Find out why academic transcription is a good way to get starting with general transcription work. The article from Jessica Smith Miller explains why there is  a big demand for academic transcription by both students and educators.

The verbal/audio to text transcription services are sort for varied reasons. The education field utilizes both verbal and written forms of communication to distribute knowledge. Verbal communication is, however, the commonly used method of conducting lectures, educational discussions and class-based presentations. Educational institutions provide knowledge to anyone who seeks to learn. Academic transcription services are important for a number of reasons.

People naturally have different learning capabilities. While there are people who can naturally absorb vast amounts of knowledge immediately, other people require a little more time to absorb the same knowledge. Recording of lectures, and class sessions, is used as a learning instrument by students who want to comprehensively understand the knowledge passed on by educators. These recordings are often transcribed for convenience; students are accustomed to reading and most are able to pick up the required information this way.

Recording class sessions and having them transcribed gives students the ability to fully concentrate on lectures. The process of following lectures and trying to take-down notes becomes a routine and does not leave room for adequate concentration. Likewise there are students who can effectively carry out this task, but most students rely on extra study sessions to get the scope of any topics taught. A number of people naturally remember verbalized information, as opposed to written down information which has to be read several times for memory purposes.

Class presentations are used as a learning tool, initiated by students. Students have to research vastly on a given topic and present their finding orally during class sessions. Students can record these sessions, like normal class sessions, and have the recordings transcribed. Some presentations may require the collection of opinions, which are often recorded through video or audio formats. These recordings are transcribed and issued to professors / lecturers for grading purposes.

Professors and other educators in general, record their teaching sessions in a bid to gauge their effectiveness. Educators also need to learn from the knowledge they dispense, and monitor the information they pass to students. These recordings similarly need to be transcribed, both for convenience and for documentation purposes. The sessions also help an educator to pick-up on any missing information and pass it on to students during subsequent lectures.

Academic transcriptions are very important to students with hearing impairments. Learning institutions often accept all people, who meet their entry criteria, and offer them the knowledge they seek. Students with hearing disabilities can have their class recordings transcribed to help them catch up on lectures.

The Importance of Captioning Services for Television, Videos and Movies

Find out how transcription companies offer captioning services for television and movie producers.

Movies, television and videos use captions. When watching movies, you’ve seen captions in English or a foreign language at the bottom of the screen. Captions increase the exposure of TV programs and movies. Subtitles are helpful for people who speak a different language. They are also useful for people with hearing impairments.

To provide captioning services, transcription companies are using captioning software software.

If you’re interested in offering captioning services, you need to be able to accept a variety of movies and video in different formats such as WAV, FLV, MP3, MOV, WMV, RM and WMA formats . The output is usually in ID, CLEAN and TXT formats. Some companies require web supported captioning such as.XML, CPT,.RIT or other web supported formats.

A transcription company need the capability of documenting transcripts using the Extensible Markup language. This is important if a client will submit a video to online sites.

Some videos  requiring subtitling or captioning.

Fees for this service range from about $1 for every minute of audio transcribed to about $95 for an hour of audio transcribed.

Do you know that there are different transcription formats? Do you know the difference between an edited transcript and verbatim transcript?

Audio recordings document pauses and hesitations people use in speech. These create some questions for transcribers.

What should you include in  transcripts? The answer is: Ask your clients. Your clients will decide what they want to include in the transcripts.

There are three basic transcription formats; verbatim, edited and intelligent verbatim.

Verbatim transcripts: The verbatim (complete) transcription format includes every sound that’s in the recording. Every word on the recording must be transcribed exactly as it was said. Even incomplete sentences must be included on the transcripts as they were said.

Verbatim transcriptions are often used for legal purposes. The transcripts include sounds such as err, mmh, umm and you know. Identifiable emotions like laughter, sobbing and anger marked by tremors in speech, are also included in such transcripts. Verbatim transcripts takes the longest to complete and are usually the most expensive because they take longer to transcribe.

