Creating a portfolio of work on your glazing website

As a glazier, your best marketing tool is to showcase the great work you've already done via a portfolio on your website. Photos and testimonials of real life jobs are worth 1000x more than any stock images or generic sales speak. Here are a few key things you should include to maximize the effectiveness of your portfolio.

QUICK FIX: If you're not comfortable regularly updating your website, here's an easy solution that only requires one edit to your website and no developer involvement:

1. Create a Flickr account (free of charge)
2. Upload your photos then add them to a new album
3. Click the 'Share' icon then 'Embed', copy the code
4. In a new page on your website, click either 'View HTML' or 'View Source' and paste the code in
5. Publish the page and voilà! You should have a gallery embedded on your website. Just add new photos to your Flickr album to see them on your website.

Here's an example gallery we made:

If you're after a more elaborate portfolio, and feel comfortable updating your website regularly, here are a few ideas for you...

A good portfolio should be a dedicated section of your website, categorized by job type so it's easy to navigate. The emphasis should be on great photos but always include an explanation so the viewer knows what they're looking at and why it sets you apart from the competition.

Describing the job

The description of your work should include 3 key pieces of information:

1. The problem you were asked to solve. Why did the client require your services?
2. Your solution. How did you fix it?
3. The results. Were there particular issues that had to be overcome i.e. tight time frame, small space to work in, limited budget? Particularly highlight where you added value above and beyond the brief.

How did the client feel about the job? Ask if they're happy to provide a quote for your website. A few words of endorsement from a customer is worth more than any own sales pitch you could write to your prospect.

Showcase great glazing with great imagery

Most smart phones come with great cameras nowadays so there's no excuse not to be photographing your work. If you're not comfortable taking photos on your phone, there are plenty of online resources that can help — this video uses an iPhone but there are plenty of tips in there for general smart phone photography: How to take Better Photos with your iPhone.

Displaying your portfolio on your website

If you offer a few different services, divide up your portfolio into different sections accordingly — preferably on different pages (i.e. 'Glass Table Tops'; 'Glass Partitions'; 'Glass Backsplashes') . There are a few benefits to doing it this way:

• You can optimize each page for Google based on what your prospective customers might be searching for
• If you're quoting for a specific job, you can include a link to previous work as examples in your correspondence with the customer

A couple of important points to note: don't include all the work you've done — the highlights reel will suffice! Cap it at five examples per category, the reader won't get through any more than that. Always lead with the example you'd want them to read if they only read one.

Check out our Tips for Glaziers: 5 things you must have on your website article for more glazing website ideas.