My Non-Techy Edits

A step-by-step guide
on how I edit my Talking Head
aka “Yapping” reels in the
Instagram Edits app

BY JESSICA CARTER

I’m Jessica - a wife, stay-at-home mom of three boys, and content creator. On June 9, 2026, I posted a reel about how I was ready to stop hiding behind b-roll and surface-level content and finally go FULL SEND on this content creation thing.

I knew I had meaningful things to say, and I also knew that if no one wanted to stick around and listen, it wouldn’t matter. So I started teaching myself how to make simple talking videos more engaging.

Somewhere along the way, editing became a creative outlet, the compliments on my videos turned into lots of questions and requests for advice, and eventually, people were practically begging me to create this course…so here we are, lol.

I’m not an editing expert - I’m just a non-techy mom figuring it out one day at a time - and I’m so excited to get to share the simple techniques I’ve learned to help content creation feel easier, more natural, and a whole lot more fun!

Thank you for being here!

-Jessica

@the.jessicacarter
social@thejessicacarter.com

I’m so excited you’re here and ready to make engaging talking head reels!!! I’ll walk you through my editing techniques step by step, using simple screen recordings so you can follow along at your own pace. By the end, you will have practical skills you can start using right away to create reels you feel confident and excited to share!

This course goes in order of how I typically edit my talking head reels. Each step in my process has a corresponding video tutorial where I walk you through what I personally do for that step in the Edits app, as well as any tips, tricks, and shortcuts I have.

What I recommend:

1. Read the step’s section first.
2. Watch the corresponding tutorial all the way through.
3. Then go back and follow along in the Edits app, pausing the tutorial as needed.
4. Check off each step in the course as you go.

1. Download or update the Instagram Edits app

   

2. Choose or record one short talking-head video (unedited) to practice with
3. Keep this course open on a second device if possible.
4. Remember: your app may look slightly different than my videos as Edits releases updates.

0. 00PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO YOUR HOOK
1. 01STEP 1: TRIM YOUR VIDEO
2. 02STEP 2: ADD ON-SCREEN TEXT
3. 03STEP 3: ADD ZOOMS USING KEYFRAMES
4. 04STEP 4: ADD OVERLAYS, GIFS, & STICKERS
5. 05STEP 5: USE THE CUTOUT FEATURE IF NEEDED
6. 06STEP 6: FILTERS, LINKS, & MISCELLANEOUS EDITS
7. 07STEP 7: RE-ADD CAPTIONS & CUSTOMIZE THEM
8. 08STEP 8: ADD SOUND EFFECTS
9. 09STEP 9: EXPORT, DOWNLOAD, & POST

My setup is super simple. The hardest part for me was picking my regular filming spot that has decent lighting. I chose a spot that doesn’t necessarily have the best lighting in my house, but it’s the most reliable spot because I can kind of “sneak away” and film in private (lol) even if my husband or kids are out in the living room or in and out of the house.

So I chose my bedroom - my next option was the car, but I wanted something that wasn’t a million degrees (hi, Texas) and harder to get set up at each day.

1. I sit facing the window and usually film midday. My overhead light is always OFF.
2. My phone is on a tripod, with a little ring light attached on LOW level (warm) for some extra glow
3. I film inside the Edits app, on my FRONT camera (yes I know, crime!), so I can use the teleprompter feature!

I want to preface this by saying do not overthink your filming spot. I put off getting started for way too long simply because I was indecisive and overthinking it. Make do with what you have and be okay with even changing things up later. For now, your goal is to JUST GET STARTED. That being said, do your best to:

1. 

   Choose a space that is clutter free and aesthetically pleasing. Add a plant behind you, a lamp with a warm glow, a candle on top of a couple of books, etc.

2. 

   Film in the same spot consistently - people will start to recognize your space and that familiarity goes a long way.

   **This also makes it WAY easier for YOU to show up and film instead of always trying to figure out where and how you’ll set up that day.

