Skilled Direct Response Video Ad Editor — Talking-Head Ads for Service Businesses (Meta)

Read this entire post before applying. If you skim it, you'll out yourself in your proposal. We're a lead generation agency for service businesses — primarily home services, but also home care, professional services, and other service-based offers where the buyer needs to trust a person before they buy. We run video ads on Meta that drive direct response lead form funnels — sometimes a straight lead form fill, sometimes a lead form with the option to book a call. That's the game. Founder on camera, B-roll of the work, text overlays, light motion graphics, lead form click or call booked. We don't make content. We don't make brand videos. We don't do e-com product ads. We make talking-head direct response ads that turn cold scrollers into booked estimates. If that distinction doesn't immediately land for you, this isn't your gig. We're looking for an editor who understands that every cut, transition, pause, and pacing decision is a persuasion decision. You're not here to make things look pretty. You're here to move a viewer through a psychological sequence — pattern interrupt → curiosity → belief → action — and your editing is what makes or breaks that sequence. WHAT WE MEAN BY DIRECT RESPONSE EDITING When the script opens with a hook, your first 3 seconds need to create a visual pattern interrupt that stops the scroll on a Meta feed — not a YouTube watch session, not a TikTok FYP. Different platform, different scroll physics. You understand that talking-head ads live and die on pacing. The founder is usually not a professional actor. Your job is to tighten their delivery — cut the ums, the restarts, the breaths that kill momentum — without making it feel chopped. The viewer should feel like they're watching a confident person who knows their stuff, even when the raw take was rambling. You understand that B-roll in a service ad is not decoration and not cinema. It's proof. When the founder says "we've helped over 200 families this year," you cut to the work — the finished kitchen, the caregiver with a client, the team on a job. When they say "most people are tired of being ghosted by providers," you cut to a frustrated customer shot or a visual that lands the pain. B-roll reinforces the claim and breaks up the talking head so the viewer's brain stays engaged. You understand that text overlays on a Meta ad are read by 85% of viewers with the sound off. Your overlays aren't subtitles — they're a second layer of copy designed to land the hook and the CTA even on mute. You understand that the words do the direct selling — but the editing controls how the viewer feels while they hear those words. A slow push-in on the founder's face during a vulnerable line creates intimacy and trust. A hard cut to a finished project after a bold claim makes the claim feel real. You're using visuals to evoke emotion underneath the copy, and the viewer never realizes you're doing it. That's the skill. WHO THIS IS FOR You've edited direct response video ads for service businesses, coaches, agencies, or any offer where the goal is a lead, not a checkout You've worked on Meta-first paid traffic and understand how a Facebook feed ad behaves differently than a YouTube pre-roll or a TikTok organic You understand frameworks like AIDA, PAS, or hook-problem-solution-proof-CTA, and you can see how those frameworks translate into editing decisions You've cut talking-head ads where the founder is the talent, not a polished spokesperson, and you know how to make them look credible and confident You've had your edits tested. You've seen which hook variation won. You've iterated based on hook rate, CTR, and cost per lead — not just creative director feedback You understand color grading, sound design, text overlays, and pacing are persuasion tools, not finishing touches WHO THIS IS NOT FOR E-com editors. Product demo cuts, UGC unboxing, fast-cut DTC ads — different discipline, different muscles. Please don't apply. Editors who primarily do YouTube content, vlogs, podcasts, weddings, or brand films Editors who think "good editing" means smooth transitions and matching the music beat Anyone who has never had their work measured by hook rate, CTR, or cost per lead Editors who need to be told exactly where every cut goes. We give you a script with strategic intent and raw footage. You interpret that intent through your edit. If you think "direct response" is a buzzword and not a discipline, please don't apply WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING Editing short-form (30s–90s) and occasional mid-form (2–4 min) talking-head ads for Meta paid traffic Working from direct response scripts with clear structure: hook → problem → solution → proof → CTA, designed to drive a Facebook lead form fill (and sometimes a call booking off the back of that form) Cutting founder-on-camera footage tightly, selecting B-roll that proves and reinforces the claim, layering text overlays for sound-off viewing Producing multiple hook variations against the same body for A/B testing (this is most of the workload — same script body, 3 different hook openings) Iterating on winning ads based on Meta performance data Contributing creative input on how to make the ad hit harder editorially TOOLS Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects (basic motion graphics) preferred. DaVinci Resolve fine. We deliver finished ads ready to upload to Meta. This is an ongoing role, not a one-off project. We run 7–10 active clients, ship multiple ads per client per month, and want someone who learns each client's voice, vertical, and what's been winning for them. HOW TO APPLY Do NOT send a generic proposal. We will ignore anything that looks copy-pasted. Your proposal must include: 1. A link to 2–3 paid video ads you edited that ran as paid media on Meta, YouTube, or TikTok. Talking-head or service-business ads strongly preferred. E-com product ads will not be considered. 2. Pick ONE of those ads and write 2–3 sentences explaining one specific editing decision you made and WHY. Not what software. Not what effect. The strategic reason behind a creative choice. (Example: "I held a 1-second silent close-up on the founder's face right after she said 'most contractors will lie to you' because the line needed to land before we cut to proof. A faster cut would've blown past the tension the line created.") 3. Answer this: What's the difference between editing a cold-traffic talking-head lead-gen ad and editing a retargeting ad for the same offer? (If you don't know what this means, this role isn't for you — and that's okay.) 4. Include the phrase "I edit to convert" at the top of your proposal so we know you actually read this. BUDGET & RATE Open to hourly or per-project depending on experience and speed. Share your rate and how you prefer to work. Experienced editors who deliver fast, high-converting work are worth paying well, and we know that. FINAL THOUGHTS We're not looking for the cheapest editor. We're looking for the sharpest one in this specific lane: talking-head direct response ads for service businesses on Meta — built to drive a lead form fill or a booked call. If you think about editing the way a copywriter thinks about words — every frame intentional, every cut earning its place, every second moving the viewer one inch closer to clicking that lead form — we want to hear from you.