If you are frustrated with your 9-5 job and are looking for an alternative way to earn money, then look no further. What if we told you that it was possible to earn money from the comfort of your home, through transcription and captioning? It’s true! You could do it part-time if you’re looking for a good side income to complement your salary. Or you can even make a full-time living working as a full-time transcriptionist.
In this post, we’re going to walk you through how you can
make money as a transcriptionist and captionist in Kenya. I’m sure you’re
wondering what is transcription and captioning? Aren’t they the same thing?
What exactly does the job entail? Before we get into the earning bit of this
video, let’s take a little time to understand what transcription and captioning
really are.
Point-to-note: Before we go any further, allow
me to clarify that transcription and captioning is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
When you search on transcription and captioning online, many gurus may give you
the illusion that you don’t need any skills to get started and be successful in
earning money online in this field. Other misconceptions you may have, maybe
that transcription and captioning are simply about fast-typing and that they’re
an effortless job. That is definitely not the case. The job is open to anyone
and you need skills just like with any other job. That requires effort and time
from your end, but not to worry the effort pays off in the end. Keeping this in
mind we can now proceed.
What is Transcription?
Transcription is simply the process of converting a speech
or audio into a text format or written document. But it’s more than just
listening and typing out what you hear. It requires you to focus and pay
attention to the very little details. A great example when a podcaster or
YouTuber asks you to change the audio file of their episode into a written
format.
There are different types of transcribing jobs:
General transcription. This type of transcription
doesn’t need special formal training for you to qualify. You can be asked to
transcribe varied types of audios, from phone calls and lectures to webinars
and podcasts. Some subspecialties fall under this category such as legal,
financial, corporate, and data entry transcription. These require you to have a
little bit of experience in the subject matter especially due to some jargon
words or technical terms you may come across.
Medical transcription. This category requires you to
undergo special training to become a medical transcriber. Two main
certifications that are recognized are Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT)
and Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT). The job entails transcribing a
medical personnel’s dictations that are then added to the patient’s medical
report. It is therefore important that you understand, things like the human
anatomy and medical terminologies.
Real-time transcription. This type of transcription
requires an expert level of skill with a typing speed of at least 100 words per
minute. The job entails listening to live audio and converting what you hear
into a text format. You need to be very attentive and fast not to miss anything
that’s said. Job under this category includes being a real-time captioner,
court reporter, or a Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) service
provider.
Aside from the different types of transcription, there are
also different transcription formats you need to familiarize yourself with. The
formats include intelligent, verbatim, and edited transcripts.
What is captioning?
Now that you understand what transcription entails, it’s
time to understand what captioning is and why it differs from transcription. In
essence, you could say that captioning is similar to transcription since it
involves converting the audio file into text format. The difference however is
that, unlike a transcript, the captions are displayed on the screen in segments
timed to align with when the exact words are being spoken.
You could be asked to caption a movie, webcast, TV
broadcast, or live video. But you shouldn’t confuse captioning with subtitles.
Unlike subtitles, captions are done in the original language and are not
translated into different languages, like from Chinese to English or English to
French.
Like transcription, there are different types of captioning:
Closed captions. With this type, you have the choice
to either view the captions with your video or not. There’s normally a CC
symbol on the video or program guide that you can click to switch the captions
on or off.
Open captions. This type of caption is permanently
displayed on the video, normally at the bottom. You usually see an OC symbol on
the video to denote it has open captions. Such captions are commonly used in
foreign movies, especially where there are heavy accents.
Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART). This
type is commonly used for TV broadcasts like reality TV shows, or sports and
news coverage. They are also sometimes used in educational videos. Such
captions are created during the broadcast, meaning in real-time. It’s also used
to provide real-time captions for individuals with hearing impairment.
Who are your clients for Transcription?
There are many reasons why people need their audio files
converted into text formats. One of the main reasons is that the transcript
gives a clearer and cleaner message, especially in situations where the speaker
may have had a heavy accent. You’ll find a lot of clients approaching you for
transcription services for various reasons.