3. 

   Use a mic. Do you need one? No. Does it make a big difference in how the audio sounds? If you have a good mic, yes. A crappy sounding mic will only hurt you, so if you do use one, make sure it has good sound.

All my favorite content creation tools are linked HERE.

You’ve heard the word “hook” a million times. And it’s true - your hook can make or break your content. You can have the best content in the world, but if you can’t stop someone from scrolling past your videos, no one will know it exists.

Now, unless you’re a celebrity or have an angel face that’s really fun to look at, you have to get creative with how you actually make people stop their scroll. And unfortunately, it’s just not as easy as it used to be.

I try to use 4 hooks in almost all my talking head videos:

1. Visual Hook: something that is visually different, weird, eye-catching, alarming, etc.
2. Auditory Hook: a sound that is fun to hear or grabs attention in some way
3. Verbal Hook (Written): a text hook on the screen
4. Verbal Hook (Spoken): your first sentence that tells people why they should stay and listen (does not have to be the same as your written hook on screen)

The very first thing I do for every edit is trim my video down - meaning cut out unnecessary silences, long pauses, repeated thoughts, and filler words when needed.

WATCH STEP 1: TRIMMING TUTORIAL

Titles and subtitles, headings and subheadings, etc.

Think of your on-screen text like you’re outlining your video for your viewers to track with you better and stay more engaged.

• Headings (big ideas)
• Subheadings (smaller ideas)
• Key points throughout your video or anything you want to emphasize
• Bulleted or numbered lists if your video contains a “list” of any sort
• Supplemental thoughts that you didn’t say in your video, but that add context or emphasis to what you’re saying

Because you asked, these are my favorite fonts and animations; however, PLEASE find your own brand image, style, etc. Fonts that YOU love, represent your brand well, and set you apart. That is key if you want to create your own personal brand.

WATCH STEP 2: ON-SCREEN TEXT TUTORIAL

Minimal & Clean: understated and modern

Friendly & Approachable: warm and conversational

Bold & Statement: confident and scroll-stopping

Elegant & Romantic: soft, luxe, a little dreamy

Playful: high energy and fun

Professional: polished and credible

Part 3

Universal: Reliable go-tos that work across almost any vibe

The basics:

• Use 1 statement font + 1 simple font
• Never use 2 decorative fonts together
• If your title is fancy, keep your subtitle clean
• Stay consistent so people recognize your content
• Readability always wins over aesthetics

The biggest font mistakes I see:

• Using three or four fonts.
  Stick to two mainly, and an occasional third.
• Tiny subtitles.
  If I have to squint... I'm scrolling.
• Putting text over busy backgrounds.
  Blur it. Darken it. Add a filter. Move it. Do something.
• Using script fonts for paragraphs.
  Pretty? Yes. Readable? Not at all.
• Text touching the edge of the screen.
  Give it room to breathe. Instagram crops more than people realize.

If your reel looks "off," it's almost always one of these four things:

1. Use ONE attention-grabbing font.
   This is your hook.
2. Pair it with a simple font.
   Your subtitle should never compete with your headline.
3. Create contrast. Good text design is about contrast. If everything matches...nothing stands out.
   • Bold + Thin
   • Serif + Sans Serif
   • Large + Small
   • White + Beige
   • Uppercase + Sentence case
4. Bigger is almost always better.
   Most people make their text WAY too small.

Save your brand colors in the color section of the Edits app (where you edit text) so you can use those consistently.

If you don’t have brand colors yet, I highly recommend coming up with 3-5 colors that you want to use consistently. It keeps your style and page coherent and more recognizable. You can search color palettes on Canva or Pinterest for inspo!

Ahhh, keyframes. These made me crash out a few times when I was first learning, not gonna lie 🤪

Keyframes are one way you can get that cool “zoom in, zoom out” type effect you see a lot. Usually as I’m going through adding text, I’ll also add a few zoom moments where they fit.

