Two simple but effective ways our business helps the environment (and how you can too)

Posted on by Outsource Typing

tree planting scotland

Throughout the 90s and 00s (up to 2011 when I started my own business), those years working in offices were very much paper-based, and we couldn’t have lived without it as a resource to help us do our jobs.

In the legal and medical industries, where it’s important that everything be recorded meticulously, the volumes of paper used in our offices were vast. Fast-forward to the last 5-10 years, these industries, and many others, have made a change to using much less paper, or even going almost totally paperless.

I was shocked to note that the UK paper recycling rate is low on the scale when compared to the combined European average (82.5% as of 2021).

Sources: data.gov.uk and Eurostat

DS Smith, one of the UK’s top paper recyclers, in their recent Wasted Paper report state:

“Since an 85% peak in 2017, the recycling rate for paper and cardboard packaging has been falling and if the decline continues, we could end up recycling just 77% by 2030, with increased consumption and waste volume forecast.”

These statistics spell out the potential growth and continued reliance on harvesting timber forests, and growing need for incineration of paper waste and increase in volume of landfill, all of which are devastating to the environment.

I am proud to be part of an industry where we are practically paperless, and we continue to audit ourselves regularly to identify areas where we can reduce our use of paper and packaging materials.

In order to make a positive step to put something back into the environment, Outsource Typing support Ecologi, and to date have helped them to plant 112 trees across many different projects in Africa, which is not only helping the environment through carbon sequestration and regeneration of biodiversity in the natural world, but it is also helping feed and sustain people. We hope to continue to do so for as long as we can – please consider doing so too. They have a wide range of projects you can get involved with and lots of different ways to help.

Whether it be big moves such as starting to record your own carbon data, supporting global projects, to simply recycling your household and general business waste, please be active in any way you can to protect and preserve our planet.

 

Further reading:

UN Sustainable Development Goal 12

What is a circular economy?

How to bring your business into the circular economy

The problem with robots

Posted on by Outsource Typing

ai transcription

Robots and machines can’t truly understand what they see or hear. They can interpret it in ways that make it seem like they do, increasingly appearing just like us (sometimes a little too much – see What is the uncanny valley? National Geographic).

Say you’ve got a recording that you want converted into text. You might be thinking of using AI software to produce that text. It’s a great solution for some, not so much for others looking for accuracy. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of this, as it’s not quite the simple solution it may seem to be.

Humans have been using language in one form or another to communicate for around two million years. Robots have been programmed to recognise speech since the 1950s and, naturally, voice recognition technology has been very slow to progress – particularly when compared with advancement in other areas of tech such as quantum computing, the cloud, or GPS.

Ever had trouble communicating with your voice-enabled personal assistant, or frustrating voice recognition phone call options asking you to say aloud your query? These niggling issues are still commonplace because AI software cannot – and probably never will – understand the meaning behind what is being said. It simply recognises the sounds being made and converts them into what it ‘thinks’ to be the correct spoken words. AI doesn’t understand cause and effect and it cannot correlate what is being said, for example, the words ‘lamp’ or ‘onion’ with real objects the way a human brain can.

AI voice recognition software also struggles with the following:

1. Background noise in the real world

The human ear can extract the pertinent parts of the speech from ambient and background noise. A robot cannot and will take all of the sounds into consideration. This is extremely unhelpful if you have a difficult audio recording, perhaps recorded in a busy café, or with people speaking over the top of one another, road noise, dogs barking, children screaming and crying, doors banging, planes flying overhead, the constant buzz of air conditioning units in large buildings, etc., (you get the idea).

In my 25-year career of transcribing (typing), the vast majority of the recorded spoken audio I’ve received is a challenge to complete because of background noise. We fully appreciate it’s not always possible to create a perfectly sound-proofed studio environment (this is a challenging task even for the experts, like podcasters and TV production sound engineers).

2. Speech rate

Humans are capable of understanding slow and fast speech, high- and low-pitched voices laced with emotions and expressions. Most of the ASR (automatic speech recognition) systems struggle when it comes to understanding a speech consisting of more than 200 words per minute.