Edited transcripts: Some sentences may be left out of the transcripts without misconstruing what was said by the speaker.  Lectures, speeches and conferences often want edited transcripts. Edited transcripts take time to complete, but less time than verbatim transcripts.

Intelligent transcripts: The intelligent transcripts are accurate transcripts of the recording but leave out words such as umm, kinda, like and you know. These sounds do not add any value but are just fillers or pauses. Intelligent transcripts are ideal for interviews and are the fastest to transcribe compared to intelligent and verbatim transcripts.

It is up to your clients to decide which transcription format meets their requirements.

The transcription format required will affect the time it takes to transcribe a project and will consequently affect the total price.

This article has been provided by Jessica Smith Miller.

Note from publisher:

It’s important for podcast transcriptionists to educate their clients about the importance of the quality of the podcast recording. Make sur that your clients understand that the quality of the podcast recording will affect the quality of the podcast transcript.

Below is a list of medical transcription schools in different areas and online medical transcription schools. Some provide a certification in medical transcription and job assistance while others don’t. Do your home work and check the quality and reputation of the schools before enrolling or purchasing any programs.

I am mentioning the online transcription schools I recommend first and then mention a large list of local medical transcription schools.

Online Medical Transcription Schools

4 RECOMMENDED ONLINE MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION SCHOOLS:

1. Career Step
http://www.generaltranscriptionworkfromhome.com/careerstep.html
1220 North Main Street, Suite 6, Springville, Utah 84663
Phone: 1-801-489-9393
Fax: 1-801-491-6645
Email: info@careerstep.com

2. Andrews School
Contact: Linda Andrews
Phone: 1-405-721-3560
Email: linda@andrewsschool.com

3. M-TEC, Medical Transcription Education Center

4. Get trained in four months for a career in medical transcription with Michele Miller’s BBB accredited Affordable Online Medical Transcription Course and Easy Payment Plan.

If you’re looking for an excellent, less expensive course, consider Michele’s. Michele is a medical transcriptionist herself.  She’s also a medical transcription teacher. Many of the other courses are done by teachers who have never worked as a medical transcriptionist themselves. She is great at providing support and helping people. She’s listed in the BBB.

I’ve known Michele for many years and totally stand behind her course.

Click here to get more information about Michele’s online medical transcription course.

I highly recommend that you read Michele Miller’s article about how to choose a medical transcription school.

ADDITIONAL ONLINE TRANSCRIPTION SCHOOLS AND CORRESPONDENCE COURSES

List of MT Courses
http://www.medical-training.info/medicalTranscription.html

At-Home Professions (home-study course)
Includes audio cassettes, lessons, text materials and flashcards.
http://www.at-homeprofessions.com/
Phone: 1-800-359-3455 ext 3330
Email: info@at-homeprofessions.com

Blackboard – free online medical terminology courses.

Brighton College
Distance Education Courses include medical transcription and medical billing courses.
1737 Georgetown Road, Suite G, Hudson, OH 44236
Phone: 1-800-231-3803, 1-330-342-5579.
Fax: 1-330-342-8502.
Email: info@brightoncollege.eduBrighton College

CAI Transcription
79 S. Main Street, Suite #8, Barnegat, NJ 08005
Phone: 1-609-698-8834
Toll Free Student/Enrollment: 1-888-224-6590
Fax: 1-609-698-6881
Email: cai08005@tellurian.net

CanScribe Career Centre Inc. – School of Medical Transcription
Learn online or on campus (Canada)
223, 3121 Hill Rd, Lake Country, BC V4V 1G1, British Columbia, Canada.
Phone: 1-250-766-2230
Fax: 1-250-766-2161.
Toll Free: 1-800-466-1535
Email: info@canscribe.com

Garb Transcription
http://www.garbtranscription.com
Phone: 1-415-924-9753
Fax: 1-415-927-8132.
Email: JGarb87517@aol.com

