Should You Transcribe Your Podcast?

In the 6 years since we started a podcast, there has been a total
of one (1) request for a transcription of an episode. That was
the Natasha Gargiulo episode back in 2018, and the person asking
was hearing impaired. Natasha has a very large Canadian
following, and I would have been more than happy to help out one
of her followers. Sadly, at the time, I was largely clueless on
how to do this. Today, I am happy to report that I know a little
more on the topic.


At Podcast Movement last month, the Live New Media show with
ToddCochrane and Rob Greenlee had Andy Bowers, Rachael King and
James Cridland on as guests, and the subject of transcription
came up.


I have to admit that after dabbling with the offerings from
Headliner, Descript, and the Microsoft offering in my
subscription, I was largely underwhelmed with its efficiency and
honestly questioned its necessity. After a brief Twitter
exchange, I pivoted positions; providing a transcription is the
right thing to do for your show. There are some SEO benefits, and
it adds a nice dimension to your website content.


But these questions were still burning:


-Why is it the responsibility of the content creator to
provide them?


-Why would I want someone reading the show when I want
them listening to it? (I get paid in downloads, you
know.)


-Why should I pay for this? It’s expensive.


I think I can answer these.


Companies like Amazon, Google, Spotify, and Apple all have the
technology to do this. But there is nothing in it for them. In
fact, all it takes is a few mis-transcribed words to launch them
into a lawsuit.


As for people reading the show rather than downloading it, that
might happen- and if the person doing so is hearing impaired,
that should make you feel good. But here’s a side marketing bonus
you probably didn’t consider: Bloggers and writers can easily cut
and paste quotes from you and your guests, and credit your
podcast. This recently happened to one of my older episodes, and
it led to a few more followers. Sometimes it’s the things that
you didn’t plan for that make it all worthwhile.


As for justifying the price, that’s going to have to be a
personal decision. It’s more than the subscription cost- it’s
also spending the time after the transcription has been made to
verify spelling and oddly pronounced words. It will likely take
you even longer If your podcast is about something scientific or
medical, or cities in Wales. As it stands now, some transcripts
refer to me as Mad Kendall which I am considering adopting as my
new wrestling name. And for networks who manage podcasts, between
paying the humans reviewing the shows and paying for the
subscriptions, the costs add up.


One of the big reasons podcasters get involved with transcription
is for the SEO. However, there are some who believe that simply
attaching a transcription to the bottom of the episode page on
your website will result in Google judging the page to be too
long for ideal consumption.


My thanks to James Cridland for the suggestion of finding a
sponsor to assist with the payment of the podcast transcription
costs. Your podcast is more than just pre-rolls and mid-rolls.


Look for newer episodes of the Sound Off Podcast to contain
transcriptions of each episode via Poddin.io. We decided to
partner with Poddin because of its efficiency and its
downloadable player, ease of use, and now with the ability to
pull from your podcast’s RSS feed.


Here are some of the other services we tried and largely liked.
Choose wisely.


Headliner, Descript, Microsoft, AWS, Trint


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