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Guide

Edit a UGC video in seven steps, from a strong first line to the call to action

Updated

To edit a UGC video, cut it down to the parts worth hearing, then add what a scrolling viewer needs: captions, the product on screen and a clear ask. Here are the seven steps, shown on one example clip.

In short

  • Editing a UGC video comes down to seven steps: cut the slow start, cut the pauses and ums, put a line of text up first, add captions, show the product, add quiet music and end with a call to action.
  • Most of the work is cutting, because a phone clip of you talking usually starts slow and carries pauses, ums and repeated sentences.
  • TikTok's own ad guide asks for a hook in the first 6 seconds, captions or text for context, and a clear call to action at the end.
  • In a timeline editor you go through the clip and make the cuts yourself. Cutroom's Magic Editor makes the whole edit from one press of "Make my video", and you change it by asking Jacob, its AI editor, in a chat.
  • UGC should still look like a person filmed it. TikTok recommends a DIY, not overly polished style, so the ad fits in with what people post.

How do you edit a UGC video?

Start with one raw phone clip and work through seven steps, in this order. The example below is the opening of a creator's 60-second water bottle review, before and after the edit.

  • Step 1: Cut the slow start, so the video opens on your strongest line.
  • Step 2: Cut the long pauses, the ums and anything you said twice.
  • Step 3: Put one short line of text on screen in the first seconds.
  • Step 4: Add captions, so the video still works with the sound off.
  • Step 5: Show the product when you name it, with a photo or a short clip.
  • Step 6: Add music under your voice, quiet enough to hear every word.
  • Step 7: End with a call to action that tells people what to do next.

A water bottle review, before and after the edit

The seven steps on one example: the warm-up and the ums cut, the product on the words that name it, music and a typed call to action.

Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video

Before · the clip as filmed

A 60-second phone video of a creator reviewing a water bottle at her desk

“Okay so, um, I've had this bottle for two weeks, and my water is still cold at the end of the day. And the, uh, And the lid … (pause) doesn't leak in my bag.”

struck through = what Jacob cuts

After · Jacob's first edit, Verdict style

COLD

“I've had this bottle for two weeks, and my water is still cold at the end of the day. And the lid doesn't leak in my bag.”

  • On “cold”: the word set big in your accent colour
  • On “bottle”: your product photo bottle.jpg on a laptop screen, with you in a small card
  • On “lid”: your close-up photo lid.jpg on the laptop screen
  • Under the whole video: calm music under your voice
  • On “bag”: after this last word, the typed call to action "Tap the link in my bio" and a follow card

window: bottle.jpg

Then you ask Jacob

  1. “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”v2a stock b-roll clip on the line about cold water, the rest of the edit unchanged
  2. “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”v3the same edit about 10 seconds shorter, with the opening line and the call to action kept

Steps 1 and 2: cut the slow start, the pauses and the ums

Raw clips often start with a warm-up: "okay so", a hello, a sentence of setup. Cut everything before your first strong sentence, so the first thing people hear is the point.

Then cut the long pauses, the ums and the sentences you said twice, but leave a few natural breaths. In the example, "Okay so, um", the first "And the, uh" and the long pause after "lid" are gone.

  • By hand, you split the clip at each pause or um and delete the piece in between.
  • In Cutroom's Magic Editor, Jacob cuts the ums, false starts and repeats in the first edit. Each style shortens long pauses; ask Jacob to keep your pauses if the video feels rushed.
  • If the video still opens slowly, ask Jacob to "Cut the first sentence". That change costs 40 credits and makes a new version.
  • If a cut went too far, tap the word in the transcript to bring it back. Taps on words are free.
  • Jacob can't remove background noise, so film somewhere quiet.

How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this

Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.

BEFORE · YOUR TAKESoum,I open thedashboard… (pause)Make my videoJacob edits itAFTER · JACOB'S FIRST EDITdashboard.pngDASHBOARDSo I open the dashboard.cut outyour fileon the word
A drawing of an example clip, not a customer video. What it shows is what the Magic Editor does: cuts the ums and pauses, puts your own screenshot on the word you say, sets key words big and adds music.

The 4 styles, as example edits

Steps

Three steps, four angles

Skit

Hook, hard stop, demo card

Verdict

The tester's verdict

Poster

Typography does the talking

Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.

  1. Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
  2. Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
  3. Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
  4. Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
  5. Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
  6. Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export

Then you ask Jacob, for example

  • “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
  • “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
  • “Change the music to something calmer”

Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.

Steps 3 and 4: a line of text at the start, then captions

TikTok's ad guide asks for your hook in the first 6 seconds. It also recommends captions or text on screen to give the ad context.

So open on one short line of text that says the claim, then caption every sentence. Keep the words away from the edges, where the app lays its own buttons and caption over the video.