GMT Distance Learning Center
http://medicaltrans.net

Learn 2 Work At Home
Park-Youhanaie Enterprises, Inc.,
4025 East Chandler Boulevard, Suite #70-A27, Phoenix, Arizona 85048
Phone: 1-480-777-9110
Toll Free: 1-877-331-4222
Email: customerservice@learn2workathome.com

Med-Line School of Medical Transcription
http://www.medlineschool.com
12006 Annette Road, Angleton, TX 77515
Phone: 1-928-854-4925
Toll Free: 1-877-854-4925
Contact: Maggie Denekas Armbruster. Email: mdenekas@frontiernet.net.
Lisa Thompson - Email: lthompson@ix.netcom.com.

Medical Transcription A to Z

http://www.medtranscription.com

4022 E. Greenway, #11-168, Phoenix, AZ 85032.
Phone: 1-602-482-0782
Toll Free: 1-800-484-9731
Email: info@medtranscription.com

Medical Transcription Made Easy
6825 Silver Ponds Heights Road, #111, Colorado Springs, CO 80908
Phone: 1-719-495-7469
Toll Free: 1-800-235-9455
Fax: 1-719-532-9993.
Email: sales@sylvansoft.com
http://www.sylvansoft.com/medical-transcription-course.htm

Meditech, Inc. Transcription Education Center
2985 North 935 East, Suite 1, Layton, UT 84041
Phone: 1-801-771-1900
Toll Free: 1-877-335-4072
Fax: 1-801-771-1901
Email: info@meditec.com

MT Advantage Career Center
Phone: 1-804-695-2100
Toll free: 1-877-336-8222
Fax: 1-804-695-2101

The SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training
developed by the Health Professions Institute
1317 Oakdale Road, Suite 1210, Modesto, CA 95355
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 801, Modesto, CA 95353-0801
Phone: 1-209-551-2112
Fax: 1-209-551-0404
E-mail: hpi@hpisum.com

Check out my new book on how to get general transcription work from home without learning medical transcription terminology.

US Medical Transcription Schools

California:

• Empire College
  3035 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.
  Phone: 1-707-546-4000
• South Coast College
  2011W. Chapman Avenue, Orange, CA 92868
  Phone: 1-877-612-0875.
  Email: admissions@southcoastcollege.com

Kansas:

• Wright Business School
  10975 El Monte, Overland Park, KS 66211
  Phone: 1-800-555-4003.

Michigan:

• Central Business School
  355 Forestville Road
  PO Box 1081, Marquette, MI 49855
  Phone: 1-906-226-2743
  Email:  cbsinfo@upfirst.com

Texas:

• The Transcription Connection
  Contact: Wendolyn Ann Smith, Director.
  2646 South Loop West,
  Ste. #150 Houston, TX 77054
  Phone: 1-713-660-0355.

New York:

• Queens College
  65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367.
  Phone: 1-718- 997-5000
• Andrews & Holbrook Training Corporation
  4 British American Blvd., Latham, NY 12110
  Phone: 1-518-783-0649
  Fax: 1-518-783-1637
  Toll Free: 1-866-783-3800

Washington

• Everett Community College
  Contact: Dotty Bock
  2000 Tower Street, Everett, WA 98201
  Phone: 1-425-388-9034
  Toll Free: 1-866-304-3822
  Fax: 1-425-388-9358.
  Email: success@everettcc.edu

More Medical Transcription Schools

• Allied Schools
  22952 Alcalde Drive, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
  Toll Free: 1-888-501-7686
  Fax: 1-949-707-5579
  International: 1-949-707-5082
  Student Services Toll Free: 1-888-925-4282
  Email: allied@alliedschools.com
• American Commercial College
  4412 74th St., Lubbock, TX 79424
  Phone: 1-806-785-4969
• Everest College
  Phone: 1-888-741-4270

