How To Hire A Transcriptionist For Your Podcasts
Podcasts are digital media files commonly distributed over the World Wide Web through syndication feeds
. The main purpose of podcasts is for people to hear what you want to say as they play your file in their personal computers or even portable media players. A podcast is a special type of a webcast. It basically works like a radio. The word podcast originated from two words, Apples iPod and broadcasting.
Since podcasts are files that are meant to be heard, you are going to need transciptionists for a number of purposes. For starters, you might want to have a written version of your podcast so that your web listeners can read while listening. Or they might just want to scan over the topic of the podcast before listening to it. You might also want to easily monitor what you have already talked, recorded, and discussed about in your podcast feeds. Whichever the case you need them for, here are good tips on how to hire a transciptionist to work on your podcasts.
1. Get a transcriptionist who knows the job.
Transciptionists are professionals. Before a person can qualify as such, he or she needs to undergo a series of training in preparation for the job. So you have to hire somebody, make sure that he understands the ins and outs of the work you are giving him. You are the podcaster and not the transcriptionist. Your transcriptionist should already know how to do his job, and not ask you about it all the time.
2. Get the transcriptionist whose native language is the same as your podcasts.
If you want your transcriptions done quickly and efficiently, hire somebody who speaks your language well. Because it is merely his second language, he might not be able to understand muffled words and other inaudibles. You dont want your transcripts to be filled with spaces rather than real words, do you?
3. Consider the wage.
Transcriptionists usually charge by the hour. Right now, an hours worth of podcast is priced at around $50 to $60 dollars. Take note that one hour of podcast cannot be transcribed after an hour. Typing and understanding the digital audio file takes some time. Plus, transcribers need to play, stop, and rewind it countless of times until the entire file is covered. Generally, a podcast that runs for half an hour would take a transcriptionist two to three hours to complete. So what you should do instead is to estimate how much your podcast is going to be charged for. Tally it all up and determine the most acceptable wage for the transcriptionist. And it goes without saying that you should look for the transcriptionist that can give your quality results at the least price possible.
4. Look for the money back guarantee.
Because podcasting is becoming very popular these days, the service is being provided by a lot of companies and even individuals. As such, you can never know what to expect from them in terms of turnaround time, quality of work, and customer service proficiency. If you find a service that advertises a money back guarantee feature, then you would have peace of mind that they will deliver what they are promising to their customers.
5. Find a transcriptionist you can trust.
Whenever you deal with somebody, you have to strike a level of trust with them, especially if you intend to hire them on a long-term basis. Whether you like to get the services of a company or an individual, it is important that you feel at ease when dealing with them. Plus, you should be able to count on them to do their job even under time pressure.
6. The transcriptionist should be well versed with the topic of your podcasts.
If your podcasts are about online games, you are better off hiring somebody whose hobby lies with playing them. The same goes if your podcast is about gardening, healthy living, dieting, and similar stuff. The transcriptionists level of expertise as well as their line of interest is going to be a factor in the quality of their job.
These are six points that you can follow before you hire a transcriptionist to work on your podcasts. Strive to find the very best of the breed. Even if their rates are high, if you are going to benefit from them, they are all worth the investment.
by: Elijah Chai
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