A secretary or transcriber (aka a real live human being) can understand what is being said and, as such, is able to punctuate properly and edit appropriately. For example, if you’ve said an article or preposition incorrectly, for example, an experienced secretary or transcriber can easily edit this for you; a robot cannot do this – the AI will literally spit out everything that it thinks you have said verbatim, meaning more editing for you later. (Have you got time for this?)

3. Colloquialisms and slang

Your local staff familiar with the vernacular versus a robot: local staff for the win.

4. Local place names

As above! With so many local place names that might crop up from time to time within, say, property work or just everyday correspondence or medical reporting, the need for a secretary or transcriber to reference the correct spellings is frequent. They can actually do this for you; a robot cannot and all it can do is guess, and it will frequently be wrong!

5. Formatting issues

If you have complicated templates for reports or documents, numbered headings, etc., AI software cannot ‘profile’ this for you (profiling means inserting text into a specifically allocated part of a previously prepared document template).

6. Subtleties and nuance

Because a robot will never be able to comprehend and interpret the meaning behind what is being said on a human level, it’s impossible for them to understand vagaries and nuance, e.g. inserting paragraphs at natural or appropriate places within the text. You will need to do this yourself. (Do you have time for this?)

AI software can produce simple numbered paragraphs, 1. 2. 3., etc., but only on the page as you start dictating. It cannot follow your pre-existing formatting or insert text into a particular place in the document, meaning you would require to cut and paste the text under the numbering or paragraph headings later. (Do you have time for this?)

7. Naming individual speakers

A lot of the time it’s not only what was said but who said it within the recording that needs to be captured. At present, AI software isn’t able to name individual speakers with a great deal of accuracy, but it can kind of separate them in a very rough and ready way. This means, again, you will require to edit the transcript to add in the individual speaker names. (Do you have the time for this?!)

What happens when you choose AI to transcribe (i.e. the robot types for you)

To sum up the above, if you find yourself in a position of using AI for your written transcripts, these common fundamental issues may emerge:

  • Receipt of a very basic rough draft of your transcript text, potentially containing several errors that will require correction. Be aware that time (and a great deal of patience) will be spent on editing.
  • Manually inputting the formatting, because the AI cannot do this for you. This can be a very time-consuming process, not to mention quite technical, potentially throwing up formatting issues, e.g. numbering, line spacing, alignment – margins, tabs, etc.
  • Editing will be required to add or check each speaker name, because the AI cannot do this for you, or do it accurately. This will require you to listen through to the entire audio recording in order to capture each individual speaker, if total accuracy is required and if not only what was said but who said it is of importance to you or your work, project, or research.

When AI transcription might suffice

Here are a few instances of where AI software is a possible or viable option:

1. Simple, single speaker dictation that is clear

If you can dictate extremely clearly, without background noise, without a strong accent or mumbling, clipped audio, issues with recording equipment, etc., then by all means have a crack at it. There WILL still be a degree of editing required. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

2. Affordability factor 

For those where it’s not possible or feasible to pay for a human transcription service to produce their transcripts it can be cheaper to use AI (but obviously more time-consuming in the long-run while you edit later, and you WILL require to edit later, depending on how much language accuracy, factual detail, and formatting you are looking for).

3. Helping people with disabilities to communicate

For people with dysgraphia or those unable to write due to disability, AI transcription software can be helpful to be able to get down thoughts and ideas on paper for editing by themselves or others later. (However, it’s worth nothing that often, people with speech, language, and communication difficulties can often struggle with AI voice recognition software – it simply isn’t inclusive for them in the general sense of the likes of commercially available standard packages or apps available on the market.) 

4. When accuracy is not too important

Again, if simply getting the basic thoughts and ideas from brainstorming sessions is all you need, and when accuracy in terms of general grammar, punctuation, proper English usage (and potentially some factual information within the document due to errors) is not so important to you, then AI might be the option for you.

 

Tell us about your experiences with AI software in the comments below. It’s certainly an interesting topic and we’d like to hear from you.

