45 Ways to Grow Your Business with Transcribed Content You work hard to create your audio and video content, but did you know that there is something very simple you can do to help maximize your content marketing efforts? Whether you are trying to grow traffic, sell a product or demonstrate your expertise, transcribing your recordings can help you do that. Thanks for Downloading this Guide We re Alice Seba and Annette Elton from AllCustomContent.com and we ve been helping clients with their transcription needs since 2007. We understand the boost that transcription can provide to just about any business. And because of that, we are happy to share plenty of ideas, strategies and approaches with you in this guide. Check out our a la carte transcription services, or if you have ongoing transcription needs, you can save plenty of money with our monthly savings program (launching November 14, 2011). We d be happy to help you. Now let s get started with the most important point in this guide Reasons Why Transcription Helps Your Business There s no sense in doing something for your online business just because everyone says it s what you must do. You need to make the right decision for your unique business, of course, so we ve put together these compelling reasons to use transcriptions: 1. Easy written content. If you don t like to write, transcriptions are an easy way to create written content. If you re at ease in front of the microphone, just talk away and let a transcriptionist write the content based on your words of wisdom.
2. Easy content to repurpose. Having a written transcript makes it easier to repurpose your content. You can certainly take snippets of audio and video to create something new, but transcripts provide many more possibilities. Transcripts can become workbooks, magazine-style interviews, ebooks and more. 3. Increase the value of your information products. Instead of just audio or video in your information product, you now have a written component as well. You can also repurpose those transcriptions into workbooks and other useful content, giving your information product some real meatiness. 4. Search engines. While search engines are making advances in indexing multimedia content, text still does best. When you have a transcript to go with your video, you re more likely to target your appropriate keyword phrases. 5. Rebranding and monetizing. Distributing PDFs of your transcriptions are a perfect opportunity for branding with your logo, tag line and more. You can also insert links that you mention in your recordings, add promotions and even display advertising. 6. Easy to reference. Having transcripts on hand make it possible for your audience to review information you shared via audio or video. They can print it out and take notes and because of this added value, are more likely to take action on the information you provided. 7. Easy to quote. One of the best things about content is the word-of-mouth it generates. While videos and podcasts are shared widely and readily, when someone can refer to the words you shared, they can easily quote you and share your content further. 8. Self-reference: Having a written record of all your videos and audio recordings means that you have an easy-reference library for yourself. You can check on what you said previously to maintain consistency, find quotes and find snippets to republish elsewhere. 9. Attract people to interview. Other business owners know how valuable transcriptions can be, so use them as leverage to bring in quality experts to interview. Offer them full rights to their recording and professionally created transcripts in return for their time. 10. Introduce people to your multi-media content. By providing a written version of your work, you can reach new audiences and introduce those new people to your audio and video content. Certainly, these are all great benefits to transcription, but how does it help you reach more people with your message? Let s talk about that next
Expand Your Reach We can all use more people to view our content and ultimately to opt into our lists and buy our products. Transcripts can actually help you expand your reach; here are just a few ways to make that happen. 11. Reach audiences that cannot view or listen to your multimedia content. For example: People with disabilities or impairments that prevent them from seeing your video or hear your audio properly. Individuals with limited Internet connections or who may be on their mobile devices. While many modern phones are designed to play multimedia content, your viewer may be on a limited data plan and won t want to risk a large charge to tune into your content. People who have their speakers turned off because they are in a public place or even (gasp!) at work. 12. Reach audiences who prefer written content. While video and audio are very mainstream, a large part of your audience likely prefers written content. It s often a matter of preference or they may be on a tight time schedule. Make it easy for them to get your content. 13. Accommodate different learning styles. You probably already know that people have different learning styles. Some people need visual learning, others like to listen and others prefer to read. The more you can accommodate this, the more people you can reach with your information. 14. Reach audiences who access content through non-multimedia sources. For example, Kindle ebooks, document sharing sites, article directories, etc. are an additional publicity channel that your audio and video materials can t use. With all these possibilities, it s time to start transcribing all that great content you probably already have. So what can you transcribe? Let s talk about that next. What to Transcribe Any audio recording can be transcribed, including the audio component of a video. Here are a few types of recordings that you can transcribe and perhaps there is even one or two you ve never thought of before.
15. Podcasts: Your daily, weekly or monthly podcast is a wealth of content. Give your readers the opportunity to refer back to what you said, click the links you mentioned and more. 16. Audio recordings: Whether it s a pre-recorded interview or a quick audio file you created with your mobile phone s audio recorder, these are perfect for transcribing. 17. Live-action video: Is your YouTube channel filled with content and in need of a push forward? Sure, you ve probably published the video to your blog as well, but think of how much more you could do with transcriptions and other repurposed content? 18. Screen capture video: If you ve created a screen capture video that demonstrates a process, having it transcribed creates an easy-reference tutorial for your readers. Just add a few screenshot images and you ve got a high-quality piece of content. 19. Teleseminars: Do you regularly conduct teleseminars? Whether your attendees have to pay for entrance or they re free, you can increase the value with transcriptions. 20. Webinars: Just like teleseminars, webinar content is perfect for transcribing. Make it easy for your attendees to apply what they learn and even take action on your product offers. 21. Live workshops and presentations. Do you do offline events? These can be transcribed too. Bring an audio recorder or video camera and you ve got great content you can use. Have them transcribed and you ve got even more content. 22. Discussions with clients and colleagues. Of course, you need permission to record others, but these sessions can be a great source of information. You can offer a copy of the recordings and transcripts to the individuals you re having discussions with, so they have a record and can use it for their businesses too. There are so many possibilities when it comes to transcription and even more possibilities come when you repurpose all that written content. Let s talk about that now. Repurposing Your Transcriptions: Repurposing your transcripts is where the real power of expanding your reach and earning more comes in. When you create your audio or video, always have a clear purpose in mind, so that the content can be turned into something else later. If it s a long recording, organize your information into logical sections that can them form chapters of an ebook or individual articles, for example.
