Outsourcing YouTube video creation is inevitable for successful YouTubers.
Your YouTube channel is taking off. Your subscriber numbers are steadily climbing, and your view counts are hitting new records. Fantastic!
Yet getting there, and then keeping it up, means facing a critical obstacle.Â
You don’t have enough time.
Quick Facts
- Video editing is usually the biggest time sink and gets outsourced first.
- Other common tasks are research, videography, sound recording (!), writing tasks, channel management, and business admin.
- Outsourcing saves you time and a lot of nerves.
Keep reading for the full scoop!
Contents
Under Pressure to Create Video
To keep your audience growing and engaged, you get constant nudges to step up content output. To do two videos a week instead of one. Then take it up to three. Throw in some Shorts.
YouTube’s algorithm favors high channel output, which has already pushed all too many YouTubers to the brink of burnout. Creators elsewhere – whether that’s TikTok, Instagram or even OnlyFans – feel the same heat.
Very quickly, running a channel seriously becomes too much for one person to handle, even if you’re armed with the best of management and production tools. AI tools are no panacea either.
That’s where outsourcing comes in. Build a team – and take a load off your shoulders.
It’s understandable if you’re reluctant to outsource even small parts of content creation. You’ve built your channel from the ground up. You’ve shaped a personal brand that your viewers love. Your particular aesthetic and style has serious value.
Don’t let those fears hold you back. You can delegate a ton of tasks without losing creative control. There’s no need to compromise when making high-quality video content.
To help you, here’s your ultimate guide to outsourcing YouTube video creation.
We’ll take a look at the benefits of handing off work to others, which aspects of video creation you can outsource, and how much it would cost you.
Why Outsource Parts of Video Creation?
In a nutshell: Because outsourcing saves valuable time without compromising quality. And that allows you to focus on what really matters.
One: As a YouTuber, you are your own most important asset. People love your style, your personality – your brand. Consequently, that’s what you should be cultivating.
Two: At the same time, you have to think about revenue in the long term: How you’re going to monetize your channel, who you want to partner with, where you want to be in five years.
But to free up enough time to properly focus on this, it’s essential to delegate other tasks.
Even the best one-person show has its limits. And if you’re constantly doing too many things at once, it’s all too easy to run out of energy. Overwork yourself, and a little slump can spiral into full-on creator burnout.Â
To make this perfectly clear: Burnout can end your creator career. Of course you’ll see plenty of inspirational stories from people who made it back out. But there are many, many more stories that never get told, of YouTubers who just disappear.
Outsourcing chunks of your content creation process lets you increase your output without it eating up your life. Or keep it the same, for that matter, and get some of your life back.
Another big plus: Specialists get better results than you could have produced on your own. They have the requisite skill set and work experience to produce truly high-quality videos.
Building a team is how you keep growing your channel, and generate more income from it. You might as well say that outsourcing is the mark of a true YouTube pro.
Outsourcing YouTube Video Creation: What to Delegate?
Once you’ve decided to delegate at all, the natural follow-up question is: Which ones?
In theory, you can outsource just about everything about content creation. However, it won’t always make sense economically – or in terms of your brand. It really depends on the kind of content you’re producing, and on how many channels you’re running.
For example, if you’re primarily a fashion vlogger in a home studio, you likely won’t need videographers. On the other hand, if your niche is outdoor sports, hiring someone experienced to capture the action from all the right angles makes your life so much easier. Plus: You might get to experiment with new formats and new visuals.
That’s just one option.
To decide what you want to outsource, here’s a tip: Took back at your schedule over the last week or month. Then check:
- Time:Â What did you spend the most time on?Â
- Outcome:Â What are your own solid skills? What could someone else do better?Â
- Dislike: What’s the bit you like doing least? What’s stressing you out?
Then, focus on how much time you could save, and how much the quality of your YouTube content would be improved by handing those tasks off to someone else.
To help you get a sense of what sort of tasks YouTubers tend to outsource, here’s a quick run-down.
We’ll go from the planning stage over videography and editing to admin work you could leave to others. Here’s a rough list of what we’ll cover:
- Research:Â Content research, audience analysis and SEO strategy. Also marketing and growth strategy.
