8 Ways to Succeed at Transcription Work

Have you gone through training and testing to become a transcriptionist and still wondering how to see success?  How can you actually succeed at transcription work? There are a couple of key things to keep in mind when growing your transcription business. Keep reading while we uncover the eight ways to succeed at transcription work:

1. Get the Skills and Training

First, you want to make sure you have the necessary skills and training to do great work as a transcriptionist.

With training, you’ll learn things like:

• How to establish and calculate rates
• How to find work
• The ins and outs of transcription equipment and where to find great deals
• Understanding the transcription style guide
• Access to materials
• Student support

The General Transcription: Theory and Practice training will provide all this and more. If you are serious about learning how to work as a transcriptionist so you can work when and where you want, setting your own rates and more, you will want to check out the training.

2. Pick a Focus

Once you decide to start your career in transcription, it can be an exciting feeling, but what direction are you going to take?

General transcription or legal transcription?

Legal transcription is all about transcribing legal proceedings and general transcriptionists can work for a variety of different clients like podcasters, filmmakers, and other content creators.  Offering both services, as I do, not only offers the widest pool of potential clients, but it also helps keep the work interesting and varied.

3. Treat It Like a Business

Once you have the training under your belt, it’s time to start getting work. You should treat this like a business and not a hobby, regardless if you will be working part-time or full-time. Having a business mindset is a small change that will take you far. You will be taken seriously as a professional and you will see yourself this way as well.

As a transcription business owner, keep these things in mind:

• Tracking your income for taxes
• Forming your business (sole proprietor, LLC, etc.)
• Creating a business plan
• Getting office space

Take a look at this quick guide for starting a home business in 10 days.

4. Get Social

One of the three secrets from transcriptionists who actually make money is to be a savvy marketer.  One of the ways to be a great marketer is to get on social media.  Making a professional profile for yourself as a transcriptionist, finding job leads and clients, and networking can all come from being active on social media.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Participate in social groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and more
• Offer advice, insight and value, rather than trying to sell your skills like a salesman
• Hang out online to see what people are talking about and contribute meaningful content

These tips will help you stand out and soon you might start to see clients approach you, for work!

5. Invest in Great Equipment

You would be surprised how much equipment can make a difference between you being a successful transcriptionist or not. Some tools you’ll need include a computer, a stable internet connection, and more.

If you need help finding quality transcription equipment and an affordable price, you’ll want to take a look at the General Transcription training we offer.  You’ll learn the ins and outs of equipment plus other helpful information to succeed in transcription like, how to connect with clients, how to build your business, income guidelines and more. Here’s the syllabus to take a look at. You can learn more here.

6. Underpromise and Overdeliver

If you want to wow your clients, underpromise and overdeliver. This extends to meeting deadlines.  Most companies have deadlines and you want to make sure you meet them every time. Some ways to meet deadlines on time:

• Time block
• Take breaks
• Work in a quiet setting with no distractions

Take into consideration the type of project, scope of work, length of file and time required to complete work; then, use these tips to work efficiently and meet and exceed your client’s deadline. If you have happy clients, you will have returning clients.

7. Get Organized

Whether it be time tracking, project management, or communication, successful transcriptionists are well-organized.  Don’t be afraid to use free or paid tools to help you be more organized.

Here are some tools to help you stay organized this year:

• Scoro for project management
• Zoho to stay on top of tasks
• Toggl, for time tracking

Check out the entire roundup of 10 more tools to keep you organized this year!

8. Get Support

Nothing beats having an industry-related support system for your business.  Collaborating with like-minded people, other transcriptionists like you, is great for:

• Continuing education
• Making friends and networking
• Sharing your expertise
• Finding a place to vent

We’ve mentioned these groups before. They are so great, we are bringing them up again:

• TA Transcriptionists: This is the student support group for General Transcription: Theory and Practice and Legal Transcription: Theory and Practice courses*
• TAGrads: This is the support group for graduates of Transcribe Anywhere courses*
• Transcriptionists Helping Each other Out: For transcriptionists working at home, to connect, join in some good conversation, share and learn tips and best practices
• Transcription Alliance: A community of discussion, questions, funnies, and more, related to the transcription field.

TA Transcriptionists and TA Grads are private groups for enrolled students with Transcribe Anywhere only. 

Our Take

These success tips are meant to help you take your transcription business to the next level. Whether you are struggling with managing your workload, finding clients, or building a professional business, these ideas should provide some helpful guidance to you:

• Getting the skills and training
• Picking a focus
• Treating it like a business
• Getting social
• Investing in great equipment
• Under promising and over delivering
• Getting organized
• Getting support

Your Turn

What do you think? Comment down below to share some of your own best practices that have helped you achieve success as a transcriptionist.