• Gatlin Educational Services
  109 East 3rd Street, Suite 350, Fort Worth, TX 76102
  Phone: 1-817-870-2870
  Fax: 1-817-870-2871
  Email: support@gatlineducation.com
• Kaplan University
  6301 Kaplan University Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309.
  Toll Free: 1-866-527-5268
  International: 1-954-515-4015
  Fax: 1-888-887-6494
  Email: infoku@kaplan.edu

• Medical Transcription Education Center
  Contact: Susan Francis
  Email: sfrancis@mtecinc.com
  Kathy Kropko
  Email: kkropko@mtecinc.com
  3634 West Market Street, Suite 103, Fairlawn, OH 44333.
  Phone: 1-330-670-9333
  Toll Free: 1-877-864-3307. 1-877-733-4346
  Fax: 1-330-670-8826
  Email: inquiries@mtecinc.com

• PENN Foster Career School
  For inquiries within USA:
  925 Oak Street, Scranton, PA 18515
  Phone: 1-800-275-4410
  For inquiries outside USA:
  P.O. Box 1900,
  Scranton, PA 18501, USA.
  Phone: 1-570-961-4033
  Fax: 1-570-343-8462
  Email: infoims@pennfoster.com
• Rasmussen Colleges
  Phone: 1-888-549-6755
• Stiles Electronically Taught Transcription, Inc
  Contact: Murrell Whelan.
  Email: murrellwhelan@aol.com
  Janet Stiles.
  Email: janetstiles@sbcglobal.net
  Phone: 1-817-781-9976
• Tech Skills
  Phone: 1-800-639-7545
• Tri-State Business Institute
  5757 West Twenty-Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16506.
  Phone: 1-814-838-7673

• Med Workshops
  10121 Evergreen Way, Suite 25 – pmb 66, Everette, WA 98204
  Phone: 1-866-640-2605
  Email: info@medworkshops

International Medical Transcription Schools

• Holborn Training
  5-7 John Prince’s St, London, W1G 0JN
  Phone: 020 7025 4700
  Email: highholborn@pitman-training.net

Below is some information about conference call transcription.

Conference call transcription and teleseminar transcription are popular transcription service provided by general transcriptionists.

Conference calls are less expensive than typical conference meetings. It’s an easy, inexpensive, fast and convenient way to provide information to a group of people.They make it easy and convenient for people to attending from different locations.

Conference calls transcription turns the audios/videos into written documents, called transcripts.

Transcription ensures that data, ideas, strategies discussed by the participants can benefit .

These transcripts provide all details of the conference call sessions. It makes the information available after the event. This is great for people who can’t attend the conference. And it’s also useful for poeple who attended to review or study the information later. Many people like to listen to the calls several times.

Conference call transcription is often outsourced to freelance transcriptionists. The companies conducting the calls often like to get the transcripts back within a relatively short time so they can make it available to their participants.

When conducting teleconferencing it is important to use a media that is able to produce clear audios at competitive costs. Companies can use Skype or digital recorders. Using the right recording equipment and providing quality recordings will reduce transcription cost.

Identifying the speakers too contributes to saving time when transcribing and keeps the transcription cost lower.

All kinds of companies conduct teleseminars about a large variety of topics. These include internet marketers, multi-level companies and many web publishers. Just use your imagination when looking for conference call transcription work. Or choose the type of industries you prefer working with and are familiar with. Do a search for the keywords: conference calls, teleseminars.

Also, use those keywords on your web site: conference call transcription, conference transcription and teleseminar transcription.

Below is some good information about podcast transcription provided by magiscript. Podcast transcription is a popular transcription service provided by general transcriptionists.

Every podcast should have a transcript, and I’m surprised at how many don’t bother to include them. Perhaps the owners skip having their podcasts transcribed because they don’t believe it’s worth the cost of having it done, or don’t understand the benefit of hiring an outstanding podcast transcription service. Here are five great reasons to consider having your podcasts transcribed.

