Finding the Right Fit: A YouTube Video Editor that’s Right for You

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Different video editors are ideal for different kinds of content and only a select few will be suitable for the specific type of content you create on YouTube. On top of this, the editor needs to learn fast, have the capacity for the amount of editing you need, and be reliable.

So if you’re looking for an editor for your YouTube channel, here are our five top tips for finding the right editor for you:

1. Loving YouTube as a platform

Being a YouTube video editor isn’t always easy. It generally requires an unusual schedule, continuous personal growth, and constant hard work. This is why any video editor needs to love YouTube as a place to develop their career, more than any other platform.

If they don’t, you run the risk of putting considerable time and energy into teaching them your personal style, only for them to simply give up a few months down the line.

Likewise, if you hire a company, it must be clear that their team members also love YouTube as a platform and care about making great content. If they don’t, they won’t have the attention to detail you need – because they won’t be deeply and genuinely interested in what’s best for your content.

2. Meeting fast turnaround times and learning quickly

As a YouTube creator, you will most likely require fast turnaround times. Most other video editing jobs consider a 72-hour turnaround as fast. However, on YouTube, 72 hours is relatively slow.

This is why the video editor must be a fast learner who rarely repeats mistakes. If they do make some mistakes, that’s okay. But, if they don’t act on the feedback you provide, then deadlines will be missed in the short run and your valuable time will be wasted.

These factors can damage your channel financially, and yourself personally, in terms of stress. It’s important to be willing to pay reasonable rates for quality video editing that is delivered promptly – because, in the long run, it makes the most financial sense.

To test whether an editor is a fast learner, we suggest giving them a small project (maybe two sample videos) as a test. You can use the first video to test their ability to analyze your channel (since it will be their first time trying to copy your style) and deliver a satisfying output.

Once you’ve given them feedback on the first video, you can send them another one. This time, you’ll be able to see how well they incorporated the notes you’ve left them. If they improve, that’s a great, promising sign. If they make many of the same mistakes or even half of them, they are most likely not a good fit for your evolving workflow and high standards.

3. Reliability

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If you’re working with a company or an individual video editor, they must be committed and reliable. If they aren’t, between every few videos, they may allow themselves to get busy with some other projects, go on vacation or something of the like – and you’ll never truly stop editing videos yourself. This is a major problem for any creator, especially for larger ones whose time is worth hundreds of dollars per hour.

This is why you should set clear expectations upfront in terms of the number of videos you’ll be expecting to send per month, on what days (if that’s something you can provide – we realize most creators can’t), and the average raw footage length/editing length.

This will be crucial to ensuring the individual video editor or company has the capacity to do the work you need.

Here at Now Creatives, we determine what you need and set clear expectations in regards to schedule and availability requirements. That means that other projects that we have will not interfere with the delivery of yours.

However, if you have a small budget and can only work with an individual editor, thinking this process through and having an honest chat with him or her would be a good idea. While you’re considerate of their needs, it’s still a good idea to make sure that their other projects won’t interfere with your workflow.

4. Do they feel like a good fit?

As cliché as it may sound, you need to ask yourself – intuitively, do they feel like the right fit? Will you enjoy communicating with this individual editor or company in the long run?

Try to figure out if your values fit theirs – for example high-quality standards, hard work and dedication outside of working hours when needed, and a genuine love for the art of content creation.

Considering these points is an important step to avoid clashes in interest and values in the future. For example, many video editors simply don’t have the desire to work hard and long hours if needed – and you need to know that. Otherwise, you’ll be left with an incomplete project and nothing to upload!

5. Attention to the basics:

Photo by Jakob Owens – directorjakobowens.com

No matter how many effects an editor can do, if one out of every three videos they send has the audio and video out of sync – you aren’t going to be happy. This may be an extreme example. Surprisingly, however, although a lot of editors have great technical skills, many unfortunately miss out on getting the fundamentals right.

Those might include:

• Ensuring the audio and video are in perfect sync
• Ensuring the audio levels are appropriate (no distorting sound effects, background music, etc.)
• Meeting your general style principles consistently – for example, always deleting cursing

Every YouTube creator’s editing style will have its unique “basics” or “fundamentals.” We’re sure you can think of many for your own content. If these fundamentals can’t be met by the video editor consistently (for example, within two videos after you pointed to the mistake and provided the necessary information to the editor), they likely don’t have the natural ability to pay attention to detail.

After talking to and testing hundreds of video editor applicants, we have come to the conclusion that, often, attention to detail simply isn’t something you can learn very easily – you either have it, or you don’t.

It’s important to notice this early on with an editor so that you avoid wasting your time. Alternatively, if you work with a company that has a strong track record, you can be confident that they will have already parted ways with any editor who can’t meet these criteria.

So, should you hire a company or an independent editor?

This is something that should be decided up-front. The reason is that, if you hire an independent editor and then, six months down the line after training them, you realize that your content needs are scaling upwards and you need an entire team, you will have wasted a lot of time.

To help you make this judgment call, we’ve provided a PDF that goes over the benefits and drawbacks of both options – a company, or an independent editor.

Furthermore, we’d recommend you do a sample video (with the same material to easily compare) with a few different editors – at least one from an individual editor and one from a team.

At Now Creatives, we offer a sample video with 50 minutes of raw footage for $100 (or $200 for over 50 minutes), and if you then decide to work with us (a vast majority of creators do), then we’ll refund the cost.

If you still have questions after looking over the PDF, feel free to get in touch. If we feel an individual editor is most suitable for you – we’ll definitely tell you. We genuinely want what’s best for all YouTube creators in the community.

Thanks for coming by!

Tags: Now Creators, YouTube, Editing, Video Editor