An attorney or legal professional, for example, may approach
you with a deposition, court hearing, or witness statement as an audio file or
video footage, for you to transcribe. The transcript is important since it
avoids any misinterpretations when the video or audio is played as the judge
goes through the transcript. Medical personnel may also approach you with
dictations or audio recordings of the procedures and notes about a patient. The
transcript is added to the patient’s record and plays a vital role in tracking
the patient’s progress. Other clients include students, lecturers, podcasters,
YouTubers, videographers, filmmakers and so many more. The list is almost
endless.
Who will hire you for captioning?
As with companies, many clients are outsourcing captioning
services for many reasons. One of the reasons is that captioning increases
viewership. Captions also help in the SEO ranking of videos. In addition,
people with hearing impairment are also able to access video content easily
thanks to captions.
Some of the clients likely to approach you include
production groups like filmmakers, TV show producers, or news stations.
Marketing teams may also approach you if they rely on video production as their
marketing strategy. Even creative content creators that come up with visual
media content like YouTubers are also potential clients.
Where do you look for the clients?
There are many available platforms today where you can get
clients offering transcriptions and captioning jobs. Some of these platforms
are specifically tailored for transcription and captioning, whereas others are
more general, providing clients offering different online jobs including
transcription and captioning. Most of these sites work on a bidding system
where the client posts a job and you along with other experts send in proposals
to apply for the job. You may also have an option of creating a package that
details your type of service and rates and have clients approach you with
offers.
The platforms tailored specifically for transcription and
captioning are:
- Transcribe
Me.
- Speech
Pad
- Go
Transcript
- Casting
Words
- Crowd
Surf Work
- Cloud
Factory
- Verbit
- Voxtab
- Remotasks
- Amazon
Mechanical Turk
Other popular general platforms you can try out as well are:
- Legiit
- People
per Hour
- Upwork
- Fiverr
How do you get paid – what are the rates?
With transcriptions and captioning, the rates at which you
earn and the frequency of payment will depend on the platform you’re using as
well as the client. For a platform like Transcribe Me, for example, you get
paid once every week as long as your account has $20 and above. Mostly,
however, your earning will depend on the length of the audio and the complexity
and skill level required. Real-time transcription for example may earn you more
than general transcription.
As for payment methods, most platforms like Transcribe Me
and Upwork use PayPal. It’s a reliable platform, and especially useful when it
comes to small amounts. You even have the option of transferring your money
from PayPal to Mpesa, although some platforms are introducing Mpesa as an
official payment method. An alternative is Payoneer which is a great platform
for online transaction.
What do clients expect from you – what are the skills needed?
So, now that we are clear on what transcription and
captioning mean and what the jobs entail, it must be clear that skill is
required if you want to be successful in the field. Starting with
Transcription, in as much as you need a great typing speed, you also need good
spelling and grammar. You need to be attentive and accurate to be able to
deliver quality results. You also need proper research skills, to be able to
familiarize yourself with jargon words and technical terms. For example, as a
medical subscriber or while doing legal transcription, you must understand the
terminologies. It makes transcribing easier and speeds up the process. Most
importantly you need to familiarize yourself and master the different
transcription formats. As for captioning, aside from keen attention to detail
and great research skills, you also need to be technology proficient and have a
sharp memory.
Overall, you need to be a good communicator when it comes to
your clients. Keeping time when it comes to delivering work is also important
to build trust between you and the clients. All of the skills mentioned here,
require training. You need to take time and put in the effort to acquire these
skills, otherwise, you will never be able to advance in this field. The best
way to train and gain such skills is through a good course.
Conclusion
Transcription and captioning are some of the best ways to make money online in Kenya. There are many platforms that exist, like Transcribe Me and Upwork, that offer numerous job opportunists. But for you to adequately earn money in this field, you need the proper skills and tools. Our Profession Transcription and Captioning Training course is designed to do just that. Join us today and begin your journey to making money through transcription and captioning.
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