Profitable Homestays is a YouTube channel created by a successful local Airbnb host in Nairobi. After getting the same questions from other Airbnb hosts on how to succeed in the industry, she decided to start a YouTube channel to provide free tips and education to other hosts on how they too could be successful hosts.

As a busy entrepreneur, the channel owner did not have the time or skills to create her own YouTube videos. Additionally, she did not have the equipment or confidence to film herself and therefore preferred to create a faceless channel that would still be high-quality and valuable to her target audience.

After working with a couple of other video editors, she found she was dissatisfied with the quality of work they were producing and was referred to me through a mutual connection to help.

We had a couple of initial consultation calls where she explained her challenge to me.

Based on her immediate goals, we decided on the following video editing package;

8 YouTube videos with matching thumbnails to be used to launch her channel.

Use of freely available stock footage and music to create the videos.

Custom-designed motion graphics to add interest to the videos.

Uploading of each edited video and thumbnail to YouTube for optimization and scheduling.

The client would provide the script and voiceover for each video and add the necessary video title, description, and tags to the video before publishing them at her preferred time.

The first step of the process was to create all motion graphics templates that were used to illustrate key moments of the video. The goal was to create consistent branded video elements that added visual interest and further explained each video.

I also created thumbnail design templates in Canva to further enhance a branded visual style for her channel.

Over 2 months, the client provided me with a script and voice-over for each of the 8 videos. With these in hand, I would use the following process to edit the videos;

Edit and clean up the audio. This ensured a clear storyline for each video and informed my choices of stock video clips to use in the next step.

Source free stock footage. Using free stock video sites, I then sourced video clips for each video that matched the voice-over and visually emphasized key points. Given that the target audience for the channel was African business owners, it was extremely important to stock video clips that reflected this fact, increasing the sense of relevance and resonance among her audience.

Add music and motion graphics Once the video was fully edited, I added music and motion graphics including title cards, "Subscribe" graphics, and an end screen to the video to each video to finalize the video editing process.

The next step of the process was to create 3 versions of the video thumbnail using the templates I created in Canva.

Once each video was fully edited, I sent it to the client as an unlisted YouTube video on her channel for her to review and comment on what she felt best suited her audience and what she was communicating through her video.

Additionally, I sent her the 3 thumbnail designs for her to review and select her favorite or provide direction for adjustments.

Once all changes to the video were made, I would upload the final video and thumbnail to YouTube as an unlisted video, making sure to add relevant end-screen elements and in-video information cards throughout the video. I would then notify the client, and she would approve and add the video title, description, and tags before making the video public.

By the end of the project, the client had 8 new videos that she confidently felt reflected her brand and message, allowing her to share her best tips with other Airbnb hosts like her on YouTube.

Here is a sample of one of the best-performing videos we created together;

Send me a direct message, or check out my video editing services to learn more about how I can help you scale your educational content and grow your business. I'd love to work with you!