once you start getting skilled and you have some proof, go to Upwork, Fiverr, etc and start applying for smaller jobs that you know you can do. But don't try such if you are not skilled, coz a bad review can significantly hurt your reputation!
You can read more about creating a portfolio here: https://thenigerianfreelancer.com/create-work-portfolios/