Once you’ve decided to level up your productivity and outsource your video editing, the next major challenge you’ll have to address is where to find video editors for hire.
You’ll find dozens of places online where video editors offer their services. Here’s an overview of all of them – and a run-down on their pros and cons.
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LinkedIn and Google
To start with, you can find freelance video editors for hire on social networks, especially LinkedIn, as well as on Google.
Many professional video editors have both their own website and a LinkedIn profile. On their websites, they typically feature an overview of the services they provide, pricing information, their portfolio, and testimonials from past clients.
On their LinkedIn profile, you get an overview of their education and past work experience – for instance, you can learn if they have an actual degree in video editing or a related field, whether they’ve worked for a video editing company in the past, and how long they have been freelancing. Plus, you can check out who their connections are, who they interact with, and who has confirmed the skills they list on their profiles.
The upside of this is that you get a very detailed impression of who an editor is and what kinds of projects they work on. You’ll have a detailed idea of their professional journey, their pricing, and their skills before you even reach out.
On the downside, there is often little proof of their qualifications. Both on their website and on LinkedIn, editors get to present themselves from their best side and showcase only their best work. That may not necessarily be representative of their average output, though.
Plus, once you find an editor who is perfect for your project, there is no guarantee that they have the capacity to take it on. Often, professional editors are in high demand and booked out weeks or even months in advance – if they take on any new clients at all.
Forums and Job Boards
Next up, there are forums and freelance job boards.
Forums include places such as Reddit and Quora, both of which have spaces dedicated for video editing communities. Here, you can often find video editors offering their services, or you can give the community a brief on the project you want completed and see whether someone is interested. Once editors start to reach out to you, you can also check out their profiles and see what other interactions they’ve had with users in the past.
Video editing job boards are more narrowly defined. Typically, they overlap with job boards for artists, writers, graphic designers, and other freelance creatives. If you’re looking for an editor, you can describe the project you need edited, specify how much you’re willing to pay, and outline the skills an editor should bring to the table. Once you’ve posted your ad, editors will start reaching out to you with their credentials.
The upside of this approach is that you know that the editors who reach out to you are actively looking for work. On the flip side, though, you’ll have to go through the laborious process of verifying everyone’s credentials – checking their websites and social media profiles, sifting through their portfolios, and maybe even interviewing them – before you can get started. With job boards and forums there is very little social proof to back up an editor’s skills.
Freelance Platforms: Upwork, Fiver, Freelancer
Another option to find video editors for hire is to leverage freelance platforms like Upwork Fiver or Freelancer. Here, editors create profiles outlining their skills, credentials, pricing, and portfolio and you can easily filter candidates according to your specific criteria.
Plus, you can take a look at the testimonials and reviews left by previous clients to see whether an editor is actually worth their salt, and whether they are pleasant to work with. In comparison to flying blind on job boards or on LinkedIn, this is a huge advantage.
When it comes to the downside of freelance platforms like Upwork, most of them are related to the availability of editors. Well-rated, highly-qualified editors are in huge demand and you have to be lucky to find someone to take on your project. If you’re looking for an editor to regularly take on work from you, you may end up paying a pricey retainer to ensure their availability.
Video Editing Services
Finally, one way to find video editors for hire is by looking at video editing services rather than individual freelancers.
Video editing services are dedicated to assembling professional teams of editors. They go through the hassle of vetting editors for you, making sure that each team member is highly qualified and keeps their skills up to scratch. At Tasty Edits, for example, less than 0.5% of candidates are accepted – and even those who make the cut have to undergo a rigorous internal training regime before they are allowed to work on client projects.
Video editing services also have the advantage that they often allow editors to specialize in individual niches and types of content – whether that’s gaming or education content, long-form YouTube video essays or TikTok skits. This means that the editors have the capacity to develop highly specific skills and keep in tune with the latest trends on each platform and in each content niche. For creators, this is a huge benefit in comparison to working with a generalist editor.
Plus, video editing services always give you backup options. If the video editor who usually works on your projects gets sick or needs a vacation, a video editing company will guarantee a replacement so that your video production workflow can keep on running smoothly.
Finally, another upside of finding video editors for hire through a video editing agency is that you can check out comprehensive reviews and testimonials from former clients on places like Designrush, Trustpilot, and Google Business.
Conclusion: This is how to find video editors for hire
Finding a video editor for hire can be tricky. What the best option is often depends on your budget, your unique needs, and personal tastes for finding collaborators.
If you’ve got small, irregular video editing projects and if you’re an individualist who is used to coping with uncertainty, hiring a video editor based on their website or LinkedIn profile, or through a forum, Upwork, or Fiver is a good option for you.
In contrast, if you have more regular video editing tasks, or if you need guaranteed turnaround times, fixed pricing, internal quality control, and backups in case of unexpected circumstances, working with a video editing service is the better choice.
