Here's a picture of us together. (I'm the goofy one on the left.) –>

Please give a big warm welcome to Loretta and leave lots of comments and questions so she feels the love. And, if you've got a podcast or if you record teleseminars – hire her. She's good.

Hi, this is Loretta Oliver from Teleseminars Transcribed and I’m here on Nicole’s blog to talk about something we both love…., outsourcing. It’s definitely no secret that I love outsourcing, not only is it what I do in my service based business, I also outsource to other people on the things that are not my strengths. It’s a great way to create balance in your business.

Today in particular we’re going to talk about outsourcing to a transcriptionist to have text transcripts made from your podcast, teleseminar, video, webinar, dictation or other audio files that you might have laying around on your hard drive just taking up space and not being used.

I want to cover two things really quickly, reasons why you want to have transcripts made and some tips on working with a transcriptionist.

First, let’s talk about why you want to have transcripts created in addition to your audio.

After all, audio and video are the new ways of the web right? Well, that’s sort of right. A lot of people are quick to jump on the audio and video bandwagon because it gives you a little SEO boost, it’s faster to record a video than to write an article for a lot of people, etc…

Those are all great reasons to create a video or record an audio, but in my opinion you should have a text version to go with it as well and here a few quick reasons why…

Having a transcript made gives you a new format. You've just repurposed your content with little effort on your part. You've got something new that you can give your audience in the form of a PDF as a short report. This could be free viral content or it could even be a report that you sell for small fee, depending on the content and your goal with it.

What if your customer or visitor can't hear? Technology is a wonderful thing and the internet is widely used by people everywhere today. Unfortunately, a lot of those people are hearing impaired.

If they've landed on your site via a search, that means you have something they're looking for, but if you're only offering audio and video versions they can't hear it and if you’re not offering a text version then they aren't going to get what they came searching for in the first place and they're going to move on away from your site and find a site that meets their needs.

Surrounding area may not allow for easy listening. The internet is portable these days and folks are surfing the web at lightning fast speeds in all sorts of places. Let’s say your video or podcast has the answer to the problem they are querying in Google right now – that’s awesome right? Maybe not so much if you don’t have the text to go with it. What if they are in a crowded subway station with no headphones and they can’t hear over the noise? Or in a quiet office waiting room with no speakers or no headphones?

In the case of info products and online courses, sometimes people just like to have the text format to read and follow along with the audio or video. They can print it out, highlight, and takes notes on it if they want to. They can read along on their screen if they want to. They can watch or listen first and then read later, or refer to the text when they are working on what you just taught them. The addition of the transcript allows them to consume your content in the way that's best for them, and that's always a good thing.

Now let’s talk about getting your transcript created.

This is the easy part for you because you’ve already created the main content, which is the audio or video file, and you just need to send that to a transcriptionist to get the text version created. There are a few things you want to consider for your transcripts and in most cases your transcriptionist is going to guide you through the process painlessly.

First, make sure your transcriptionist accepts the file formats that you have, especially if you’re using video because not all transcriptionists work with video.

Is your audio sound quality good and clear with no static or background noise? Many transcriptionists, myself included, will charge an additional fee for poor quality audio that is difficult to hear the speakers on.

A similar consideration to think about is are all the parties involved speaking clearly and easy to understand. On occasion a mumbling guest or a thick difficult to understand accent may cost you a slightly extra fee as well. Those are most likely the only times you’ll incur extra fees unless you request rush delivery or some special formatting.

Thanks for hanging out with me today here on Nicole's blog and thanks to Nicole for letting me talk shop while she's away. If you have any questions about transcription please do ask, I'll be hanging around to answer some Q&A in the comments section here, or you can email me from my website if you prefer to ask privately.

Kind Regards,

Loretta has more than 7 years of transcription service experience and strives to deliver a quality product to each and every client, no matter the size of the project.

Requests for transcription are accepted at Teleseminars Transcribed for any length from 5 minutes of personal dictation to an ongoing series of hour long teleseminars.

Note from Nicole: And she's awesome!

As WAHMs, we have so much to be thankful for. What other career would allow us the opportunity to express our creativity, set our own hours, network with wonderful people, and make money while doing it?

AND, most importantly, we get to spend time with our kids, too. Wow.

It doesn't get any better than this!

If you watched Desperate Housewives last night you may have been as disgusted as I was when Lynette's boss mocked her suits during the meeting (even pointing out spit up!). Then, I was horrified to hear her boss say “Dance Puppet Dance”! UG — you probably felt as lucky as I did to be a WAHM.

I was thinking about what I am most thankful for business-wise this year and the things that have most impacted my business in 2005.

I wanted to share my short list with you of my Top 5 Resources I am thankful for in my business …. These are tools, not people. The list of people is coming soon.

1. Google Adsense & Chitika — Thank goodness for Pay per click. If you aren't using it and you have a resource site — get moving! It's money in the bank.
MORE INFO

2. MomMasterminds — I've got access to the best resources online in one place. I've been a member of MomMasterminds since February and I feel like I am so much further now than if I had tried to learn on my own. I spent enough time struggling. I only wish I had been less stubborn and joined 6 months before I did.
MORE INFO

3. LadyPens.com is over 100 women strong and growing… I'm very excited for this new resource. I hope you'll find it helpful.
More info on how writing articles can help your business – Excuse my scratchy voice if
you listen to the audio. I'm fighting a nasty cold.

4. As you know, ‘I (heart) my autoresponder' so I won't get into that again.
MORE INFO

5. Teleseminars. I'm listening to teleseminars during my walks. Thanks to mp3 audios, I'm learning how to write a book, promote my website, and more. And, I get to share all my
new-found knowledge with YOU! Stay tuned…
More info on my cheapo mp3 player

What resources are you thankful for this year? I hope that 2005 has given you more business blessings than you can count.

Please remember those who may not be feeling blessed this holiday season, and help however you can —

Donate Money – http://www.redcross.org/
Prayer
Volunteer locally
Give blood

Thank you so much for sharing this year with me so far.
Nicole

PS. Please share your blessings as a WAHM in the comments section below.