1. Transcripts are searchable – By having your podcast transcribed, you are generating more traffic to your website because the text is searchable and people will ultimately stumble upon it when browsing the web for content your podcasts deliver. Search engines will pick up the keywords. The audio and video for your show are not searchable. Transcripts are.

2. Content – Not sure what to put on your blog? Copy and paste your transcript and it’s an instant blog post; no thought required. You can also use your podcast transcript to make into several short articles in a small amount of time, or newsletter content for your list.

3. Create products from transcripts- Once you have a few transcripts, you have an e-book. This creates more revenue for you; more possible ways to generate revenue from your podcast.

4. Attract a larger audience – While many people do prefer to watch a video or listen to an audio, many do still prefer a text version. They may not have 30 minutes or an hour to devote to your show. Reading the content takes half the time. They also may prefer to print the transcript so they can go back and read it whenever they want, or highlight the key points.

5. Reference – Once you have a handful of podcasts, you might remember you said something, but can’t remember which show it was. This can cause you to spend a few hours of your time trying to find the spot in the audio you need so you can quote someone, reference, etc. If you had a transcript, all you would have to do is search through the text and it just takes a minute. Your visitors may also find this useful for the same reason.

Bottom line – podcast transcripts generate revenue!

A medical transcription salary can vary widely depending on your skills, experience, education, and work environment. There are some basic rules of thumb, but no set pay scales in the industry.

For medical transcription jobs from home, you have the potential to earn more than those who work for a company in an office or hospital environmental. You can pick and choose the highest paying jobs/contracts you are able to find.

Notice I said “potential!” There is absolutely no job security for the independent transcriptionist so you have to be out there promoting yourself and trying to win contracts to keep yourself working. Earning in this field depend on what you “bring to the table” in terms of skills, knowledge and experience.

A highly skilled medical transcriptionist can earn as much as $50,000 per year working full time as an independent contractor. Part timers can expect to make about half that on the average, depending on how many hours they work.

Some get paid by the hour, or even on a volume basis, such as by how many lines they transcribe. There is more flexibility in payment options for the independent transcriptionist, but again the downside is lack of job security.

For a medical transcription salary, hourly rates of pay vary again with education and experience. You should expect to have at least a certificate in the field if not a degree, and some practical experience. Hourly wages of between $18-$20 on the lower end and $30-$35 on the high end for a skilled transcriptionist is the approximate range.

Medical transcription is a valuable skill that can simply be a part time supplement to your main employment OR a full time job. Even though there is no job security in medical transcription jobs from home, you DO have more control over your work assignments and if you are experienced and skilled you will always be in demand.

Continuing education is a must, as well as acquiring new skills related to the field as medical information technology changes with the times. You MUST remain relevant in your field. This is the only form of “job security” that really matters!

The bottom line is for a medical transcription salary is this:

Self employed persons working medical transcription jobs from home will make more, as do those with advanced education and training. Experience and excellence will mark you as a person who will be in demand as the health care industry grows and evolves.

Michele Miller is a home transcriptionist in Florida. She has written a book about starting a medical transcription business from home. About two years ago, she launched an online medical transcription course.

Online home study courses have allowed many people to study for a new career in the comfort of their own home, and the amount of training programs available is quite extensive. Nowadays, a lot of people choose this route for the flexibility it allows.  No longer do you have to sit in a classroom on a specified day at a specified time.

Online home study courses allow you the freedom to study when it suits you. It is a personal choice whether you want to go to college or get your education on the Internet with an online course, but a lot of people choose the online method because it is a more flexible solution to suit a busy lifestyle.

Taking your training online is a great way to study to become a medical transcriptionist.  The problem is, which course is best for you, which should you choose? With so many scams out there, how do you know you are going to get the best education possible, for a reasonable price? How can you know who to trust?

Below what Michele says about her medical transcription course. She’s giving you guidelines to help you avoid getting ripped off, and to give you some food for thought before you choose a medical transcription online course.

First of all, what makes me qualified to help you not get scammed and to help you choose a suitable medical transcription training course?

