Turn Tour Recordings into Social Content with Descript

You don't need to record a full tour. Start with one compelling 3-5 minute segment — your best story, a dramatic reveal, or your most popular stop.

Options for recording:

• Audio only: Voice memo app on your phone. Stand somewhere quiet (before guests arrive, or after the tour). Narrate your stop as if guests are there.
• Video: Set your phone on a small tripod or lean it against a wall while you narrate. You don't need to be on camera — a walking shot of the location works well.
• Live tour recording: Ask a trusted guest to film one segment during an actual tour. Authentic and captures real audience reactions.

Save the file to your phone's camera roll or directly upload to your computer.

1. Go to Descript's website and sign up (free account works for testing)
2. Click New Project → Import
3. Upload your audio or video file
4. Descript automatically transcribes the recording — this takes 1-3 minutes

What you should see: Your recording appears as a timeline at the bottom, and a transcript appears in the main editing panel above it. Every word is linked to its moment in the audio.

Troubleshooting: If transcription quality is poor (background noise), try re-recording in a quieter environment. Outdoor recordings with wind can reduce accuracy.

This is Descript's superpower: you edit audio by editing text. Delete a word in the transcript and it disappears from the audio. Fix a stumble by highlighting it and typing the correct word.

Start by cleaning up:

• Delete all "um," "uh," and repeated false starts — highlight them in the transcript and press delete
• Fix any transcription errors (Descript may mishear historical names or local terms)
• Identify your strongest 60-90 second segment (usually the story's punchline or most dramatic moment)

1. Highlight the 60-90 second segment you identified
2. Click Export → Video Clip
3. Choose vertical format (9:16) for Reels/TikTok
4. Add subtitles: click Captions in the toolbar. Descript auto-generates captions from the transcript. Style them with a clear font on a contrasting background — captions dramatically increase video views.
5. Export and save

What you should see: A vertical video clip with your audio narration, the location as background (if you recorded video) or a static image, and animated captions.

1. Return to the full recording in your Descript project
2. Add a 30-second intro: click Add clip before your recording and record a brief "Welcome to [Tour Name] with [Your Name]" intro
3. Export as Audio → MP3
4. Upload to a free podcast host (Spotify for Podcasters, Anchor) to distribute
5. Title it: "[City] [Tour Type] — Episode 1: [Stop Name or Theme]"

1. In Descript, select all text in the transcript
2. Copy and paste into a Google Doc
3. Use Google Docs' "Help me write" (see Level 2 guide) to clean it up: "Rewrite this transcript of a tour guide narration as a blog post. Keep the voice authentic. Add a title, an intro paragraph, and a call to action at the end."
4. Edit, verify historical claims, publish to your website

Aim for one recording session per month during your slower season. One 5-minute recording produces:

• 3-4 Instagram Reels or TikTok clips
• 1 podcast episode
• 1 blog post