You need some type of web presence and this can be had at no cost at Weebly. Back in the day when I set up my freelance writing service I created my site in a matter of hours.
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I spent years tinkering and blogging making $0. I literally spent 5 months just tweaking some Wordpress site until it was "perfect."
From my experience now (and I write full-time for myself)...I'm pretty sure ZERO of my clients have ever looked at my website.
Everyone's different, but these tips seemed to have been pulled from some 'Top tips' blog post. Having tried most of your "tips", I'll say none of them got me a well-paying assignment.
The best thing I've found to do? Reach out to companies who already value content creation. You build a portfolio faster, learn faster...etc. Much easier than doing what I first did...try to preach to the unconverted.