Whether for the extra load they take off your shoulders or the quality output they produce, or the sheer bit of professionalism they infuse, hiring a video editor is something you’ll have to come to terms with if you’re serious about taking your video making or video marketing strategy to the next level.
But hiring skilled video editors on a whim is expensive and time-consuming. That’s where a freelance site like Fiverr and Upwork come into the mix. You get an abundance of talent, easy to hire on a budget and very much skilled in their own right. If you’ve never used Fiverr to hire a video editor before now, in this guide, I detail all you need to know to hire a video editor on Fiverr successfully.
The hiring pitfall
Video editing is an art that can take several forms. From the simple text edits to the more complex animation over video edits and other more niche edits like color grading and VFX, it’s something that could be simple or complicated. I mean, there’s a stark difference between the average YouTube Video and something like the ‘Coming’ music video by Naira Marley. I’m Nigerian; go watch that video for an idea of what I’m going on about.
Different ‘levels’ of video editing require different levels of skill, but one thing many video editors find it quite hard to do – and this is especially true for video editors you’ll source off of Fiverr – is admit that their skill doesn’t cut the job requirement. They’d rather take on the job and learn through the process. That’s not a bad thing if you’ve got a lot of time and are willing to go through several revisions.
If you’re a busy business owner who’s got a lot on your plate, you want a video editor whose skill level matches your requirements. That will mean taking the extra time out to screen potential hires as opposed to just picking an editor off Fiverr because their profile says they’re a video editor. Granted, this takes more time in the first instance, but for the extra stress and time it’ll save you in the long run, it’s an initial time investment that’s worth it.
How to hire a good video editor on Fiverr
How do you get a video editor on Fiverr who’s at the skill level required to complete your video editing task? It’s not that difficult, actually. Here’s my four-step process to help you get one right off the bat.
Start your search at the Fiverr Video editing tab
You’ll find the Fiverr Video editing tab under the Video and Animation subcategory. From there you can further niche down by selecting the kind of video you’re looking to get edited.
Normally I’m one to advocate searching for whatever service you need done on Fiverr, but with the video editing service, I’ve come to see that starting from the Video editing subcategory leads you to a better selection of video editors – almost as if it was hand-curated as opposed to the algorithmically derived video editor profiles from search.
Anyways even search is just fine, and you’ll need it if you’re searching for a specific video editing skill. Fiverr’s algorithm is insanely good at ranking freelancers on results based on their performance. Any you meet at the top spots of the Video Editing services page has a lot going on good for them.
Use filters to narrow down talent
There are four major filter options on each category page on Fiverr. The Service Options, Seller Details, Budget and Delivery time option. Each provides a way to fine-tune your search results further.
If you need an edit completed in under 24 hours, for instance, you could select the express filter under the Delivery Time option. There are even additional filters to specify video editing services that include everything from color grading to subtitle support, sound mixing and engineering and motion graphics.
Reviews are a great way to shortlist candidates
The Fiverr review system is a great way to build your preliminary list of potential candidates for screening. Practically every freelance video editor you’ll see either by searching or using the Fiverr video editing category will have a substantial amount of reviews. The best ones will have a lot of five-star reviews, but it’s important not to fall for the five-star mirage, as I like to call it when assessing potential hires. Instead, you should assess reviews holistically, and this is how I do it.
Ignore the five-star reviews
Five star reviews are great, and like I said, most of the freelancers you’ll meet at the top of Fiverr’s video editing catalog will have an excess of them. You don’t need to fixate on the five-star review since they’re all saying practically the same thing – the editor is good. Given that these are the Video editors Fiverr itself presents to you, it’s already an assumed fact that they are at least good enough.
Focus on the not five-star reviews
Four-star, three-star, two star and one star, all count. My personal strategy is to fixate on three-star reviews. Over the years, I’ve figured that these are usually from levelled headed customers who provide an unfiltered assessment of the service. For good sellers, non-five-star reviews are usually just a handful, so it’s easy to go over all of them. When it’s a three-star review, I want to
- Identify the main complaint
- See if it’s something that might be an issue for
- Gauge how the video editor responds to the complaint
- If it’s unsatisfactory, I bail
A good response accepts the blame when it’s obvious that they’re fault and tries to appease the customer. Many sellers on Fiverr (video editors inclusive) will try to deflect the blame. From experience, I’ve seen that such sellers usually have a hard time delivering on complex projects that require back and front communication and multiple revisions.
