Since I started Past Foot Forward in 2020 as a nostalgia blog, I’ve featured numerous interview-based articles, and I can’t wait to publish even more. It’s so important to share our words with clarity and accuracy, which is why a fantastic transcription service is a must. I used to transcribe hours of interviews by hand. I also tried several transcription services that just didn’t cut it – not easy to use, not very accurate, or too costly.

I’m so glad to have found Grain, a transcription platform that is intuitive, accurate, and affordable. I’m able to upload Zoom recordings quickly and wait just seconds for Grain to produce a transcript. My audio m4a files needed to be converted to mp3 for compatibility, so Katie from Grain showed me a fast and easy way to convert my files. In just a few minutes, I safely uploaded the audio and let Grain work its magic on the transcript.

With Grain, you get to upload recordings in the best way for you. By sending Zoom meetings to the Cloud (with a Zoom license), you’ll import directly from Zoom. If you save to your computer instead, just upload the recordings from your files. It’s quick and convenient to make highlights of clips to post on social media, with captions available. Per their website, English is not the only language supported on Grain. Transcribe in Spanish, French, Russian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, or Italian, too!

My opinion is that any transcription service will miss a few words here and there. Fortunately, it’s easy to correct discrepancies when you use Grain. Put the transcript in edit mode and select individual words to tweak as needed. The best part is, the transcribed words are on the same page as the original video recording, so no need to have a ton of windows open while working. You will need Internet access to use Grain, but transcriptions can be downloaded for offline use.

Maybe you’re a fellow journalist looking for a more efficient transcription of quotes. Perhaps you’re a podcast host aiming to offer transcripts as an accessible content option. You might be in search of a service to keep up with meetings from work. If you frequently record interviews, meetings, or other audio, I’d highly recommend Grain. They offer a generous trial period of their business tier, which allows for unlimited recordings and transcripts. Having a few weeks to test everything was so helpful. If you commit to annual billing, you’ll save 20% at a rate that comes down to $19 per month for business tier. Monthly billing is $24 a month. Not sure how often you’ll be transcribing? You might start out with the free tier, which holds ten recordings and transcripts (you then need to delete a recording in order to upload another).

Sharing spoken words in written form is an art that I appreciate, and I’m excited for a new chapter of this journey. I used my very first transcription with Grain when I published an interview featuring actor Clayton Snyder. As a writer and researcher, there are many more projects filling up my unlimited library. Learn more about this wonderful transcription service by visiting Grain.com!