Create Videos Faster: Learn My YouTube Batching Strategy
Tired of putting on makeup every day to film? Recording content every day can be draining when you've got a messy house and childcare to worry about.
In early February, both my and my husband's parents tested positive for you-know-what, so our schedule was thrown for a loop as we worked around having the kids at home during the day, especially with virtual learning days for our first grader.
It's weeks like this that I'm grateful for having a strategy in place for recording my videos, even when life gets a little hectic. What’s my strategy, you ask?
BATCHING.
Batching YouTube videos has been a lifesaver! It's the most efficient way to knock out the recording and editing process while getting Instagram Stories and Reels taken care of as well. It cut down my planning and recording time in half!
I'm going to share how I went from a stressed-out video pro to a well-oiled YouTube content machine with my creation process (because who couldn't use a little bit of extra time added back to their day?!).
Normally I like to do this process in an eight hour day to get at least four videos done at once. This generates enough content for me to use for an entire month. If you're tired of spending weeks creating video content, this one's for you!
Planning my content
The first thing I always do is plan my content and outline each video. Content planning is super important because it's easy to get off track and ramble on for hours if you don't have direction. Make your editing time shorter and increase the quality of your videos by knowing what you’ll be talking about before you film.
I also found that planning content and filming on the same day is too draining for me, so I schedule another time for the recording process.
Breaking up the days helps me plan out my content much faster, especially when the house is a mess (and so am I). I don't have to focus my attention on anything other than planning. Then, when I’m ready to film, I can put time aside for polishing the scene and getting dressed up.
What I do during content planning:
Create the title
Gather thumbnail inspo
Sort ideas by topic and who I'm targeting
While these tactics aren't necessarily used for strategy, they help me stay on track and cut the time it takes me to edit.
I talked a bit more about what my social strategy looks like in this video, and I'll be releasing my in-depth YouTube strategy for 2022 soon. Make sure you're subscribed to my channel so you don't miss it!
Setting up the scene
After spending a day getting my game plan ready to go, I set up my space for filming. Here’s what I'm currently using to film:
Camera
Mic
Camera card
Light
Blankets (for noise cancellation and light!)
Background ideas
Backup mic
Extra batteries (if you know…you know)
Tripod
PRO TIP: Change your shirt for each video. When I started incorporating outfit changes in my batching process, it allowed me to record 3-4 videos in one day without it looking like it was all done in one day. I only have to do my makeup once a week and can go back to working in my sweats in peace.
How I decide what to film
I like to plan out all of my talking points in Asana, my project management system. I always include:
Title
Hook
Bullet points
Call to action (CTA)
Places I want to add B-roll
Once I'm done filming, I like to take YouTube thumbnail photos, so I never have to worry about YouTube auto-populating a horrific photo of me talking mid-sentence.
I gather inspo as I scroll through YouTube to see what my neighbor niches are doing - this allows me to be aware of things my target audience wants to see, even if it's just something as small as the thumbnail. Every bit counts!
After I get that taken care of, I airdrop a photo to my phone and use Lightroom with a preset I purchased from Cathrin Manning (and if you don't know anything about presets, tune-in here about how they will change your life and make editing photos a breeze!).
My team and I like to use Custom Thumbnails to create the final design, but Canva works too!
When I'm done with the thumbnails, I shoot a few Instagram Stories so I can create content while I'm already in the groove and have advertising ready to go when my video goes live (P.S. don't forget to drop that link sticker in your stories, so people have a quick and easy way to get to your vid).
Then I grab another shirt and repeat the process!
Getting it all organized
After everything is filmed, I take the video files and upload them to Google Drive so my video editor can access them.
As far as storage goes, I recommend external hard drives because video files are HUGE! When I was editing my own film/film for clients, all my editing libraries were on hard drives to keep my computer running smoothly. While I no longer edit videos, putting them on Google Drive is an easy way to ensure the storage on my computer stays clear.
To keep everything organized, including elements for the thumbnails and social content to promote my video, I use Asana. It houses everything for each video:
Photos for thumbnails
Pinterest graphics that I've created templates for so I can quickly change out the verbiage for each new video
Instagram carousels
Instagram captions
Templates for Facebook and IGTV from my video editor (shoutout to Annabelle, you're the best!)
Our IGTV strategy for increasing traffic from Instagram
I utilize the "due dates" feature (my best friend) and assign dates in Asana instead of using a scheduler because, honestly, I don't care what my feed looks like at this point. Personally, I prefer posting in real-time to remind myself to actually engage! I'm also in Asana every day, so it makes sense for me to keep all of my content there.
Uploading your videos
If you have never uploaded a YouTube video, things can get confusing. Want to see how I simplify the process?
Check out my EXACT uploading routine here. I walk you through the process step-by-step, giving you a better idea of what's involved. You’ll see everything from tagging videos to adding end screens. If this is your first time uploading a video, you need this tutorial!
