The cheat sheet · from the reel

everything you need to know about editing viral videos

All 11 tips from the reel, and how to do each one. Save this page and open it next time you edit.

📌 save it⏱ 3 min read✂️ works in CapCut
1

Hook your audience in the first second

0:00Editing Tipsfor viral videos

Say your big promise first. No "hi guys", no intro. Put the text on screen at frame one, so people watching on mute know why to stay.

2

Cut every pause

People scroll the second it goes quiet. Split at each gap and delete it, until there's no silence longer than a blink. Leave a line whole when you look into the lens, so your eyes don't jump.

3

Talk just a little faster

1.1xspeed

Tap your talking clip, then Speed → Normal → 1.1x. Nobody notices, but the reel feels tighter and people stay longer.

4

Make the hook text huge

HUGElike this

Big, bold and short. It lands the exact moment you say it: line the text up with the waveform of the word. Keep it above your head, never over your face.

5

Captions, one word at a time

onewordata

Use Auto captions, then pick a style where each word appears as you say it. Moving words keep eyes on the screen.

6

Say it, then show it

"I built an app"📱

Every time you name a thing (an app, a product, a place), show it for a second, or float it next to you as a small screen.

7

Zoom in on the word that matters

the word that matters

One quick zoom, about 120%, on your key word. Not on every line, only the big ones.

8

A sound on every cut

🖱 click · captions📸 shutter · cuts🫧 pop · stickers✨ sparkle · revealsboomsbass drops

Soft and small. Skip the booms and bass drops, they make a reel feel cheap. Keep the volume low, under your voice.

9

Colour grade it

orange
natural

Natural and crisp: contrast up a little, highlights down a little, saturation almost untouched. If your skin looks orange or brown, pull the warmth back. Calm a bright wall behind you so your text pops.

10

End with one call to action

comment TIPSfollow, like, share, save

One ask only: comment a word, follow, or save. Give two asks and people do neither.

11

Sound like you talk, not like you read

So today I wanted to talk to you about three important things thatok listen, this changed everything

Film from bullet points, not a script. Say each line twice and keep the take that sounds like you're telling a friend.

The plot twist

Doing all 11 takes hours.so I built an app

Every edit in that reel was done by my app, right inside my Claude. You drop in your clips, it cuts the pauses, adds the captions, the zooms, the sounds and the grade, and hands you a finished reel.

Edit Bestie · launches Wed 21 Oct