With Descript you can compose, record, transcribe, edit, collaborate, and share your podcasts and videos. Descript is an all-in-one video and podcast editing tool. Your video will be transcribed by AI, and editing it will be as simple as editing a document.
Descript Pricing – Free vs Paid version
The following table showcases what you get with the free version as opposed to the paid version:
| Features | Free Version | Paid Version |
|---|---|---|
| Transcription hours per month | 1 hour | 10 hours |
| Editing | Yes | Yes |
| Screen recording | Yes | Yes |
| Templates | Yes | Yes |
| Stock media | Yes | Yes |
| Captions | Yes | Yes |
| Remote recording hours per month | 1 hour | 10 hours |
| Watermark-free video export | 1 per month | Unlimited |
| Video export resolution | 720p | 4K |
For your small business needs, you may find the Free version enough. This is one of the reasons why Descript is such a great tool for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Uses cases of Descript for small business and entrepreneurship
The following are ways an entrepreneur can use Descript for video marketing
| Descript Features | Function of the Feature | Example Use for Small Business |
|---|---|---|
| Video Editing | Allows you to cut, merge, and edit video files | use this feature to create promotional videos or product demonstrations |
| Podcasting | Provides multitrack audio editing | create podcasts with your business partners to share industry knowledge or company updates |
| Transcription | Transcribes video and audio with industry-leading accuracy | A small business can transcribe meetings or interviews for record-keeping or content creation |
| Overdub | Creates a realistic voice clone | use this to dub text or create a voiceover for a video to replicate when you don’t have enough time to build new content |
| Screen Recording | Captures screen and records microphone or computer audio | Use this for creating tutorials or product walkthroughs |
| Filler Word Removal | Removes filler words like “um” and “uh” with one click | A small business can use this to clean up recorded speeches or presentations |
| Multi-user Collaboration | Allows team members to collaborate on audio and video projects | Use this for team projects or collaborative content creation when you need more people involved |
| Eye Contact (beta) | Edits the video so the person is looking into the camera | You can read from the script while Descript is editing your eyes so it seems you’re looking into the camera |
If you’re wondering why is video marketing so powerful for small businesses, rest assured this question is answered away easily. Video content can be reprdoced in many ways, and published across many networks and platforms.
How to use Descript for your small business needs
1. Sign Up
Head over to the Descript homepage, and click the ‘Get Started for free’ button:
Choose the method of sign up/log in:
2. Download Desktop App
As soon as signed in, you’ll be prompted to download the desktop App. This will provide a much better experience.
3. Create a project
The main dashboard looks like this:
Go to projects, and add new:
You can then choose to drag & drop, upload or record a video right away:
From here, let’s choose video project and proceed to the project dashboard:
You can now add any file, start recording, or ask Ai to help you come up with content.
Let’s Ask Ai to write:
And it did:
Simply hit ‘add to script’ and now it’s part of your video material:
4. Upload video
As soon as you upload the video, the transcript is built for you:
5. Add Captions
Click above the dashboard on ‘text’ to get the following options:
Captions are automatically added to your video then:
6. Edit Timeline (cuts)
Most videos will contain stops and mistakes you’d like to edit out by cutting a specific segment out of the video.
The timeline dashboard at the bottom shows the transcript, video and audio segments:
This gives you a great visual on your edits.
7. Remove video and audio from the transcript
Descript makes it so much easier to edit out content by deleting the transcript:
Simply select and delete as if it were just a Word Doc, and watch these video snippets disappear from the production!
8. Correct mistakes
Missspelled something, or made a lapsus. No worries, go to the word in question:
Hit correct, and replace it:
9. Ask Ai for help
Sometimes you’re going to be stuck, so hit the ‘ask Ai’ button to help:
Whatever question you have, it will be able to assist to a great degree, reducing the time wasted in content editing.
10. Audio Production
The right bar is devoted to audio when you click on the audio segment:
From here you can play around and figure out what works best for you. Whether you want to speed it up, or increase volume, or give a studio effect. All possible very quickly and easily doable.
11. Captions edit
Click on the captions generated to switch the right bar to captions settings:
and now you have full access to all Caption options:
By now, you should have a solid video that you can slowly bring closer to the finish line.
12. Publish
The Free version allows for 1 video publishing without a watermark per month. Normally, given all your workload and responsibilities, this timeframe should work for you as you won’t have much time to publish more videos.
The issue with this limit arises when you make a mistake that you discover post-production and post-publishing. Then you have to wait for a month. So, make sure to publish first WITH a watermark to avoid this happening to you!
Go to the right top corner, where the Publish button is:
Hit ‘Publish’
That’s it. Video published, you can obtained via downloading it, or getting a URL:
Additional guidance for Video Production
At times, you need to come back and re-edit a few things that may have slipped your attention. But that’s okay – these errors are always part of the process so be ready to go back and forth a few times before you arrive at a point where the video is what you wanted it to be.
Video format
There are different video formats you should keep in mind. For example:
- Shorts (vertical videos)
- Youtube videos (horizontal videos)
Plan the format before production – defining what the shots should look like before getting on screen.
Language and sensitive content
You may be tempted to use certain hook tactics that you see on the internet to get more followers, and more engagement. Keep in mind marketing ethics for influencers as you begin recording videos. This type of content is too personal to your brand (and yourself). Avoid getting attached to a stigma that could have a negative impact on your business.
Social media platforms
Each platform is unique; with different requirements and audience demographics. You may want to adapt the video for different platforms.
For example, Facebook stories are featured to older demographics, while TikTok is for younger demographics. In this case, the consumption patterns also differ. Facebook can be longer, while tik tok needs to be shorter.
Anoher difference between Facebook Stories and Tik Tok is the algorithm and how the content is served to users. This is important as you want to feed the engine the type of content that will drop more followers who are ready to convert and complete a certain action.
Complimentary Ai tools for Descript
Visla Ai
You may need background videos to complement your recording. Visla Ai is a great tools that helps you generate videos for this purpose.
Waveformer Ai
Another tool that can be useful is Waveformer Ai which can generate background music, sounds, and audio themes for your videos.
Cap Cut
Cap Cut is a great app that can be used on your mobile device for video editing and production. While it can replace Descript for editing, it still falls short in many ways compared to Descript. The Free Cap Cut version offer scene transitions, audio adjustment, edit options, and has a database of various songs and clips you can use for free.
However, we use Cap Cut to generate the initial edit when the video is recorded using your phone. This is particularly useful as you don’t have to transfer files from your mobile. But instead, complete the first edit on your phone and once satisfied with it, transfer to Descript to build captions and edit audio, and publish the video.