Here are some repurposing ideas for you: 23. Workbooks: These are actually some of the easiest pieces of content to create, but are also the most valuable to your audience. It allows them to absorb, think about and apply your content. 24. Checklists: Much like a workbook, a checklist is very practical content that is easy to create. If your transcript is of a how-to, take the individual steps of the how-to create an easy-reference checklist. 25. Reports and Ebooks: For a lengthier audio recording, you can organize the content into sections and they will form the basis for your report or ebook. 26. Articles: Break up the content by repurposing them into articles, how tos and more. 27. Magazine-style interview: If you re recording is an interview, spice it up a bit and make it into a magazine-style interview with quotes, editorial commentary and more. 28. Autoresponder and email messages: We all know the power of email marketing. Take those transcripts and turn them into bite-sized chunks and load them into your autoresponder. 29. Scripts: Many times we re called on to make similar presentations over and over again. If you didn t work with a script the first time around, a transcript can become the script that you use the next time you have to speak on the topic. 30. Workshops: If you ve created an informative audio recording and then turned it into a transcription, you now have the core content for a workshop you can run locally or online. 31. FAQs: If your recording is a Q&A session about your website, product or something else your audience asks about often, turn it into Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section for your site. 32. Guest posts: Guest blogging is a great way to reach new audiences and get exposure from high traffic blogs. If you re low on ideas of what to write about, bring out a transcript and piece together the perfect blog post for your target audience. Make sure to add extra tips and examples that are most relevant to the blog s regular readers. 33. Illustrated tutorials: We touched on this when we talked about screen capture video, but just about any how-to content can become an illustrated tutorial. Once you have your transcripts, add screenshots, photos and/or illustrations to help your reader understand the various steps of the process.
34. Slide shows: Take the content from your transcription to create a slide show. You can use this for a local workshop, webinar or even create another video out of this repurposed content. 35. Quotes: It s amazing how many gems we can find when we review all the content we ve created over time. You can share some of your best quotes on Facebook, Twitter or even create a little printable that your readers can download. 36. Printed books: Who says everything has to stay digital? If you ve ever thought of writing a book, but thought the task was just too immense, consider taking your informative videos or audio and assembling those transcripts into a printed book. 37. Training manuals: If you ve demonstrated a process of how to do something in your business, this is the perfect training guide for your outsourced helpers or staff. Videos are a great way to demonstrate how to do something, but having a transcript to go with it makes it easy for them to reference if they get stuck. Now that you ve got all this content, what are you going to do with it? Of course, we have some more ideas for you. Distributing Your Transcripts and Repurposed Content: All those transcripts and repurposed content aren t worth anything if you don t get them out there, right? So, let s look at how you can maximize the exposure your written content gets. 38. Your website: The most obvious place for your content is your website. If you posted your YouTube videos, add the transcripts below, so your audience can view them. If you ve created a checklist from a recent podcast or audio recording, post if for your readers to use. 39. Your mailing list: Remind your subscribers why they signed up for your list by giving them extra content that gives them extra value to your already great audio and video content. 40. Your customer list: Treat your customers like gold and give them little bonuses nobody else gets. If you produce a how-to video, turn the transcript into a workbook and checklist that your customers can use. 41. Opt-in to receive transcripts: You can test requiring an opt-in for transcripts. This might be a viable way to grow your list by distributing valuable content. 42. Added value for information products: Whether you re getting ready to launch your product or you ve already launched it, you can keep adding value by creating
transcripts and then repurposing that content into other useful pieces. Adding more to your product allows you to wow your current customers and makes it easy for you to command a higher price from new customers. 43. Upsells and upgrades: Instead of just adding the content to a product, you can use them as an upsell or even an upgrade for your current customers. 44. Ebook stores: While plain old transcripts may not cut it as an ebook, repurposing your transcripts into ebooks and adding them to Kindle and other ebook stores can help you reach brand new audiences. 45. Document sharing sites: There are plenty of document sharing sites that are actively indexed by search engines and attract large audiences, including example, Scribd.com and the public documents you share on Google Docs. There you have 45 ways transcription can help you grow your business. While you don t have to try to do everything, you have plenty of ideas to get you started in expanding your reach, establishing your expertise and even growing your profits. How to Get Transcripts for Your Business If you need professional transcriptions created for you, we are always happy to help. We can assist you with one-time transcription projects or if you require ongoing transcription, consider joining our monthly savings program. Whatever service you choose, we can also help you repurpose the content into a variety of types of content. Whether you need an ebook, checklist, workbook or other type of content, let us give you a hand to boost the value of your information product, expand your reach and more.