If you need assistance with an audio recording, ask us for our rates. We can assist with large and small projects and on both a regular and an ad hoc basis. There are no contracts and no minimum requirements.

We can also help to edit work that AI has completed poorly for you, or take over from AI entirely!  

Further reading:

AI Is Powerless Without HI: Why Human Intelligence Is Irreplaceable (Forbes) 

Transcript accuracy: a cautionary tale

Posted on by Outsource Typing

transcription accuracy data

Have you ever had to type your own produced interviews and recordings? If so, you’ll probably know how arduous it can be! That’s exactly why you want a professional, right? We have specialised trustworthy transcription software and tools to enable us to transcribe your recordings effectively.

But how do you make sure you are actually capturing all of the speech accurately and therefore all of the important information (data) you need that’s crucial to your projects?

It can be so easy for things to literally get lost in translation. Kind of like a game of telephone.

It takes a whole lot of skill and concentration to transcribe an audio recording properly. We choose only the best and brightest for handling our transcription projects. Over the last 12 years, we’ve curated a highly experienced team who don’t just type, but really listen, and aim to understand what you are saying. (It helps that they are an erudite bunch that we’re sure could definitely qualify for Mensa!)

How do we ensure we know what you are talking about?
Our team have extensive backgrounds in fields such as legal, medical, property and finance before becoming expert freelance transcribers. This means they’ve gathered a wealth of knowledge about industry terminology, patterns of speech, accents, and a thorough all-round general knowledge and appreciation for what is required.

In our 12 years of service provision to date, we’ve produced transcripts on a vast range of topics. Obviously, we might not be as expert as you are in topics such as textile design or the health of honey bees, for example, but we can pick the general gist of a subject up very quickly (such is our expert versatility, if we say do so ourselves!) Aside from our adaptability to become attuned to varied subject matter, we are also experts in effective researching and will always ensure to research correctly from reputable and relevant sources whenever we need to. You’re also welcome to provide us with a crib sheet or vocab doc containing a list of commonly used words or phrases that might crop up on the recordings. We will always work with you closely to ensure total accuracy – we never simply take a guess at something we don’t profess to know!

Have you ever received a transcript and it contains random words that are most definitely not what was said, and apart from anything else are totally irrelevant to the subject matter? This is poor, both in terms of the original staff member’s expertise when transcribing the file, but also the fact that no one has ran it through a quality control process is concerning. This all equates to you potentially losing important data. Unfortunately, this happens all too often in the transcription industry in what we like to call the ‘conveyor belt approach’, where companies take on the recordings, no questions asked, and churn them out with no finesse.

If content from your project is not produced accurately and you have no way go go back and reference it easily to correct errors (i.e. there are no timestamps or you no longer have the original recording) then it makes the process painstaking or impossible.

I recently undertook a 10-week intensive course in data science and it helped me to deepen my understanding further of just how important capturing data is to clients.

Want to know more about extracting data from your transcripts? Get in touch with us for a breakdown of various methods that you can use depending on what level of data you are looking to extract.

The data you extract might be basic or extensive and far-reaching. You may need the data in the short-term of you might want to preserve or add to it for years to come. Don’t make the mistake of using a service that doesn’t want to take the time to commit to caring for your project as much as you do.

Find out more in our article here about things to consider when choosing the right service – or why not just ask us directly how we can help! Contact us here.

Choosing wisely: transcription & audio typing services

Posted on by Outsource Typing

Here at Outsource Typing we don’t just type, we support people to help them to thrive. We take away the stress of regular tasks and just get them done! Not only do we work to your deadlines, we excel at providing the best quality of work out there, whether it be a simple one sentence letter or a full verbatim transcript.

We regularly receive enquiries from businesses and individuals asking for help with their typing (and admin tasks):

  • as secretaries retire or leave
  • as businesses downsize and look to cut costs
  • looking to get ad hoc support, or to fill in for holiday/absence cover
  • when changing providers because they’re unsatisfied with the level of service
  • when starting out for the first time

Also, many are looking to cut costs or achieve the best price (of course). We know cost is important, but rates are very similar across the industry (with reputable providers), and so choosing a company shouldn’t come down to cost alone. Beware of those desperately trying to offer you a bargain price that doesn’t align with the standard. 

