How to Handle Multiple Video Projects at the Same Time

By Cristian Stanciu

As a freelancer, you begin with one or two video projects. But, with experience, you scale up which means more projects to work on at the same time.

To manage multiple projects and deliver them on time would require building a team. You can also expect a change in role or an increase in responsibilities.

With more projects to do, freelancers might have to bring more people on board, form a team. This might necessitate a complete overhaul of communication and organizational skills.

You need a new strategy just to keep track of all the moving pieces and get the job done. If you’re looking for a strategy, then you have come to the right place.

Read on to learn how to handle multiple video projects at the same time.

Organize the Work Place

Since video production and video editing cost have seen a steady decline, more and more businesses are starting to use video marketing.

Because creating professional videos is a specialized job, most companies outsource the task to freelancers or video production companies.

The boom in the demand for business videos means more work for you. You need to be ready to handle multiple video projects that come your way.

Start by organizing your workplace. The materials needed to begin a video project are scattered all over the place.

Emails from the clients, instructions shared over numerous emails, documents, spreadsheets, images, video clips, etc. need to be gathered in one place.

Create a workstation in the form of a folder for each project. While collecting project information from various sources, make sure, nothing is missed or gets lost.

It’s relatively simple and straightforward to coordinate a video project if everything you need for its successful completion is in one place.

If a simple folder isn’t working for you, consider using a project management tool.

Not sure which one to select from the numerous tools available online? Ideally, software or platform that’s easy to use, flexible, and collaborative will help you manage multiple projects effectively.

Set Goals, Develop Plans, Define Responsibilities, and Lay Down Expectations

This is a vital step that’ll prevent project delays and inconsistencies in deliverables. When it comes to planning, there is no one size fits all approach.

Video marketing is a vast field. You should understand that each video project is different. Hence, each project should be managed differently.

Devote time and effort to set up the working process of each project. Developing a solid plan and setting short- and long-term goals will bear positive results.

A little bit of effort now will save plenty of time later. Plus, when you clearly define responsibilities and lay down expectations there is minimal need for constant supervision and micromanagement.

A solid plan entails clearly outlining goals, putting in writing every step of the process.

What needs to be completed, who is responsible for its completion, and when it needs to be finished must be stated in the schedule.

Delays, glitches, and mid-way surprises are part of the process. Hence, allot time for minor delays, mistakes, feedback, and approvals.

Also bear in mind that the risks of mistakes and delays increase in the absence of a clear plan.

Sometimes you might have to revisit the project plan and make a few changes after receiving feedback from the team members.

Create a Work Calendar

Developing a work calendar is one of the most important project management skills.

Refer to the work calendar whenever you’re planning a project, setting goals, and assigning tasks to your team members. This is to prevent double-booking them.

Having a work calendar for each team member will also help you decide when to bring in more resources into the project.

Some projects might come with strict short deadlines. As the project manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure no team member is overburdened.

Online marketing using videos is all about getting the small things right. Assigning big tasks to team members already working on multiple projects will only increase the risk of errors or sub-standard work.

Proper management of the team members is critical for the success of the project and business and preventing their burnout is one of the main tasks of the project manager.

Consider using incentives with the clients and team members to deal with short deadlines.

Schedule Regular Project Meetings

Over time, as a freelancer, you learn to plan and execute a project. But, managing two or more projects can be overwhelming sometimes.

Also, your job doesn’t end with dividing responsibilities and setting goals. You need to keep an eye on the progress.

Schedule regular project meetings, ideally once a week, to discuss the progress made, problems faced, and goals achieved with the team members.

If there is a major course correction in any of the projects, the meetings are the right forum to discuss.

These meetings must be detail-oriented; a time and place to discuss the nitty-gritty details of every project.

Analyzing the progress and way-forward of the projects will prevent a ton of unnecessary headaches later.

Do not dismiss project meetings as a time-consuming process. Project meetings are the hallmark of an effective, functional team.

These meetings also give you the necessary material so you can update the clients on where their project stands. 

Keep the Client in the Loop

Do not wait for the client to seek the progress report.

Regardless of the number of projects you’re managing at a time, it’s your responsibility to communicate regularly with all the clients.

A robust customer support mechanism is essential for managing multiple video projects.

Video content has emerged as the most powerful tool in business marketing. For many businesses, a lot is riding on the success of their video marketing.

Also, businesses have been investing heavily in video content. Hence, most clients expect regular communication in discussing their projects.

Be prompt in replying to client emails. Failing to get back to the client, updating on progress, seeking clarification, and gathering feedback can interfere with meeting deadlines.

Do not hesitate to request a live chat or video meeting. Live communication is vital when you’re working on many video projects with a short timeline.

Develop a Well-Founded Revenue and Cost Model

Many freelancers don’t graduate to project managers because they don’t have effective revenue and cost models.

For freelancers, their revenue was equal to the total cost of a video project, if they did all the work. This will change with you have multiple video projects and a team to work on them.

Some of the questions to consider while developing the revenue and cost model:

• How many projects do you have to work on at the same time to meet your monthly and yearly revenue goal?
• How much is your revenue if you don’t do any part of the work and delegate everything to others?
• How much will it cost you to pay others; both in-house team and freelancers?
• How much will you spend on tools, software, workplace, etc?
• If you have a special project, such as an influencer marketing video, how much will it cost you to hire influencers, actors, etc. for the video project?
• What will be your net profit?

Developing a cost and revenue model is important because decisions such as how many people to hire, who to hire, how much to pay, what software and tools to use, etc. will depend on this document.

Final Thoughts

Good organizational skills, man-management skills, and thinking and acting fast on the feet are realities of the project management job.

The transition from a successful freelancer to an able project manager handling multiple video projects can be smooth with the right strategy.

By putting the ideas mentioned in the blog into play, you can develop the mindset of an effective manager and achieve your business goals.