Most business owners I work with don't outsource video editing because they want to. They outsource it because the footage is piling up on a phone or a hard drive and nobody on the team has time to turn it into anything. Over five years and 2,000+ projects for businesses in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and Europe, I've seen what makes outsourcing smooth and what turns it into weeks of emails. Here is how to do it well, from the side of the editor.
1. Decide what the video has to do
Before you look for an editor, write one sentence: what should this video make people do? Book a call, buy a product, follow the account, apply for a job. That sentence is the most useful thing you can give an editor. It decides what stays in, what gets cut and how the video opens.
"Make it look good" is not a goal. "Get local homeowners to book a free quote from Instagram" is.
2. Write a short brief
A good brief fits on half a page. Mine always comes back to the same four lines:
- Goal: what the viewer should do after watching.
- Viewer: who you want to reach, as specifically as you can.
- Platform: Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube, your website, a paid ad.
- Length: a rough target, like 30 seconds or 3 minutes.
Add one or two videos you like the style of, even if they're from a different industry. A reference video saves more back-and-forth than any long description of "the vibe".
3. Send your footage in one organized place
Share one Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer link with everything in it: the raw clips, your logo, your brand fonts, any music you've licensed and the reference videos. One link is much easier than files spread across email, WhatsApp and text messages, where something always goes missing.
You don't need to label every clip. A good editor sorts the footage before cutting anything. But if there's one take you love, or one you never want used, say so.
4. Ask how revisions work before you start
Revisions are where most outsourced projects go wrong. Agree on two things up front:
- How many rounds of changes are included.
- How you'll give notes. Timestamped notes work best: "0:14, cut this pause", "0:32, use the other product shot". "Can it pop more?" is hard for anyone to act on.
Watch the first cut all the way through before you write notes, and send them all at once. Ten notes in one message get done faster and more consistently than ten messages over two days.
5. Ask for every format you'll need
If the video is going on more than one platform, say so at the start. A single edit can usually be delivered in several shapes:
- 16:9 for YouTube and your website.
- 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
- 1:1 or 4:5 for feeds.
It's much easier to frame the shots for every shape from the beginning than to crop a finished widescreen video into a vertical one afterwards.
6. Don't let the time zone worry you
I edit from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and most of my clients are in the US and Australia, with others in Canada and the UK. The time difference sounds like a problem, but it usually helps. You send footage at the end of your workday and wake up to progress. Everything else happens over email, chat or a short call.
What matters more than location is how quickly the editor replies and whether they give you a delivery date before they start. Ask for both.
7. Check these things before you hire anyone
- A showreel or portfolio in your style. Someone who edits beautiful wedding films may not be the right person for fast TikTok ads.
- Experience with your kind of business. Every industry has its own look and pace. A dental clinic video and a gym video should feel very different.
- A clear quote before work starts. The price depends on length, how much footage there is and how much motion graphics or captioning it needs, so expect a quote after a short brief, not a fixed price list.
- Reviews from real clients. Read what they say about communication and revisions, not just the final video.
8. Start with one small video
Don't hand over a 20-video content plan on day one. Start with one short video. You'll learn how the editor communicates, how they handle notes and whether they understand your brand. If it goes well, you'll have a process you can repeat every week.
The short version
- Write one sentence about what the video should do.
- Send a short brief with a reference video.
- Put all your footage in one shared folder.
- Agree on revisions and give timestamped notes.
- Ask for every format at the start.
- Don't worry about the time zone. Worry about reply speed.
- Check style, industry experience, pricing and reviews.
- Start with one video.
If you're a business in the US, UK or Australia looking for a remote video editor, send me a short brief and a sample of your footage, and I'll reply with a clear quote.