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How to build a YouTube content team, and who to hire first
Hire the role that removes your biggest bottleneck first. For most channels that is a long-form editor, so the creator stops editing their own videos. Next, a producer who owns the schedule, so videos ship on time without anyone chasing. Then short form, thumbnails and ideation, in that order, once the long-form engine runs. I have built content functions from zero at Heath Media, Stoffel Media Group, Secret Leaders and Angels Management, and I help you hire, test and run the team inside your own business.
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The short answer: hire in this order
- 1. A long-form editor. On most channels the creator's own editing time is the bottleneck, and long form is where the depth is. For a small team, hire someone who shoots and edits, and keep short form off the first hire.
- 2. A producer who owns the schedule. Once someone else edits, the bottleneck moves to planning: shoot days, deadlines and approvals. A producer owns the whole video, from the idea to the release. See YouTube producer vs video editor.
- 3. Short form. The long-form shoot already has the footage. A short-form editor turns each recording into a clip bank, one idea per clip.
- 4. Thumbnails. With the edit and the schedule working, packaging is the next lever, because it decides whether anyone clicks. See Packaging, titles and thumbnails.
- 5. Ideation. When the team can ship more than you can think of, ideas become the bottleneck. A monthly ideation round lands on 4 long-form titles and 30 short-form ideas.
Before any of them, move the people you already have into the jobs their skills fit, and write the formats down before day one. At Heath Media all three inherited roles changed before one new hire.
What each role owns
| Role | Owns | How you know it is working |
|---|---|---|
| Long-form editor | The edit: pacing, story and the cut, from raw footage to an upload-ready file | Videos land on the brief and on deadline, and the quality holds without you re-cutting them |
| Producer | The whole video and the schedule: the idea, the format, the shoot, the edit, the packaging and the release | Videos ship on the planned dates, and nothing sits stuck for over a week |
| Short-form editor | The clips from every long recording, one idea each at 40 to 75 seconds | Clips published per shoot, and the views needed to win one follower falling by format |
| Thumbnail designer | Titles and thumbnails, tested one variable at a time | Click-through improving against the channel's own past uploads |
| Ideation | The monthly idea bank, built from outliers in your niche and the niches next to it | Roughly 80 percent of ideas come from proven formats and 20 percent are tests |
| Platform lead, later | One platform and its growth | The growth number for that platform, which they own |
How to test before you commit
- A paid trial edit. Every role I hire for starts with a short portfolio review, then a paid trial edit or task, then ongoing work.
- Ask for the real thing. A full video rather than a cut down, and three written answers of under 150 words each.
- Brief the trial properly. Send your best videos and the competitor work you love, so you are judging the editor and not the brief.
- Treat the first month as the trial. Write the role with the pay range and a bar for month 1, month 3 and month 6, and put a one week notice period on a junior role.
- Replace an editor whose quality still drops after clear feedback.
The full method is in Building a content team from zero.
Remote and offshore editors
You do not need to hire in the UK. The editors I work with already sit across Pakistan and the Philippines.
I help you find them, test them with a paid trial edit, and manage them inside your business: one board where every edit lives on a card with an owner, a name on every approval, fifteen minutes on Monday for flagged tickets, and the numbers every Friday. Freelancers from my network can be hired on a freelance basis, I work closely with them, and they work on your boards as part of your team.
The weekly rhythm that keeps a team shipping
- A 14 day plan every 14 days. What gets made, who owns it and when it ships.
- A 90 minute sprint every fortnight with the team, to read the numbers and set the next plan.
- A 30 minute check-in every week.
- Monday and Friday. Fifteen minutes on Monday for flagged tickets. On Friday the founders get films published, clips published, shoots filmed, average yield per shoot and anything stuck over a week.
- One studio day a month. A recording day that fills the clip bank in one batch.
Mistakes to avoid
- Hiring before you move the people you have. The skill someone already has is worth more than the title they arrived with. See Move the people you have before you hire.
- Testing formats with a team that is not good enough. At Stoffel Media Group I replaced the team before testing a single format. See the Sam Stoffel case study.
- Putting short form on the first hire. Get the long-form engine running first.
- Leaving approvals unnamed. If the creator approves everything, the creator is still the bottleneck. Name who approves what.
- Not logging the numbers. Log views and new followers on every video, by format, so you know what to kill.
When to hire a fractional head of content instead
If you do not know what to make yet, or nobody owns the plan, the team or the numbers, the first hire is not an editor. It is someone who sets the plan, builds the team and owns the numbers. That is the fractional head of content role, £4,500 to £7,500 a month, with a 6 month minimum, then monthly. The trade-off is set out in In-house content hire vs fractional head of content.
If you want a straight answer on your current setup and the next hire first, book a Power hour, £600.
Open roles
If you are an editor or a producer, the open roles are on the careers page: freelance and part-time, remote, for UK applicants.
Questions
Who should I hire first for a YouTube channel?
The role that removes the biggest bottleneck. For most channels that is a long-form editor, then a producer who owns the schedule, then short form, thumbnails and ideation. Before any new hire, Tom moves the people already there into the jobs their skills fit.
Do I need a producer or just an editor?
An editor owns the edit. A producer owns the whole video: the idea, the format, the shoot, the edit, the packaging and the release. Hire an editor when your ideas and packaging already work. Hire a producer when the videos are not landing, or when nobody owns the schedule.
How do I test a video editor?
With a paid trial edit. Ask for a full video rather than a cut down, and three written answers of under 150 words each. Then judge the first month against a written bar, with a one week notice period on a junior role.
When do I need a head of content?
When nobody owns the plan, the team or the numbers, and the creator is still the bottleneck. Tom's fractional Head of Content role covers that for £4,500 to £7,500 a month, with a 6 month minimum, then monthly.
Can I hire editors outside the UK?
Yes. The editors Tom works with already sit across Pakistan and the Philippines. He helps you find them, test them with a paid trial edit and manage them on one board inside your business. Freelancers from his network can be hired on a freelance basis.
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