How I Built a Portfolio That Gets Me Into Rooms as the Press

I didn’t start out with press credentials to big ass events like MJBIZCON, where all access passes run $1,500. I started with passion, a pen, and the audacity to tell everyone I was covering the cannabis industry. The thing about building a career as a published artist: your portfolio is your currency; and if you build it right, your pen and camera become your all-access pass.

The Portfolio-to-Press-Pass Pipeline 

I started self-publishing on Medium so I’d have links to send editors when I started pitching publications. I posted everything I published; it didn’t matter that it wasn’t in an industry magazine yet. I needed the publications to see samples of my work, and I wanted my followers to see me working in real time.

I published everything. Local dispensary opening? Covered it. Small brand launch? Wrote about it. Instagram live with a cultivator? Documented it. Every piece became proof I was serious. I wasn’t waiting for major outlets to validate me, I was creating my own body of work.

I networked like my career depended on it (because it did). I showed up to farms and cultivations, trade shows and events… I moved into my car to be able to afford traveling the country to make this dream come true. I introduced myself as a cannabis writer, asked for interviews, took photos, and published recaps. The people I met out there on the road? They remembered me and when I started to get picked up by magazines, they were the first to support my needed travel to get the stories.

I was loud about my work. I shared every article, every interview, every piece of content. Tagged brands, tagged venues, tagged everyone involved. Did it feel self-promotional? Absolutely. Did it work? Every single time. Brands started reaching out. Event organizers started offering media passes. PR reps added me to their lists.

When MJBIZCON came around, I didn’t just apply for credentials on a whim. I applied with 100+ published pieces, relationships with industry players, and proof that I consistently show up, cover the plant professionally, and deliver content that brands and publications actually want.

The press pass gave me access to a conference that would’ve cost me thousands. But more than that? It gave me access to exclusive sessions, VIP networking events, media lounges, one-on-one interviews with industry leaders, and opportunities many attendees never see. And all of it came from building a portfolio so solid they couldn’t say no.

You Build This One Piece at a Time

This didn’t happen overnight. My journey took me from corporate, to living in my car, to showing up to events in cities where I didn’t know anyone. It took pitching myself to small outlets that paid $50 per article. It took treating every assignment like it mattered—because it did.

Once you have a portfolio of published work, so much changes. Brands want to work with you. Events want you there. Your content creation skills literally pay for your access. You’re not just attending; you’re documenting, storytelling, building the narrative. That’s the shift. From paying to participate to getting paid (or comped) to be there.

If you’re trying to build this kind of career, whether in cannabis, music, art, travel, whatever; the formula is the same: create relentlessly, network intentionally, and be so vocal about your work that opportunities come looking for you.

That’s exactly what we talk about at Create & Publish Network; building portfolios that open doors, networking strategies that actually work, and getting your creative work seen by the people who matter. If you’re ready to turn your pen, camera, or your content skills into your ticket to access, come join us.

Because your press pass is waiting on the other side of your published work.

Visit createandpublishnetwork.com and subscribe; let’s build your portfolio together.

Veronica Castillo is the Traveling Cannabis Writer, documenting the global cannabis industry from dispensaries to boardrooms across the world. She’s the author of Cannabis Legacy Chronicles and founder of Create and Publish Network, where she helps cannabis brands tell their stories and mentors aspiring writers breaking into the industry. Her work has been published in over 20 publications, where she contributes stories on equity, culture, and industry evolution. From corporate insurance to international cannabis journalism, she’s built a career on authentic storytelling that connects communities across borders.