Guide
Short form video for coaches: one idea per video, once a week
Updated
Short form videos are short vertical videos for Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. For coaches, the best ones explain one idea in about 45 seconds, posted once a week.
In short
- Short form video for coaches works best as one idea per video, explained in about 45 seconds.
- Your video ideas come from client calls. Every question a client asks is a video you can make.
- You can film a month of weekly videos in one sitting by recording four answers back to back.
- Post once a week on Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The same vertical video works on all three.
- Cutroom edits each video for you. A 45-second video costs 115 credits, and Lite at $19.99 a month covers about 10.
- Enough to explain one idea
- 45 sec
- Filmed in one sitting, one post a week for a month
- 4 videos
- Cutroom Lite a month, about 10 videos of 45 seconds
- $19.99
What to post
Post videos that explain one useful idea. Viewers can use what you said, and they see how you think.
- Keep each video to one idea. A second idea is a second video.
- About 45 seconds is enough to explain one idea properly.
- Say what the video is about in the first sentence, so someone scrolling knows straight away whether it is for them.
4 kinds of video that suit coaches
| Video | What it is |
|---|---|
| A named framework | Your three steps and one example, in under a minute |
| A new way to see a problem | How clients usually see a problem, and a more useful way to see it |
| A diagnostic question | One question that tells viewers which situation they are in |
| The right order | What to do first, and what people often do first by mistake |
Video: A named framework
- What it is
- Your three steps and one example, in under a minute
Video: A new way to see a problem
- What it is
- How clients usually see a problem, and a more useful way to see it
Video: A diagnostic question
- What it is
- One question that tells viewers which situation they are in
Video: The right order
- What it is
- What to do first, and what people often do first by mistake
Where to find video ideas
Your client calls are full of video ideas, because every question a client asks is one.
- Write one line after each session with what the client asked and what you answered.
- Questions that several clients ask are the best ones to film first.
- If you run webinars, say the best point again to your phone in about 45 seconds instead of cropping the recording.
- If you want to cut long recordings into many clips, a clipping tool such as OpusClip is built for that job.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to film a month of videos in one sitting
Filming four videos in one sitting gives you a month of weekly posts.
- Pick four client questions from your notes, one per video.
- Film the four answers back to back, each one under a minute.
- Put the phone at eye level, face a window for light and use a quiet room.
- Skip the script and answer each question the way you did on the call.
One sitting, one month of posts
Pick four questions
From your session notes
Film four answers
Under a minute each, phone at eye level
Edit
Add captions and trim the quiet start
Post one a week
The same vertical video on every app
How often to post
Once a week is a pace you can keep next to a full client load.
- Pick a fixed day, and post the same vertical video to Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
- A steady weekly post is easier to keep up for months than a burst of daily posts.
- Reply to comments on the first day. Questions in the comments are ideas for your next videos.
How to edit your videos
Editing takes longer than filming. You can do it yourself, or let software do most of it.
3 ways to edit short coaching videos
| Option | Cost | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Post with Instagram's or TikTok's own captions | Free | You trim the video yourself and correct the captions by hand |
| Edit it yourself in CapCut | Free to start; auto captions need Pro, $19.99 a month | You make every cut yourself |
| Cutroom | $19.99 a month for about 10 videos of 45 seconds | It only makes vertical video, so there is no wide version for a website |
Option: Post with Instagram's or TikTok's own captions
- Cost
- Free
- Tradeoff
- You trim the video yourself and correct the captions by hand
Option: Edit it yourself in CapCut
- Cost
- Free to start; auto captions need Pro, $19.99 a month
- Tradeoff
- You make every cut yourself
Option: Cutroom
- Cost
- $19.99 a month for about 10 videos of 45 seconds
- Tradeoff
- It only makes vertical video, so there is no wide version for a website
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom edits a video of you talking and gives back a finished vertical video in about a minute.
- You upload one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes.
- Cutroom adds captions timed to each word and puts clips over the words you pick.
- A 45-second video costs 115 credits: 100 to edit it and 15 to export it.
- Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 10 videos of 45 seconds, so a weekly post leaves room to spare.
- Your first video is free, with no card. You get 600 credits for that one video, 7 days to make it and a Cutroom watermark across the middle.
A month of weekly videos on Cutroom Lite
Four 45-second videos at 115 credits each, against the 1,250 credits Lite gives you each month.
- One 45-second video115 credits
- Four weekly videos460 credits
- Lite, $19.99 a month1,250 credits
Questions people ask
- How often should a coach post short videos?
- Once a week is enough to start, if you keep it up for months. One filming session a month gives you four weekly posts.
- How long should a short coaching video be?
- About 45 seconds, and under a minute. That is enough to explain one idea, and one idea per video is easier to follow.
- Do coaches need to use trends or trending audio?
- Not really. Your viewers are deciding whether your advice is useful, so a plain answer to a real client question makes the better video.
- Can I post coaching videos without showing my face?
- You can, but viewers are deciding whether to hire you, so showing your face helps. Cutroom's Basic plan, $39.99 a month, can make an avatar presenter from a photo and a voice-over, at 350 credits a minute.
- Should I script my coaching videos?
- No. Write down only the question, then answer it the way you did on the call. A full script tends to sound read out.
- What does it cost to edit the videos?
- Editing them yourself costs only your time. With Cutroom, a 45-second video costs 115 credits, and Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 10 videos. Your first video is free.
Pick one client question, answer it on camera and post it this week. Your first video is free.