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”
Benjamin Franklin 

Whatever your circumstances, it’s a good idea to take a deeper dive and do some prep so that you can be 100% sure you’ve selected the service that’s the best fit for you, and we can help you do that – read on below!

Promises, promises

Be cautious of services offering blind promises.

Did the provider or freelancer say yes immediately or a little too quickly? This could be a red flag.
Do you feel like they showed genuine interest in finding out about your business or project, asking lots of questions along the way about what you might need or want? If not, it could be another red flag.
Could they offer any examples of similar work they’ve completed in the past on a freelance basis? If not, it could be time to keep looking around.

Our best practice is to always make thorough enquiries to ensure we work together as effectively as possible. Making hasty promises about service level and rates without first drilling down to obtain the full scope of the work is a recipe for disaster and is not serving you well. Be prepared for reputable providers to ask you lots of questions about the work you have for them!

Horror stories we hear from others using unsuitable providers include:

  • Providers biting off more than they can chew, finding themselves swamped when the project or workload is passed over to them and is much more difficult than originally anticipated because they didn’t fully appreciate the scope
  • Providers find when the project or workload arrives it doesn’t match their skillset and they’re not skilled enough to provide adequate support and do a shoddy job
  • Providers don’t take the time to find out enough data, and when the project or workload arrives it doesn’t match the cheap quote they’ve offered and so they subsequently raise their rates 

Getting into business with providers who behave in such a way can waste your time, energy, and money. Don’t leave yourself open to prospective services leaving you high and dry because they’ve tried desperately to outbid the competition and promise the world. There are often no contractual obligations, so abandoning workload or projects can be quite common.

Further, inevitable communication breakdown may cause you to miss deadlines, and the challenges of trying to find another provider at the last minute to step in can have a detrimental impact on your business.

“Do more than just talk; act. Do more than just promise; deliver.”
Dr Steve Maraboli

Skills and professionalism  

I recruit only the best, most skilled audio typist/transcribers for my business. It’s worrying to me that I encounter so many unqualified and inexperienced freelance transcribers and VAs out there who are advertising services on the daily.

Your work should be produced professionally by someone who is highly skilled not only in transcription but also proofreading. We have a team of fully qualified transcribers who are time served in professional industries such as medical, legal, and property, and who hold qualifications in typing, transcribing, proofreading and editing. Your work is also always double-checked by our qualified proofreading team to ensure it is as accurate as possible. We produce a high quality professional transcript so you don’t have to worry about hidden errors or embarrassment because of inaccurate, incorrect, or missing data content.

“The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”
The Economist

Having been long established, we know only too well that most audio files require specialist, highly skilled staff to process them. Interpreting audio recordings can be challenging, and only a professional should be engaged to assist you with extracting the important data or conveying accurate communication. We cater for every eventuality and have a full suite of formats in which your work can be professionally presented. If the service is unable to provide you with options or guidance and hasn’t attempted to find out exactly what’s important to you, it’s definitely another red flag.

We listen and understand

Other things to consider are a provider’s skills in specialist areas such as handling strong foreign accents, industry terminology, business speak. Many freelancers or services will turn this type of work away. We are comfortable with and accomplished in transcribing non-native English accents, and work across many different sectors such as finance, medicine, law, technology, research, the arts, and many more.

We’re based in Scotland, with a perfect mix of Welsh, Irish, English, and native Scottish staff. We specialise in transcribing files containing all British accents and dialects. For example, we’ve had many clients come to us over the years with Scottish accent files after other services have failed to satisfactorily extract the data in full because of the nuances and colloquialisms that only a Scottish speaker can truly understand. We are confident of our skills in this area and are proud to advertise this on our website. 

Availability 

Last but not least, will they even be available when you need them? They may say they can turnaround the work for when you want it, but when it actually comes down to it have they done the research, asked the right questions; can they actually deliver? We always offer a trial so that you can see if the way we work fits in with your schedule.