You should also take note of one-star reviews, especially if there’s a visible theme among individual reviews from different clients. Barring the occasional Karens that come on Fiverr, it takes a lot of messing up for a client to leave a one-star review.
Making your final selection – what you should look out for
Screening Fiverr editor profiles using this template should get you a couple, two to three, video editors fitting to your needs. Once you have the shortlist, it’s time to make the final selection. Here’s what you should look out for
The software they use for editing and how good they are with it
The tools a video editor uses for the job greatly influence the quality of jobs they put out. There’s just so much you can do with video editors like Filmora, Windows Movie Maker and the likes. Top-notch video editing requires top-notch video editing software and equipment.
The pacesetters for professional editing are software modules like Final Cut Pro, Da Vinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere pro. A video editor into graphics effects will also have things like Adobe After Effects and 3D compositing software like Blender in their toolbox.
How to test for this
Simply ask: What kind of editing software do you use for your video edits?
Measuring how good they are with the software in question is, however, a little bit tricky. For that, you’ll need to see portfolio samples. If you’re new to video, you should know a good edit from a poor one, but even if you’re new, what looks good looks good so trust your gut on this.
And speaking about portfolios;
Ask for portfolios
Good video editors curate portfolios, so they should have an online profile somewhere other than Fiverr. If they don’t, I’d be wary, but as far as they make up for the lack of an online profile with some solid local samples, this shouldn’t be an issue.
When hiring a video editor on Fiverr, you want to see portfolio samples that directly mimic what you’re trying to achieve at best or are closely related to what you want to achieve at worst. If you’re planning to hire a video editor for YouTube videos with a lot of text elements and cool transitions, for instance, you want to see samples that incorporate these visual elements at the very least.
Remember what I said at the start of this guide? Most if not all video editors you meet on Fiverr won’t pass up an editing gig even if it’s outside their area of specialization and skill. They’d prefer to learn the ropes with your gig, and while that can work out five out of ten times, it usually takes longer with more than normal revisions.
Video editing is a highly specialized field. Someone who’s good with color grading might have no idea what it takes to inject some popping GFX into a video. If they don’t have samples that resemble the kind of stuff you want, you’re better off finding another video editor. Trust me, they’re many of them on Fiverr, so exact matches are not a rarity.
How to go about this
First of all, have a clear idea of what you want done. It makes sense to make notes or get a sample video of yours that’s similar to what’s on your mind. Describe this to the Fiverr video editor, or just send over the sample if you have one. Ask for their portfolio, which should include samples relevant to your description and wants.
Conduct a demo edit
With some large and too important to fail projects, it’s a good idea to conduct a test job as a final screening procedure. Such a test job or demo edit will allow you to get an actual feel of the editor’s finished product before you take a plunge and commission them for the job.
How to go about this
Most times, I simply take a part (usually a few seconds) of the footage I need edited and ask them to implement some of the edits i’d like to see, but you can always use any available footage. What’s important is it incorporates edit elements you want included in your task.
I’ll also add that you should pay for any demo edits regardless of how small you think the footage is. It’s good practice, and it’s extra motivation for the video editing freelancer to take your job more seriously.
If you’ve followed these steps to the latter, you should have a strong candidate ready for hire.
Hiring a video editor on Fiverr is easy as pie since the platform has built-in contract functionalities. Once you’ve negotiated the payment terms and delivery timetable with the editor, you pay directly on the site, and a contract is automatically set up. Your money is held in escrow until the editor delivers the job and you approve of it.
It’s important that you explicitly outline all the agreed-upon details on the order page (which doubles as the contract page). Might come in handy in the unlikely case of a dispute with the freelancer.
What kind of video editing services can you get done on Fiverr?