- Writing: Video scripts, descriptions, captions – and translations
- Videography and audio recording:Â Good stuff in, good stuff out.
- Video editing: Fast, consistent qualityÂ
- Channel management:Â Scheduling, posting, community and comment management
- Business admin:Â Legal, financial, taxes and the like
Research: Content, Audience, and SEO Strategy
First off, there’s the basic question of what content you want on your channel.
When you’re starting out on a new project, you’re brimming with ideas and creativity. After a few months or years, though, you might feel strapped for original ideas.
This is where audience and content research come in handy, as well as some serious strategizing to increase your visibility.
YouTube SEO experts, research assistants, and video analysts can help you learn more about your audience and their main interests. This helps you create captivating content that’ll catch viewer interest and boost engagement .
Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization), in particular, is crucial when you’re aiming to sustainably grow your channel and win over YouTube’s search algorithm.
YouTube is, after all, the world’s second biggest search engine, right after Google itself. On top of which, ChatGPT and its LLM siblings themselves heavily draw on YouTube and Google. Especially, of course, Google’s AI overviews.
Essentially, SEO research means digging into what keywords and -phrases your target audience is searching for. What topics are trending? What is new in your niche? And: What are your competitor channels posting?
Ultimately, this will give you ideas for the type of content your audience wants, as well as words and phrases to use in your video description, hashtags, and titles.
Another plus of teaming up with a YouTube SEO expert is that they’ll also tell you what to avoid. What mistakes have cost similar channels subscribers? Which techniques are on the out?
Finally, they can analyze the performance of your existing content and look for ways to optimize it. This overlaps quite a bit with what channel managers do for you: Run audits and consulting.
SEO specialists are typically paid hourly rates. The price range for this job is very wide, but expect to pay at least $20 per hour. Otherwise you might as well ask a chatbot yourself.
Writing: Scripts, Descriptions, Captions, Translations
Next up, you can outsource the writing tasks that come with creating a YouTube video.
First off, there’s writing the actual script for your video. Having a well-structured script saves you time and nerves during filming and editing.
A good script writer will be able to identify your unique voice and write in it accordingly. They can help you decide what to say, how to say it best – and what to show at the same time.Â
Even if you do already have a very clear idea of what that’s going to be, they can help you make it easier for your audience to follow. Plus: It’ll streamlining filming itself.
Another aspect of writing for YouTube is captions. While often neglected, they can directly increase the visibility of your content, and make it seem more professional. It’s worth considering also because there’s a ton of people watching video with the sound off.
Having a person make the captions, or at least check over AI captions, is a good idea. That’s because auto-captioning frequently gets essential bits, like people’s names or brands, wrong. Even an accent can throw it off. YouTube automation is very useful, but it does have its limits.
For an extra audience boost, you could also consider having your captions translated. Now that YouTube lets you do multi-language audio, you could even have them read by a voice actor. Or at least have a native speaker check the results of auto-dubbing. Translations are easy to get wrong. AI dubbing still often has an eerie ring to it. Worse: Even as they bother viewers, language issues are invisible to you if you don’t know the language well.
Finally, since you’ll already have them, your video editor can also easily burn them in for TikTok exports and other platforms.
Videography and Audio Recording
Actually filming your videos is at the heart of content creation. So it’s only natural if you’re very reluctant to outsource this part of YouTube video creation.
In many cases, it doesn’t even make that much sense.
If you’re a fashion vlogger, for example, and operating out of your home, you likely won’t need a videographer. All you really need is a great vlogging camera, a good mic, and decent lighting. Doing trickshots or dances? Good lights and a smartphone will do to begin with.
However, if you’re shooting content that’s visually complex, or in challenging locations, you should consider hiring a specialist.
For example, you might want to shoot fast-paced, action-rich content – or nature scenes with various perspectives and depths of field.
In these cases, having an expert – and their high-end equipment! – on hand can do wonders for video quality. The same is true if you’re aiming for special effects like slo-mo or time-lapse footage outside what a basic camera might manage.
