Many people ignore producing a transcript because they feel the return on the time it takes to create them isn’t justified. For most people that will be true but there are some hidden benefits that are very interesting and are worth noting. I believe that transcripts have a place in everyones podcasting process, they will set you apart from everyone else.
Apple Podcasts Read Along With Transcripts
This is a new feature that has me feeling very excited. I’m not sure about other podcast players (I only use Apple Podcasts) but service has relatively recently introduced a new feature. It allows the user to switch the main screen from showing the episode artwork to a transcription that follows the audio in real time. You can scroll though this transcript and tap to begin listening from that point. I might be biased because I love podcasts but this is a very useful and exciting feature.
Good for Repurposing
Transcripts are extremely useful for repurposing your content, increasing your reach and engagement. With the right tools they can be the keystone content to everything else you create. Newsletters/blogs, social media clips, quotes, show notes, titles and LinkedIn posts.
Good for Accessibility
Allow a larger audience to engage with your content by uploading a transcript along with every episode. Everyone can be a potential customer but not everyone is able to listen to your podcast. This will likely be for people with hearing loss or non native language speakers who need to follow along with text or read at their own pace.
Good for Search Engines
If you create a webpage for every new episode I highly recommend embedding the transcript in a dropdown menu. This keep the visitor engaged for longer and will give the search engine a higher chance to increase your rankings because of the additional text. I know this from second hand experience and seeing what works, SEO is not my area of expertise but I know this has been effective.
How to Create Transcripts
There are two main ways you’ll find your transcripts being generated. You do not want to go through the effort of manually creating them, they often require precise timestamps. I offer this as an additional service at a low price so that you never need to think about it, only reap the rewards.
- You use a tool in the editing process that creates the transcript for it’s own purpose. You should be able to export this for you own use.
- You use a transcription service. There are many but the industry standard is Rev.com, they have two options, one is automatically generated, this is what I recommend everyone uses. The second option is to request a human makes it flawless.
Testimonial
Fynn Gentle and I have been working together for the entire time my podcast, Real Personal Branding Podcast, has existed. Not only is he a great editor, but he is reliable and focused.
He is emotionally intelligent about his clients and intuitive about their needs, figuring out what means most to them in his editing process, and is sure to edit the episodes in a way that makes his clients happy and fulfilled. I can trust him to get the job done. I have personally recommended Fynn to several of my friends with podcasts, and they say the same, “Wow, Fynn is incredible to work with–– I wish I knew about him sooner.”
I would recommend working with Fynn in any capacity. Not only is he kind, easy to work with, efficient and highly organized, but he is talented and will deliver you the product you need professionally and make your life easier–as he has mine.
Lauren V Davis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I hope this has been useful for you, transcripts are a great way to make your podcast stand out. The Apple Podcasts feature where you can read along with the audio for me is reason enough to start including them.
Thanks,