How I Found My FIRST Video Editing Client in 1 Week During War

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their journey of finding their first video editing client amidst a full-scale invasion in their country. They discuss the importance of using multiple platforms, building a strong portfolio, and creating content that showcases one's skills. The video also emphasizes the value of investing in projects and demonstrating genuine interest in clients' goals to foster long-term professional relationships.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The speaker found their first video editing client through Upwork, despite the platform's drawbacks.
• 💡 They suggest looking beyond popular platforms and targeting underused ones where potential clients might be searching.
• 🌐 The importance of being active and visible on every platform is emphasized for finding clients.
• 📈 Having a YouTube channel helped the speaker build a portfolio and establish a personal brand.
• 🎥 Creating a diverse range of content on YouTube showcased the speaker's editing skills across different styles.
• 🤝 The speaker advises creating content that not only showcases your skills but also aligns with the style you wish to work in.
• 💌 Cold outreach and creating highlight reels for creators can be an effective strategy to attract clients.
• 🚀 Persistence is key; the speaker applied to multiple jobs daily and eventually landed a client after a week.
• 💼 The speaker highlights the importance of showing genuine interest in a client's project to build long-term relationships.
• 📊 Taking a step back to improve your skills and portfolio is recommended if initial attempts to find clients are unsuccessful.
• 🎥 The speaker considers creating videos and content as a worthwhile investment, even if the intended client does not hire you.

Q & A

How long did it take the speaker to find their first video editing client?

It took the speaker 1 week of searching to find their first video editing client.

What was the situation in the speaker's country when they started looking for video editing work?

The speaker's country was experiencing a full-scale invasion when they started looking for video editing work.

What was the speaker's experience with video editing before the war started?

The speaker had experience with video editing, having made around 30 videos for their YouTube channel while living in China for 3 years.

How much money did the speaker have at the start of the war?

The speaker had $100 at the start of the war.

Which platform did the speaker find their first client on?

The speaker found their first client on Upwork.

What is the speaker's opinion about Upwork as a platform for finding video editing jobs?

The speaker considers Upwork to be a 'shitty website' because it requires payment to apply for jobs, but acknowledges that clients on Upwork are often willing to pay more.

What strategy does the speaker suggest for finding video editing clients?

The speaker suggests using every platform available, being active, and looking at underused platforms where there is potential demand.

How did the speaker build their portfolio before applying for video editing jobs?

The speaker built their portfolio by creating and compiling an introduction video from their YouTube channel, which included various types of videos they had edited.

What advice does the speaker give for creating a portfolio that connects with potential clients?

The speaker advises creating a portfolio that shows the editor as a real person and includes a variety of editing styles to demonstrate their capabilities.

What additional tip does the speaker give for video editors to stand out to potential clients?

The speaker suggests creating highlight reels or short videos from the content of creators you wish to work with and sending it to them as a form of outreach.

How does the speaker recommend approaching work with clients to ensure long-term relationships?

The speaker recommends showing genuine interest in the client's project and being invested in their success, not just in delivering a good video edit.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 Navigating Video Editing Career Amidst War

The speaker shares their journey of finding their first video editing client amidst the turmoil of a full-scale invasion in their country. Despite the challenging circumstances, they managed to secure a client within a week. The video aims to provide insights into how they achieved this and offers advice on ensuring clients become long-term partners. The speaker reflects on their experience of living in China for three years, starting a YouTube channel, and gaining video editing skills. The war forced them to stay in Ukraine, where they had to quickly establish a video editing career with limited resources. They emphasize the importance of using every platform available, including Upwork, and the value of having a strong portfolio. The speaker also suggests creating content for potential clients as a way to build a portfolio, even if it's initially done for free.

05:01

🚀 Leveraging YouTube and Cold Outreach for Client Acquisition

The speaker discusses the strategy of using a YouTube channel to build a portfolio and social presence, which can attract potential clients. They mention that creating a variety of content, such as gaming videos, Vlogs, and educational content, can showcase a range of editing skills. The video also touches on the concept of cold outreach, where video editors can create highlight reels or edited videos for creators they wish to work with, even without being hired, to demonstrate their skills. This can be a valuable addition to a portfolio and might lead to future opportunities. The speaker advises not to be discouraged by the fear of rejection and to view such content creation as an investment in one's portfolio. They also stress the importance of showing genuine interest in the client's project and aiming to contribute to their success, which can lead to long-term client relationships.

Keywords

💡Video Editing

Video editing is the process of assembling and altering video shots to create a finished motion picture. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses their journey in finding video editing clients and building a career in this field. The video editing skills are showcased through their YouTube channel, which serves as a portfolio to attract clients.

💡Client Acquisition

Client acquisition refers to the process of attracting and securing new clients for one's business or services. The video script details the speaker's experience of finding their first video editing client, emphasizing the importance of persistence and the use of various platforms to find potential clients.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of an individual's work that showcases their skills and expertise in a particular field. In the video, the speaker highlights the significance of having a portfolio, which in their case is their YouTube channel, to demonstrate their video editing capabilities to potential clients.

