Get 8 tips and 55 examples and ideas to create content writing samples that’ll land you high-paying writing clients.
No one will hire you as a content writer or freelance writer if you can’t prove your writing skills.
That’s why you need to create a few content writing samples.
When you’re starting your freelance writing career, your freelance writing samples are all you have to show clients.
So, you need to ensure they’re great — like, really great!
I previously wrote a blog post about how to create freelance writing samples. In this one, I’ll show you content writing sample examples and ideas.
I’ll also give you more content writing sample tips and answer the most frequently asked questions about writing samples.
Freelance Writing Sample Ideas + Examples of Freelance Writing Samples
Let’s start with what you came here for — content writing examples and ideas!
In this section, each idea will be linked to an example. Basically, I scoured the internet for great content you can draw inspiration from and compiled it into this post to save you time — you’re welcome.
The content writing examples and ideas are divided by freelance writing niche.
By the way, these aren’t actually writing samples, they’re published pieces.
But that’s exactly where you should draw inspiration to write your samples — published pieces that businesses in your niche are paying for.
Alright, no more introductions, explanations, and side notes! Here are 55 content writing sample examples and ideas.
1. Finance, Personal Finance, and Fintech Content Writing Samples
- How and Why to Refinance Your Mortgage by NerdWallet
- 40 Ways to Save Money on Monthly Expenses by The Simple Dollar
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Basics & FAQs by 20 Something Finance
2. Technology Content Writing Samples
- 8 Most Impressive Phones Rumored for 2023 by CNET
- How To Code For Beginners: All You Need to Know by BitDegree
- Apple makes it easier to keep your data secret from hackers, cops, and even Apple by Vox Recode
3. Software as a Service (SaaS) Content Writing Samples
- Best Sales Methodology for SaaS: 8 Stages + 5 Top Sales Models by Close
- How to Use Google Trends for SEO Keyword Research by Free Worker Bee
- 17 Awesome Social Media Management Tools by All That SaaS
4. Digital Marketing Content Writing Samples
- How to Plan Content for Every Stage of the Customer Journey by Sales Hacker
- Email Marketing Strategy: How to Communicate With Your Audience at Scale by SuperOffice
- How to Read Google Trends Data (Full Guide + Examples) by Free Worker Bee
- From 30K to 1 Million: Tactical Tips to Scale Your Blog Traffic Quickly by Forget the Funnel
5. Business to Business (B2B) Content Writing Samples
- How to Help Sales Teams Hit Their Quota: Prioritize High-Impact Activities by Sales Hacker
- The 5 Elements of Winning Sales Pitches + Examples by Gong
- How to Run SEO Tests (And 7 Ideas to Get You Started) by WebFX
6. Business to Customer (B2C) Content Writing Samples
- 3 Steps to Transform Day Makeup Into Night Makeup by Maybelline
- The 12 Best Books of 2022 by Wired
- Say Hello to Casa Cantina Ready-to-Drink Cocktails — the Latest Addition to Our Amazing Adult Beverage Line-Up by Target
7. Education Content Writing Samples
- 12 Top STEM Universities in the US by Crimson Education
- 7 Important Dates High School Seniors Need to Know by CollegeRaptor
- Blended Learning: 4 Models that Work by Cult of Pedagogy
8. Health & Medical Content Writing Samples
- 9 Tips for Better Posture by WebMD
- How to Get Rid of a Headache Fast by Scrubbing In
- 7 Potential Health Benefits of Butternut Squash by Everyday Health
9. Legal Content Writing Samples
- What is the State of UK Personal Injury Law? by Lawyer Monthly
- How to Write Terms and Conditions (15 Steps) by A Self Guru
- European Parliament and European Council Reach Provisional Agreement on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism by Latham & Watkins Global ELR
10. Real Estate Content Writing Samples
- Productivity Hacks For Real Estate Agents by McKissock
- 19 Essential Tips for New Real Estate Agents by Tom Ferry
- The 2023 Housing Market: A Look Ahead by Housing Wire
11. Beauty & Fashion Content Writing Samples
- 7 Knockout Spring 2023 Shoe Trends You’ll Be Seeing Everywhere by Cosmopolitan
- How to Match Perfume to Your Clothing Style: The Guide by ScentBird
- 8 Great Hair Hacks Your Hairdresser Hasn’t Told You About by Net-a-Porter
12. Travel Content Writing Samples
- 10+ of the Cheapest African Countries You Need to Visit by Wanderlust Movement
- Hidden Gems in Portugal: 22 Off the Beaten Path Places by My Path in the World
- How to Take Solo Travel Photos (Step by Step Guide) by World of Wanderlust
13. Food & Drinks Content Writing Samples
- The 6 Best Stand Mixers of 2022 by The Spruce Eats
- How to Make a Rum Negroni by Slightly Pretentious
- How to Cook Oatmeal: A Step-by-Step Guide by Everyday Health
14. Cannabis & CBD Content Writing Samples
- Seniors Using CBD – Ultimate 2022 Beginner Guide by Elder Guru
- What is Citral? Cannabis Terpene Analysis by DailyCBD
- Delta 8 THC in Florida: Is It Legal & Where to Buy in 2022? by Area52
15. Fitness, Exercise, and Yoga Content Writing Samples
- 6 Pre and Post-Workout Snacks to Fuel You for Success by Scrubbing In
- Yoga for Shoulder Pain: The Best Moves to Alleviate Discomfort by Avocadu
- How To Prepare For A Marathon – The Essential Guide by Marathon Handbook
16. Survivalism & Homesteading Content Writing Samples
- 25 Survival Items You Should Get From The Dollar Store by Ask a Prepper
- Off-Grid Living: A Real-world Guide to Going Off the Grid by Off-Grid Survival
- Acorn Pancake Recipe and How to Process Acorns for Eating by Homestead Honey
17. Camping & Hiking Content Writing Samples
- The 7 Best Camping Tents of 2022 by GearLab
- Ultimate Day Hiking Checklist by Clever Hiker
- How to Glamp on a Budget This Winter by Camping With Style
18. Parenting, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Content Writing Samples
- Am I in Labour? Signs to Watch Out For by WebMD
- 5 Exercises for New Moms to Strengthen and Tone Postpartum by Scrubbing In
- How to Throw a Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party by Alpha Mom
Tips for Content Writing Samples for Beginners
Now that you have some awesome ideas for your samples, let’s take a look at some tips to create content writing samples to land your dream clients.
1. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Understand Your Niche
⚠️ Before you start writing your samples, you need to understand the industry and audience you’ll be writing for.
Research your ideal clients. Find out which type of content they’re publishing, how they’re formatting it, and what’s the ideal length.
Show clients you can write for them and get results — that’s the key to creating great content writing samples.
2. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Choose a Target Keyword
After you’ve chosen the topic you’ll write about, use Ubersuggest for SEO keyword research (it’s free).
Pick a keyword and write your blog post around it.
Knowing how to write SEO blog posts is one of the most important skills any freelance writer must have.
The good news is that you can learn quickly.
Download and use my SEO Blog Post Checklist to guide you through the process 👇
3. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Don’t Overlook the Headline
⚠️ Fact: great content is worthless if no one reads it.
You need a descriptive and enticing headline that matches both your sample and the client’s website.
Use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer to help you craft the perfect blog post title.
4. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Hook Readers With a Great Introduction
The introduction is your opportunity to hook readers and get them to read your whole piece.
Usually, you should introduce the broad topic and then explain how your post will solve the problem at hand.
Some ways to write effective introductions include:
- Asking the reader a question.
- Using a shocking quote.
- Telling the reader a story — storytelling “is one of the most powerful ways to influence, teach, and inspire.”
- Using proven introduction formulas, like the “fear of failure,” AIDA, or PAS.
- Using simple language and a conversational tone — this goes for all of your content, really.
5. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Focus on the Body of Your Sample
Provide value by covering the topic in depth. Use simple language, a conversational tone, and short sentences and paragraphs to make it easy to read.
Use bullet points and numbered lists to further simplify your text.
Break it down with multiple headers and subheaders covering all topics needed and add images wherever you see fit.
You can check out the content writing sample examples and ideas I gave you above to get a better idea of how to write the body of your content or simply browse through my blog.
6. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Craft a Useful Conclusion
Think about the goal of your sample blog post and write a conclusion that matches that goal.
You can summarize your blog post and/or draw conclusions or key takeaways.
⚠️ But the most important thing is to tell readers what to do next — now that they have the information they came for, what should they do?
- Download your free resource?
- Read another blog post that builds on that topic?
- Buy a product?
- Take a step in their lives or careers?
- Share the post on social media?
➡️ Condense whatever action you want them to take into a simple and direct sentence — a CTA (call-to-action).
Always — and I mean ALWAYS — include a CTA at the end of your samples or blog posts.
That’s what separates a hobby writer/blogger from someone who means business.
Here are some CTA examples 👇
7. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Create a Variety of Writing Samples
This depends on the type of writing services you offer. If you only provide blog posts, for example, you should only write blog posts.
But if you create more than one writing type, create a versatile sample first, like an SEO blog post, listicle, or long-form guide.
And, then, create something tailored to your niche, like sales or landing page copy, emails, white papers, case studies, social media content, ads, press releases, or product descriptions.
8. Content Writing Samples for Beginners: Show Off Your Freelance Writing Samples
You won’t always be on the hunt for freelance writing clients.
Sometimes, they’ll find you. Make sure they can easily come across your samples by displaying them on:
8.1 Your Website
Here’s my current portfolio section on my freelance writer for hire page as an example:
8.2 Your Contently Portfolio
Here’s my old Contently portfolio. I was still writing for the cannabis industry at the time.
8.3 LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social media platform for business. Every single writer should have a LinkedIn profile.
You can write articles on the platform as your samples and link to them in your profile’s “Featured” section.
