Email Newsletter Writing Tools

One of the best things the blogsphere can do these days is to equip readers with useful tools and tips that can save valuable time and effort. Mark Frauenfelder over at Boing Boing has been recommending some great tools and services of value to anyone needing to record interviews or dictation and then transcribe the audio to text.

First Mark recommended Audio Recorder which is an OS X application for recording MP3 files directly to a computer hard drive. (note: there are many PC apps that can do this as well)

Mark uses Audio Recorder with a telephone connector to record telephone interviews. The built in microphone on a laptop might be all that's needed to record a meeting or presentation.

Next Mark recommends a transcription playback software:

I've been using iTunes to play back the files, but last night Boing Boing reader Mason told me about a $20 transcribing program called Listen&Type. I gave it a whirl, and I'm sold on it. Here's why: (1) You don't have to switch back and forth between iTunes and a text editor to stop and start the recording. Listen&Type lets you set up keyboard commands so you can stop and start the audio without leaving your text editor. (2) You can skip back 5 seconds by entering a keyboard command. There are some other functions, too, such as marking, but features 1 and 2 have made me an instant fan.

He then points to information about transcription services that will take your uploaded mp3 files and transcribe them to text files using human typists. While these services aren't perfect they are a useful resource for writers needing to transcribe megs of MP3s.

Tools like these can help you develop content first class content for your email newsletters, blogs, reports, studies etc. Load up and go get those customer interviews for your next issue.