💡Ukraine

Ukraine is the country where the speaker resides and where the full-scale invasion mentioned in the script is taking place. This context is significant as it shapes the speaker's mental state and circumstances under which they had to build their video editing career.

💡Upwork

Upwork is an online platform where freelancers and clients can connect for various job opportunities. The speaker mentions Upwork as one of the websites where they found their first client, indicating that such platforms can be instrumental in client acquisition for video editors.

💡Cold Outreach

Cold outreach is the act of reaching out to potential clients or customers without any prior relationship. The speaker suggests that while cold outreach on platforms like Twitter is popular, it's also wise to explore underused platforms for potential opportunities.

💡YouTube Channel

A YouTube channel is a personal or brand's space on YouTube where they can upload and manage their videos. The speaker's YouTube channel serves as a testament to their video editing skills, acting as a dynamic portfolio that showcases their work in various video styles.

💡Content Creation

Content creation involves producing original content, such as videos, articles, or graphics, for online platforms. The video emphasizes the importance of content creation for video editors, as it not only improves their skills but also builds a portfolio that can be used to attract clients.

💡Long-term Clients

Long-term clients are customers who maintain a business relationship over an extended period. The speaker discusses strategies to turn initial clients into long-term partnerships by showing genuine interest in their projects and delivering high-quality work.

💡Investment in Projects

Investing in projects refers to dedicating time, effort, and resources to ensure the success of a client's project. The speaker suggests that showing investment in a client's project, rather than just focusing on the video editing task, can lead to long-term client relationships.

💡Freelancing

Freelancing is the act of working for oneself as a self-employed person, offering services to clients on a project or per-job basis. The video script revolves around the speaker's experience as a freelancer in the field of video editing, highlighting the challenges and strategies in finding and retaining clients.

Highlights

Found the first video editing client after one week of searching amidst a full-scale invasion in the country.

Provides tips on how to secure video editing clients and ensure long-term relationships.

Shares a personal backstory of starting a YouTube channel in China and returning to Ukraine during the war.

Mentioned having only $100 at the start of the war and the urgency to establish a video editing career.

Discusses the challenge of finding the first client on Upwork, a platform requiring payment to apply for jobs.

Advises looking at underused platforms for potential client demand while also utilizing popular ones like Twitter.

Emphasizes the importance of being active and visible on all platforms to increase the chances of client discovery.

Highlights the significance of having a portfolio, especially one that showcases a range of video editing styles.

Suggests using a YouTube channel as a portfolio and a way to build social presence.

Recommends creating highlight reels or short videos for creators to showcase editing skills and potentially attract clients.

Advocates for creating content that reflects the style of editing one wishes to specialize in to attract the right clients.

Encourages taking a step back and improving skills or portfolio if the current approach is not yielding results.

Stresses the importance of showing genuine interest in the client's project and helping them succeed beyond just video delivery.

Invites viewers to provide feedback on the video's background and color, indicating a desire for viewer engagement.

Considers hosting a live stream for Q&A and gaming, showing a willingness to interact with the audience beyond video content.

