A transcription side hustle business is a great way to earn extra money by working from home. You can do it in your spare time, and it doesn’t require a lot of initial investment to get started. In this post, we cover what a transcriber does, how much money you can expect to make, and what equipment you will need to get started. So if you’re interested in starting your own transcription side hustle business, read on!
Make extra income with a transcription side hustle business
If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money from home, transcription might be the perfect side hustle for you. Transcription is the process of turning audio or video recordings into written text. Transcriptionists, or transcriptionists, listen to recordings and type out what they hear.
One of the ways I made extra income while in college was by starting my own transcription side hustle business.
I was an English major, and I was looking for opportunities to make money with writing. I learned about a transcribing job through my college career center and thought it would be a great way to make some side income while also expanding my writing and typing skills.
The transcription job included helping a disabled woman transcribe her voice recordings into typed articles. Then with her direction, I put together media packets to send off to magazines and publishers so her articles could be reviewed for publication.
This was how my transcription side hustle business was started. It was the perfect side hustle because I was still able to go to college, and have time to study and do my homework while working a few hours a day doing transcribing. It allowed me to make double what the minimum wage was per hour which was a pretty big deal back then for someone just starting out in college.
Transcription side hustle benefits
I loved my transcription side hustle because it gave me flexibility, and it also helped me develop new writing and article submission skills that I still use today!
As I improved, I was able to charge more and take on more clients. At some point, I was able to pick and choose the clients I worked with, and I was also able to increase my transcribing rates.
A side benefit to the work I was doing was I learned how to submit articles to major publications. Many people have fear when trying to get hired by bigger publications because they are scared of rejection. But having my transcription business taught me that hearing no is just part of the process.
Once I learned how to create great content and properly put together an article submission, then more of my articles got accepted. If you are interested in starting a transcription business, I highly recommend this course to get started.
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What skills and tools do you need to start a transcription business?
With transcribing, you don’t really need to have a college degree in English. If you can type words, then you can transcribe. You do need a general knowledge of grammar as well as the ability to listen and type words fairly quickly. But even if you cannot type fast now, this is a skill that can be developed with practice.
Depending on the type of transcription work you will be doing, there are some things you will need for a transcription side hustle business…
A laptop or computer
Possibly a recording device
Internet connection
A foot pedal (to help regulate speed, here’s the one we recommend)
How to get hired to do transcription?
One of the easiest ways to get hired as a transcriber is to go to websites that support transcribers, such as Rev.com. Sites like these have job boards where you can look for work. Check out our list below to see what these various companies require and how much they pay.
You can also create your own freelancer account on a site like Fiverr or Upwork and post your transcribing services along with other things you offer.
It would be a good idea to add your services to LinkedIn and also share your services to FaceBook groups as well as local listing sites like Craigslist and Nextdoor.
I would also suggest setting up your own simple website where you feature your services and provide testimonials of your work If you want to make more income with transcription. I highly suggest taking this transcription course to discover ways you can reach out to business owners to create longer-lasting relationships.
Where can I find transcription jobs?
There are many bloggers and online business owners who do podcasting, live videos, and speeches who want their audios and videos transcribed into posts. You can reach out to these business owners by email, introduce yourself, and inquire if they need transcriptions of their recordings.
We also recommend job boards for transcribers, such as Rev, TranscribeMe, and SyncScript. With time, you will develop your transcribing skills, and you’ll get a better understanding of what types of jobs fit your lifestyle best.
If you’re looking to find transcription jobs easily, I’ve put together a more detailed list of companies below where you can submit your information and get hired for work pretty easily.
Some of these companies are happy to hire beginner transcriptionists, and others are looking for more experienced transcribers, so I recommend starting with the first few companies on the list to start. Then as you gain more knowledge, reach out to the higher-earning jobs. Bookmark this article so you can come back to it as you gain experience, and refer to it for other transcribing jobs.
Most of these companies pay for transcribing services based on a per audio minute rate. In the transcribing industry, most companies have a standard 4:1 ratio, meaning they believe it takes around four minutes to transcribe one minute of audio. This may or may not be the case for you, so this is something to take into account with these job boards.
