Who needs an editor
The best prospects are creators who upload regularly but are still small enough to edit themselves — usually somewhere between a few thousand and a few hundred thousand subscribers. Bigger channels often have teams already; very new channels rarely have budget.
Find them by niche
Pick niches you enjoy and understand: fitness, finance, tech, cooking, education. In Prospect Cheap's YouTube scraper, add keywords for the niche ("budget travel", "home workout", "excel tutorial") and collect channels. Filter by:
- 10K–300K subscribers
- uploaded in the last 30 days
- has email
Check their videos
Watch a minute of their latest video. Look for things you can improve: pacing, cuts, captions, B-roll, thumbnails, intros. Note one specific idea.
Pitch with a sample
Nothing beats showing your work on their content:
Hi Jordan — loved your "budget espresso setups" video. I re-cut the first 45 seconds with faster pacing and captions (link). I edit for three coffee and food channels — happy to take your editing off your plate for two videos to start?
Short-form clips (Shorts, Reels) from their long videos are an easy first offer.
Offer simple packages
- per video (with a cap on length)
- monthly packages (e.g. four long videos + eight shorts)
- add-ons: thumbnails, captions, channel management
Grow through referrals
Creators know other creators in their niche. Ask happy clients for introductions, and use the scraper to find similar channels to your best clients.
Related: finding YouTube channel emails · YouTuber leads