Transcripts

I found my first video editing client

after 1 week of searching and I did that

while the fulls scale invasion in my

country started in this video I will

tell you how I did that and what

actually helped me and maybe watch until

the end because I will tell you how you

can make sure that your clients will

become your long-term clients eventually

a little backstory so you could

understand my mental state at that

moment when I just started video editing

so I was living in China for 3 years and

while living living and working in China

I started my YouTube channel and I made

like I don't know 30 videos or something

and I tried to improve every time it was

the old Channel I had some experience in

video editing I came back home from

China to Ukraine uh to see my parents

and I planned to like go travel further

to Europe or I don't know to the West

the war started and after that I could

not leave my country so I have to live

my life here although I never planned to

do this doesn't matter so when I I came

back home I didn't have any job but I

didn't want to look for an office job

[ __ ] office [ __ ] 9 to5 no when the war

started I I had like $100 that's all so

I had no options and like in the first

month of the war I had to figure out how

to make a video editing career looking

back I cannot even comprehend how I made

it possible but I did it let me give you

some tips that I think really helped me

to do that so first of all the first

first client that I found was on upor

which is a shitty website because you

literally have to pay money to apply to

a job you have to buy connects or

something and you have to like pay money

to just apply to a job and the more of

those connects you will use the bigger

chances you have that the client will

see your proposal the system is [ __ ] but

from what I can say on upwork you will

probably find clients that are willing

to pay pay more these are definitely the

clients that will pay you more than on

Fiverr not all the time there will be a

lot of scam out there but sometimes some

bigger companies big bigger businesses

will search for video editor out there

and I think what's important to

understand is that everyone right now

are preaching cold Outreach preaching

Twitter so when everyone has their eyes

on that thing look at the platforms that

are underused look at something that no

one is using where there is a potential

demand but of course don't shy away from

Twitter cold Outreach and stuff like

that so the mo the main point here is

that you have to use every platform you

have to be everywhere and you have to be

active out there I was applying like for

a week after a week of applying every

day like three to four jobs every day I

got one client but to do that

efficiently you already have to have

some p portfolio and here is something

that I think really helped me I was

doing YouTube for 2 years already back

then before I appli to any jobs and I

had a portfolio with my face they had

like more connection with me when they

saw my portfolio they had more connect

because they saw that I'm a real person

and second of all they could see what

kind of editing do I do and what do I

know so I compiled an introduction video

from like a lot of my videos that I did

and I did a lot of things I from gaming

to Vlogs to like just educational stuff

to building a PC everything I was just

testing out the waters so I didn't have

a problem when the client asked me can

you show me your work I was just sending

the videos from my YouTube channel that

I was proud the most because at that

point I had zero experience with working

with clients I had no portfolio from the

clients but I never I didn't have a

problem with my portfolio because I had

my YouTube channel and I think if you

are a video editor you should also

practice on creating your content first

of all that's cool and interesting

second of all with your YouTube channel

you also are creating a social presence

people can reach out to you from your

YouTube channel to to like make a job

proposal because they saw how you edit

videos they know that you're a video

editor and they just reach out to you I

had this kind of thing here with this

channel I never replied to those

clients because I'm I'm [ __ ] lazy

these days it's probably common practice

and a lot of people a lot of great

editors are saying this that if you want

to work with some Creator uh you should

find their videos find their vods or

something whatever if it's a streamer or

something and make a like highlight reel

or make a short video from that or just

edit it in a different way better way

and send it to that person to that

Creator I never tried this because this

is basically a really timec consuming

investment to create a great video for

free for someone then send it to them

but you know what I think this is

actually a pretty great strategy because

if you will spend like I don't know a

week on editing a video for a creator

that will not accept your proposal you

will still have this video in your

portfolio and you will even send this

video to some other client as your

portfolio and that client will see that

you're editing for that famous person

famous streamer I'm like oh did you work

with them you're like No so at least

this kind of approach like creating

videos for free for the creators that

you want to work with will be valuable

for you either way even if that Creator

will not agree to work with you so if

you are thinking damn I'm not as good as

an uh I'm not as good to work with that

person so I will not even try to create

this video for that person because they

will not hire me don't think that way

just create and then you will use that

video as a portfolio while I'm talking

about this I understand one like there

is a m main point in this whole video

that I'm trying to make if you will

create content create videos and you

will put them online it will never be a

waste of time even if the person that

you're making that video will not hire

you you should do your best job and then

use that video as a portfolio if you

want to try to create some interesting

cool video for your channel do that then

you will be able to use that video as a

portfolio so probably the main thing

that you can do to get hired as a video

editor is to just create is to create

create videos create content because

those videos are always there and you

can always use them but those have to be

the videos that you are proud of and

they have like this is a pro tip make

those videos in the style that you want

to work in because if you will like

spend two weeks and create this insane

VFX animations video and you never want

to do that kind of thing again but then

the person will hire you because of that

video and that means that you will have

to make that kind of content for them

this can be pretty overwhelming from

what I can see this is the main problem

that the beginner editors are facing is

to find their new client if you in that

situation take a step back stop doing

what you're doing if it if it doesn't

bring you any results and look on what

you actually have to improve if you are

sending videos to the clients and those

clients are never responding to you or

they see your videos and they are not

good enough you you don't have to then

just send the same videos to the same

clients without any result take a step

back create better videos create better

edits create a profile on that website

on upwork on LinkedIn try to text people

out there don't just hit your head

through the wall if if it's if it

doesn't work take a step back and take a

look on what you can improve now the

next thing is how do you how do you

approach working with client you can't

be just okay I'm a video editor I will

do whatever you tell me and yeah I will

make you a video you want you have to

show that you are invested in the

project that the client is making and

you are interested not in just making a

good video with with great edits you are

interested in like getting to the goal

of that client like making that amount

of money you have to show the client

that you want to work with them like a

part of their project you are not just a

thirdparty video editor that wants to

like get a job do something and then

[ __ ] off you want to show to the client

that you want to help them succeed and

you actually are interested in the

bigger picture not just video by video

like I made a video I'm done goodbye you

are interested in making that video as

good as possible so the client will find

success if you will show them this

attitude I guess like yeah every client

of yours will become a long-term client

if you will also be able to deliver on

that yeah so these are just my thoughts

I guess I have to script my videos at

some point because I'm just rambling

about stuff this is [ __ ] insane all

right let me know if this background is

better than like which color is better

let let me know in the comments and also

let me know if you want me to do a

little live stream because I'm kind of

bored in this apartment and I I am just

sitting here all day long and I want to

play some video games and maybe while

doing that I can talk about stuff that

that you're interested in Q&A if you

wish yeah I'm done here