This tiny little diamond button opens up a whole WORLD of animations and features.

Keep in mind - keyframes themselves could be their own course, so for the sake of this being a mini-course (and also given the fact that I am also still learning them!), I’m going to teach you my favorite few ways to use keyframes:

The slow zoom in: I love to use this to add emphasis or “sass” to something I’m saying.

The quick snap-in zoom: another great way to add emphasis or visually keep your viewer engaged.

Don’t overdo it with these - try to be strategic about where you add zooms.

WATCH STEP 3: KEYFRAMES TUTORIAL

To be honest with you, steps 2-4 (adding text, keyframes, and adding other overlays and GIFs on screen), usually all run together for me. I’ll typically work from beginning to end of my video adding all at the same time. Some text here, a GIF there, so on and so forth.

After I do an initial run through, I’ll usually go back through and make sure there are no big chunks of time with nothing on screen. As a general guideline, look for long stretches where nothing changes visually. When it makes sense, aim to add a purposeful visual element every 2–4 seconds.

That being said, don’t add something solely to fill space. Make sure what you’re adding either adds value or context to what you’re saying, and doesn’t feel like visual or mental clutter.

WATCH STEP 4: OVERLAYS, GIFS, & STICKERS TUTORIAL

In this video, I also cover how to move around your “layers” to move things in front of or behind other things, so this is a good one!

Aka how you can get text, photos, or videos to show up BEHIND YOU in your reel

The cutout feature is really fun, not something I use in every video by any means, but it’s what you use when you want to cutout, aka remove the background on something.

It’s also what you’ll use when you want text/photos/videos to show up BEHIND you in the video. And it’s actually way simpler than you probably realize!

WATCH STEP 5: CUTOUT TUTORIAL

In this tutorial, I cover several miscellaneous features and tips including:

• adding your profile link to your video
• adding the link to a different reel to your video
• adding and adjusting audio
• choosing filters and what my favorites are
• exporting your video
• etc.

WATCH STEP 6: MISCELLANEOUS TUTORIAL

I usually add simple captions very early on in my editing process.

It is helpful to have them up early because as you’re adding features and text throughout your video, you can see where you’re at in the video and what you’re saying without having your volume up the whole time.

I’ll say this though: if you add them early, do not customize them yet. I would just keep simple one or two line captions on screen just for the sake of tracking the video.

Reason being is as you’re editing, things may move around or you may decide to cut certain words etc. So... add captions now, customize later.

I wait until the second to last step (right before I add sound effects) to finalize and customize my captions.

As far as positioning goes, you’ll hear everyone tell you differently, so find what works for you. I like putting them near my face because it leaves room for other aspects of the video on-screen AND keeps the viewer’s attention closer to where my emotions are so they can stay more engaged in what I’m saying.

I definitely recommend either one LINE at a time or one WORD at a time. Again, your goal is to keep your viewer engaged and when someone can read multiple lines of what you haven’t even said yet, they get bored.

WATCH STEP 7: CUSTOMIZING CAPTIONS TUTORIAL

PAUSE! 🛑
Just a reminder that at this point, if you haven’t already, you should have your captions finalized before moving on to sound effects.

Alright, we’ve saved the best for last!

The most fun part of editing (in my opinion) is the LAST part. Trust me on this! DO NOT add sound effects until all your other edits are 100% done. Until you’re basically ready to export and press post, you are not ready for sound effects.

Here’s why: if you’re anything like me, you will continue to tweak things, move around text, adjust durations of features on screen, etc. even when you think you’re done. When you make changes like that, it will also change where you need sound effects to be, which means you’d also have to move around sound effects. I made this mistake way too many times in the early days so now you know - sound effects are the absolute LAST thing you do.

These are my favorite sound effects that I reach for a lot - but again, find what YOU love!! That honestly is the biggest learning curve. Just like with text, animations, etc, find your own unique style and feel for your videos. There are SO many to choose from and they’re always adding more, too!

