The Official Internet Marketing Sweetie Blog

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Love Audio & Video Marketing? You Might Be Closing Some Doors Better Left Open

Here's an email I sent to my subscribers just a few moments ago. If you're using audio and video in your marketing - here's something to consider:

Internet marketing is getting all the more high-tech. It seems like everyone’s podcasting, getting into video and using all kinds of different mediums to reach their prospects.

And amidst all the new technology still lies the undeniable fact that a large part of your audience still likes to AND/OR needs to READ. In your pursuit of the high-tech, don’t alienate a large part of your target market. If you use audio or video in your marketing, you’ll want to read on…

1. If you’ve ever listened to a podcast or been to a teleseminar and a few days later wished you could remember the exact piece of information the speaker told you about a topic, then you already know how important it is to have a written transcript to pinpoint the information you want to recover.

2. It’s something most online business owners forget, but always be considerate of the hearing-impaired and others with disabilities that could keep them from viewing or listening to your recordings. And these don’t even have to be physical disabilities. Realize there are still a ton of people on dial-up worldwide who simply cannot listen to your audio or view your videos.

3. Have you ever considered just how valuable that audio or video really is? Transcribing your audio or video is the perfect basis for creating an ebook, workbook or study guide that you can add to an existing product or create a whole new one. You’ve already done the hard work, why not make the most of it?

In short, you AND your readers/customers get more value out of your work when you offer transcriptions of your recorded materials. But how do you get transcriptions done?


How to have your recordings transcribed…

You can certainly do the transcripts yourself, but without experience, it’s a slow and cumbersome process and your time is definitely better spent elsewhere.

If you’re hiring someone, be sure to test a new transcriptionist out on a small job to determine the quality and timing of her work. In most cases, you want to make sure you are getting “cleaned up” transcripts that remove any ums and uhs and fix up confusing sentence structure and grammar. The fact is, what sounds good in audio sometimes doesn’t translate well to the written word. Make sure your transcriptionist can handle this.

As far as paying for transcription work, most transcriptionists charge per word or audio minute. There are some who charge hourly, but be weary of this option…if they work slowly, you’ll be paying too much. By paying for the amount of audio you need transcribed, you’ll have a better idea of exactly what you’re getting into.


Not sure where to get your recordings transcribed?

There are plenty of transcriptionists out there. You can ask fellow Internet marketers where they get theirs done and follow up on those leads.

If you want to remove all that legwork, check out the service Mila and I created at All Custom Content. Mila has many years experience in professional transcription and we’ve assembled a terrific team for accurate, timely and professional work at All Custom Content.

It really doesn’t matter where you get your transcription done. You can work with us or go somewhere else. The message I really want to get across is that in this age of growing technology…sometimes we need to get back to the basics.

Alice Seba
Your Friend & Partner in Online Success

P.S. If you recently read a report by a high-profile marketer who said that video is the way to go, I REALLY encourage you to check this page out:

See…even the big guy on the left side of the page understands the importance of the written word. ;-)

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is so true, Alice. Technology is moving fast, but sometimes it's the old-fashioned stuff that our customers appreciate.

9:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Alice,

Your internet marketing sites were suggested to me by my friend. She speaks quite highly about you and the information you provide.
I am a mom of a 2yr old boy and spend half my day time running after him. I have a bit of an IT background and really want to contribute to my family income through a home-based internet business. I hope to gain some fundamentals from your various sites.

7:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi J...thanks for dropping by and saying hi. There's lots of info here...be sure to use it all up! :-)

12:36 PM  

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