I Studied 100 Editors, This Stops Them Making Money

I’ve spoken to over 100 editors in the last year, and the pattern is painfully clear: most showreels aren’t just weak—they’re actively stopping people from making money. In this video, I break down the three biggest mistakes I see over and over again by reviewing real portfolios, and I show you exactly how to fix them using the same principles that helped me make over $1M from editing before I turned 30.

The first issue is unclear positioning. If a client lands on your site and can’t instantly tell whether you’re an editor, filmmaker, or photographer, you’ve already lost them. High‑end clients don’t want generalists—they want specialists. Your site should scream editing within seconds, with a simple layout, a focused bio, and clearly labeled reels that tell people exactly what they’re clicking on.

The second problem is messy or unfocused reels. I see editors lump wildly different types of work together and expect clients to sort it out. That never works. You need one or two clean, tightly curated reels that match your goals—commercials, documentary, narrative, corporate, whatever you’re targeting. Keep them short, start with your absolute best clip, and cut anything that feels like filler or spec work. Clients are usually on your site for less than 15 seconds, so clarity beats quantity every time.

The third—and biggest—mistake is relying only on word of mouth. Every editor I reviewed had solid work, but almost none of them were doing consistent outreach. A great reel means nothing if no one sees it. You need to proactively send your work to targeted people who actually hire editors, with reels tailored to their exact needs.

If you want a simple framework to fix this, focus on:

• Clear positioning around editing (not everything you’ve ever done)

• 1–2 highly specific, well‑ordered showreels

• Consistent, personalized outreach to the right clients

If you fix those three things, you’re not just improving your portfolio—you’re fixing your entire income pipeline. And once that’s dialed in, everything else gets easier.