If you are into video production and marketing, editing has to be of prime importance to you. It is in the editing phase that the final magic happens. When all the raw footage is brought onto a single platform and compiled into one complete story. Your video will appear unfinished and repel your viewers if you can’t effortlessly weave your shots together or get your cut to reach the proper frame.

To be able to create videos that are perfectly put together, you need a video maker. But what if you are on a tight budget and cannot afford a video editing tool? Thanks to the various quality online video makers, you can still do some decent editing and create attractive videos for your viewers to watch.

There is a workflow that can be followed during the process of video editing. This workflow will help you plan the process better and more efficiently. It goes like this:

1. Import raw footage into the editing tool- This is a simple process of copying the videos from your camera to the online video editor so that you can begin working on them.
2. Organize your content- Review all your clips and name them according to where you want to place them.
3. Assemble & trim- Place the clips on a timeline and trim them to the lengths that you want in your final cut.
4. Check the assembly- After you’ve placed all the clips in their right places, take a look at your video from the beginning to the end. This is also the place where you can reorganize the clips if you want to, and trim their lengths further.
5. Add engaging elements- This is the time to add any graphics, transitions, texts, or effects that you’ve been meaning to.
6. Mix the sound- Make sure that the sound level remains constant throughout the video, and only differs when you specifically want it to. A video that does not have a consistent voice-over and clear dialogues is not a good spectacle. If you add music, remember to balance it such that it does not override the important parts that need to be heard.
7. Export and upload- Watch and rewatch until you are sure that you’ve got everything that you wanted to add. Once you’ve made sure that your final product is ready, upload it to YouTube.

YouTube is the second most visited website worldwide, and hence it must be used by every person who is focused on marketing his/her videos. There are plenty of things you can do to improve the quality of your YouTube videos, and this blog mentions all the significant ones. Read on to know more.

• Tell a Story: One of the most prominent and important aspects of video editing is to make sure that you are telling a story. A video that has a story has considerably more chances of engaging an audience than a video that doesn’t.
  Your video needs to have a flow, with all the elements of a story being present in it. Focus on the beginning, the middle, and the end. You’ll want your story to lead viewers through what you’re showing them, so they’re not left perplexed as to how one clip relates to the next.
  
• Create an Attractive Thumbnail: Thumbnails are the main door through which viewers enter your videos. They are your first shot at attracting your audience and capturing their attention. You can compile screenshots of the most intriguing parts of your video to give an overview. You can also choose exciting pre-designed templates from any online video maker at your disposal.  
• Show Your Creativity: Adding engaging aspects to your videos during editing is a terrific method to keep your audience engaged, in addition to telling a story. Images, text, animations, music, and entertaining transitions are all examples of engaging features. You don’t want to let the attention of your audience get away from your high-quality content, so choose an element that makes sense and matches your video. 
• Create a Specific Style of Editing: Developing a basic editing style that you’ll use and apply to each one of your videos is the best thing you can do to expedite your editing process.
  This style will include a consistent technique of editing your films, as well as thumbnail style, transitions, music, and any other extra features you plan to use regularly. Every time you get down to editing, you’ll spend less time looking for fresh pieces, and your audience will recognize your consistent style.
  Consistency plays an important role in the domain of video making, and developing a style will not only help you be consistent but will also keep your audience engaged. 
• Don’t Complicate Things: While it might be tempting to do everything you can to entice your audience, it’s also crucial to keep things simple and avoid overwhelming them. Too much of anything is bad, and it applies to videos too. Excessive transitions, loud music, and too many pictures might distract your audience from the content.

Balance is key when it comes to editing. As a video editor, you should aim to achieve the perfect balance between the original content of your video and the additional elements that spruce it up.

• Go Easy on Yourself: Editing is a demanding process and can take a toll on you. If you’re too stressed about the final result, then you can easily lose focus. Being focused on something for hours is a skill that must be mastered over time. 

So, it’s always right to know when to step away from work so that you can come back refreshed and energized. Take short breaks. During these breaks, engage in something calming—it could be as simple as performing a house chore that you like. 

Conclusion

Video editing for YouTube, though certainly not an easy task, is not as difficult either. It requires a decent level of technical capability, a vision of the final product, and a whole lot of patience. An edit is as good as the editor, and we sure do hope that this blog will help some, if not all, of our readers to become better editors.