15 Video Editing Tips for Beginner Marketers

Struggling with posting good videos? Here are 15 Essential Video Editing Tips That will Make Beginner Marketers Look Like Pros.

Photo by Joey Huang on Unsplash

Creating videos that engage your audience and really sell whatever it is that you’re selling is a must.

To publish video content that achieves this, you also need to invest in quality video editing. While it’s a skill you can learn for yourself, it isn’t as easy as simply splicing some things together with cool effects. Learning to edit video so it focuses the watcher and tells the story you want it to is an art.

15 Video Editing Tips To Make It Work for You!

1. Find the Right Partner

Choosing the right software for your needs is critical. Most dedicated video editing software offers similar things, although some have limited functionality in order to stay simple or be provided free, while others could, quite literally, let you create a movie if you chose. So it comes down to their usability- is there an intuitive UI you understand, are you comfortable using it, and does it have the features you need in a way you can use them? Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and After Effects are widely seen as some of the best around, and there’s some decent free tools, but in the end, it’s down to the one that works best for you and your editing style.

2. Use the Right Hardware

Video files are big if they’re high quality, and rendering them needs a lot of processing power. While stories of ‘editing from your phone’ are alluring, they simply can’t provide real quality. You can use any brand of PC you like, but look for features like SSDs, at least 8GB of RAM (the more the better, however), and a processor and video card that can handle the intense demands of video. 

3. Know your Market

Are you making a short film to tell a story, or a promotional video to show off a product? When it comes to video editing tips, knowing what you want to use your video for is essential to creating a great product, so be clear on your goals from the start. 

4. Get Help

If it’s video editing tips you’re after, remember, there’s a wealth of help out there (including this article). Places like YouTube, blogs, and even tutorial websites are packed with how-tos, many free, that will help you achieve the effects you want and improve your editing skills in simple, easy-to-digest chunks.

5. Pre-production is King

You can save yourself a lot of time, energy, and heartache by planning ahead. Use storyboards, plans, scripts… anything you need, to shoot your initial video as accurately as possible. Choose good lighting and make clean takes rather than relying on post-production. The less time spent in editing, and the closer the source footage to your needs, the better.

6. Learn By Doing

Which ties into this point. Many tutorials don’t just show, but encourage you to do it, too. By providing ‘project files’ you can tinker in the exact same work they are showing you in the tutorial. This provides invaluable hands-on experience and makes learning easier than just watching. 

7. 321….Go!

In many ways, video editing is like any other hobby. It’s important you don’t make irrevocable changes without ‘insurance’. So follow the 3,2,1 rule. Keep 3 copies of what you create, in two places, one of which is away from the others.

8. Tell the Story

Many people get caught up in effects and edits and forget the story at the core of your work. That story should be the focus of everything. Good storyboarding before you shoot helps this, but you may need to shake it up in post-production. Just don’t lose sight of how much the story, not the packaging, matters.

9. Get Organized

Even with the best setup possible, video editing is still time-consuming. If you work efficiently, and well-organized, you at least cut down on the time wasted waiting for renders, fixing silly mistakes, and more. Use folders and files to your advantage. Consider an external drive so you don’t have video work spilling into other things. Whatever works for your brain, but make sure it makes sense so you don’t reinvent the wheel every session.

10. Cheat (a little)

We don’t really mean cheating. But there’s plenty of keyboard shortcuts that can make these video editing tips far quicker. You may even be able to set your own, depending on the software you use. And if you invest in a high-quality mouse, something like a gaming mouse, you can often set button shortcuts there too. There’s even dedicated editing keyboards out there. This helps you work smarter and faster at once.

11. Learn the Jargon

When you learn any new skill, specific terminology comes with it. Knowing what it means allows you to easily search for help, ask questions, communicate with other enthusiasts and clients, and so on. So if you don’t know the difference between an L-cut and a J-cut, and you wouldn’t know a jump cut if it fell on you, get up to speed. You can thank us later!

12. Get the Correct Color

Poor color correction is one of the hallmarks of amateur video. And, of course, color has an immensely powerful effect on the human psyche. Learn to color correct footage, in order to compensate for any difference in scene colors, and learn to color grade, or apply color specifically to achieve a different look.

13. Set the Mood

Another detail that has a huge impact on how we perceive film is the soundtrack. If you have dialogue, make sure it’s crisp, clear, and clean. Or choose the right song or instrumental to really carry the mood of the scene to the viewer. This is a fine balance, so don’t overdo it either. 

14. Carry the Brand

Once you have these fundamentals in place, don’t forget to use text, graphics, and other features to help establish a brand personality. After all, no point in your clip going viral if no one knows who made it! However, you also want to make sure you don’t overdo it. Keep fonts clean, dissolve immaculate, and everything on-brand.

15. New Resolutions

The larger the resolution, the higher the quality. But don’t forget that most things won’t need the very best quality. Web video, for example, must balance the size of the download and file with the quality you want to show at. So make sure to include smaller, but high-quality versions alongside the ‘premiere’ copy.

And there you have it! With these top 15 video editing tips under your belt, you’ll soon be producing and publishing video easily.