You can also include your own blog posts, published work, Medium articles, guest posts, and more in your “Featured” section.
It’s one of the first things anyone sees when they visit your profile — make the most of it!
8.4 Medium
Another option is Medium. The main advantage is that it comes with a built-in audience that can give you instant feedback on your writing.
You can use this platform to create and display your writing samples and simultaneously start building an audience and email list (if you want to).
Take a look at my Medium profile to draw some inspiration and sign up for Medium if you want to start writing there.
FAQs About Content Writing Samples for Beginners
Finally, I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about content writing samples for beginners.
Why Do You Need to Have Content Writing Samples?
You need to have content writing samples to show clients you have the writing skills they’re looking for — be it your writing style, SEO skills, or topic knowledge.
Having your samples neatly presented in your writing portfolio immediately makes you look more professional.
What Kind of Jobs Do You Need Content Writing Samples for?
Typically, you’ll need content writing samples for any writing job (unless you personally know the person hiring you or in some other rare exceptions).
Some freelance writing jobs that’ll require you to have samples include:
- Blog post writing
- Copywriting
- Email writing
- Social media writing
- Case study writing
What Are Some Types of Writing Pieces to Include in Your Content Writing Samples?
You should have at least one writing sample for each type of writing service you offer.
Let’s say you want to write blog posts and email newsletters for your writing clients, you should have at least one sample blog post and one sample email newsletter.
Here’s Alice Lemée’s portfolio as an example:
The writing pieces most commonly included in portfolios are:
- Blog posts and articles
- Long-form webpage copy
- Social media content
- Video or podcast scripts
- eBooks
How Long Should Your Content Writing Samples Be?
Your content writing samples should be around the same length as the content you want to write normally is.
You can find this out by researching what your ideal clients are publishing.
Below are some suggestions of how long your content writing samples should be. If your writing type isn’t included, do a quick Google search to find out the ideal length.
- Blog posts: 800 to 1,500 words
- Long-form blog posts: >2,000 words
- Emails: <500 words
- eBooks: >10,000 words
- Case studies: 500 to 10,000 words, depending on the topic (but if you’re just writing a sample, aim for a short one — 2,500 words max.)
- White papers: 6 to 8 pages (but they can be shorter or longer depending on the topic — again, aim for a shorter one)
However, you need to remember that people are busy.
⚠️ If you want to showcase long samples, it’s better to include only an excerpt of the best part or the part that better showcases your skills and a link to the full piece.
How Should You Format Your Content Writing Samples?
In rare cases, clients or agencies will request you to format your samples a certain way.
But, generally speaking, you’re free to format them however you want.
You can also choose to send a link to a Google Docs file or publish them on your website or LinkedIn, Medium, or Quora page.
Honestly, there are so many possibilities to format your content writing samples, it deserves a blog post of its own — coming soon.
What Are Examples of Content Writing?
Content writing is the process of planning, writing, and editing web content, typically for digital marketing purposes.
— Backlinko
Here are some content writing examples:
- Blog posts and articles
- Scripts and titles for podcasts and videos
- Social media posts (e.g. tweets or threads for Twitter, Instagram captions, and Quora answers or posts)
- Email newsletters
- Landing and sales pages
How Do Beginners Write Content?
If I could go back in time and give my beginner self one piece of advice, it would be: just write.
It doesn’t matter where or about what. Create a blog or start writing on Medium. You can even start writing on Twitter, Quora, or LinkedIn.
Just write.
It’s nonsensical to be insecure about your writing skills or what people will think because 1) everyone was a beginner at some point and 2) we shouldn’t care about what strangers on the internet think about us.
I say “we” because it took me a long time to get out of my shell and start writing anything that wasn’t client work — and I regret it a lot.
Just 👏 Write 👏
P.S. Don’t plagiarize anyone’s work and make sure you use images legally.
How Do I Practice Content Writing?
The best place to practice content writing is Medium.
Pretty much everyone there is a writer, so, you can get instant feedback on your writing while connecting with like-minded people.
You can use Medium for free but if you want to read more than three posts per month, you need to become a paying member (it costs $5/month).
👉 Sign up for Medium and start writing today.
How Do I Start Content Writing With No Experience?
To start content writing with no experience, you need to:
- Pick a niche
- Create content writing samples
- Create a freelance writer website
- Build an online presence
- Apply to writing jobs or cold pitch clients
How Do I Choose a Topic for Content Writing Samples?
The best way to choose a topic for content writing samples is to check out your ideal clients’ websites.
See what type of content they’re paying for and create samples that match the writing style and topics they go for — obviously, never ever ever copy content!
Content Writing Samples: 55 Examples & Ideas — Key Takeaways
Researching your niche to know what your ideal clients are looking for is one of the most crucial steps to creating great content writing samples.
Then, take as much time as needed to craft the perfect title, introduction, body, and conclusion.
Once you’ve created a variety of writing samples, display them in a way that looks professional and is easy to find.
If you need more guidance to become a professional writer, download my FREE Freelance Writing Course 👇
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