Our typing team are available almost 24/7, 365 days a year. We can do this because of the dedicated, dependable team we’ve built over the last 11+ years. This is definitely another question you should be asking potential service providers, particularly solo freelancers.

Hopefully the above has helped you consider more about who you’d like to place your trust with, be it with us or with another service who you know will be able to provide you with the assurances and skillset your work deserves.

If you’ve been using a provider but have encountered the types of difficulties highlighted above, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out how we can support you to get back on track.

Zoom Meeting Transcription

Posted on by Outsource Typing

Zoom transcription
To say the use of video conferencing, the likes of Zoom, has taken off since the pandemic would be an understatement. In May 2020, there were reported to be 200 million daily participants on Zoom, rising to 300 million in June 2020 (compared to 10 million in December 2019).

It’s clearly been useful for so many people during these difficult times, and in business terms it’s really useful for staying connected with people when flying or long distance travel has been off limits. Post-pandemic, a bulk of travel may remain a non-option to be replaced with video conferencing options in order to cut costs.

Recording the audio-visual from meetings has complemented business connectedness and resulted in improved communication. The audio can be typed up accurately and quickly, and be easily gathered and distributed to participants or other invested individuals or teams.

Accurate data from all meetings and conferences is so important for businesses. Inaccurate information or gaps in data cost businesses large losses every year. Transcribing your video meetings is another way to ensure you capture everything that was said and not miss a thing.  

Get in touch if you’d like us to transcribe audio from a meeting or conference, or for a copy of our free guide to help you get the very best quality from your audio recordings (including some tips you might not be aware of): fiona@outsource-typing.com

‘Secretary’, ‘Audio Typist’, ‘Transcriber’: What’s the difference?

Posted on by Outsource Typing

transcriber definition

Let’s clarify! A secretary or audio typist is commonly someone who types single speaker dictation for one person or a team of people (also known as a typing pool), producing work such as letters, reports or memos, and they’re typically familiar with doing the same type of work on a daily basis. 

At Outsource Typing, we work with all three of the above types of people – secretaries, audio typists and transcribers, but our team have almost always made the transition from secretary/audio typist to transcriber to enable them to work as a freelancer at home and maximise workload and, ultimately, income. Secretaries and audio typists will have gained background experience in their careers working in various business sectors. Their accuracy, attention to detail, and typing skills can be transferred into transcription work. 

When a secretary or audio typist leaves the (familiar) arena of single speaker dictation, in addition to continuing with the same type of audio typing (medical or legal), there’s a world of work out there for them if they can skilfully type a range of varied recordings that might involve anywhere from 2-20 people (or more) speakers. This is what’s formally known as audio transcription, and the people who type up the work are called transcribers. They might typically go on to specialise in legal transcription, court transcription work, medical transcription, or ‘general transcription’. 

General transcription covers a wide area of industry. A transcriber may go from typing an informative webinar or a light-hearted podcast one day, to the next day transcribing financial or banking meetings, a conference recording, or a police PACE interview, for example.  

Good typing skills are essential, but being a professional freelance transcriber involves so much more than this. Here are just a few examples of what’s expected:

