Very consistently over the past few years, I’ve found ways to film 4 YouTube videos in 3 hours (including setup time). I batch film YouTube videos one day every month so that I can work smarter – not harder – when it comes to creating content for you! If you’re thinking about starting a YouTube channel this year, learn how to batch your content. It will make everything so much easier! 

Don’t forget: if you’re interested in my strategy around YouTube videos – more information about picking topics, filming and more – make sure to check out My Formula to Making Money on YouTube.  Now, let’s jump into how I batch film YouTube videos each month in just three hours! 

Prep ahead of time

There are three main steps to making a YouTube filming day a success. The first is to prepare ahead of time. You can’t just show up and think that you’re going to film for a few hours and think of stuff on the fly and it will be great. That’s not exactly how it works. The goal for preparing ahead of time is that when you sit down to actually film a YouTube video, you don’t have to do any more prep work. All you have to worry about is filming.

For me, that means researching my ideas and writing outlines for every video I plan to film. Learn how to write outlines HERE. Prepping ahead also means getting anything else you might need ready – anything physical you might want to show, too. If you’re filming a tutorial, get your programs or computer ready – logged in, so that you don’t have to stress about it later. When you sit down to film, you don’t want to be scrambling to finish getting ready when you could be filming. 

Plan a filming date

The next step to batch film your content is to pick a date! I physically put a date on my calendar to film. Now that I’m a mom, I really only have about 3 hours a day to work. With that filming date, it takes about 3 hours start to finish to film. o, that means one whole work day a month is devoted to filming these videos. Putting it on the calendar helps remind and prepare me to film.

As far as actually adding it to my calendar, I do a recurring appointment on Google and then just move it around if needed as it gets closer based on our family schedule. I do prefer to film earlier in the week so that I have flexibility if something comes up, too! Honestly, I love this system because I don’t have to think about filming for the channel again until next month. It’s so freeing! 

Filming day tips

Finally, to make a filming day a success, I have a few tips! The first one is to set up your camera, light and background first… even before you do your hair and makeup. I find that I’m ready to go once I’ve gotten dressed and made up. In the early days, setting up my lighting and camera stressed me out so I was really all ready to go but having to wait because I was figuring out the technical aspects of filming. Now, I know to set up first then get ready. Also, now that I’ve filmed for a while, the set up is way less stressful, too! 

Even before I had the girls, I would still make filming the first part of my work day. This helped me make sure that I wasn’t running out of time and stressing during my filming. I’ve also learned that filming the videos could be all I get done in a day, and I’m 100% okay with that. Filming lots of content takes a lot out of you! I’ve also found that I can only film 4 videos, maybe 5 maximum before I have to stop. Otherwise, I’m not showing up well for my audience! That will be different for everyone – and if you’re only filming one video a week, that’s okay too, instead of batching! This is definitely a deep work task and takes a lot of mental energy. 

Other Tips for Filming Days

A few other tips – have some snacks and drinks handy. It will help you to save time instead of running to the kitchen! Also make sure that you have your outlines handy while filming. I keep them on my laptop off to the side or on my phone in my lap. Whatever works best for your setup. I also like to film all of my videos back to back and aim to not pause in between them all. Instead,I take one big break during filming but that’s about it. I want to get them done! I do take short breaks to upload the film to the computer (and make sure it worked okay!) but otherwise, I try to keep filming as much as possible. 

Finally… Don’t overthink it: The more times that you redo the video, the longer it takes and the more you have to edit in the end. These videos don’t have to be super perfect. Instead, I want to be genuine and relaxed. It helps me keep filming faster and I love the way my videos turn out, too!

Want More YouTube Tips?

If you’re interested in my strategy around YouTube videos – more information about picking topics, filming and more – make sure to check out My Formula to Making Money on YouTube. This freebie will help you understand how I’m turning these videos into money in the bank!