  • Auto captions save typing. CapCut, for example, makes captions from your speech for free, and you check and style them yourself.
  • In the Magic Editor, the captions come with the style you pick, timed to your voice, so your first sentence is the first text on screen as soon as you say it.
  • For a strong first line on screen, say your claim as your very first sentence when you film. In the example, "cold" is set big in your accent colour. If the opening still reads flat, ask Jacob to "Make the key words stand out more", or to "Cut the first sentence" so the video opens on your second line.
  • Fixing a misheard word is a free tap. Asking Jacob to "Make the key words stand out more" is a chat request that makes a new version.
  • The captions are part of the picture in the export. Cutroom doesn't make a separate captions file (SRT).

Step 5: show the product while you talk about it

Show the product on the words where you name it: a photo, a close-up or a short clip of it in use. In the example, the bottle photo comes up on "bottle" and a close-up of the lid on "lid".

  • Before you film, shoot a few clean photos of the product and a few short clips of it in use, such as opening the lid.
  • In the Magic Editor you add them in the "Your files" step, up to 20 per video, and product photos are cut in on the right word.
  • Pictures can be PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 25 MB; recordings can be MP4, MOV or WebM up to 200 MB.
  • If you add no photos, Jacob fills those moments with stock clips from Pexels and Pixabay. For a review, your own photos of the real product work better than stock.

Steps 6 and 7: quiet music and a clear call to action

Music sits under your voice, low enough that every word is clear. TikTok lists sound or music among the basics of an ad, next to vertical 9:16 video.

End by saying exactly what people should do, out loud and on screen. In the example, the video ends on "Tap the link in my bio".

  • Pick music that fits the mood, such as calm music for a review and more energy for a demo or an unboxing.
  • In the Magic Editor each style brings its own music and sound effects. Ask Jacob to "Change the music to something calmer", or to make the sound effects quieter or turn them off.
  • Your call to action comes from the "Your goal" step, where you answer "What should people do after watching?". The call to action on screen can be up to 48 characters.
  • To change it later, ask Jacob, for example "Change the call to action to Try it free", and you get a new version with the new line.

Editing a UGC video to a brand's brief

When a brand pays for the video, the brief decides the edit. Read it for the length, the format, the call to action and the files they want back.

Some briefs ask for the raw clip as well as the edit, so keep your original file. The brand's own editor may cut it into other versions.

  • If the brief gives no length, keep the ad short. Billo's editing guide suggests a 15-second and a 30-second version from the same footage.
  • Check the format first. The Magic Editor exports a vertical MP4, 1080 by 1920, 30 frames a second, with the sound levelled, so a 4:5 or 16:9 copy needs another editor.
  • Ask whether they want captions and music in the file. Burned-in captions can't be taken off later.
  • If the brand wants the same video with two different calls to action, export the first edit, then ask Jacob something like "Change the call to action to Try it free" and export that version too. Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
  • For the shorter version, ask Jacob to "Make this about 10 seconds shorter". Each change costs 40 credits.
  • Cutroom doesn't post for you. You download the MP4 and send it to the brand.
  • Free exports carry a Cutroom mark across the middle. Lite at $19.99 a month removes it, which matters for paid brand work.

Questions people ask

How do you edit UGC videos?
In seven steps: cut the slow start, cut the pauses and ums, put a short line of text up first, add captions, show the product when you name it, add quiet music and end with a call to action.
What is the best app to edit UGC videos?
It depends on how much you want to do yourself. CapCut is a free editor that makes captions from your speech, good if you want to make the edit yourself on a timeline. Cutroom's Magic Editor makes the whole edit from one clip of you talking, and you change it by asking in a chat.
How long should a UGC ad be?
Short, and the brand's brief decides. Billo's editing guide suggests a 15-second and a 30-second version from the same footage, and TikTok's ad guide asks for the hook in the first 6 seconds whatever the length.
Should UGC videos have captions?
Yes. TikTok's ad guide recommends captions or text on screen to give the ad context, and captions keep the video clear for anyone watching without sound.
Should you add music to a UGC video?
Yes, quietly. TikTok lists sound or music among the basics of an ad. Keep it low enough that every word is clear, and pick a mood that fits the video.
How do I keep UGC from looking like an ad?
Don't over-edit it. Keep your own voice, your real setting and a few natural pauses. TikTok's ad guide recommends a DIY, not overly polished style, so the ad fits in with what people post.
Can AI edit UGC videos for me?
Yes. Cutroom's Magic Editor turns one clip of you talking into a finished vertical video: Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit, and you change it by asking in a chat. It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.

Film your next review in one go, ums and all, and let Jacob make the first edit. Your first video is free.

Try for freeYour first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it