Insider Tip Six: Finding the Right Transcriptionist for You

You wouldn't think it would be hard to find a good transcriptionist today with the economy the way it is and so many people desperately looking for work. However, there's a lot more to finding a transcriptionist than just Google-ing for one.

First of all, there's the matter of training and experience. Not every transcriptionist has had the right kind of training to be able to do your job correctly and quickly. At the very least, your transcriptionist should have a Bachelor's degree as well as some type of special training in English grammar and spelling or medical transcription training which teaches all of the above and more. Grammar is not taught well in many schools these days, so don't naturally assume your potential transcriptionist can spell, type, or even speak English correctly. Ask for a resume or CV, and check out the person's references.

Then there's the matter of speed. Not everyone types at the same speed or has the same error free result that you would like. I personally only type 75 corrected words per minute (CWPM removes any typos before the speed is calculated). That's not as fast as many transcriptionists, but I am also keenly aware of errors and typos and try to avoid them the very first time around if possible (hence, the slightly slower speed). Just because someone can hit the keys at 100 words per minute doesn't mean you'll be able to read what they typed when they're done! Whether or not they proofread their documents is also crucial and something to ask about when looking for a good transcriptionist.

Along with the typing speed, you need to consider turn around time. It costs more to get your documents in 12-24 hours. So perhaps you could plan ahead on your audio or video files and then allow your transcriptionist a little more time to work on them (like 2-3 days, or 4-6 days). That would be significantly cheaper for you.

The last consideration when choosing a transcriptionist is, are they agreeable or disagreeable? This is very important consideration because, believe you me, there are some very disagreeable transcriptionists out there! They can be some of the most grouchy and touchy people around. Part of the reason for that is transcription is an intense job if you do it full-time. Put yourself in their shoes. Sitting at a desk in some corner typing as fast as your sore fingers and carpal tunnel syndrome can go for 10 or 12 hours a day does not a happy person make. That's why I would suggest that you conduct some correspondence with your transcriptionist before hiring them and try to ferret out their personality traits, true feelings, and work ethic. It could save you a lot of trouble in the long run. One of the reasons I only do transcription part-time is because I want to continue to be a happy transcriptionist with smiling satisfied customers.

Insider Tip One: Voice Recognition Software versus Transcriptionists

What do hospitals, teleseminar hosts, songwriters, and e-book writers have in common? They all need their audio or video files to be transcribed into excellent documents. Which is better? Is it better to have an expensive voice recognition program that will automatically create documents from your dictation? Is it better to hire a live transcriptionist to transcribe your audio and proofread and edit as they go? That's the question we'll explore here.

I suppose you've heard a lot about voice recognition software, especially with companies like Google marketing Google Voice. There are a lot of people selling this type of software on the Web. The thing that they don't tell you in their sales pitch is, in order to get flawless documents from your dictation/audio is to speak perfectly, with perfect annunciation, perfect grammar, without false starts or "Um" or "You know" or "So..." and then you have to count on the software to work perfectly. The problem is, no dictator is perfect, and no voice recognition software is perfect. Thus, you end up with garbled unintelligible mush that you or someone else has to deal with. In the end, you would be much better off hiring a reasonably priced transcriptionist to transcribe your audio or video perfectly the first time. If you don't, you're paying for very expensive software that doesn't do the job completely, then paying for it to be gone over with a fine tooth comb by a paid transcriptionist for errors. That's just not a good use of your money or time. The answer? Hire a freelance transcriptionist to work for you who has your best interests in mind and who is willing to follow your document needs to the letter. You don't have to use a large corporate transcription service. They're too impersonal and deal with such a large volume of documents that you get lost in the shuffle. Find an IC at home transcriptionist who will work for you personally and be your personal transcriptionist. They aim to please, and you will be delighted at the great quality of work they turn out in record time!

For six other "Insider Tips" see the article below.

Transcriptionist for Hire

• Are you looking for someone to transcribe your audio or video files?
• Perhaps you need someone to proofread your latest book or e-book.
• Maybe you've gotten some comments on your website stating that you have lots of spelling errors or poor grammar.
• Maybe you own a general or medical transcription company and are looking for independent contractors to work for you.

If you said, "Yes!" to any of the above, then you've landed at the right place. It would be a pleasure to work for you and make your products more appealing, more marketable, and more gramatically correct.

Check out "A Bit About Me" for my qualifications, and feel free to ask me any questions you have.

Help Me Navigate Your Blog, Angela!

Okay. Are you new to this blog and you're wondering where to go? Here are 10 friendly suggestions of what you can do here:

1. Read about the author to the right, and check out the photos of our family.

2. Subscribe to the RSS feed and/or follow me (I just installed that module today).

3. Weigh in on the short poll in the righthand column.

4. Read about what transcribing is all about (see Posts).

5. Read about what types of transcription we do (see Posts).

6. Sound off in the short survey toward the bottom.

7. Play around with my favorite music on my Playlist Player toward the bottom. I have varied and perhaps unusual tastes when it comes to music. :)

8. Read about my prices and especially my 1/2 off special deal.

9. Check out my other interesting lenses on Squidoo (they're like web pages on a number of topics).

10. Leave a comment, suggestion, or contact. I'd love to hear from you!

There. Now you know some of the things you can do on this blog. What do you say?

I Can Turn Your Transcripts into Excellent...

...Articles – These could be for your website--they're one of the best free ways to get loads of visitors to your site. They can also be used as freebies for your opt-in list.

...E-Courses – Build trusting relationships with your email subscribers with a multi-part series of emails on specific topics. They'll be impressed by your excellent grammar and punctuation--a rarity these days online!

...Blog Posts – Blogs are incredibly easy, powerful, and routinely scoured and selected by the search engines. A one hour teleseminar or webinar can easily turn into several blog posts.

...E-Books – Do you have an existing manuscript or a collection of articles? They can be made into an e-book and used very profitably on your website.

...PowerPoint Slide Shows – Just narrate over your slides and get huge exposure on video sharing sites or turn your narration into hard copy documents for your websites.

Legitimate clients may contact me for more information or to set up a schedule for your transcription at: aaatranscription@sbcglobal.net.