The Many Benefits Of Having Your Sermons Transcribed

What is sermon transcription?

Sermon transcription is the process of turning a spoken sermon that has been recorded into written text.

The benefits of having your spoken audio or video sermons turned into text can be endless. The following are just a few examples:

More Accessibility and Reach:  

• It will enable access to those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.
• What about those who are unable to attend your services and may not have internet access? They can be sent a hard copy.
• Those who cannot play sound and/or video for various reasons can now read your transcripts.

Search Engine Optimization:

• Search engines cannot fully index video and audio, so posting your sermon transcripts on your website will allow search engines to discover and index the content of your sermons. This will provide more keyword-rich content that can improve your ranking in search engines, as well as result in your site showing up in more search results. This could ultimately result in more accessibility and reach. Click here for a great article from Search Optimization for Dummies, (an awesome series of books that have been around for many years), about the benefits of transcribing your videos and a few tips on how to best include video on your website.

Marketing:

• A sermon transcript can provide tons of offline and online marketing material. Your imagination is your only limit here! Why not leverage the time you spend writing your sermons and turn it into a consistent stream of content for your website, newsletters, social media, blogs, books, magazines, study guides, mailers and emails?

Useful Tools for Your Attendees:

• Having a transcript gives you and your attendees the ability to print your sermons and have them available in a hard-copy form that can be used in several ways; such as a good, old-fashioned printed copy that some still prefer. It can then allow them to share your sermons with others who many not have online access, or it can be handed out as a study aid or guide.
• Topics or issues that are mentioned during a sermon can be quickly referenced and further studied at one’s own leisure, which can result in a deeper understanding of your sermons and more communication between you and your attendees.

Summary:

Accessibility for those who are hard-of-hearing, deaf, or do not have the ability to play video or who do not have internet access; improving your search engine rankings and increasing traffic to your website; increasing your “share-a-bility” on social media platforms; and the endless possibilities of offline publishing and marketing are just some of the many benefits to having your sermons transcribed each week.

About the author: Kimberly Treptow is the owner of Blue Transcription