  • Punctuation and spelling. You’ll be expected to have the necessary skills and experience to ensure that the transcript is accurate in terms of punctuation, spelling, referencing, etc., so that the text makes sense. 
  • Indicating speech nuances. Not only to represent accurately what was said, but also how it was said.
  • Identifying individual speakers. Often, the client will not only want to know what was said, but also who said it for the likes of interview style transcription, and each time there is a change in speaker it will require to be marked up within the transcript.
  • Attention to detail and following instructions closely. There are a few fairly standard styles of transcript across the industry, depending on what information and/or data the client needs to capture. All of the formats require to be produced alongside the transcription company’s instructions and client requirements. The transcripts can often be quite technical, so attention to detail and the ability to follow instructions closely is essential. 
  • Making sense of difficult or challenging recordings. Often, where there are many participants on a recording, they’ll talk over one another. There might be background noise on the audio recording, such as dog barking, café noise, traffic noise, etc., and it’s important that the transcriber knows what to do in order to represent this properly within the transcript.
  • No editing – strict verbatim. Sometimes no editing of a transcript is permitted, particularly with a verbatim requirement, and there is usually a strict set of instructions to follow that require great care and attention to detail. 
  • Editing required. Sometimes the transcript requires to be edited or ‘tidied up’ by the transcriber to make it easier to read, and it takes great skill and care to know how to do this correctly to produce a high-quality transcript for the client.
  • Attitude. You will need to have patience, a willingness to learn, initiative and good research skills – the subject matter you’ll be requested to type will be wide ranging, and you may not always be provided with any background details. It takes time to work through a transcript and produce it correctly and accurately.
  • Self-reliance. You’ll be freelancing as a transcriber, which may be a learning curve for you if it’s something you’ve never experienced, and you’ll be expected to be up to speed otherwise you may (and will) miss out on opportunities if you’re not organised and prepared. 
  • Good health – hearing. A lot of people overlook this crucial aspect, and I’ve never once seen mention of it in other articles or instructional literature: get a hearing test. An audiologist will be able to tell you where your hearing falls on the scale in terms of being able to pick out speech. If you need an improvement in this area, there are many ways in which you can adjust your software to help you hear the audio better.  Further information on this can be found in our e-book: Improve Your Career With Time-Saving Tech. If you’re struggling to hear the audio, we’d highly recommend taking these steps.
  • Correct use of software. It’s important to use the software and equipment you have to maximise the audio quality so that you can capture all of the information and data within the transcript for the client. Sometimes audio quality can be poor. The transcriber should take the initiative to use the sophisticated tools they have at their disposal to improve the audio quality to make it clearer and more comfortable to listen to.
  • Correct use of equipment. Choice of headphones is also very important. I often see people unwisely recommending noise cancelling headphones for use with transcription. In most cases, they are not the correct choice. I make recommendations on the best headsets to use in my e-book that cater to a range of budgets. Unsuitable headphones can be detrimental to aural health. A transcriber will be wearing a headset for long periods of time, and so it’s important to make the right choice.   

What makes a good transcriber is someone who can really listen to what is being said on the recording in an effort to help them best represent this within the transcript, for example, knowing where and how to edit with little, no, or inconsistent instruction on the recording, e.g. where to separate sentences properly and natural paragraph breaks. 

As an audio typist, the vast majority of work done on this basis for a single speaker, of course, needs to be accurate, but there’s the luxury that the professional who dictated it will be responsible for editing the final copy at the end of the day. Within transcription, however, the transcriber is responsible for the editing. It has to be correct, and an accurate record of what has been spoken. There is a greater responsibility in terms of really listening and accurately representing what is being said, rather than simply ‘drafting’ copy for someone else to edit later on. This is one of the major differences between basic audio typing/secretarial work and transcription. 

If you’re looking to train with us as a transcriber to take on a full range of tasks, as an SME we’re rarely able to take the time to teach transcription on the job. We look for applicants to have at least one year’s previous experience in formal transcription, as well as having your own full suite of freelancing setup. For information on this, check out our sister site The Home-Based Typist, where you’ll find information on how to work from home doing audio typing and transcription work. 

If we can assist your business with transcription projects both short- and long-term, don’t hesitate to get in touch for a quote fiona@outsource-typing.com

COVID-19 – Business Continuity Planning: Virtual Admin & Typing Support

Posted on by Outsource Typing

As a remote operation offering virtual assistance, we are business as usual and there is no change to our service.  And as a purely virtual service, we are immediately able to help support businesses whose workers may be absent and unable to work from home.

Many businesses will be negatively impacted and unable to produce typed or written work, or keep on top of building admin tasks due to staff absence.  Outsource Typing can assist for as long as you need us by providing typing and admin support to all kinds of businesses during periods of staff absence. There are no contracts – you can send as little or as much as you like, and you only pay for the time you use, which is a very cost-effective way to keep your business productive amidst economic instability.

