If you’re someone who has been swearing off Reels because they “take too long to edit,” I’m so happy you found this blog post!!
Outside of showing up on camera, editing Reels is the biggest hurdle that people struggle with. But as a mom of two and business owner, I don’t have hours to spend editing a Reel, and thankfully, I nailed down a 10-minute workflow to edit my Reels without sacrificing quality.
And I’m going to show you exactly how!
But first, download the Edits app if you don’t already have it. It’s a free, user-friendly app made by Instagram! It saves your projects, has a ton of tools, and is a complete game changer.
How a Reels Editing System Saves You Time
Most people are treating each new Reel like their first one. 😫 No templates, trying to remember what fonts and sound effects they liked last time.
The key to staying consistent and shortening your editing time is to have a system so you’re not reinventing the wheel each time you open the app.
Duplicate a template or an old Reel, swap the footage, and hit post!
Let’s get more into this.
Step One: Use Templates That Already Exist Inside the Edits App
The fastest shortcut?
Use a template someone else has already built.
How to find Reel Templates:
When you’re scrolling Reels and see a trend or format you love, tap the audio at the bottom of the Reel. If there’s a button that says “Use Template,” that exact Reel structure is available for you to use. The hook, text placement, timing, and sound effects are already there for you. All you have to do is add your own videos and text.
“But isn’t that stealing?”
No, you’re using the exact formula that creators made public for others to use. Just make sure you’re putting your own spin on it so it sounds like you.
Step Two: Build Your Own Template Once, Use It Forever
Any time you create a Reel that you are going to make again (a series, a recurring format, your talk-to-camera videos), do not start from scratch the next time. Duplicate the project in the Edits app and build a template out of it.
Here are the steps:
- Open the Edits app and tap the four-squares button to go to your Projects.
- Find the project you want to duplicate.
- Hold it down until the menu pops up.
- Tap Duplicate.
- Now swap in your new video, update your text, adjust anything you want, and you are done.
Because the beginning of your Reel (the intro text, the sound effects, the hook placement, the font) is already built in, you save 10 to 15 minutes right off the top every single time.
I do this for my weekly Your Content Playdate series. The intro text and sound effects are already in place. Every week I just swap out the video clip and change the episode number and name. That is it.
Step Three: Lock In Your 3-Second Opening Hook
The first three seconds of your talk-to-camera Reels are crucial! That’s how much time you have to get people to stop and keep watching. So I use the same formula each time.
Hook over my head.
This is where I use the RISE formula: Recognizable, Identity, Specific, Effect.
At least one of those elements needs to be in the hook text over my head so the viewer immediately knows why they should keep watching.
Recognizable: A word, brand, store, or product they know. Example: Amazon, Target, Sherwin-Williams, Trader Joe’s.
Identity: Their identity or yours. Stay-at-home mom, corporate millennial, girl dad, big law attorney, foodie.
Specific: A specific detail. Not “better content,” “under 10 minutes.”
Effect: The payoff. What they are going to get at the end.
(For more on the RISE Formula, read this blog post .)
Closed Captioning
This is a non-negotiable. Most people watch with the sound off, and the Edits app auto-generates captions and lets you position them wherever you want…no more excuses.
A visual overlay in the first 2-3 seconds.
This is usually a quick screenshot, photo, or tiny clip that helps support the topic of the Reel.
Step Four: Cut the Silences
This is my favorite tool inside the Edits app!
Tap your video clip. Go to the Edit menu. Tap “Cut Silences.”
And just like that, every “um,” pause, and dead second is gone!!
Step Five: Save Your Effects and Fonts.
Create your own Reel Branding Kit!
Open the Edits app, go into sound effects, and tap the save button on every effect you love. You can do the same with text animations and fonts.
See, Editing Reels on Instagram Doesn’t Need to Take Hours!
Fast editing is not about doing less. It is about building a workflow that lets you do the same quality in a fraction of the time.
If you want to actually show up consistently on Instagram, your editing process has to feel easy. If it feels hard, your content will keep ending up in the drafts folder (or worse, you will burn out and quit entirely).
Templates in the Edits app are your best friend. Build your own template once. Duplicate it forever. Save your favorite sound effects and fonts. Cut the silences. Use RISE for every hook. And just hit post.
Your people are waiting. Make it easy on yourself to show up for them.