There’s a literal ton of video editing freelancers on Fiverr, and that really opens up the extent and type of editing you could achieve by hiring someone on the platform. I’ll go as far as saying there’s a capable video editor for every video editing need you have. But for the sake of brevity let me quickly outline the kind of editing you can easily find on Fiverr
Wedding and events video editing
If you have a wedding or any generic event footage you’d like touched up to infuse some of that picturesque professional feel, then Fiverr’s got you covered. The wedding and event video editing niche is one of the platform’s more established video editing subcategories.
It’s more than decently staffed with bright talent. I’ve been using the services of a handful of wedding video editors (I’m a photographer when I have the chance) for a couple years now, and it’s been all smiles.
Film and movie editing
Fiverr is not the place to hire a full-time editor for your next feature film, I’ll tell you that. What it’s good for are video edits that give enough cinematic and professional vibe to earn your short films, movie or trailer a place in this year’s YouTube Rewind.
There’s a handful of Fiverr Pro editors offering this service, so the quality is much much better than you’d imagine. And while I did say you couldn’t hire an editor for your next feature film on Fiverr, I’m willing to go on a limb to say if you looked carefully enough, you can get a skilled editor to touch your next indie movie project – and it’s all at a respectable markup, not the $10,000 quote you’d get from the cheapest studio available.
Gaming videos
Whether it’s for a Twitch stream or a YouTube Upload, you’ll find a lot of video editors on Fiverr who’ve mastered the art of creating catchy and engagement-driven videos for gaming. Footage for these kinds of videos could be live streams, in-play videos, interviews; you name it. Virtually all popular games have editors specialized in their field on Fiverr. So you’re not only dealing with video editors but also people who know what works for any particular gaming universe.
Music videos
Fiverr has always been a busy HubSpot for upcoming artists looking to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry. With the launch of Fiverr Pro, the bar has gone up to now cover the needs of even fully established A-list acts. You can get anything from the routine trap videos to mixtapes edited to Emmy awards standards right now on Fiverr. And again, you’re doing this at a crazily lower markup compared to what you’d pay in-house or with studio editors.
Explainer and e-learning videos
Making, formatting and editing explainer videos can be a pretty tedious and redundant task. I know it was for me when I started with my YouTube channel. Fiverr houses specialist video editors with the skill to push out engaging explainer and e-learning videos from your raw footage. This is a service YouTube channel, blog or website owners will appreciate for the improved workflow and overall better productivity it delivers.
Ever happened on an Ad from a local business you know and go hey, Jeffrey from the steak house didn’t make this at all. Well yeah, Jeffrey almost certainly didn’t make the video himself, and I’m willing to bet such a video was the work of a freelance video editor. Fiverr is home to many of such ads and social media video editors. Just like the Wedding and Events video editing category, this is one area where there’s a literal overabundance of talent. So you can’t go wrong hiring someone on Fiverr to handle your ads and social media content
Why Fiverr for video editors
There’s just so many editors to make your pick from
This is especially true for popular editing gigs like Wedding and Event videos and ads/social media content. Fiverr has a ton of talent specialized in these fields, and the benefits of that for you is you get;
- A higher chance of finding someone who’s an exact match for your needs both in terms of creative style and work ethics
- Better priced services compared to the agency or in-house route
Fiverr staffs talent from the world over, including from developing countries where the cost of living is not as high as that of the developed world. Hiring from such countries is cheaper and provided you hire carefully, you’ll get the same or even better quality of talent.
The total package
Video editing and graphic content, in general, has several dimensions. Fiverr allows you to plug into a dynamic and extensive range of talent with the skills to take up any task available on your video production journey. And all of them can be managed from one single Fiverr business dashboard.
To conclude
Fiverr video editors give you an opportunity to take the often tedious and redundant business of editing videos off your shoulders. More importantly, they do that on a budget. If you’re just a burgeoning entrepreneur trying to bootstrap your business, very few places aside from Fiverr exist on the internet to hire video editors with such varied skill set at such a low markup.
All that said, your hiring process must be detailed and stringent. Yes, Fiverr has a good selection of great talent, but they’re also hacks and unskilled editors on the platform. The best way to weed them is to follow the hiring steps I outlined.
Got questions, let me know in the comment section.
