How to make a promo video by Friday
Last updated: September 2026
Yes, you can make a promo video by Friday even if you start Wednesday. The fastest path is six steps in Biteable: write a one-sentence brief, start from a promo template, let AVA build the first draft, add a few stock clips, drop in music and your branding, then export. Start to finish it takes an afternoon, not a day, and you don’t need editing experience or a camera.
Key takeaways
- A promo video takes an afternoon when you start from a template instead of a blank timeline.
- AVA, Biteable’s AI video builder, writes the first draft, so you edit instead of starting cold.
- The whole process is six steps. The full checklist is near the bottom of this page.
How long does it take to make a promo video?
About an afternoon, once you stop treating it like a film shoot. Here’s the pace to aim for.
| Step | What you do | Where in Biteable | Rough time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Write a one-sentence brief | Before you open the editor | 5 min |
| 2 | Open a promo template | Launch Promo or Business Ad | 2 min |
| 3 | Generate the first draft | AVA | 5 min, then edit |
| 4 | Add footage | Stock library | 15 min |
| 5 | Polish | Soundtrack, brand kit, captions | 10 min |
| 6 | Export | Download in your size | 2 min |
Add your editing time on top of the draft and you’re still done well inside one afternoon. The times are a guide, not a stopwatch.
What’s the fastest way to start?
Write one sentence before you open any tool: what you’re promoting, who it’s for, and the one thing you want people to do. Something like, “A 15-second promo for our new fall menu, for local regulars, to get them to book a table.”
That sentence is your brief. It sets your script, your length, and your call to action, and it keeps you from wandering. Most videos that eat a whole day do it because nobody wrote that line first. If that one sentence is the hard part, we have a whole guide on it.
Then skip the blank timeline. Open the Launch Promo or Business Ad template, which already have the order worked out: hook, offer, call to action. You swap their placeholder text and clips for yours instead of building from scratch.
Can AI make the first draft?
Yes. Hand your one-sentence brief to AVA and it builds a full first draft: scenes, on-screen text, a voiceover, and pacing. You read what it made, keep what works, cut what doesn’t, and reword anything that sounds off. Editing a draft is much faster than facing an empty page.
Where do you get footage without filming?
Open the stock library from inside the editor, search a word that fits your scene, like “coffee” or “storefront,” and pull a few clips onto the timeline. Set a limit first: three or four clips, not thirty. Chasing the perfect shot is how an afternoon vanishes.
How do you make it look finished?
Three quick passes. Add a soundtrack, since music does more for a promo’s feel than almost anything, and the library is sorted by mood. Apply your brand kit so your logo, colors, and fonts land in one click. Turn on captions, because most people watch with the sound off and you want the message to land anyway.
What size should you export?
Match the format to where it’s going. Square or vertical for social feeds, wide for your website or an email. Biteable sizes it for you, so you’re not re-cutting the same video three times.
The Friday-morning checklist
- Write the one-sentence brief.
- Open a promo template.
- Let AVA build the first draft from your brief.
- Swap in three or four stock clips.
- Add a soundtrack, your brand kit, and captions.
- Export in the size for where it’s going.
FAQ
Do I need editing experience? No. The template and AVA handle the structure and the first draft. You’re editing text and swapping clips, not learning an editor.
Do I need to film anything? No. The stock library covers most promos. Add your own clips only if you already have them.
What if I only have an hour? Do steps one to three and skip the deep polish. A clear brief plus an AVA draft from a template gets you a watchable promo fast.