Similarly, if you’re looking for some breathtaking outdoor establishing shots, consider hiring a drone videographer for the gig!
Typically, your video crew will consist of one or two camera operators, and a sound recordist. For bigger projects, though, having more people quickly becomes useful.
One of the biggest advantages of hiring a videography team is that it comes with top-notch equipment that you yourself don’t have to invest in or learn how to handle. The same goes for the technical expertise for complex multi-cam setups – and the storytelling you can do with that.
For some projects, you can even consider renting a videography studio, complete with crew and equipment, in your vicinity. You don’t need to live near Hollywood to find these – though there are a lot of famous Californian YouTubers who are definitely benefiting from the local expertise.
Generally, you can hire videographers on a half-daily basis, with rates starting at about $300 per half-day.
Some videographers also offer packages that combine shooting and editing. In this case, expect approximately $300 per 30 seconds of finished video.
Outsourcing YouTube Video Editing
Video editing is the single greatest time sink in content creation.
Yet it’s a task many YouTubers are reluctant to delegate, since a lot of creative control is tied up in it.
If that’s a concern for you, ask yourself: How much time does it take to edit a video?
How many hours do you actually spend on routine tasks like just cutting silence or dumping obviously bad footage? Trying to nail a particular, trendy transition?
Probably too many.
When you weigh the time – and other benefits – you gain from outsourcing video editing against the degree of control you trade for it, the DIY craft approach often looks a lot less appealing.
In fact, one YouTube talent manager told Business Insider that about 70% of the job can be outsourced without any worries whatsoever.
In our own experience, audiences hardly even notice when creators switch over to a professional editing team.Â
The key word is “professional”: A good video editor will look at your existing content to get a feel of your style and pacing, and replicate it accordingly – if that’s what you want. Professional editors know how to efficiently communicate about their work. You’ll be able to give them specifications to follow.
In addition, many freelance editors and most video editing companies include requests for revisions in their pricing. If there’s something in the first draft of the video that you want to change, they will change it.
What Does Video Editing Cost?
The costs of hiring a video editor vary. Many YouTube video editing services and freelancers offer package deals. On average, you can expect around $45-60 per hour for a freelance professional, or about $50 for a basic jump cut package. (An hour gives you, very roughly, one minute of finished video).
Often, you’ll also get vertical video shorts or reformats for a fairly small additional fee on long-form orders. This is a great – and relatively cheap – way of increasing your reach on YouTube Shorts as well as on Instagram Reels and TikTok. Even LinkedIn, with its square videos.
Plus, more and more companies now offer dedicated vertical video editing services for creators specializing in short-form content.
If you upload regularly, it’s probably worth taking advantage of the bulk packages or subscriptions offered by many video editing companies.Â
It’s a bit more difficult to pin down what a single full video edit will likely cost you. It depends on footage length, turnaround time, editing complexity and a bunch of other factors. For this, check out our article on what video editing really costs (we’ve put together a video editing cost calculator, too!).
Beyond Editing: YouTube Service Providers
Today, many video editing services offer entire packages to make creators’ lives easier. In addition to editing your videos, they also create thumbnails, for instance. Many have also expanded into YouTube channel management, at least handling the upload and scheduling for you – more on this below!
In these areas, outsourcing YouTube video creation saves you massive amounts of time – and gives your videos that extra edge to stand out in search results.
Channel Management
Running a YouTube channel involves so much more than just producing content. You know that better than anyone.
First off, there’s all that time swallowed up just by the uploading process. Adding tags, titles, captions, and video descriptions. Taking care of chapters and key moments. Creating and uploading thumbnails. Scheduling content for just the right time. Adding end screen cards. Fiddling ad placement.
And then there is the business of handling your community. Connecting with them through the Community tab and comments is important for engagement and can be fun. However, tasks like replying to viewers’ comments is a major time drain. Worse: Managing spam, trolls, and hate messages is terrible for your mental health.
To save yourself time – and a lot of frustration – you can hand these tasks off and hire a YouTube channel manager.
YouTube actually provides dedicated access for channel managers. Apart from the primary owner of the channel (you), who has absolute admin power, you can add one or several managers and give them access to particular tasks.