WATCH STEP 8: SOUND EFFECTS TUTORIAL

TEXT POP-UPS: For emphasizing a word or phrase as it appears

SCREENSHOTS & PHOTOS: For comments, DMs, screenshots, photos, receipts

MONEY MOMENTS: For prices, sales, savings, income, spending

STICKERS & EMOJIS: For GIFs, emojis, arrows, graphics, etc.

BIG REVEALS & EMPHASIS: For results, before-and-afters, important points, exciting reveals, etc.

TRANSITIONS: For switching clips, locations, topics, or scenes

MISCELLANEOUS: For adding drama, humor, etc.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MADE IT!!!

Hopefully you’re feelin’ like this:

But if you’re feelin more like this:

Just know, it DOES get easier (and quicker), I promise! The learning curve and figuring out your style is the hardest part. Once you have that down, it’s all about going through the motions. You got this!

1. Export your video. I have heard the gurus all say something differently about how you should export your video so I don’t think there’s only one right answer. I usually export with these settings:

   

2. Once it’s exported, I always download a copy to my phone BEFORE I share it to Instagram. This is so I can also share the video to my TikTok, Facebook, & YouTube Shorts.

I LOVE a good voiceover. Such a good way to add value or just yap about something on your mind/heart. I think my videos where I get vulnerable in the voiceover are some of my best for building deeper connection with my audience.

Tip #1: Your voiceover does not need to be about what you’re doing in the video. In fact, it often shouldn’t be!
You could be doing a makeup routine and talking about what you’re learning as a mom in this season of your life. Or it’s a day in the life or morning routine video, and you’re sharing something you learned from a podcast recently. So not only do you have people intrigued by what they’re watching, but they’re also listening to what you’re saying.

Tip #2: No long pauses. If anything, you want one sentence to slightly overlap with the next.

Tip #3: Talk naturally, like you would with a friend over FaceTime. This isn’t a job interview. Re-do takes if needed.

WATCH THE VOICEOVER TUTORIAL HERE

Remember: the goal of editing isn’t to prove how good you are at editing. It’s to make your message easier and more enjoyable to consume.

Putting text in the danger zones: Text gets covered by the username, caption, buttons, or bottom navigation.

Using unreadable on-screen text. The font is too small, too thin, overly decorative, or doesn’t contrast with the background.

Making sound effects way too loud. The “typing” shouldn’t jump-scare people or overpower your voice. 😂

Leaving long pauses and unnecessary breaths. Natural is good, but dead space can make a video feel slower than it actually is.

Over-editing every second. Too much going on can overstimulate your viewer and detract from the message.

Using random edits with no purpose. Every zoom, text change, sound effect, or visual should emphasize something, reset attention, or add clarity.

Use what you've learned to create a style that feels like YOU.

Reminder: You don't have to choose one editing style! Mix and match based on your personality, your content, and even the individual reel. The goal isn't to make your videos look like mine, it's to understand your options so you can make intentional editing choices that feel like YOU.

• □ Hooks added (visual, auditory, written, and spoken)
• □ Empty pauses and mistakes trimmed
• □ Captions finalized and proofread
• □ Text is readable and within safe zones
• □ Overlays add value rather than clutter
• □ Zooms are intentional
• □ Sound effects added for each on-screen change
• □ Music and voice levels are balanced
• □ Video watched once from beginning to end
• □ Exported and posted

Editing is only one part of creating content. The other part is keeping track of your ideas, planning what to post, and actually following through... consistently.

I got sick of keeping random notes in my Notes app just for them to get buried, or saving videos on Instagram to “go back to later” when I needed inspo (yeah, right 🤪).

I couldn’t find a content planner & organizer that actually checked all my boxes, so I created one. And now it’s a plug-and-play template that you can make your own in minutes!

Grab the $9 template here