How to make YouTube videos: 5 simple video editing steps

Have you been thinking about making YouTube videos but fear that the entire thing just looks too complicated?

It’s true that with any task or skill that you want to excel at, you’ll need to put in hours of work, and we haven’t even dived into the YouTube marketing side of things yet.

But this doesn’t mean that this applies to beginners just starting out.

In fact, making a quality YouTube video from start to finish is actually quite easy, which at its core only requires 5 simple steps.

This is something I had to figure out for myself as a total beginner making my first 10 YouTube videos.

In order to make YouTube videos, I had to get a few things straight.

• I had to set up a workspace, get the right tools, and get organized
• I had to figure out how I want the story to flow
• I had to cut together clips in a natural-sounding way
• I had to put in some feeling and make the videos immersive
• And I had to export and publish the videos for the world to see

If you don’t feel like figuring out these steps by yourself, then let me save you some time and give you the recipe that ultimately allowed me to publish my first 50+ YouTube videos, and gain a subscriber base.

How to make YouTube videos in 5 simple steps

Most blog posts and tutorials focus on what gear you should use and the perfect camera, this is not one of those.

I’m going to walk you through 5 steps so you can get your first video up and running, today.

Let’s get to it.

Step 1: Get started with your workspace

A messy workspace will result in a messy video, it’s just that simple, and no I’m not referring to your desk, but before that let’s back up a bit.

First, you’ll need to get yourself a video editing software that you’ll be working with.

There are countless video editing software on the market, some are extremely complicated to use for a beginner, and some require a workhorse of a computer that costs thousands.

If you don’t want to deal with either, then you might want to try WeVideo, which is the perfect blend between the two. Our online video editor allows for professional-level edits, costs the same as a cup of coffee per month, and is very beginner-friendly.

Once logged in to WeVideo, follow these steps.

Once you’ve uploaded your clips that you want to turn into a YouTube video, you’ll want to spend a little time organizing the clips on your timeline.

This is where you can think about what story you want to tell with your video, and how it will flow from start to finish.

Organizing your thoughts and clips early on will save you massive amounts of time later down the road.

Step 2: Prime your storyline with cuts, trims, and color correction

Now before you start to cut, split, trim and chop up your videos like a madman, there is one huge timesaver that you should consider.

Apply basic color correction to your video clips firsthand.

There is no need to spend hours on this, but it might take you hours if you decide to do the opposite, having to color-grade dozens of tiny individual cuts later.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to color grading as it’s entirely subjective.

• If your video clips feel a bit dark, add some brightness.
• If your video clips feel a bit lifeless, play around with saturation.
• Does your video feel a bit blurry? Adjust the contrast.

Either way, do this as the first thing in your video editing project.

Next up, start with roughly trimming the endpoints of each clip that you don’t want in the video. These are usually when you start and end a video recording or if you want to remove any bloopers.

Don’t be afraid to cut and trim away more than you think you need, as shorter videos convert higher.

If there are sections inside each clip that you want to remove, split your clips before and after these sections and remove them.

Don’t forget to arrange your clips so there are no spaces between them.

Step 3: Detailed cut/trim with the help of audio levels

Now comes the real work with a detailed walkthrough of your video and how each clip connects to the other.

The worst thing that you can do is to transition from one clip to another with different audio levels.

For example, if you are speaking in one clip and abruptly make a cut, it will sound unnatural.

This is why you’ll want to transition from clip to clip when the audio level is quiet, or as near 0 dB as possible, usually when you talk between sentences or take a pause.

Just think about it for a moment when you watch a YouTube video.

There are a lot of fast scenes and cuts thrown around when you watch something, but the sound is always smooth and flowing from scene to scene.

As a viewer, you usually don’t care that much about the video quality or what happens on the screen.

But if the audio is either bad, choppy, or has some annoying sounds in it, you’ll turn off that video quickly.

This is why the audio quality is so important, and a good quality microphone should be the first investment you ever make in video production (yes even before you buy a better camera).

Step 4: Make your video immersive with music and effects

Maybe you’re creating a YouTube video that will serve as a podcast, or perhaps you’re just making a cool vacation video.

Whatever it is, adding some sweet stock music in the background and sound effects to elevate your YouTube video tenfold!

Our video editor also comes with a library of easy-to-use transitions, and even royalty-free stock videos, so adding b-rolls as transitions above your clips has never been easier.

Step 5: Export and publish your video for everyone to see

The last step is the absolute easiest, and this is where WeVideo's cloud capabilities shine.

Once you feel that your video is a masterpiece, just click finish, give it a title, select “Full HD” and pick the destination.

Usually, for other video editing software, you’ll have to render the video yourself on your computer, and this can take hours if you don’t have a dedicated laptop for music or content creation.

With WeVideo's web-based video editor, this happens automatically online.

You’ll get notified with an email when the video is done, and you can even choose to publish your video straight to YouTube, amazing!

Your video editing FAQs answered

There you have it, 5 simple steps for getting your YouTube videos edited and published from start to finish.

The first few times you do this may take longer than expected, but once you nail down these steps, you’ll create YouTube video content like a pro.

How do I make my own YouTube video?

Making your own YouTube videos can be as simple as just using an online video editing software, upload your clips, and start putting them together.

What matters the most besides audio quality is that your video has a story that’s either entertaining or educational.

The content matters more than the execution.

Source: marketingcharts.com

How many views do you need to get paid on YouTube?

The official YouTube guidelines are 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours (organic, ads don’t count).

Is it free to make a YouTube video?

YouTube is entirely free to use and publish on, which makes it such a good opportunity as video editing, content creation, and content marketing are considered high-income skills worth the time and effort.

What should I make for a YouTube video?

Anything that you think would be either educational or entertaining for someone to watch, but make sure to read the complete guide to YouTube marketing for types of videos to create and much more.

Use these simple video editing steps to make a YouTube video

Now that you’re equipped with a simple yet effective video editing framework, all that’s left is to go out and capture some footage.

Make it easy for you, and a smartphone’s camera is more than enough to capture high-quality video, some even record up to 4k which is amazing.

Once you’ve got some cool videos that you want to edit together, try the YouTube video maker and follow the steps in this post to create awesome videos in no time.

Happy editing!

Author bio

Chris Starkhagen is an engineer turned entrepreneur, bringing tech expertise to digital marketing. On ChrisStarkhagen.com he writes about the best tools for content creation, productivity, mindset, and raw marketing advice that works.