Last September, TV producer-turned-copywriter Helen Carrie landed a dream lead: a brand that sits among the top 10 most-visited websites in the world. In her words, they were the “bullseye” of her ideal client profile.
But this wasn’t a stroke of luck or a case of the stars aligning. It was the direct result of three strategic shifts she had made to her online presence just seven days before.
The Freelance Informer chatted with Helen to uncover the secrets behind her recent success. In this article, we break down those three strategic shifts and show you how to craft your own “passive discovery” system. One that turns your profile into a magnet for high-value clients.
I think what’s important to say is that even for what feel like big shifts, like rewriting a homepage or rewriting an about section, they can happen gradually. So none of this happened magically overnight.
-Helen Carrie, freelance copywriter
#1: Portfolio overhaul
Helen made sure she added her most recent work, with more links and examples of her process as a writer and producer, alongside the deliverables.
#2: Dialling up her voice
She tightened her positioning across her website and LinkedIn profile (including posts), creating a “magnetic trio” of story, stance, and style she calls “singularity.”
Helen explains how finding your own voice comes down to self-discovery and answering a lot of questions you may have never asked yourself before:
So for me, that starts with figuring out what your story is. What is it about your life and what you’ve been through, and your relationships, your interactions that only you can say that makes you unique? What’s your stance like? What do you care about?
What do you believe in? What would you defend, even if nobody was watching, or even if you knew it cost you to do that? And what’s your style like when you feel sort of free and uninhibited and relaxed and supported? How do you speak in those moments?
She also suggests, before you start thinking about niches, sectors or deliverables, get really clear on your story. “I’m developing a programme I am launching later this year on what I call ‘singularity’, which, once you figure out what radically differentiates you effortlessly, you can join the dots, as I did.”
Helen says once you go through this process, you will stand out to clients and be the obvious choice. She also believes it will make you an interesting contact whom people want to talk to and talk about.
She says once she pinpointed an accomplishment and the skills that made her unique, she could share that in her “About” section on LinkedIn and her website. The process was “revelatory” because it changed how she talked about herself online and to clients. Here is what that was:
I’m the only B2B technology writer who has also produced EMMY-winning and BAFTA-nominated shows watched by millions worldwide.
Helen explains how you have to find something that impresses, even if it may not seem directly linked to what you are doing now.
For example, Helen made her move from TV production to more corporate-style copywriting when in-person documentaries dried up in the COVID pandemic. In those early days, she spent hours emailing or calling hundreds of cold leads and old contacts until something stuck, and she landed an assignment.
Like many freelancers, Helen is no stranger to rejection and ghosting. She learned early on to stay consistent, marketing herself even when the responses were slow, fueled by the belief that the right opportunity would eventually surface.
However, her business truly gained momentum when she began leveraging the common ground skills from her TV production career and linking them directly to B2B SaaS objectives. By bridging that experience gap, she turned SaaS companies into her core clients. Today, she uses those results as a springboard to dominate other specialist niches, including HR and Edtech.
#3: Frictionless contact
Helen has also made it easier for prospects to get in touch, but harder to submit an enquiry without sharing key project and budget info. Her website and portfolio are sprinkled with “get in touch” style button links.
The result? In one week, she received more enquiries than in any other week of her freelance career since 2017.
Even when fully booked, I treat my own business as my most important client.
Make marketing an everyday habit
Even when fully booked, Helen treats her own business as her most important client. She does this by dedicating 30 minutes each morning to marketing, whether via social media posts, cold call approaches or thinking of content for her newsletter (which in itself drives business even if that wasn’t the intention). Unlike most people, she doesn’t allow herself to get sucked into news scrolling or emails first thing in the morning. She remains committed to her business and is able to do so in just 30 minutes.
I still prioritise continually marketing the business.
What can you take from all of this?
When you think about it, would a marketing department of a larger company stop marketing just because they had steady orders or a few big deals? No, they would have a dedicated marketing department. Yet many freelancers seem to put marketing on the back burner when business is good. That’s not putting your business first.
