For your team
Video marketing for plumbers: talk at the van once, get a finished ad back
Cutroom turns one clip of you talking at the van into a finished 9:16 ad, with your job footage on your words and captions burned in. It takes about a minute.
In short
- Video marketing works for plumbers because in an emergency search people call whoever looks real.
- You film one clip of yourself talking at the van and Cutroom turns it into a finished 9:16 ad.
- Film 20 seconds of the problem and 20 seconds of the fix on every job, and those clips land on your words.
- You do not have to be on camera. Point the phone at the pipe and talk while you film.
- Your first video is free. After that a 30 second ad costs about 110 credits.
- From upload until the finished edit is back
- ~1 min
- One finished 30 second ad, edit plus export
- 110 credits
- Finished ad in your first 7 days, no card
- 1 free
- Longest clip you can upload
- 3 min
Why plumbers need video
Plumbing is bought in a panic, and the caller picks a plumber in minutes.
- A water heater fails on a Sunday and the search happens on a phone over a puddle.
- They look for a face, a van that looks like a real business, a job like their own, and reviews written by people from streets near them.
- A plumber who has explained a repair on camera is not a stranger when the phone rings.
- Editing one video costs an evening after a full day of callouts, which is where most plumbers stop.
How it works
You explain the job you just finished, the way you would explain it to the customer.
- You film one clip of yourself talking on your phone, up to 3 minutes. The tailgate is fine.
- Cutroom writes out every word, writes the opening headline, puts your job clips on the words that describe them and burns in the captions.
- Highlight the phrase about the corroded valve and your own shot of it lands on those words.
- You get a 9:16 MP4 at 1080 x 1920 for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and the Facebook feed.
- Post it to your Google Business Profile first, because that is where an emergency search lands, then to local Facebook groups and the feeds.
From the tailgate to a posted ad
A 30 second ad comes to about 110 credits, edit and export together.
Film one clip
Up to 3 minutes, at the van
Edit
100 credits for the transcript, the first edit and the clip search
Place your clips
Your job footage lands on the phrase
Export
20 credits per finished minute, 9:16 MP4
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Film your job sites
Your before and after clips are the best footage you have.
- Film 20 seconds of the problem before you touch it.
- Film 20 seconds of the fix when you are done.
- Ask the homeowner first. Almost everyone says yes to a shot of their own pipework.
- Upload the clips once and they stay in your library for every ad after that.
- The built-in search adds millions of free clips for anything you did not film.
Where the job-site clip sits in the finished video
The twenty seconds of the fix lands over the sentence that describes it. You stay on screen and the captions carry the words on mute.
5 ads to film
Each one is one clip of you talking at the van.
Five plumber ad ideas
| Ad | What you say |
|---|---|
| The explained callout | What was leaking, what you replaced, and why it failed |
| The cost question | What a water heater swap costs, and what moves the price |
| Prevention | The one thing every homeowner should do before winter |
| Emergency | What to shut off first when water comes through the ceiling |
| Local | Name your area and how fast you can usually be there |
Ad: The explained callout
- What you say
- What was leaking, what you replaced, and why it failed
Ad: The cost question
- What you say
- What a water heater swap costs, and what moves the price
Ad: Prevention
- What you say
- The one thing every homeowner should do before winter
Ad: Emergency
- What you say
- What to shut off first when water comes through the ceiling
Ad: Local
- What you say
- Name your area and how fast you can usually be there
What one ad costs
You pay in credits: one price for the edit, one for the export.
Credits per video
| Step | Credits | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | 100 | The transcript, the opening headline, the first edit and the clip search |
| Export | 20 per finished minute | The 9:16 MP4 file |
| 30 second ad | About 110 | Edit plus export |
| 1 minute video | 120 | Edit plus export |
Step: Edit
- Credits
- 100
- What it covers
- The transcript, the opening headline, the first edit and the clip search
Step: Export
- Credits
- 20 per finished minute
- What it covers
- The 9:16 MP4 file
Step: 30 second ad
- Credits
- About 110
- What it covers
- Edit plus export
Step: 1 minute video
- Credits
- 120
- What it covers
- Edit plus export
Plans and how many ads you get
Start free, then pick a plan if you post every week.
- Your first video is free within 7 days, on 600 credits, with no card. It carries a Cutroom mark across the middle.
- Lite costs $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits and takes the mark off.
- Basic costs $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits. It adds generated music and a presenter who can say your words for you if you would rather not be on camera.
- Premium costs $79.99 a month for 5,000 credits and adds drawn explainer videos and product shots.
- You can cancel any time under Settings.
- If you only post once a quarter, Lite is more than you need. It pays off when you post weekly.
Finished 30 second ads a month, plan by plan
At about 110 credits an ad, edit plus export. Free exports carry a Cutroom mark.
- Free, first 7 days1 ad
- Lite, $19.99~11 ads
- Basic, $39.99~22 ads
- Premium, $79.99~45 ads
Don't like being on camera?
Most plumbers don't. There are three options, and only one costs extra.
- People hire the plumber who sounds like they have seen this leak a hundred times, so talking through the job is enough.
- If you stay behind the camera, your voice carries the trust and the captions carry it on mute.
- A real voice at a real van costs nothing extra, and people can tell the difference between you and a presenter.
Three ways to make the video
| Option | How | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|
| Talk anyway | One clip, no script, at the van | None |
| Stay behind the camera | Point the phone at the pipe and talk while you film | None |
| An avatar (Basic plan) | A portrait and an audio track in, a talking presenter out | 350 credits a minute of render, on top of edit and export |
Option: Talk anyway
- How
- One clip, no script, at the van
- Extra cost
- None
Option: Stay behind the camera
- How
- Point the phone at the pipe and talk while you film
- Extra cost
- None
Option: An avatar (Basic plan)
- How
- A portrait and an audio track in, a talking presenter out
- Extra cost
- 350 credits a minute of render, on top of edit and export
What it does not do
Cutroom is built for ads where someone talks.
- What you upload can be 3 minutes at most.
- One project gives one video. There are no sets of variants.
- Cutroom does not make silent montages. For a clip set to music, your phone's own editor is free.
- Every ad comes out as a 9:16 MP4. It is not for a TV spot or a website header.
Questions people ask
- Do I need to be on camera for plumber video ads?
- No, but someone has to talk. Film the job and talk while you shoot, and captions carry your voice on mute. On Basic, $39.99 a month, an avatar can present instead, at 350 credits a minute of render.
- Can I use photos and clips from my own jobs?
- Yes. Upload them once to your library. Highlight the phrase where a clip belongs and it lands on exactly those words. The built-in search covers everything you did not film.
- What does one finished ad cost?
- About 110 credits for 30 seconds: 100 for the edit plus 20 credits per finished minute for the export. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 of those ads.
- Is there a free plan?
- Your first video is free: 600 credits within 7 days, no card. It exports with a Cutroom mark across the middle and is yours to use. Lite at $19.99 a month removes the mark.
- How long can the clip be?
- Up to 3 minutes. For an ad, shorter works better anyway: export costs 20 credits per finished minute, and an emergency searcher decides in the first ten seconds.
- Will this replace my Google reviews or my ads?
- No. Reviews close the job and the map brings the emergency call. Video adds trust on top: it is the reason a caller picks your listing over the one above it. Run it alongside them.
Film one clip at the van after your next job and post it before the next callout. Your first video is free.