When I first started freelancing, having a website was a luxury and not a necessity. Nowadays it is vital to your business. It is the face of your business and the direction you will point your potential clients when prospecting. There are many service providers on the web who host websites. This means for a small fee each month they will give you a website address. Some people know html (Hypertext Markup Language. It is the authoring software language used on the Internet's World Wide Web. HTML is used for creating World Wide Web pages) and can design their own website.

I'm not that computer literate, so I went with a web hosting service that offers web page templates. These are pre-designed web pages that you can choose and modify to fit your business. To find the web hosting service that suits you best I suggest you use a search engine and type in web hosting service and then browse until you find one that fits your needs.

Your website should sell your services just as if you were selling a product for a client. At this point I advise you to visit other copywriter's websites and read how they sell their services with copy. You can go to a search engine and type in .freelance copywriter. to view other freelancer's websites. You want your writing to be the showcase. Not fancy graphics or neat designs. People are hiring you for your writing ability not your ability to design websites.

The Home Page

You should have a Home Page that is the face of the website. The home page should introduce you to the potential client with benefit ridden copy. Again, I advise that you visit other freelancer's websites to see how and what they've written. Then take what you see and use their examples to create your own unique home page.

The Contact Page

You should also have a Contact page. This should be very simple and straight to the point. You can add a form that allows potential clients to contact you through the website (each web hosting site is different but they all should provide instructions on how to set up a contact form on your website). On your contact page you should have your name, address, phone number, website address and email address.

The About Me Page

You should have an About Me page. On this page you should describe your background that relates to copywriting. Any experience you have in your past that relates to marketing or sales should be included. You don't have to include any specifics as long as it addresses your abilities. Something like, "I am an able and capable writer and 10 years in sales and marketing prior to my copywriting career means I know what it takes to create a desire for your product or service…"

And finally the Portfolio page.

The Portfolio Page

A good portfolio is vital to your success. It shows off your abilities and lets people who want to hire you see that you can do what you say you can. Now, if you are a beginning copywriter you probably won't have any work to showcase. That's not a problem. When I started I was unsure of how to build my portfolio. Some people who offered advice said that I should do pro-bono work for local charities, schools, or churches, then showcase that work. And that's not a bad idea. Some people do that and it is effective; not to mention that it also provides experience. That is one option.

Another option is to simply make up some work. This is what I decided to do. I found a few products and a few services and just renamed them and rewrote an ad, a brochure, a press release, and a newsletter for them and then put those on my website. It worked for me and I never had a client question the writing. As long as it showcases your writing ability then that is all that matters.