Therefore, I will tell you a little about myself, and why I feel I am qualified to tell you this.

My name is Michele Miller.  I am British by birth, and I have lived in Florida since 1993 when my American husband and I, and our daughter moved here.

I went to our local community college to get my MT education ~ back then we didn’t have home study courses!  Within a year, I started my own medical transcription service, and I haven’t looked back.  My passion for medical transcription comes across in so many ways.

I love teaching and helping people.  My college instructor was so impressed with my success she asked me to come and talk to the students at the college, which I did.

Shortly after that, I was asked if I would take students from the college for their Internship programs, and I did.  I helped students where school leaves off; I taught them productivity short-cuts they never would have learned, and I offered free ongoing mentorship to them.  I have continued to do this over the years, although I have had to cut back on the amount of interns I can take due to time constraints, but I actively help just as I did before.

I decided it would be easier to put all the information and help that I was giving to these students into an ebook, so that I didn’t have to keep writing things out and making copies.  That is how my original website came about in 2004, Medical Transcription At Home.

After that, things progressed and I have devoted a lot of time to helping people become successful medical transcriptionists.  And after two years of interviewing over 17 different companies, I finally put together my own training site, which includes a lot of my own study materials, and I’m very proud to say we have lots of students enrolled in the course, and I feel it is a very comprehensive course. However, every situation and person is different, and I don’t want to toot my own horn here.  I just needed to explain why I think I’m qualified to help you not get scammed when it comes to your transcription training!

Here are some things I think you should consider asking about before you sign up with any online medical transcription training course:

• Anybody can put up a website and take your money and not deliver. If the website is authentic, they will allow you to contact some of their past and current students! Ask to be put in contact with some of the students, and better yet, get a phone number for each person.  After all, anyone can be sitting behind a dozen different email addresses, and you wouldn’t know any different!
• Check to see if they are listed with the offline and online Better Business Bureau.
• This is a great way to save yourself money and heartache before you get scammed.  Most reputable training courses will be listed with them, and you should have access to any complaints.  Any reputable company will list the BBB logo on their website so you can get immediate access to their consumer rating.
• Before you sign up with any course, check their cancelation fee!
• I have been astounded to find out that many courses charge you a huge fee for canceling your course.  Life happens, and sometimes you are not able to complete a course in the time frame allowed, or maybe you find out this is not the career for you; why should you be penalized for this?  The company takes your money and you get next to nothing, because of the fine print and the clauses.  Do due diligent research about this before enrolling with any company.  Remember to find out if you can cancel at anytime, or if you have to pay for the whole course up-front!
• Check to see if your instructor has ever actually been working in the medical transcription field or merely “teaches” the course.
  
• There is a night and day difference between an instructor and an actual experienced medical transcriptionist. Experienced medical transcriptionists will be able to give you “real world” advice and help that some instructors may not be able to give.Before making any payments, be sure to call and speak to a representative of the company.  Ask a lot of questions, and see how receptive they are to giving you advice and being there for you in the long term, as well as the short term.
• Ask for a course syllabus so you can see exactly what you will be doing and how extensive the course work really is.
• I’m sure there are other important questions you can and should ask, but I hope this article helps you think ahead so that people cannot take advantage of you or your wallet! A medical transcription course gives very detailed instruction on medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, language skills, the ability to listen and other various components of day-to-day transcribing. The courses are not simple, but they are laid out in an easy step-by-step fashion so that you do not end up getting lost during your study.  Instructors will give you lessons to follow on the Internet and will also be available for one-on-one guidance when necessary.
• A good course instructor will also provide a phone number in case a student needs specific help that cannot be handled by e-mail.  Internet courses provide the same training as off-line courses, but the methods used are different. If you are looking for an online medical transcription course you should be looking for one that not only teaches you how to become an MT, but one that will teach you about your different employment options once you have completed the course.
• It should also give instructions on job searching and the different places that hire medical transcriptionists. You should also be able to talk to the instructor about opening your own business at home and how to get it set up properly.

