A few weeks ago, I came across a dream opportunity—a full-time short-form content editor position for Nick Giovanni, a professional chef and food content creator. I was determined to land the role, but despite my efforts, I didn’t get the job. Here’s the story and what I took away from the experience: What I Did: 1. Studied His Style: I analyzed Nick’s short-form content to understand his editing style, shot composition, and overall brand. 2. Recreated His Work: I made a video replicating one of Nick’s originals shot-for-shot, angle-for-angle, edit-for-edit to demonstrate my ability to match his creative vision. 3. Took a Multi-Channel Approach: I sent the video to Nick’s DMs and email to ensure it caught his attention. 4. Acted Quickly: Despite a tight timeline, I worked as fast as possible to create something high-quality. What Happened: • While I was editing, I received an email saying they had already filled the position. • I realized I didn’t market myself strongly enough and could’ve done more to align my pitch with the specific value I bring. Why It Wasn’t a Failure: • The video I made is still a portfolio piece that showcases my skills to other potential clients. • This effort demonstrated my determination and ability to adapt to different creative styles. • I planted a seed with Nick—this project may lead to future opportunities, either with him or someone in his network. My Next Steps: 1. Continue refining my pitch and personal brand to stand out in competitive markets. 2. Keep creating similar projects to showcase my skills to potential clients. 3. Stay in touch with Nick in case another opportunity arises. I’m sharing this not just to reflect on my journey but to encourage anyone else who’s chasing a dream opportunity: Don’t give up. Even when things don’t go as planned, every step you take builds momentum for future success. I’d love your thoughts—how do you handle setbacks when chasing dream opportunities? And if you’re curious, feel free to check out the video I created!https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IzEMJ7Awiulny-wn_nfC21RLTtHrEWvC/view?usp=drivesdk

If you think you can’t land editing clients because you don’t have a portfolio, you’re dead wrong. Let me explain with a quick story. I recently needed to hire an editor to edit my own content while I still edit full-time for my client The Ireland Boys, so I started looking for someone who could handle the work. But once I found them, here’s the funny thing—I never even looked at their portfolio, and I didn’t ask for it. All they did was offer me a sample edit to demonstrate their skills. And once I saw what they could do and it met my standards, I hired them on the spot. No portfolio needed—just proof they could deliver. And the truth is that’s not just how I hire—it’s exactly how I landed my biggest client, The Ireland Boys with 5 million subscribers. I didn’t have a portfolio, and in-fact, I'd never edited a piece of long-form content similar to their videos ever. I simply demonstrated my skills and did one free video for them, they loved it, and we’ve been working together ever since. So here’s the truth: You don’t need a polished portfolio or years of experience to land even the biggest clients out there. You just need to prove you can deliver quality results, and that’s all they care about. Let me know if you this crushed your limiting belief about needing a portfolio or if you have any questions! Love y'all Norman

Ladies & Gentlemen, Mark your calendars because on January 25th at 7 PM EST, we’re hosting a LIVE Workshop & Q/A Call! 🗓️ You’ll find all the details in the Calendar tab, so make sure you lock it in. This workshop is all about how to land $5k/month editing clients—the exact topic most of you said you're struggling with. I’ve also built in time for a Q&A session, so come prepared with your questions and ready to learn. I worked hard to find a time that works for most people in the community. Based on the feedback, weekends were preferred, and for those of you outside the US, later in the day for my time seemed to fit best. If you can’t make it, don’t worry, a recording of the workshop will be posted afterwards so you won’t miss out! I’m beyond excited to speak with all of you, dive into this topic, and help you take the next step toward landing those high-paying clients. 👉 Drop a comment below if you’ll be joining the call or not and share your favorite GIF to show how you feel about it! Let’s start the new years off right together! 🎉

Today at VidSummit, I attended a masterclass from Sticks, a YouTube creator team with a traditional film background. They’re on a mission to bring a cinematic approach to YouTube, creating mini-movies for creators like Ryan Trahan and Mark Rober. Their journey to 500,000+ subscribers in a year is impressive, and I took away three key lessons that I think every content creator can benefit from: 1. Show, Don’t Tell Sticks emphasized making your audience feel something rather than just understand it. This is achieved through the use of tools like: • Composition • Shot size • Camera movement • Color • Body language • Sound effects • Music • Pacing One great tip they shared: try editing your footage before adding any voiceover—let the cuts and music drive the story first. 2. Intention & Obstacle A compelling story always has a character with a goal, and obstacles that stand in the way. Sticks highlighted that before you even start filming, you should ask yourself: • Is my intention compelling enough? • Will real obstacles arise on this journey? The harder it is to reach the goal, the more engaging the story becomes. They recommended introducing small, incremental obstacles that lead to the final objective. 3. Cause & Effect Every beat in your story should cause the next one. The best stories make the audience feel like they can’t miss a moment because each scene drives the next. Even if you’ve vlogged hours of footage, you can find your story by following the formula: • Because this happened, then this happened. Sticks suggested storyboarding out your narrative to identify the moments you want to highlight during editing. In short, the session was a fantastic reminder that, while YouTube and Hollywood are different, Hollywood has already mastered the art of capturing attention and telling emotional, gripping stories. If we can bring that same energy to our YouTube content, there’s no reason we can’t engage viewers just as effectively. Would love to know your thoughts—how are you telling your stories?

The difference between an average YouTube video and a great one often comes down to how it’s edited. I’ve spent over 10 years learning everything there is to editing, and today I’m giving you 6 lessons that I've learned, that’ll instantly level up your edits. And to start, let me ask you something... Have you ever clicked on a video with an epic thumbnail & title, only to find the intro is completely unrelated or it takes forever to get into what you clicked on the video for? It’s frustrating, right? Now imagine your viewers feeling the same way about your video. 🔑 Lesson #1: Meet their expectations immediately. If the thumbnail shows you standing in a desert, open the video in the desert. Hook them visually by delivering what they came for. But just matching the thumbnail isn’t enough. What if the intro looks great, but the viewer still clicks away? It’s probably missing something crucial... 🔑 Lesson #2: A strong hook. Pair engaging visual edits with a scripted hook that explains the mission of the video, the stakes, and what's to come. For the videos I edit for the Ireland Boys, the intro is always typically the fastest paced with the most edits, sound effects, and intense music in order to get the viewer's attention and keep it as long as possible to get into the meat of the video. I always try to open questions in their minds like... “How will they pull this off?” and “What happens next?” so that they’ll have to keep watching to find out. But once you’ve hooked the viewer, how do you keep them engaged? It’s all about structure. 🔑 Lesson #3: The best edits follow at minimum, this 3-Step Story Framework: Setup, Challenge, Payoff. Start with context & mission (Setup), work towards the goal & overcome obstacles (Challenge), and show the results (Payoff). When the story flows this way, viewers stay locked in. And even if this structure is not told through the footage given to you, add title cards, voiceovers, or other elements to help better structure the video in a manner that gives context first, sets up a goal & obstacles to overcome, and then has the payoff at the end.