Transcribe your content for 25c/min or less

I've often written about how great it is to transcribe your content for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes.  Now I'm going to give you the "secret sauce" about how to find someone to do it for you for 25 cents per minute of audio, or less (i've gotten people for as little as 15 cents per minute).  Here's an example of what the finished blog looks like, with the transcription below the audio or video.

The first thing you want to do is place an ad in the Craigslist Gigs section, seeking someone to do transcription.  I placed an ad and received 130 responses to my ad (yes, 130!).  In the ad I placed, the ad title was "SEEKING: Transcription of audio (Anywhere - remote OK. We are in DC.)"  Then in the body of the ad, just state that you have lots of content you need to get transcribed.

You'll probably get just as many responses as I did.  The next step was to find people who will give you a competitive rate (25 cents per minute of audio or less) and send them a small audio file to be transcribed (or a long audio file, and just ask them to do a piece of it).  This is just to test the candidates out.

Your goal should be to get 3 to 5 people that do a good job.  Then start sending them work - chances are that some of the candidates will wash out.

One tip is to offer to buy them (or ask them to buy) a kit from Amazon.com that makes the transcription process easier, by using a foot pedal.

And then you're off to the races!  Good luck.