Finding a good medical transcription training course on the Internet is important if you’re serious about this career.  You should check out the course thoroughly and make sure it is not too costly.

An expensive course does not mean that it is any better than a less expensive one, and your money is valuable to you.  Better yet, you should look for a course that offers a payment plan.

If you find out that medical transcribing is not your cup of tea, then you should be able to cancel without a penalty.

I hope this helps you decide which course is best for you.  Remember, you are the most important factor in this equation, so don’t let anybody talk you into signing up with them without getting the information you need first!

Michele is admitting international students too to enroll and has got quite a few offshore students also enrolled recently.

Get trained in four months for a career in medical transcription with Michele Miller’s BBB accredited Affordable Online Medical Transcription Course and Easy Payment Plan. Click here to get more information about Michele’s online medical transcription course.

The terms secretarial service and virtual assistant are often interchanged. Busy professionals, businesses, and entrepreneurs are using secretarial services and virtual assistants for the same reasons:

• They need help with administrative work, office support services, routine tasks, and other time-consuming projects.
• They don’t want to hire a full-time in-house secretary and provide employee benefits, office space and equipment.
• They don’t have time to do all the work themselves and use outside help to take some of the workload off their shoulders.

Here are some similarities between secretarial services and VAs:

• They provide administrative support to businesses and entrepreneurs and a variety of office support services that may include typing, word processing, data entry, Internet research, email services, correspondence, and clerical tasks typically performed by an office secretary.
• They are self-employed entrepreneurs and independent contractors.
• They work from their own office and use their own equipment.

By using the Internet, email, phone, and mailing services, businesses can outsource any work that can be done from a remote location, and virtual assistants and secretarial services can assist businesses from anywhere in the world.

What are the differences between a secretarial service operator and a virtual assistant?

• Secretarial services are perceived as typists and word processors. VAs are portrayed as highly skilled and trained professionals.
• Secretarial services are typically providing typing, word processing, data entry and other office support services. In addition to typical secretarial services, VAs often provide specialized services. These may include graphic design, web design, bookkeeping, realtor assistance, writing, event planning, and programming. The services VAs and secretarial services can provide are endless depending upon their knowledge and skills.
• Secretarial services were traditionally working with local clients but today they are also working with distance clients and can therefore call themselves virtual assistants. Most VAs assist both local and long-distance clients.
• In the past, clients dropped off work to secretarial services but today they often work through email, phone, fax and mail. VAs get work assignments through the Internet, telephone, fax, and email.
• VAs need a web site, must be Internet savvy, and must be proficient with Internet marketing to promote their services online and get nationwide and global clients.

Your prospective clients often interchange the terms secretarial services and virtual assistant depending on their industry, location, country, and cultural background.

Secretarial services can present themselves as virtual assistants to provide a wider range of services and reach a larger market. If you are working or are planning to work with long-distance clients, you can call yourself a VA. You can even consider a local client “virtual” if you don’t meet regularly. If you want to be perceived as a skilled office support professional instead of a typist, start calling yourself a VA. But if you want to provide typing services only, call yourself a word processing service.

If you’re not sure if you want to start a secretarial service or become a virtual assistant, consider starting as a secretarial business. It’s easier to get local clients. To get long-distance clients, you’ll have to promote yourself online. Internet advertising can be costly and requires a steep learning curve.

Your prospects may be searching the Internet for different keywords depending on their needs. Their searches may include the keywords secretarial service, secretary, typist, word processor, VA, virtual assistant, administrative assistant, or transcriptionist. Make sure to mention your location in your search engine advertising as business owners prefer working with local people when available. When promoting your services, use whatever terms your clients are using.

The best solution? Incorporate both the keywords secretarial and VA services in your business name so you can expand your business nationwide when you’re ready.

Looking for legitimate typing work at home?  Find out how to start a secretarial service or become a virtual assistant.