transcription Archives - New VA Advice

What You Want to Know About Offering Transcription as a Service

December 8, 2016 By Alicia Jay Leave a Comment

When I’m asked how I got my start online as a virtual assistant, I often tell the story of offering any and all services that I could think of to provide, and then eventually settling on general transcription.

Once I was able to really narrow down what I did and the type of clients I enjoyed working with, my marketing became easier and I was able to sign on steady clients.

Today, when I coach virtual assistants, I often help them through this process as well—figuring out what they enjoy doing most and who they love to work with.

And then I’m often asked by VAs if I think offering general transcription services would be right for them. This article is my response to that question.

How do you know if general transcription is right for you?

First, you need to consider your skills. You want to make sure that you are:

A fast and accurate typist
Good with spelling, grammar and punctuation
A great listener

Then you want to consider a target market.

Who needs general transcription?

There is not one definitive type of client, but here are a couple of industries to give you an idea:

Business and life coaches
Health & wellness experts
Speakers
Authors
Church and ministry industry
Journalists
Internet Marketers

What do you transcribe?

While I believe it’s difficult to earn enough income in your VA business by solely offering transcription services, I do think it’s a great complement to other services.

For example, if you offer your clients any type of assistance with content management, it might be a good fit for you. Perhaps you already help them with social media management or blog posting. Where are they getting their content?

Repurposing audio that already exists is a great way to find “new” content. Think about the audio or video that they already have:

Interviews
How-to videos
Speeches
Sermons
Coaching sessions

All of these things can be transcribed and used as written content.

What do you do with the transcripts?

Here is where you can get really creative and offer different kinds of services to your clients. You can turn the transcripts into written content that your clients can use as free or paid products.

Here are just a couple of ideas:

Blog posts
Social media snippets
Format for Kindle, other ebook or in-print book
Checklists or templates
Re-structure for an ecourse
As a bonus or bundle with existing products

Do I have your wheels turning? Do you want to know more?

Then I have a great, free resource for you.

Check out my webinar and find out what you need to know!

Success as a General Transcriptionist: 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Get Started

I spill all the secrets about making money and getting clients with your general transcription services.
Click here to sign up for this free webinar today and get your answers!

General Transcription Bootcamp: Learn A Valuable Skill to Increase Your Business

December 10, 2012 By Alicia Jay 2 Comments

I’ve mentioned before how I got my start in the Virtual Assistant world as a transcriptionist. I even had the opportunity to speak about it during a live teleseminar to tell people all of the benefits of offering it as a service.

Well, I have exciting news to share. My General Transcription Bootcamp is ready to go!

Why Should You Consider This Course?

General transcription is a great addition to your VA business
It can also work as a stand-alone business
Transcription is a service that can earn you a viable income
If you’ve been on the fence it will convince you that you really can work from home
You can increase your income by offering this service and helping clients repurpose their content
The skills can be learned and I can teach you

Why Should You Learn This From Me?

I started my business from the ground up with little money and a desire to use my skills to help business owners. I didn’t have anyone to teach me the skills needed for transcription. I knew I was a fast typist and a good listener but I wasn’t sure what else it would take to get started.

I was nervous but I jumped in with both feet and landed a couple of clients within six months of starting my business. I made mistakes along the way but I made sure to learn from all of them. I kept copious notes that I compiled from client comments to help improve my transcription abilities.

I worked hard at it and soon those clients were referring others. People were thrilled with my work! I was happy but I wished I was able to get this training before I had accepted clients so I could go in there confidently, know exactly what they wanted in a finished product and charge what I was worth. That’s what I want to help you do in this course. The skills that I teach you will give you the confidence you need to start your own transcription business or add it to your VA services.

Oh, and I have a pretty cool affiliate program. Promote the course and you’ll pay off your registration cost in no time!

Editor’s Note: I now hold the General Transcription Bootcamp several times a year. Click here to find out about the next session, pricing information and other details.

Making Money with General Transcription

September 4, 2012 By Alicia Jay 2 Comments

You may or may not know that I got my start online as a general transcriptionist. There are other posts here that will tell you exactly how that came to be and how I set up my business. You can go ahead and read those now if you like, but don’t forget to come back!

