I posted this advice to new freelancers today in a discussion at freelancewritinggigs.com:

<Work on your portfolio. If you don’t have published articles, give yourself assignments and write them up. Having the “right” clips to send with your cover letter or email is critical to being able to answer posts and queries without spending gobs of time.>

I'm not sure why having the "right" clips is such an issue for prospective clients who can't see the skill and talent a portfolio represents. For some, if your clips aren't exactly like the assignment, they don't see what you have to offer them.

I try to display different kinds of writing and consulting projects in my portfolio to show the breadth of my experience. Sometimes that approach works!