Speaking Instead of Writing | The Amazing New Approach to Writing Books and Blog Posts

How to listen to an audiobook

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To make money as a writer, you need an extreme level discipline. Whether you write blogs, books or anything in between, you need to find a way to become consistent and continually create quality content.  With a bit of creativity, you can make the process a bit easier. In this post I will teach you how to use simple tools to speak your next writing projects to get more done and not sacrifice quality in the process. Voice to text is amazing, let's make sure you understand how to use it!

Why Voice to Text Makes You a Better Writer

#1 Increased Productivity

Most bloggers and writers struggle with consistency or get bored with the process of typing and pounding out content against the unnatural glow of the computer screen.

Speaking posts can help you write content more quickly and from anywhere.

#2 You Will Write in Your Natural Voice

I make my best effort to write in the same way I speak, but it isn’t easy. Speaking your posts makes it easier (obviously).

#3 Changing Your Writing Methods up Can Improve Creativity, Crush Writer’s Block and Content Quality

A shift in perspective can help you get out of a blogging rut.

#4 Capture Ideas When Inspiration Strikes

I record many of my blog posts when I am driving. Pulling out the laptop while going 70mph in my Honda Pilot isn’t feasible, but pressing record on the Rev app is.

The Tools Required

Do NOT overthink this.

You can start creating content via voice to text with as minimal of a set up as simply your smartphone.

Here is my set-up.

  • Smartphone. I use my iPhone Pro for all my mobile recordings because it’s easy to sync and I always have it on me. If inspiration strikes, I'm ready to go!
  • Rev App. This is my preferred voice to text transcription program because it’s a seamless transfer from my recordings to a real live person who will give me a quality transcription. I am not a fan of voice to text software because there are too many errors (even with the best software on the market, Dragon Dictation) and the rates for a real live person are so affordable and the turnaround is fast.

Alternative #1:  Dropbox and available transcription services. Evernote has the ability to record audio and you can make notes on the file. This comes in handy if you need to add images, links or notes to your file. That will be essential when completing the actual written post, which you can do yourself or with a 3rd party ghost writing service (more on this later).

Alternative #2: Dragon Dictation. This is an actual voice to text software and there is no human interpretation. This means more misheard words and it requires a little extra proofing when your done. Not a bad option, but not my method of choice.

  • Apple Airpod Pros. There is no reason you'd need these over any pair of basic headphones or earbuds with a built in mic. I use these because they are my default headphones and the built in mic is actually very high quality.

Alternative #1: Any headphones or earbuds with a built in mic. iPhone users can use the included ear buds. SkullCandy makes great earbuds as well if you don’t use an iPhone or don’t like the included ear buds.

Alternative #2: Zoom H1 Portable Digital Recorder. If you want something that will give you higher quality audio that will be used for sharing (not just sending for transcription) this is a great mobile option. This is a lavalier mic that can also be used to create better sounding audio for videos when you overlay the sound instead of using built in camera mics. Vloggers rejoice!

ATR 2100 Microphone. This is my mic of choice for home recordings. It will give you crisper audio if you decide to make your recordings available as well, with a service like SoundCloud.

Cost: $60-$79 on Amazon.

Audacity. This is a free audio recording software if you do your recordings on your desktop or laptop.

Cost: Free

Alternative: GarageBand (Mac Users)

Voice to Text Recording Best Practices

The following will make sure that you don’t let your content quality slip.

#1 Always Proofread and Optimize Your Posts

If you speak a post and share it, you are doing it wrong.

Don’t deviate from your normal style and don’t get lax on SEO and general readability improvements (bullet points, images, etc).

If you only need basic grammar and spelling proofreading, you can use a service like FancyHands.

#2 Make Notes in Recording for Easier Completion

Consider adding the following voice notes. You will, literally, say these out loud so they appear in the transcription.

  • {Header}…{End Header}. You can even specify the header type. For example “H2..10 Ways to Sell More Supplements…End H2
  • {Start List}…{Next Item}…{End List}. Add exaggerated pauses in your voice to make this easier for your transcriber.
  • {Add Outbound Link}…{Add Inbound Link}. Good posts need links. Don’t forget to add research.
  • {Add Affiliate Link}. Monetize your content. Don’t forget.
  • {Add Image}. I try to add an image at least every 150 words if my content is a tutorial. Yours may be different.
  • {Fact Check}..or…{Needs Data}. You should be sure that you aren’t just making up data.

Adding these will make it easier for you to complete your article or outsource the content completion (more next).

#3 Add Substance You Won’t Be Able to Reference When Speaking

Facts, data, quotes etc. should be added after your content is dictated.

There are tools that will show you how many words your voice text will be. For me, 7 minutes of audio is about 1200-1500 words.

#4 Don’t Skimp on SEO

Before you start dictating a post, keep in mind the keyword you are targeting.

If possible, try to focus on keyword density as you speak, but don’t mess up the flow of your post.

Don’t make the simple SEO mistakes I made early on.

Outsourcing Article Completion

I am always weary of outsourcing my content, none of my content on EntreResource is outsourced, but I know many content marketers find it valuable to outsource blog content.

Speaking your content and then having a professional finish the article for you is a great way to save time and not lose your unique voice.

For this, I recommend TextBroker.com. They are qualified and affordable. If you have the article transcribed, it won’t take long for a quality ghost writer to wrap it up and make it look and sound great.

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Whether you are typing or speaking, never stop learning and sharing.

Good luck!

  1. The Zoom mics are awesome for sound recording! I used them for a while when I was heavy into YouTube content creation.Great post Nate! Lots of variety, and good mix of techniques and tools :-)Way to go!

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