Dictation and recorded audio files can be sent securely to us through our easy to use secure online portal.  We can accept large volumes, and at short notice.  Our thoroughly vetted UK-based transcribers work securely from home, working through the portal to send your work back to you by your chosen deadline.

Sending work to us is easy: login to your online account, upload your file and it will arrive in our typing or admin pools for our team of dedicated remote workers to complete.  Your account is free, our charging structure is simple and there are no hidden costs.

Take a look at our list of services here.  If we can help during this difficult time, please get in touch with our experienced team today by calling 01875 340 892 or emailing fiona@outsource-typing.com.

Using Video Content For Your Business

Posted on by Outsource Typing

Using video content for your business

You might be thinking about live streaming video for your business or brand via Instagram Live Video or Facebook Live. If the video is going to be informative and lengthy (both features allow up to an hour), why not screen record your live video, send it to us to transcribe (type up!). You can then turn the content into useful marketing info on your website or social media.

Likewise, if you pre-record and edit video footage for use on your website or social media, or record your webinars, get in touch and send us the video file to have the audio content typed up.

Click here to find out more about our media transcription skills and services.

One final interesting thing! Why not be at the start of something new and get your videos and content out there by using LinkedIn’s new LinkedIn Live.  Not yet launched and still in the pilot scheme stages, they are selecting a few business to take part and this could be you! Click the link to take you to their online application.

7 Ways Podcast Transcripts Can Boost Your Audience

Posted on by Outsource Typing

Podcast Transcription - 7 Ways Podcast Transcripts Can Boost Your Audience

You want people to listen to your podcasts, not read them, right?  Not exactly.  Let us fill you in on how making available a typed up version of your shows (a transcript) can help you reach a wider audience – the ultimate goal of podcasting!    

Delivering your product or content in as many platforms as possible is a great way to help expand your business and reach a wider audience. At Outsource Typing, we specialise in transcribing audio and can type up your show recordings into a transcript document for you to use on your website, to send to subscribers – whatever you want (more about using transcript content below…). 

A growing number of people are looking to have their podcasts, webinars and YouTube videos transcribed, recognising a variety of benefits:

1. Enhances search engine optimisation (SEO) – content from the transcript can be used on your website, blog or social media, or the actual full transcript uploaded to your site for your audience, providing lots of new and regular content for search engines to crawl, which boosts SEO. Google searches are getting smarter all the time with autocomplete and picking up trends, and monitors how people search for things, which can include trends in how people talk – helpful if you have written transcripts of people actually talking, with all of the great content that they are speaking about, which has huge potential to crop up in all kinds of searches.   

“Podcasting is a great medium for engaging with your audience – for really building a relationship – but it’s not a patch on text content when it comes to being found in search, simply because that’s how people use Google – by typing in their questions! That’s why we always include a good written version of every podcast episode we create, so that we make a search friendly and easily findable version of our podcast episodes. Transcriptions are a great way to do this, providing a full copy of everything said on the show. Not only do they help in search, but they help the accessibility of your content, providing a written version for anyone with hearing impairments, or for those that simply want to review or skim through your content. While we love audio as a medium, it works even more effectively alongside text, and that’s why there’s a lot of power in transcriptions.”
Colin Gray, The Podcast Host

2. Makes content readily available – quote or use content in any way you want for your blog, website or on social media, etc., and include links to any websites or products mentioned.  Keeping your “content profile” updated regularly with new information and links provides the best chance at staying afloat in the search engine ratings, making sure people can find you.  Content can easily be used on your site for blogging and social media posts or marketing products, services, events or other important messages.

3. Produces cross-selling / marketing opportunities – as touched on above, you can use the typed content to create lead-magnet freebies (e.g. e-books, reports, guides, mini-courses, etc.).

4. Reaches wider audiences – the hearing impaired, or those unable to display audio/video content due to IT restrictions (e.g. at a workplace or library).