In addition, these people also review and analyze the performance of your content, handle contests, giveaways, polls and other community Posts, and create personalized overlays such as subscribe buttons.
Channel managers tend to ask for hourly rates, and you should expect to pay around $30 to $50 an hour, mostly depending on skill and experience. As mentioned above, some video editing services, such as Tasty Edits, actually offer channel management as well.
Business Management: Accountants, Lawyers, Managers
Finally, there is everything that doesn’t have to do with content creation proper, but rather with running and growing your business.
One of the first people that many pro YouTubers have added to their team is actually a talent manager. (Or they got scouted by one). Their job is to help you seek sponsor deals, catch mistakes that could cost you your audience, cultivate your schedule, and advise you in any contract situations or on controversial topics.
Unlike most other team members, talent managers often don’t work on a fixed-rate basis. Instead, they usually work for a commission – taking a cut of your revenue, often 10-20%.
Be very careful with managers and agencies who write to you out of the blue. This will happen once you reach a certain size, but you have to do your own vetting and research before you sign anything. The same goes for brand collaboration offers.
Speaking of signing things: You should consider reaching out to a lawyer and an accountant, once your YouTube channel reaches a certain size or you start outsourcing tasks.
A lawyer will set up and check any potential contracts. Plus, they’ll be able to assist you if there are any disputes involving your content – for example, if someone else pirates it. Or accuses you of plagiarism.
Try to find someone who is has experience with online content creation and copyright. In terms of pricing, expect to pay at least $50 per hour for admin tasks. It may be a good idea to shell out for legal expenses insurance as well.
And an accountant, of course, is crucial when it comes to properly managing and declaring your revenue. By now, many tax forms and procedures have started to adapt to non-traditional income from platforms like YouTube. Still, there are nuances and pitfalls.
Having accounting and tax professionals on your side can help you avoid costly mistakes – and speeds things up. Most accountants will charge upwards of $40 per hour.
Finding and Vetting Freelancers and Companies
Once you’ve decided to outsource YouTube video creation – and which particular aspects of it – the next question is who to hire.
For most of the jobs on this list, both individual freelancers and companies will be competing for your business.
To find the best candidates for the job, start by asking around your network for personal recommendations, check platforms like LinkedIn, and post job ads on dedicated online boards.
Once you have a few potential candidates on your list, vet them thoroughly. Check their websites, portfolios, reviews, and testimonials from previous clients. Talk to them to see how efficiently they communicate and whether you get along on a personal basis.
Another great option is to have your top candidates do a paid trial job. While this does cost you more upfront, you’ll be able to directly evaluate the quality of their output, and how pleasant they are to work with. Subscription-based services often have a get-your-money-back trial phase.
The Bottom Line
There is no real way around outsourcing YouTube video creation – at least partly – if you want to be successful on the platform.
Evaluate your own needs and current time management. Then, decide which tasks to outsource for the biggest payoff. Typically, video editing and thumbnailing as well as channel management will be first on your list. As your income grows, you can delegate more and more tasks.
Assembling your team will take some time and effort, but it’s absolutely worth it every step of the way. With the right people, you’ll be able to produce more and better content, and find YouTube success.
Most importantly, though, you’ll be less stressed – and more likely to enjoy the journey!
FAQs
Yes. For individuals, look up done-for-you (DFY) YouTube services. Businesses often just hire a marketing agency. For more creative control, build your own team of video editors, research assistants, videographers, and channel managers.
Yes. Find and vet YouTube channel management services, like Tasty Edits. You can also look at YouTube growth services and YouTube marketing agencies. Don’t use services that buy subscribers and views.
Expect to pay $500+ per month. You’ll typically get a custom quote. Tasty Edits charges from $770 per month.
Experienced editors will charge $30-70 per hour. Common packages are from $70 for a short and from $250 for a 5-minute YouTube video.
Yes. It can be worth running YouTube paid promotions.
You should focus on organic growth, however. So cross-post on other platforms, invest in content quality, and engage your audience in any way you can. Hire a team to support you.
