Many individuals and organizations are increasingly looking to video to improve their online presence. Video is seen by many as being able to attract a great deal of attention and engagement from potential customers. Click throughs are often increased when videos are available and also help to encourage conversions.
However, to be effective, it is necessary for video content to be high quality. Simply creating random video content to upload on YouTube or to another social media platform will not automatically result in engagement.
That’s where video editing comes in.
Quality video editing can turn average content into a viral video that is shared over and over again. Getting your videos in front of more individuals is key to their success—and quality content created with video editing is one of the best ways to ensure this happens.
Video editing does, of course, come at a price. It takes a lot of time by the person creating and editing, or it requires paying a video editor to help in the process. It’s important to understand the costs of editing a video so you can budget accordingly.
The Costs of Editing a Video
Freelance video editors and agencies often charge a flat rate per hour (usually between $75 and $150) or by the project, and they will often provide an estimate of the amount of time required for your specific project. Of course, estimates should only be used as a guideline, as it’s possible your video requires more editing and therefore more time (and more money) than the original estimate suggested.
The reason there is such a large range in freelancer hourly fees usually boils down to experience. Generally speaking, the more experience a freelancer has, the more expensive they are. You hope to get a better product from someone with more experience and a higher rate, but that is not necessarily always the case. Take a hard look at the video editor’s portfolio to ensure that you are comfortable with the quality of their work before you sign any agreement.
Additionally, video editors may charge more depending on the level of intricacy required for the project. But a higher estimate does not always correlate directly to the amount of time required to fully edit up the video. Instead, it can be due to the level of expertise required for particular types of editing. For example, a video editor may have to enhance audio, as well as add graphics and imagery. The level of complexity required can therefore translate into a more expensive hourly or project rate.
How to Hire a Freelance Video Editor
Knowing how to hire a freelance video editor is essential. Small business video editing needs to be carried out by the right video editor from the get-go because small businesses tend to have less spare cash and can’t afford to waste any of it. Hiring the wrong individual for a job that results in a slapdash video can be a money sink for an upcoming business, one that could throw off their budget for the month.
Hiring a video editor can be done in a variety of ways:
- You can approach an agency that has a large portfolio, so you can get comfortable with their past work and confident that their service is professional and efficient. Agency fees may be a bit more than a sole proprietor, but this is not always the case.
- You could hire freelance video editors. Finding freelance video editors is best done through recommendations, word-of-mouth and freelancer websites. Freelancer sites also contain reviews of past completed projects so you can get a sense of how they work and the quality of their editing.
Freelancers are also a good option if you only have a small amount of video content to edit or a few ad hoc projects for them to work on. Hiring an agency for such instances could prove very expensive, whereas freelancers often have more flexibility to take on smaller assignments.
What to Ask a Freelance Videographer
It’s crucial to ask a video editor how they work to ensure that you hire the right person for the job. Doing so allows you to find out whether they are up to the task at hand, as well as if you feel you can work with them on a professional level. Sometimes, people’s personalities simply make it difficult to work together. A key way to find out this information is to ask the freelancer how they have solved problems in the past and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Finally, ask how long a project should take and when it can be completed. It could be that your potential video editor’s availability and timeline won’t work for you. Finding out this information at the outset could prevent any nasty surprises from happening down the line.
The Cost of Editing a Video
Given the importance of video in our content-craving world, video editing costs are perhaps inevitable. In fact, it may be pertinent to ask what the cost of not creating quality video content is. Do you lose audience engagement and therefore a chance to widen your customer base? Will your competitors be able to increase their market share as a result?
Ask the right questions to determine if investing in video editing is right for you. Hiring a YouTube video editor can be different than other types of video editing.