5. Reaches people with time constraints – some people may just find it easier to read the transcript document or content.  Don’t forget, getting them hooked by reading the transcripts can mean repeat visits or new subscribers if they like what they see…

“Transcripts are an essential part of my podcast. Each podcast I broadcast is accompanied by a detailed blog post based on a transcript of the show. Why? Not everyone wants to listen, some people want to read. By providing both the audio and written version of the show I’m reaching more people, it also makes my content accessible to those with hearing difficulties.  The blog posts are popular, get indexed by Google and help my website reach more people, the podcasts build stronger relationships because it’s my voice in your ear. They work well together.”
Amanda Webb, Spiderworking

6. Reaches foreign audiences – the transcripts are easily translatable into any language from the written transcribed content.

7. Enables smartphone/tablet users on the go – they can browse the written content using less data as opposed to listening/watching, perhaps enticing them to come back and listen/subscribe later – again, no opportunities missed!

We’re trained and qualified in editing and proofreading, so you can trust that your work will always be word-perfect and professionally presented, taking the headache out of editing the content yourself.  Why not trial it out – there is no commitment; we are a pay-as-you go style service, and if you want 1 or 100 podcasts typed up it is totally up to you.  No contracts, no fuss, just great service. 

Get in touch today: fiona@outsource-typing.com

The Home-Based Typist

Posted on by Outsource Typing

typing ebook

My ebook The Home-Based Typist is PACKED with invaluable info from an expert insider perspective with a proven method for success. Running a successful transcription business full-time since 2011 means I know what it takes to make it as a freelancer and business owner in this field.   

I’ve authored a perfectly tailored and indispensable all-in-one guide for typists wishing to start up a new business or enhance their freelance career to boost income. Designed for secretaries/typists, PAs/admins, writers and proofreaders looking to transfer their valuable skills for the first time – or as a refresher – into working at home for transcription companies.

You might be:

  • Working full-time but want to reduce your hours and earn extra money working from home
  • Working full-time as a transcriber but want to advance to the next level and boost your income, earning money from your own clients, in addition to having the optional safety net of agency working too
  • Soon to retire but looking for optional, occasional ad hoc freelance work into the future
  • Experiencing redundancy and want to transfer your skills into something new or temporary
  • Seeking a change in a new role utilising your existing skills
  • Unsure of how you can get into the industry/unsure how to approach transcription companies for work
  • Consistently getting knocked back on your applications for employment with transcription companies (I can tell you why!)
  • Simply looking for a more flexible working life

The e-book has been carefully put together from YEARS of tried and tested approaches and experience in the transcription industry as a competitive transcription service. It’s PACKED with hard-earned knowledge, honest advice, resources and helpful mini projects that will maximise your chances of getting accepted by transcription agencies. It will give you the tools to help you start up your own transcription business or make it as a freelance transcriber, taking assignments as and when you want!

Find out everything you need to know to get started and beyond all in one helpful guide – from equipment to IT, from finances to legal and regulatory advice and many, many more important and fundamental topics are covered, along with a detailed breakdown of transcript types, example transcripts, industry insides, innovative tips, clever tricks and invaluable resources you won’t find elsewhere (or that other educators or mentors want to keep to themselves!)

I’ve been in the industry since 2011, and I run my own successful transcription business. I’ve worked as a freelancer with all types of transcription businesses and my own clients – from large to small, and all over the globe. I know what it takes to make it, and I can share my secrets with you to help make the process easier for you.  I can help you succeed where others have and can so easily fail without the right coaching.

The e-book contains 65 detailed full A4 pages in a PDF (or MS Word format) download, ready to print or be read on screen. The user-friendly interactive document navigation makes it easy to jump between sections for easy referencing. A printed and bound copy is available by post within the UK for an small extra charge – please message me for details: therealhomebasedtypist@gmail.com

Each customer will be offered access to our exclusive Members Only Facebook Group where you can chat with myself and others about all things transcription and ask any follow-up questions you might have.

Discover today exactly what you need to know in one affordable and easy to reference guide.

Still not sure if it’s for you? Visit our sister website here: The Home-Based Typist for further information and background, and helpful articles on our blog. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter here to stay informed.