The point I’d like to make today is that this is a viable income-earning service to provide. You can do this as a stand-alone business as I did or add it to the current services you are offering as a Virtual Assistant.

General transcription was right for me!

There are plenty of people out there right now who need general transcription services. Did you know that you can increase your business and help them to make more money by offering transcription services? That’s right!

Here is a short list of people who benefit from transcription:

Bloggers
Authors
Business coaches
Speakers
Researchers
Colleges/Universities

How will transcription benefit them?

We all know that audio and video are huge in the online business world right now. People and businesses are adding video posts to their websites. They are holding webinars and teleseminars. They’re posting audio and video messages to sales pages.

At some point in the process they are going to need a written version of all of that audio whether they realize it or not. You could be the one who helps them with that.

Here are just a few ways that you can help business owners earn more cash with transcription:

Audio/video posts: Transcribe these for your client and use the written version as another blog post. Optimize it with keywords to bring in their readers. More eyes on their website can lead to more sales of their product or service.
Webinars/teleseminars: Repurpose the written version into a blog post or a sellable product.
Product Packages: Your client may currently offer a package with an audio and workbook. Add in a transcript of the audio. You are adding to the value of the package, therefore the price can be increased. You may also reach a wider audience as there are people who prefer to read versus listen to materials.

Those are just a couple of examples to get your wheels turning!

How will it benefit you?

If you want to make it a stand-alone career:
- You can create a service-based transcription business looking for clients who will benefit from repurposing their audio
- If you already have a VA business:
  - You become their rockstar VA who told them about these great ways to add revenue to their business.
  - You will increase your workload from existing clients making you more money and possible referrals.

Does general transcription sound like an option for you to earn income? If you’d like to learn how to provide this service, check out the General Transcription Bootcamp.

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Book Review of Transcription Crash Course: Starting A General Transcription Business

August 26, 2012 By Alicia Jay 4 Comments

This week I’ve decided to write a book review on an e-book that changed my life. That’s right, I said it changed my life! You may or may not know that transcription is my main bread and butter. How did I get where I am today? Everyone has to start somewhere. My journey began with a search for a viable career online that would keep me home with my family while providing me with enough income to do that and only that full time.

While searching, I came across “Transcription Crash Course: Starting A General Transcription Business” by Loretta Oliver. I knew I didn’t have a lot to spend in order to get started, so the price was worth it to me. I thought, “Even if this doesn’t pan out, I’m not out much money.”

Let me tell you a little bit about the author. Loretta has been a work at home mom solely making a living online since 2001. She dabbles in some different areas, but transcription is her main focus. When I read that she was a mom and was really making a living online, I thought, “I can do this, too.” Loretta touts the book as, “…your fast-track to a home-based business to be proud of-without spending a ton of cash, and even if you have no experience. I’ll show you how!”

The book is laid out in an easy-to-read fashion. The flow makes sense for someone just starting out in transcription. It starts with a necessary list of programs and items you will need. True to its description, I really didn’t spend much while following this book to set up my business. The book includes links to the programs (which were FREE) that you will need and a chapter on how to use the main digital transcription program called Express Scribe.

Transcription Crash Course (TCC) also covers the basics of formatting and even provides you with a sample audio to try. Loretta also includes a finished transcript so that you can compare your work to the real thing. TCC also includes information on how to find work, how to create your website and the importance of social media involvement.

So, what did I think of the book? If you couldn’t tell from my opening paragraph, it was a game changer. Loretta wrote this book with a no muss, no fuss approach. Finding a viable online career can be overwhelming, but TCC provided step- by-step instructions. Having that sample audio was a big help. I was able to practice with it and really think about my decision on this career. I’m not going to lie. The first time I typed from the audio, I was super slow. I had to change the talking speed to 50% and stopped and started that baby like a mad-woman. However, the book reminds you that practice makes perfect and that’s the truth in this business.

Another big positive for me was that there really weren’t a lot of start-up costs. I was not in a position to spend a lot of money to get going. I had researched some other online careers that claimed to be inexpensive only to find that you had to purchase this or that package to learn more or take the next step.

