If you’re like me, you probably find it easier to talk about something rather than write about it? Especially, when it’s a topic you know a lot about.
When a client asks how to use a service or a prospective customer asks why you’re better than the competition, you can probably answer these questions with ease. However, when you’re faced with a blank computer screen and asked to write a blog post on the very same topic, the ideas may not flow quite so easily.
Writing feels overwhelming to some, and it’s time-consuming task which may lead to putting it off. However, blog posts are one of the most effective and cheapest marketing strategies available, so you should embrace it. In fact, I’m writing this article to show you some easy ways to accomplish content creation and help. your business generate more leads by blogging.
You have the content trapped in your head. You just need to get it on the screen, and my tricks will help you.
The Easy Process About How To Create Blog Posts Easily With Voice Transcriptions
1. Record Your Ideas – Brainstorm a list of topics that your current customers or prospective clients would want to find on your website. Record yourself, or someone else, talking about each topic as a “brain dump” of thoughts. You don’t need fancy recording equipment, but be sure to record the best audio quality possible to make the next step go more smoothly.
2. Transcribe It – Next, upload the recording to an online transcription service. They’ll turn turn your audio into text and deliver it back to you as a Word document. (Shout out to Rev, who I use personally)
3. Edit To Your Liking – Now that you have a Word doc, you aren’t stuck staring at a blank screen. Your blog post is actually almost done. You just need to edit the text, polish it up and add a great title and a call to action. (If you have our content marketing package, we do all this for you.)
4. Publish It – The last step is to get it live on the website by publishing it to your blog. We’ll take care of this part and even get a great image to go with it!
The Best Tools For Voice To Text
I’ve done this process thousands of times, and that experience has helped me determine which tools work best. My favorite, as I mentioned before is Rev.com. I use their voice recorder app, as well as their transcription service. When I have an idea for a blog post, or I hear a client talking about an interesting subject, I grab my phone, open the voice recorder app and hit record. Once I have the recording, I’m able to send the files directly from the app to Rev to be transcribed by their team. Regardless of what their site says, it usually takes a few hours.
If I’m recording someone else in person, I’ve found that they may lose their train of thought when I stick a recorder near their face. So to avoid this, I schedule a phone call and record the conversation- with their permission of course. For recording a call, try the TapeACall app which integrates with Rev. Once you’ve recorded your call, there’s a button in the app that let’s you easily order a transcript from Rev.
Why I Chose Rev Over Other Transcription Services
I have used other transcription services in the past, but there are four reasons that I like Rev the best.
1. Predictable cost – Rev bills a flat $1.25 per minute. If I have a 20-minute recording, I know it will cost $20. Some services charge by the word, then charge extra for multiple speakers. With other services, I have been shocked by huge bills for recordings that I didn’t realize were so “wordy”.
2. Pre-edits – Rev will remove the obvious filler words such as “um, uh, uh huh” (unless I request a verbatim transcript) which saves me time later in the editing process.
3. Ratings – Rev allows me to provide a rating for each transcript I receive so that I will have more consistent quality. If for some reason I am unhappy with the results, that particular transcriptionist will not work on my files again. Rev also has an accuracy guarantee, in my experience, it works great (I’ve only had a handle full of issues but they’ve always been resolved).
4. Glossary – Rev allows me to submit a glossary of words and acronyms that might not be easily understood with each recording I send them. Again, this saves me time later in the editing process and I’ve found it extremely helpful.
Go Get Started Making Content For Your Blog!
Now that you know the process and the tools, what should you write about it?
My suggestion is to start with frequently asked questions. Brainstorm with your team, or on your own, on questions you typically hear from current and prospective clients. Determine who in the company can answer each question and schedule a phone call or in-person meeting with them. Record their answer, get it transcribed, edit, then post!
If you build a library of blog posts on your website of frequently asked questions, it serves three main purposes:
1. Clients and prospects who see their specific question answered, even if it is a very niche issue, will have confidence that you can help them.
2. When asked to answer the question in the future, you can send a link to the blog post rather than typing out an answer. This saves you valuable time, especially when it’s saved in your email templates.
3. FAQ blog posts are full of keywords that will get picked up by search engines like Google and improve your SEO ranking (where you show up in the search results).
Free Alternative For Transcribing Blog Posts
My Voice to Text Blog Example
Here’s the sample text I dictated, exactly as it looks on the Google doc:
I am dictating this blog post using Apple Airpods. I simply connected them, opened a new Google Doc, hit Tools, Voice Type and then started talking.
As I get to the end of each sentence, I say the word, period. It inserts a. At the end of the sentence. See I need to work on the editing commands or I go in and fix that.
I say, “new line” and then I repeat “new line” again and it double spaces between my paragraphs. Sometimes.
As I’m speaking, there is very little lag time between when the words I dictate display on my Google doc.
I just said the command “new paragraph” instead of saying “new line” twice. That makes sense! There’s a list of commands in their support section.
That’s it! Not bad, for a free option when you are at your computer, but it will definitely take more editing time.
I hope this helps, especially right now while everyone has extra time on their hands. Put it to good use and start adding to your blog today!
