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A Portfolio Brands Say Yes To

A first portfolio is one page with one sample and one line about you: who you are, what you make, and who it is for. A brand needs a link it can forward, not four attachments in a DM. One sample is enough to start pitching. Add the others as you film them.

By Andrew, Founder, Plug Pro··1 min read

Your pitch ends with a link, and the link does most of the closing. If a brand taps through to an empty page, the conversation ends there. So I'd put the page up before you pitch anyone.

Two things make a page worth opening

The Best work card on the portfolio page, with a pinned sample at the top
The demo account’s pinned samples, the first thing a brand sees.

One sample, pinned at the top. A short video or a photo with a product you already own. One is enough to start. Ten seconds of you on camera tells a brand more than a paragraph about you could.

One line about you. Who you are, what you make, who you make it for. "Skincare for sensitive skin" is bookable. "Lifestyle" isn't.

What a first sample looks like

A creator holding a serum dropper to her cheek by a bathroom window, product in her other hand
The demo account’s first sample: “Morning serum, no filter.” One product, one angle, window light. Lumen Skin is a demo brand.

One product, one angle, window light, no set. That's a whole sample. If it's spec work, made for a brand that didn't hire you, say so in the caption. Spec work is normal in every creative job. Just never let a brand believe it was paid.

A brand contact almost never says yes alone. They forward you. A link survives being forwarded, opens on a phone and looks the same to everyone who sees it. Four attachments and a wall of text don't.

Don't wait until it feels finished. One sample and one line is a page you can pitch behind today, and the next samples slot in later without changing the link.

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