Creating an online writing portfolio is an excellent way to raise your e-cred: nearly all writers have a writing website that highlights their qualifications, skills and what they can offer potential clients.

But getting traffic to your website–and finding potential clients to supplement your income–isn’t as simple as keyword optimizing your portfolio. To get more traffic, it’s all about letting everyone know your online writing portfolio actually exists.

So how do you drive traffic to your online writing portfolio?

To get the e-word out, try these 3 effective concepts:

LINKBUILDING: Post your link posted on any website, network, or social media application you use on a regular basis.

GUEST BLOGGING: Take advantage of guest blogging opportunities to create additional traffic streams.

QUALITY COMMENTING: Post engaging, genuine comments on relevant blogs to spread awareness.

A word of caution: these are not easy fixes. If you expect your website’s traffic to explode overnight, it’s not going to happen. These concepts steadily build human traffic, increasing your reach to potential clients. Instead of you finding clients, they find you.

Let’s learn how to put these concepts into motion.

Linkbuilding: A Key to Traffic Success

SEO isn’t just about inserting related keyphrases and words into your web content–it’s about posting your portfolio link on relevant, trusted websites to improve its search engine ranking. If your portfolio link appears on a variety of trusted websites, this tells search engines “This website is popular and well-trusted–let’s improve its search engine PR”.

To begin linkbuilding, post your portfolio’s link in the following places:

• On social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
• On public user generated content (UGC) website profiles, such as Associated Content, Bukisa and BrightHub.
• On any blogs or web journals you own.

To get the most out of linkbuilding, stay active on the sites where you post your website link. It naturally increases traffic and awareness, driving potential clients to your website. Consequently, if you don’t stay active on these sites–or worse, never use them–the effect quickly trickles down to your website. No activity = no traffic.

Guest Blogging: An Instant Traffic Magnet

Guest blogging is quickly becoming the “it” thing for writers and bloggers who want to get ahead–and for good reason. Think of it like this: guest blog posts are a way to showcase your writing skills and knowledge without being overly abrasive (no one likes sales pitches), and you get a free backlink in the process.

Submitting a post to a popular blog, such as Problogger or Famous Bloggers, also drives traffic–and a lot of it–to your writing portfolio. Some blogs also let you include a mini bio, which summarizes why you’re relevant to their readers. Long story made short, it’s instant linkbuilding and self-promotion made incredibly simple.

But before you jump on the blogging bandwagon, consider these points first:

• Although some blogs pay for guest posts, not all will. Freelance Writing Gigs and Writing Job Resource (that’s us!) pay for guest posts, but it’s definitely not the norm.

• Each blog has its own rules on writing style, tone and content. Blog A may prefer a snappy, conversational tone, but that may not fly for Blog B. To get a feel for what they like, read their blog posts. If you’re still stumped, email the blog owner(s) and ask “What sort of blog post do you expect from me? Is there anything I should or shouldn’t do?”.

• Giving out bad or incorrect advice can also affect your professional image–you can effectively ruin your reputation if you’re not careful with what you say. Double, triple and quadruple-check your claims before posting it. Be prepared to defend yourself (hint: defend doesn’t mean argue) if you voice an opinion. Use facts and experience as proof. How you handle yourself when responding to critics also affects how potential clients judge you.

Now for the fun part: to begin the guest blogging process, scope out relevant websites–such as blogs on writing, blogging or SEO–to see if they publicly accept guest posts. Many blogs have a separate page for discussing this. If not, email a pitch to the owner and explain specifically why you would benefit them (relevant experience, funny with words?). Blog owners are also persuaded by writers who already regularly visit and comment on their blog, so keep that in mind.

Blog Commenting: More Traffic Streams

Have you ever posted a comment on a blog and been asked to enter your website address? Take advantage of it. Posting on blogs–and entering your author website’s address into the “Website” section of the comment–adds an additional backlink to your website. Adding relevant, engaging comments (e.g. real comments) also improves your image in several ways:

• It helps improve your notoriety–other readers become familiar with you by name.
• If you give out good advice, others may go to you for advice or help.
• It establishes you as a go-to guy in your niche, whether it’s copywriting, writing about certain topics, or being a top “SEO” (search engine optimizer).

Remember, real comments boost your image and drive traffic to your writing portfolio–generic “This is a good post” comments do not. Keep the self-promotion and fakeness to yourself. You can’t fake realism. Engage others and speak truthfully to improve traffic. Combined with quality linkbuilding, this helps drive traffic to your online writing portfolio. Now go out there and promote your heart out!