Ultimately, your talent only takes you so far. If you don’t showcase your work, define your audience, and simplify your contact process, you will struggle to reach your true potential.
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Service page vs. website: What’s the difference?
Before we go into the “how-to,” let’s clear up a common muddle. With over hundreds of thousands of providers now active on LinkedIn’s service platform, many UK freelancers are wondering: Do I even need a website anymore?
Whether you’re debating a website refresh or building your first site, it helps to visualise their roles: your website is your private consulting room, while your service page is your high-street shop window. For a successful business, both must work in harmony.
- Your website is where your full portfolio lives, where your personality can truly breathe, and where you own the data. It’s your long-form proof of authority.
- The service page acts like a shop front found on platforms such as LinkedIn, which is built for passive discovery. It’s a streamlined, searchable summary that lets UK clients find you using filters (like location and skill) without ever leaving the platform they’re already browsing.
I wrote [my LinkedIn page] the way I would write a sales page for a conversion client.
How can freelancers build a magnetic presence for passive discovery?
If you want to stop bidding on soul-crushing job boards and start attracting $40B+ brands, follow these three steps to optimise your presence.
I broke down the different stages of each project. Was really clear about the deliverable… and then where relevant and where possible, I included results as well.
1. Maximise your portfolio’s searchability
Don’t just post a pretty picture of a project. Clients (and search algorithms) need context. Helen advocates for a “minimum viable” approach that prioritises clarity over flashiness.
- List the sectors: Specifically mention industries like “FinTech,” “EdTech,” or “Sustainable Fashion.”
- Show the process: High-value clients aren’t just buying a finished product; they’re buying your brain. Helen says, “I broke down the different stages of each project. Was really clear about the deliverable… and then where relevant and where possible, I included results as well.”
- Social proof: Use your portfolio to build trust before the first call. “Testimonials are really powerful social proof,” Helen adds. “I wrote [my LinkedIn page] the way I would write a sales page for a conversion client.”
2. Lean into your singularity
In a sea of freelancers, “I’m a hard-working designer” is invisible. You need to be unignorable. Helen’s “Singularity” concept is about finding the intersection of skills that makes you the only choice for a specific client.
- Tighten your positioning: Instead of “Copywriter,” try “Conversion Copywriter for UK SaaS startups”
- Find your unique angle: Helen found her edge by being “the only B2B SaaS writer who has also produced Emmy award-winning TV. It’s a conversation starter”
- Eliminate friction: Niching is a marketing strategy, not just a skill choice. “Niching is useful… as a marketing exercise, people in that market find you a much easier ‘Yes.’ There’s no friction there.” When you find that specific stance, “you’re sort of in a world of your own. You don’t have to compete.”
3. Optimise leads and enquiries
You want to be accessible, but you don’t want to waste time on tyre-kickers.
- Make the link obvious: Ensure your LinkedIn “Request a Quote” button is active. On her site, Helen ensures “you can’t read a piece of my portfolio without seeing a button that says, ‘Get in touch” in one way or another.
- Filter with a form: Use a contact form that asks for “Estimated Budget” and “Timeline.” This professionalises the relationship immediately.
Helen says,
If people aren’t happy to talk about budget upfront, it probably means they don’t have much…The clients with the smallest budget are often the ones that expect the most, amend the most, and micromanage the most.
High-value clients are out there right now looking for experts
Clients don’t want to post a job and sift through 200 generic bids, which Helen compares to a numbers game where you are just one of a thousand. Instead, they want to find the perfect person organically through passive discovery or a well-timed, highly targeted pitch.
By refining your portfolio, sharpening your voice, and improving your contact process, you ensure that when they go looking, you’re the one they find.
As Helen puts it:
With a cold pitch [or discovery], you might be the only person on their radar. You just have to be a good fit: right industry, right skill set.
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