Last but not least, another important factor is that Loretta makes herself available to you. She has a Facebook page dedicated to the book and provides you with her email and Twitter handle so that you can always reach her. I have bothered her on more than one occasion with questions, even on a weekend when I had a potential new client and wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. I tweeted Loretta and she responded with great advice which led to me landing that client. Yeah!

If even a little part of you has been thinking about a career in transcription, don’t hesitate to buy this book. What do you have to lose? I mean, the cost of this book is not going to break you. Feel free to click on any of the links referring to this book in order to purchase. Here’s my disclaimer: These are my affiliate links. I strongly believe in the product or I would not endorse it.

(This post was originally written on my site, Transcription e-Services. Since the writing of this article, Loretta has turned into a reliable mentor and wonderful friend. Don’t know what I’d do without her!)

Here’s your chance to give me some feedback. Have you heard of the book? Have you read it? Would you recommend it to a friend? Are you going to buy it today? Let me know what you think!

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How I Went From Pregnant and Jobless to WAHMderful

August 25, 2012 By Alicia Jay 8 Comments

(This was originally posted on my other site, Transcription e-Services about a year ago. I’ve revised it just a tad. I felt that it made sense to move it here so that other women could be inspired by my story. Enjoy!)

It’s A WAHMderful Life!

It’s two o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday. I’m watching my 13 month-old as he concentrates really hard to get the lid back on a container of snacks. He figures it out. His eyes light up. He smiles and looks at me to see if I was paying attention. Yup, I was watching. Mommy sees it all. Do you want to know why? Because I can! The fact that I work from home as a transcriptionist and Virtual Assistant makes afternoons like this possible. This wasn’t always my life.

The transition period into this new lifestyle started with a comment that went something like this: “What the he@# am I supposed to do now?” That was my reaction when I found out the company where I worked for the last almost nine years was laying off all employees and closing their doors due to the economy. I was seven months pregnant and visions of booties and burp cloths danced in my head. I wasn’t even thinking about finding a new job or career. Now it seemed that I didn’t have a choice.

There were several stressful weeks as my husband and I developed a new game plan. We decided to save on expenses in any way we could while I searched for a new job. However, my big pregnant belly greeted each interviewer before I did. Let’s face it. People were not looking to hire someone who would be going on maternity leave very shortly.

There were a lot of sleepless nights, praying and plenty of crying. No, this wasn’t after the baby was born. This was me pregnant, emotional and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life! I spent countless hours researching online careers. I decided that, ideally, I would like to stay home and raise my baby while making a full-time living.

This was no easy task. There were plenty of get-rich-quick schemes to be found. I did come across some viable options but I didn’t have the start-up costs needed. Then I found my beacon in the dark. I found Loretta Oliver’s Transcription Crash Course (Click here to see the post I wrote about that for more details). I thought, Hey, I could do that! I could be a transcriptionist and I have tons of other skills to offer as a virtual assistant.

In my previous job, I was pretty much the go-to person. I managed the staff. I created the schedules. I kept track of production. I developed systems to make record keeping and production run more efficiently. I was at the top of my game when it came to customer service. The clients loved working with me—and I knew them all by name. I also ran the business when the owners were away.

So, why couldn’t I do all of this for my OWN business? I decided that I could! Did it all just fall into place effortlessly? Absolutely not. Did it take my very own blood, sweat and tears? Yes it did. Have I had to figure some things out as I go? Of course! Did I sometimes work with a child strapped to me or in between 2 AM feedings? Yup.

Every last minute of this has been worth it. I create my own schedule so I don’t miss out on time with my family. I make my own rates. I choose the clients I work with (and I love them all!). Sometimes I wear sweats and a t-shirt. Sometimes I take a work break in the middle of the day and go outside with my son. This is what having my own online business has afforded me.

This was my story for anyone who says they don’t have the time, there’s not enough money or they’re just plain scared. Here I am—living proof.

So, what’s your story? How did you get where you are today? Are you not quite where you want to be yet? What’s stopping you? I’d love for you to share your thoughts with me!

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