Dear Writing Reader,

One of the most popular questions from Authors on my site, Writing.Com, is: "How do I promote my Online Writing Portfolio outside of Writing.Com?"

Here are my top five tips for increasing the amount of exposure to anyone's online Writing Portfolio:

Tip #1: Add your Online Writing Portfolio URL to your email signatures.

The simplest way to promote your Portfolio's URL is to add it to the email signature of any and all email accounts you have. With just a few minutes of your time, you'll turn any correspondence you have into referral generating machines! Here's a couple quick examples:

Check out my portfolio!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

or

I'm an Author @ Writing.Com!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

Tip #2: Link to your Public Portfolio from your homepage or other sites you control.

Next on the simplicity ladder is linking to your public portfolio from your personal homepage or business website. You can provide your site's visitors with a text link or create a logo for your online portfolio.

Ebay and other auction sites are also great places to get added exposure. The next time you list something for sale, don't forget to add your portfolio URL and you'll have your site's visitor count on the rise in no time!

Tip #3: Directly invite family, friends, teachers, coworkers, publishers, agents, editors and more to visit your online writing portfolio.

Inviting your own family and friends doesn't always have the highest appeal... Afterall, its not necessarily their opinion you want and you can ask them to read your writing any time you want. But, reading something online is different and often opens up someone to provide a better and more realistic critique of your work.

Plus, these real life contacts may be the one to forward your portfolio URL to someone else's friend or family member who lends that helping hand or offers the right word of encouragement to brighten your day.

Teachers, co-workers, editors, publishers and other associates are also great people to refer!

Tip #4: Create business cards with your online writing portfolio URL and hand them to friends, associates and other people you may meet who are interested in reading or writing.

Anyone can create their own business cards. The least expensive route is to purchase ready-to-print business card paper sold at stores such as Staples, OfficeMax, Walmart and others. The paper is heavy cover stock and is perferated which makes each business card clean and easy to separate! If you'd like the whole thing done for you, Staples, Kinkos and others business shops offer complete and inexpensive business card creation services.

When you design your own cards to hand out, include basic information about your portfolio. Your Portfolio URL and email address are two things that everyone should include. You might also include a 'tag line' about your writing style or favorite genres. For example: "Specializing in Horror and Science Fiction" or "Writing Romance and Mystery Novels of Young Adults" or "Featuring the action packed adventures of 'Jack Rubble'".

Tip #5: Include your Portfolio URL when posting in relevant newsgroups, groups or discussion forums.

Posting your Public Portfolio URL on non-Writing.Com message boards, clubs and newsgroups can bring tremendous amounts of interest. There are countless online gathering places that focus on specific genres such as romance, sci-fi, fanfiction... or more general writing such as poetry or short stories.

Remember: Internet etiquette states that you should not post in a newsgroup or forum unless your post can stay on topic. Bulk emailing and other "spam" like tactics are NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated by most websites and webmasters!

Otherwise... Good luck and have fun promoting your writing portfolio!

~~ The StoryMaster
http://StoryMaster.Writing.Com/
http://www.Writing.Com/

About The Author The StoryMaster is WebMaster of Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests. Whether you're a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you! Over 295,000 members have joined and posted over 825,000 literary items.

This article was posted on January 05, 2005