Should you send your portfolio as a PDF or a link?
Usually both: a PDF they can save, behind a link they can open anywhere. A link opens on a phone without downloading anything, it can carry a name like ana-for-northwind, and you can correct a typo after sending. A bare PDF attachment can be too big for email (Gmail stops at 25 MB) and is stuck in the version you sent. Public portfolio sites such as Behance, Dribbble or your own website are for being found. A private link is for pitching one client.
Make a version for this client
A generic portfolio makes the client do the work of finding what is relevant. A short, focused one does it for them.
- Pick the five to eight projects closest to their brief, and put the closest first.
- Give each project one or two lines: the problem, what you did, what changed.
- Leave out work you would not want to do again.
- Compress the images. The free Image Compressor shrinks JPG, PNG and WebP files in your browser, and a lighter PDF opens faster on a phone.
Put it at a link
- Go to droply.so and type a name for this client, for example
ana-for-northwind. - Drop your portfolio PDF. A website you made works too: a single HTML file, or a ZIP with index.html at the top level.
- Sign in with Google or a code sent to your email. The link works as soon as the upload finishes.
A PDF opens in a viewer with page thumbnails and a download button. To add a few extra files, such as case-study images, upload them together with the PDF: they share one page, with Download all.
The free plan holds one project up to 10 MB, which fits a compressed PDF portfolio. If you pitch several clients at once, Starter gives you two projects and 100 MB, and Plus five projects and 1 GB.
Keep NDA work private
If the portfolio includes work under NDA, put it behind a password (Plus plan) and send the password separately. Or ask for an email address before it opens, so you know exactly who looked.
After the pitch, take it offline with Archive. The link stops working at once, and you can restore it later.
Know whether it was opened
Your dashboard shows how many times each project was viewed, on every plan. On Plus you also see views per day, countries and the sites visitors came from. If the client has not opened it after a few days, a short nudge is fair. If they opened it three times yesterday, it might be a good moment to call.
The email that goes with it
Keep it short and make the link the obvious next step:
Subject: Portfolio for Northwind: six projects close to your brief
Hi Maya,
Here are the six projects closest to what you described, starting with the packaging redesign for Fernway: ana-for-northwind.droply.page
It opens on a phone, and each project has a short note on the brief and the result. Happy to walk you through any of them on a call this week.
Ana
To get feedback on the work itself rather than the pitch, see How to send a website to a client for review.