Lately, podcasts have become very popular. On the one hand, this is a perfect tool to record your voice content fast and publish it immediately without making plenty of edits. You can be the only narrator or invite hosts to your show. On the other hand, it’s easy to make podcasts about everyone and everything, for instance about celebrities, politics, music, games, etc.
At the same time, podcasts have a tiny disadvantage. This type of content is audio-only and doesn’t suit all people. But here is some good news: there are no issues to reformat your audio recordings into text content and boost its consumption by readers. Using automated or human transcription service you will easily transcribe your podcast and get a flawless text. With such innovative tools, you will save much time on content creation.
To transcribe content or not to transcribe
If you create podcasts regularly then you produce lots of content. But though people like listening to the audio, many others prefer texts. Yes, there are many reasons why such a format is more convenient and demanding. Let’s see why you do really should transcribe your audio into other formats:
- let people refer to you. If your content is available for a wide audience then users on the Web will share it faster and simpler. At the same time, they will cite your ideas and give you credits that increase your popularity;
- improve your audience’s experience. Listening to audio is the best option to consume content while doing other things. For instance, while walking with a dog, doing exercises, cleaning the house, etc. But there are also many situations when text format is a better option. If an individual has an opportunity he or she may prefer consuming visual content including texts;
- publish new content. Human or automated transcription service helps you to create new content without creating it from a scratch. It means that you have already recorded a podcast about celebrity life and now don’t need to write a blog post on this topic again. Just transcribe your audio and publish the text on your website or social media. Besides, you may make several articles from one podcast and get enough content for a week plan for your personal blog;
- optimize your website. SEO still means a lot for websites. It means that the content on your website is optimized well to users’ requests. According to experts, search engines like fresh and relevant content. That’s why publishing texts transcribed from audio or video files will give you a new source of developing engagement with your target audience.
So there are many reasons for transcribing both audio and video to text. You don’t need to doubt but to select the most appropriate option to do it.
How to transcribe your podcast fast
There are 3 main options you can use: using automated tools, hiring certified transcriptionists, or doing it yourself. All of these options have both pros and cons so let’s see what you should prefer.
You and your skills
If you have time and are ready to do some extra work then think about transcribing audio to text on your own. There are no specific skills you must have but be ready for the following things:
- Plan 3 times more time on transcribing than your podcast duration.
- Catch difficult words in the audio and check yourself twice to avoid mistakes.
- Write the text in 2 steps (a draft and a clean copy).
- Make edits and end up with proofreading.
There are several apps and online tools that may help you in transcribing. For instance, Google Live Transcribe is available for mobile devices. It is made for deaf and hard of hearing people but you may also use it as a transcription instrument. It’s very important to give your podcast the loudest and clearest sound so this application may recognize a human speech.
Also, be ready for mistakes in your texts. Such tools are not perfect and require extra checks to compare your audio content to a text file.
Automated transcription tools
The greatest benefit of automated tools is the fast speed of transcribing. A service requires several minutes depending on your podcast duration and gives you a final draft without any extra actions from you. Besides, such websites are easy-to-use: you need to upload your file, make several clicks, and receive your content in text format. No struggle with word recognition and writing down a text sentence by sentence.
At the same time, it’s fair to mention several disadvantages of automated transcription tools. The accuracy of the final text will vary depending on the service you select and audio quality. Some of them offer 50-60% while the most reliable companies guarantee 80%. This isn’t bad but quite good! The only thing is your purpose.
If you need transcribed content for personal use then 80% is absolutely enough. But if you plan to share these texts with other people then you have 2 options:
- to edit and proofreading content before further usage;
- to hire experts for doing corrections instead of you.
Anyway, automated transcription tools are very useful. There are special online services and apps for any device.
Professional human transcription services
Working with certified and experienced writers is the best solution. If you want to transcribe your podcast and feel free to use your content for any purpose without extra editing then this is your #1 choice.
You only need to choose a transcription service and make a request. All companies have different terms, prices, and conditions but are sure using professional assistance with your podcast transcription is as easy as ABC. It is definitely much better than doing this job on your own, keeping making mistakes and spending hours transcribing a short audio file.
As you can see, a podcast is a very useful format for sharing information. You may publish it as it is or transcribes content into other formats. There are many options on how to boost your experience in content creation so don’t hesitate to use innovative tools!