Here are a few of the more popular online transcription job boards:
- TranscribeMe– this is a pretty straightforward transcription job board. They pay between $15-$22 per audio hour. You simply login and start transcribing short audio clips of two to four minutes. You can start and stop any time you want.
- Rev– you don’t need any experience to get started on Rev. They do require you to pass a grammar quiz and also submit a transcription sample. They always have work available.
- SyncScript– they hire new transcribers, and the pay starts around .57 cents to .64 cents per audio minute. They require a typing speed of 70 words per minute with a 98 percent degree of accuracy.
- FocusForward– you will need to take a test to qualify and they pay .40 cents per audio minute for transcription services. They also have higher-paying jobs the longer you work for them.
- DailyTranscription– they require a skills assessment and transcription test. You will need to be able to type 50 words per minute. Their pay is higher than some of the other transcription job sites, paying between .75 cents and .85 cents per audio minute.
- Quicktate– this transcribing service requires some experience, but they also have foreign language transcribing opportunities. Their jobs vary, so you might see everything from transcribing voicemails that last just a few minutes to meetings that last several hours.
- SpeakWrite– requires one year of experience in an office environment. You must be a legal resident of the US or Canada (California residents are not accepted at this time). And you need to be able to type at 60 words per minute to apply.
- Castingwords– offers transcription jobs for English, French, and Spanish languages. They have a 24-hour turn-around promise, so they like you to be a fast and reliable transcriber. They like to hire people as independent freelance transcribers, and you must be over 18 years of age.
- GMRTranscription– they want experienced transcriptionists who want to grow in their skills. They require you to take a test, and they want you to have over the ears headphones and a foot pedal. On average, their transcriptionists make between $1000 and $3000 a month.
- eScribers– they desire legal transcribers who are eligible to work in the US. They pay out weekly, but the amount is not disclosed.
- TranscriptDivas– this is a highly sought-after transcriber job board because they pay higher rates, around $1.15 per audio minute. Many potential candidates apply, so you will need to find a way to stand out.
- TranscriptionOutsourcingLLC– they are looking for US based transcriptionists. They have a blog dedicated to educating you about transcription which is very helpful for newbies. They accept new transcribers, and the pay rate goes up with more experience. On average, they pay between .81 cents and $1.10 per audio minute.
- Pioneer-Transcription-Services– they are always looking for new transcriptionists. You will need to fill out an application form and include references. Then you will need to take a transcription test. If you are accepted, they keep you on their list, and you can login to find jobs.
- GoTranscript– you can choose the work you want and they pay up to .60 cents per audio minute. They rate you based on your work.
- WayWithWords– they appreciate transcribers who can understand difficult accents. You don’t need any experience to start, and they do offer training. Pay is between .43 cents and $1.73 per audio minute.
Do I need special training to be a transcriber?
You do not necessarily need training to start a transcription business, but there are simple courses like this one that can help you get started faster. There weren’t courses like this one back when I got started transcribing and so I had to learn everything the hard way, through experience.
How much money can I make with a transcription side hustle business?
Payscale.com reports that the average transcriptionist makes $15-20 per hour. And with no special equipment needed to get started, transcription is a great option for those looking to start a side hustle with little initial investment. At 4 hours a day for 5 days a week, you can easily make around $1500 a month in extra income by doing transcribing.
Once you have established yourself with a few clients, and you gain an understanding of how to reach out to potential new clients, you will be able to make more per hour for your transcription work.
You can also make more as a transcriptionist if you do specialized transcription, such as legal transcription. The course we recommend has a legal transcription option to help you learn the type of formatting required for different types of industries. One woman I know who does legal transcription works just 20 hours a week and she brings in about $2000 a month consistently. She has three kids and she is able to work from home as a transcriber. She loves the flexibility and feels confident that she can do this work anywhere at any time.
Final thoughts about starting a transcription side hustle business
We hope you enjoyed this article on starting a transcription side hustle business. Transcription is a great way to make some extra money by working from home. It’s a relatively easy side hustle to get started with, and all you need is a computer and access to the internet. Transcriptionists can expect to make $15-20 per hour on average, and there are so many things you can do with this extra income, such as saving up for a vacation, starting your emergency fund, paying off debt, or even investing.
If you’re interested in starting your own transcription side hustle business, follow the steps outlined in this post and you’ll be on your way! Thanks for reading and good luck!
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