If you decide to market yourself, as a transcriptionist, locally there are several different options available to you. You can start with basic places like insurance companies, law firms, building surveyor firms, etc. Insurance companies, law firm and building surveyors are always in need of having transcriptions done for them.
Think outside of the box though.
Try some places that you wouldn’t normally think of like local charities or even your local radio station. Places like your government offices are probably in need of general transcriptionists also. Other places to look for possible clients would be any type of business that do conference calls, panel discussions, etc.
A quick overview of places to contact for possible transcription clients will be places like insurance companies, government offices, radio stations, businesses that do market research, places that have panel discussions, etc. And anywhere else you think that a general transcriptionist may be needed.
Another option you have as a transcriptionist is to
market yourself via the internet. Blogging is a powerful tool in a freelance transcriber's hand. Writing relevant articles of interests to your potential customers could land you contracts that can bring more businesses.
Now that so many small business owners or work at home types know the value of content, many of them are hiring transcriptionists to transcribe podcast interviews, teleconferences, etc. Having these items transcribed into text format provides a way to add new content to their website.
Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are other alternatives to blogging to starting marketing your transcription services online. Blogging may not be the best route for you. You may actually prefer writing short (120-word) tweets to 500 to 1000-word posts.
Either way you decide to market your business, offline or online, you will want to have a website. A website shouldn’t be an option, it should be a necessity. You will want a site so that people can find you and seek out your services. You will want to make sure that you have contact information easily available on your site along with services provided and your prices.
Another great and easy idea to put into use, to market your transcription business is
utilizing the email signature. Most email accounts give you the option of creating a signature that will be attached to all your outgoing messages. You should take advantage of this setting and create your signature using your business name, your business website URL, your phone number, etc. In fact, make sure you include your website, phone numbers etc in every online profile you have whether Twitter, Facebook or MySpace, etc.
Other ways to market yourself are by joining forums/message boards. One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to just spam the boards meaning don’t just post about your business if they offer a free advertising day. You should be there to build relationships and then talking about your business will come naturally as you develop relationships. Most message boards allow you to have your business name & ULR in your signature.
There are lots of options available for marketing your general transcription business. The route you take will depend greatly on what your niche market is and whether you plan to work solely with offline/local clients or with online clients. No one can tell you what will work best for you; it’s entirely up to you and what you prefer to do.
Remember to be professional in your dealings - whether online or offline. Landing your first client is important to build up your reputation and make your name in your niche.
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